Chapter 238: Captured
"So Beltorchika really has been hiding things from me…"
Beltorchika's voice lingered in his ears.
But that voice had a deliberate, artificial sweetness—completely different from the Beltorchika standing before Kamille now. They were like two different people.
Beltorchika stood beneath the massive display screen, looking up at Kamille, who was staring at her with a seriousness he had never shown before.
She was debating whether or not to tell this young man the truth.
"Kamille, how long until you turn eighteen?"
"Huh?"
Kamille clearly hadn't expected his question to be answered with another question.
But when he saw Beltorchika's face, stripped of its usual smile, he immediately understood—just like Quattro that day, Beltorchika had classified certain matters as "adult responsibilities."
"My birthday's in November, so… not long now. But age has never been the standard for judgment, right?"
"If society as a whole agrees on it, that's enough. Once you're past eighteen, you'll have to start facing the responsibilities society imposes on you."
As Beltorchika said this, she motioned for Kamille to follow her.
They didn't continue arguing over the shared car, but instead turned down a nearby alleyway.
"Without realizing it, Kamille, you've really grown into who you are now. Still impulsive and reckless, yes—but you've also become someone who takes time to think before making decisions."
She recalled the boy she saw when she first arrived on this colony satellite—the one who wore his emotions plainly on his face, who wore his youthful pride just as openly. That Kamille had now begun to show signs of maturity.
Kamille was consciously changing. Around his teacher, he restrained his youthful arrogance. Around his friends, he no longer lost his temper when they teased him by mispronouncing his name as "Kamiru."
Aren't those signs of maturity?
In the alley, Beltorchika leaned casually against the wall, unfazed by the dirt in the corners.
"What a dazzling light."
She looked up at the massive screen.
That screen had been installed at the special request of the Titans during the construction of the commercial district.
"Kamille, did you know? At this hour, some of the more remote colony satellites have already fallen into darkness. Even ordinary colonies have to enforce power restrictions. A lively commercial district like this, with such a massive screen—many haven't seen anything like it in nearly three years."
"These things…"
Having lived so long on this Titans-controlled colony, Kamille was well aware of these facts.
Though television reports often mentioned the Federation's power-saving policies, his own life had never been affected by them.
"But down on Earth, in the cities where the elites live, the lights are always bright—no matter the time. As if the world they live in is completely separate from that of ordinary space-dwellers."
Beltorchika's face, slightly lifted, was bathed in the light filtering through the gaps between buildings. In that moment, her expression looked peaceful.
Even though what she was saying was practically heretical on this colony satellite.
Yes—heretical.
At this moment, someone as sharp and sensitive as Kamille—how could he not have guessed Beltorchika's true identity?
"Beltorchika… you're with AEUG?"
Kamille couldn't hold back the words.
His brows furrowed—not out of disdain for AEUG, but because of something else.
"Was everything you've done for me because of AEUG? Was it because my parents were both AEUG engineers?"
At Kamille's age, he was pursuing what was "right."
Beltorchika's mind echoed with the words Char had spoken when entrusting her with this mission.
Her true identity wasn't what mattered most to Kamille. What mattered was whether her concern for him had been genuine.
As if rebelling against her, Kamille lowered his head, shielding himself from the light. His teal hair cast a deep shadow across his face.
"Of course. The information on your parents is extremely valuable to us."
Beltorchika met Kamille's gaze head-on and admitted it without hesitation.
"But surely you can feel it too, right? My concern for you was never faked because of the mission. I believe Quattro feels the same."
Hearing that familiar name suddenly made Kamille raise his head in surprise.
He saw the faint smile curling at the corner of Beltorchika's lips.
"So… Kamille, now that you're almost an adult, would you be willing to join AEUG?"
His heart pounded.
Back then, Kamille had learned that his father was cheating and his mother tolerated it. When he tried to convince her to leave his awful father, she had slapped him.
The impact that had on a teenager couldn't be overstated. It sparked Kamille's rebellious streak—especially since he'd always disliked the Titans' policies.
That was why he had wanted to leave with Quattro at the time.
And now, after so long, that emotion should've settled down. He should've had no reason to leave anymore, right?
But of course not.
That emotion still burned quietly inside him to this day. He wanted to reject the twisted relationship between his parents. He wanted to reject the Titans' senseless violence.
Kamille wanted to use the "correctness" he had learned to strike down what was wrong!
"Beltorchika, I—"
Smack!
The dim alley was suddenly lit up by a harsh floodlight!
His vision flared white like an overexposed camera. Even so, Kamille forced himself to look up toward the light's source.
It was a helicopter, hovering overhead. At both ends of the alley, soldiers with rifles emerged and blocked the exits.
From the helicopter, soldiers rappelled down beside a startled Beltorchika. Without warning, one struck her on the back of the head with a baton, knocking her out.
That senseless, brutal act of violence caused a surge of fury to rise in Kamille's chest. He wanted to rush forward, to fight those soldiers, to carry Beltorchika away!
But Kamille himself was also restrained. One of the soldiers struck his head in the same way, and he lost consciousness, consumed by unease.
In his fading vision, he saw the emblem on the soldier who was holding him down—
An insignia of a side-facing eagle, wings spread.
The mark of the Titans!