Chapter 49

"If I tell you what exactly I've done, will your view of me change?" Stairmount asks suspiciously.

"Wha... what do you mean, Sir?..." Daphne feels the hairs on her neck stand up. Stairmount's sharp tone more or less frightens her.

Stairmount takes a deep breath. He turns back his eyes, to look at the night sky. "Ah... so it goes. It is all because of my stupidity. If only I could turn back time... I would have avoided it... but now, it's too late."

"Whatever you do, I will still believe in you!"

Stairmount soon turns his gaze back to Daphne. The young woman looks back at him, her eyes is full of earnestness.

"Humans are imperfect. You are imperfect, and so am I. And my mother is the same, is imperfect. Everyone can make mistakes. What matters is, who we are right now. Whether we intend to fix the mistake, or not. And for me, the most important thing is, who you are at this moment. I will hold my current view of you, from now until the endless time."

"Ah..." Stairmount says languidly. "Thank you... Daphne..."

"So, what has really happened, Sir? Tell me."

"Do you know, what becomes my real reason to work in Pluto, whereas I am a Jupiterian?"

Daphne shakes her head.

"I come here, is to work at the Mist Laboratory. And do you know the reason why I have to work there?"

Once again, Daphne shakes her head.

"I work there, not to create medicine, or to research any disease, or other particular treatment techniques. But... to create the pathogen."

"Pa... pathogen?..."

"Yes, pathogen. Those which will make humans sick. I create the artificial pathogen. Just speak it blatantly; Biological weapon."

Stairmount waits for Daphne's shocked reaction, as he thinks that Daphne will automatically frown in disgust, walk away in fear, and even scream at him. But, contrary to what he expects, Daphne is still showing the same expression as before.

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It turns out that, Daphne isn't like what I think before. Perhaps... I can believe her... just like what she said just now...

"The Mist Laboratory researches a lot of things. But special for me, I was placed at that task. The reason is simple, nobody is qualified in such a very difficult and dangerous case. There are a lot of smart people, but they have no courage, and there are many brave people, but they don't have the intelligence needed. But for that case, it needs intelligence, courage, tenacity, persistence, ambition to succeed... as well as stupidity to be easily swayed by persuasion. And, the one who can fulfill all of the qualifications, is me. So, I was sent to work there.

"They always told me, this pathogen would only become a last-ditch weapon, just like nuclear weapon, won't be used for the real and only to bully and threaten. So I agreed to do as instructed. But since it is the kind of the last weapon, it must be as horrific as possible. Those who get infected will die immediately without any chance to get recovering. The spread must also be very fast and uncontrollable, just like a nuclear, once it is launched, it will definitely destroy the enemy now and there. And it can't be detected by any party, so nobody will be able to anticipate it, and if the enemy can really notice it, it will be too late.

"At that time, I was indeed much consumed by lustful ambition and a strong desire for success. My arrogance increased because I also have intelligence. I can't help but agree with what people say; talent is a disaster. After that, my career leap was very high. As you can see, I can get all of this even though I am only 27 years old, in Jupiter, most of the fellowmen at my age can't buy a house, they can only rent the house and work odd jobs with little payment. That self-esteem was really dazzling me. I don't care about suggestions and advice anymore, even from my own father. I instead criticized him; I told him, that we should support our own country by doing what our country tells us to do, and not to do the contrary thing. I was really proud of my choice. But..."

Stairmount inhales and exhales, his face stiffens.

"I said earlier that Chrono captived my parents, didn't I? In fact, they just lured me to come, and then gave me the cursed task... to... use the pathogen... to spread it..."

"What? They say that it is no more than a last-ditch weapon to bully and threaten, didn't they?" Finally, Daphne opens her mouth.

"That's it. It turns out that they have lied to me. They have planned to use it from the beginning."

"No!..." Daphne covers her mouth, terror eclipses her mind. "Then... all humans will die!... We will die?!..."

"The ones who will die, are those whom they regard as enemies."

"Then... the ethnic Neptunian in Pluto?!?..."

"No. But their other enemy."  Stairmount says glumly. "Neptune's partner. Saturn."

"What do you mean, Sir?..."

"They are going to spread the biological weapon in Saturn," Stairmount continues. "Through me."

"Don't do it, Sir! You must refuse that task! Oh my God... it's not enough for them, even though they've committed such atrocities in Sapphire, and now they want to repeat it again... So cruel!..."

"And then, in exchange, it will be my parents who will die."

Daphne is stunned. Stairmount turns to his original activity, pondering at the sky. As he gets to this part, he faces such a difficulty to take a deep breath.

"Of course, I immediately refused to do that. That's something I've never agreed on from the start, and they said differently at first. But they quickly made the threat; if I didn't want to do it, then, under the pretext of bringing up what I have done in Sapphire last time, then as the consequence my parents should die for it."

Stairmount buries his face in his folded hands above his thighs. Daphne falls silent. She totally understands right now, what actually has made Stairmount look miserable like this.

"So... how can I tell this problem to my parents? For God's sake, even though the whole Planet humiliates them as the ugliest ones, even though the whole Planet hates, disdains, and curses them... but still, Saturn is my ancestral land! My father and mother were born there, and originated directly from there. And my face, my appearance, my blood... it is all of the ethnic Saturnian. Same with them! So cruel... so savage... how cruel they are, force me to fight against my own ancestral country!..."

Stairmount turns his face to the night sky again. "Maybe... this is Fate's punishment for me?... I used to tell my parents, that we are not Saturn people, that Saturn doesn't recognize us as their citizens, so why should we keep staying proud and supporting them... that's why... I have to endure this punishment?..."

"No, Sir. You're right," Daphne says again. "I'm also Pluto people, not Neptune people, even though I am ethnic Neptunian. I have no obligation to defend Neptune. Same with you. You have no obligation to defend Saturn. So, don't blame yourself."

"Really?" Stairmount asks confusedly. "But... why am I being punished by facing this dilemma right now?..."

This time, Daphne doesn't know how to answer. She turns silent, and it is the breeze that dominates in the veranda afterward.

Then, she embraces Stairmount tightly.

True, she doesn't know another kind of answer. She herself is also unwilling if Pluto tells herm to harm Neptune, let alone harm innocent people. Hence, she fully understands the plight of Stairmount's dilemma. She understands it very well... but has no any capability to help him. All she can do, is just embrace him tightly like this.

Stairmount, on the other hand, also embraces Daphne, as tight as she embraces him. He also understands, this girl can't provide him with any solution to solve this problem. This is a very evil dirty trick devised by a group of professional experts in human psychology, two naïve young people won't be able to stand against them for certain. He has been very grateful since Daphne isn't as antipathetic as he thought before, and evidently feels sorry for him instead. And, that he has a place to pour out his frustration so that he doesn't have to endure it alone - he is very grateful for it. At least, this can be an oasis for him to step through the hellish field full of fierce fire waiting for him.

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