Chapter 157.2

Chapter 157.2

Joo Seolheon made a dangerous deal. The moment she returned to Korea, she joined Operation Red Veil and handed over the identities of every CIA agent who had received Damon’s reports.

Most of the leaked operatives were likely eliminated by Kia. The promised time was slowly approaching.

***

“Rigay, you kept your promise.”

Joo Seolheon’s voice came out tight, choked.

The spell that had separated parent and child; Rigay had used his own eyes to block the children’s memories. The only promise he could make for Sonya was to never see her again.

Now, she raised her gun once more.

“Look at me, Rigay. This is your daughter’s face.”

“Ah, ah!”

As Rigay tried to turn his head in terror, she swiftly peeled away the mask stuck to her neck.

“It’s okay. It’s me, Zoya. Rigay, it’s me.”

“Ah! Ugh!”

“Look closely. Sonya grew up so beautiful. You can look as long as you want.”

“S-Sonya?”

His trembling fingers brushed over Joo Seolheon’s false mask, molded to Seoryeong’s face, his lips quivering uncontrollably.

“You won’t go alone.”

“….”

“I’ve grown old and tired too. It’s been too long. For you… for me.”

“Ah! Z-Zoya… I…”

Then, Rigay’s hollow eyes wandered as he spoke into the empty air, “I couldn’t save him. Only him. The Prime Minister’s grandson…”

‘Because of me… Because of us… He became so harsh.’ Joo Seolheon thought, thinking of what Lee Wooshin had become.

“The Prime Minister… abandoned his grandson. Zoya.”

“….!”

“He made sure… all the world’s eyes were fixed on that boy.”

A tear rolled down from his ruined eye. Joo Seolheon wiped her husband’s tears with a trembling hand. Then, pulling him into a tight embrace one last time, she pressed the gun to his rough, weathered temple.

“No, Rigay. Young Solzhenitsyn grew up tall and strong. I saw him. Cold but kind, and above all, stubborn in love. You wouldn’t believe how incredible he is.”

“Ah…”

“Those children will be very different from us.” Zoya told him.

“I hope they are.” was Rigay’s last words.

Pfft! The silenced gun pierced Rigay’s temple. She clutched his limp body tightly, stifling her sobs.

Still cradling her lifeless husband, she reloaded the pistol. Now it was her turn to press the barrel to her own temple when suddenly

Bang! A harsh gunshot tore into her spine. Even as her body crumpled forward, she refused to let go of Rigay.

The pain was excruciating, her once-unyielding back shattered in an instant. The merciless bullet ripped through her organs, and blood surged up her throat. At the sound of approaching footsteps, she turned bloodshot eyes toward the door.

“It’s a bit chaotic outside.” The assassin said as he walked inside the room.

“You!”

Kia, clad in black priestly robes, dragged the muzzle of his gun along his own temple. He stared at Joo Seolheon, her face still disguised as Sonya’s with clear distaste.

Did you really think I’d fall for that? His expression, now devoid of any emotion, only flickered as he nudged Rigai’s corpse with his foot.

“Deputy Director Damon is dead, Zoya.”

“….!”

“Which means you’re the last one left who knows about Sakhalin.”

“Ugh!”

“You’re my final target.”

The last records of Winter Castle will go to Wooshin. The classified documents were set to be unsealed after her death, she’d already filed the request in his name.

“Feels like everything’s finally falling into place, doesn’t it?”

“N-No.”

“If Sonya calls for me, I’ll return to the monastery. The two of us we’ll live like we used to.”

‘As if I’d let you… As if Wooshin would ever allow it!’

Gritting her teeth, Joo Seolheon mustered the last of her strength and pulled the trigger toward Kia. At the same moment, the door burst open, and the faces she’d longed to see poured in.

The instant Sonya’s eyes widened in shock—

A hole tore through Kia’s shoulder.

“——”

‘Ah… maybe…

Maybe there was… a sliver of regret, after all.

The child who was both evidence and an instrument of intelligence.

My only accomplishment and my greatest weakness.

My…

My dear, I sent you a bouquet of peonies.

Congratulations on your wedding.’

Bang!