Twelfth birthday... sudden brain disease?
It seemed as if something had been captured vaguely, but it was still a layer of paper away, and Leon couldn’t quite pierce through it. He had to note down the information, then frowned and said:
"But we did indeed kidna— help Princess Feiliya, to free her from Prince Andre’s control.
After we saved her, she told us that the entire royal family of the Crolock Kingdom had been killed by Prince Andre, their brains extracted and made into Atifie sub-bodies. I even managed to get one."
At this point, Leon wiped his cuff link and took out Atifie-128, then used The Cutting Silver Dagger to slice open its casing, slightly opening a small hole, revealing the brain inside wrapped in transparent gel.
Handing Atifie-128 over for the scruffy man to examine its contents, Leon continued:
"After learning about the royal family’s situation, I immediately cut open this sub-body and checked inside. I discovered there really was a living brain inside, and this brain did indeed belong to the Crolock royal family."
While speaking, Leon endured his disgust, cutting open the brain encased in gel, revealing its structure which was obviously different from an ordinary person’s.
"Although I don’t understand brain structure, according to her, the brains of the Crolock royal family are different from ordinary people. These areas are unusually developed, several times more so than an average person’s."
Pointing with the tip of his dagger at those special areas in the brain, allowing the scruffy man to recognize them, Leon rejoined the cut with his fingers, wiping away the cut marks, and restored Atifie-128 to its original state, frowning as he said:
"In addition, to help Feiliya escape control, I also temporarily cut open her brain to extract the implanted information fragment, and the internal structure of her brain did indeed resemble this one.
So whether the information is true or false, she is a member of the Crolock royal family, plus the brain inside Atifie-128 is evidence, I believe her information is highly credible."
"But... but she’s really dead!"
Upon seeing the "evidence" Leon provided, the scruffy man who had just insisted his information was absolutely correct was momentarily bewildered, murmuring with a blank look:
"Could it be... she was brought back to life later? But if she were resurrected, why didn’t Fein tell me? And why hasn’t that child appeared again..."
Brought back to life... that child...
Hearing this, it was as if a wall blocking the way had been toppled, and Leon finally grasped that elusive inspiration, urgently asking:
"Mr. Bell, I ask you, what is the relationship between Prince Andre and Princess Feiliya?"
"They are both children of the Queen, so their relationship is naturally good. Andre is a bit older, and always took good care of his sister, and while Feiliya was alive, she was very attached to him."
"I see... then, in your 1st research district, is there any technology that can resurrect people?"
"How could that be..."
Hearing Leon’s words, the scruffy man said speechlessly:
"Science can’t achieve everything. Even if you could replicate a body, what about the soul? Even the 1st research district has very limited knowledge about souls... uh... wait!"
At this point, he seemed to suddenly think of something, and the scruffy man hissed, his cheeks twitching slightly as he said:
"Although our 1st district doesn’t have resurrection technology, we do have a way to create bodies. Just last month, we made a breakthrough, creating dozens of ’Empty Shell’ Persons without souls but that are alive..."
’Empty shell’ people without souls... that fits!
With a vague hypothesis, Leon pondered briefly, then continued to ask:
"Mr. Bell, when was Atifie created? Does it overlap with the time Feiliya suddenly fell ill?"
Upon hearing Leon’s question, the scruffy man was momentarily stunned, and once he realized what Leon was suspecting, his face flushed with anger.
"Don’t talk nonsense! Atifie has been around for a long time!
Even when Fein’s twin sister was still alive, the 1st research district already had the prototype of similar technology. Although it wasn’t as advanced as now, the intelligence was already at the same level as a human. Now Atifie-01 is just a second-generation improvement!"
Leon nodded at these words, his gaze burning as he said:
"Then when was the improved Atifie-01 created? Does it coincide with the time of Feiliya’s death from brain illness?"
"In terms of timing... it’s quite close... About a week after Feiliya died from a brain disease, the Atifie-01 project, which was at a standstill... made a breakthrough..."
Realizing the truth of the matter, it seemed as if it really could be as Leon suspected, the scruffy man opened his mouth and said weakly:
"But it shouldn’t be , Fein... he was very fond of Feiliya, and he was genuinely distraught that day, so... so I think..."
"Mr. Bell, sometimes people even deceive themselves."
Leon thought for a moment, then said:
"Under pressure, some people make decisions they don’t agree with, and to avoid being alienated by those around them, they choose to conceal the truth. Their tears may be real, but it’s hard to say what they’re truly crying for.
Besides, you can also see it in a positive light. The truth might not be so cruel; it’s possible that Feiliya really suffered an acute illness, and to keep his daughter, King Fein chose to do so."
"But... if that’s the case..."
"Mr. Bell, we currently lack information; everything is speculation. But some things can almost be confirmed."
Interrupting the scruffy man, amidst his conflicted expression of uncertainty, Leon hinted:
"Years ago, for some reason, the young Princess Feiliya died, and her brain was extracted, becoming the core of Atifie-01 like these sub-bodies.
And years later, for some reason, Prince Andre killed all the royal family members, extracting their brains and making them into Atifie sub-bodies, giving them the same fate as his sister.
After doing all this, he used your 1st research district’s technology to recreate a Princess Feiliya, gave her the status of a princess, arranged for a princess-level guard, as though trying to make up for something, truly treating her as his sister."
Glancing at the silent scruffy man, Leon said:
"In my personal judgment, the massacre that occurred in the Crolock royal family is likely a revenge from the older brother."