Chapter 450: Believe First—Then Believe Again
"Even if you put it that way, I still don't know what decision to make," Talulah said softly. "If I could really think it through, do you think I'd have ended up in a position where I had to take the initiative and come to you for help?"
She reached out, clasped Steven's fingers, and pressed his hand against her chest. Then she turned over in his arms, settling into a position where she lay flat against him.
"My rational side tells me that the Shieldguards are right. For those Infected to bring this up at a time like this—it's absolutely unacceptable. At the very least, we need to deal with the pursuers first and make sure there's no danger before letting them leave."
"But at the same time," she continued quietly, "I also know them well. Once they've brought this up, there's no way they can just calmly return to the Reunion ranks like nothing happened. Forcing them to stay will only create even greater chaos."
The situation was right there in front of her. If it were someone more ruthless and decisive—someone like Patriot—there wouldn't be this much hesitation at all. With that old warrior's experience, he would most likely arrive at the same conclusion as the Shieldguards.
But Talulah wasn't that kind of person.
She was far more emotional. Deep down, she believed that people were born with a purer kind of kindness, and that evil was something shaped by environment and circumstance.
To put it bluntly, she still tended to see others in too kind a light. For an idealist like her, there was nothing wrong with that—but once confronted with the reality of human nature, feeling lost was only natural.
"Then… have you asked Patriot?" Steven said. "He's your senior, and the leader of the Guerrilla Squad. He must have his own perspective on this. Asking him should've given you an answer, right?"
Once again, Steven didn't give a direct solution. Instead, he brought up the veteran who had led the Guerrilla Squad for who knew how many years.
Talulah groaned softly.
"He said the same thing you did—that this is an internal matter for Reunion, something I'll inevitably have to face as its leader. And worse than you," she added with a wry smile, "he said outright that how I handle this will directly affect his evaluation of Reunion."
Mentioning Patriot only gave her more of a headache. He had been the first person she thought of after this happened—but his response hadn't helped her at all. If anything, it had increased the pressure on her.
She knew very well that if Reunion wanted to go further, the Guerrilla Squad represented by Patriot was absolutely indispensable. With their support, Reunion barely qualified as a force that could stand on the board at all—rather than being casually erased by the brutal tundra.
Securing Patriot's backing had always been one of her priorities.
"Hm. Sounds exactly like something that old man would say," Steven remarked, rubbing his chin. "Applying pressure at the critical moment—to see whether you're really someone worth entrusting things to. If it were me, I'd do the same."
Patriot's answer didn't surprise him in the slightest. Steven could tell that the stubborn Wendigo actually admired Talulah quite a bit. But admiration alone didn't translate into trust.
Earning that man's recognition was never going to be easy.
In a world this cruel, anyone who managed to live to Patriot's age was no ordinary figure. Calling them seasoned old foxes wouldn't be an exaggeration in the slightest.
"So what you're saying is—you're at a dead end now? You really want a definitive answer from me?"
Looking at the Draco girl before him—so exhausted that she was clearly on the verge of cracking—Steven finally coughed twice, unable to suppress his sympathy any longer.
Watching her like this wasn't a solution. If there was anything he could do, it was to give her a reference point. If she couldn't grow from this choice, then she could grow from the next one. After all, for Steven, the one thing he lacked the least was time.
"No," Talulah said suddenly. "I've decided."
She took a deep breath and pulled herself out of Steven's arms.
"These are things I should be facing myself. I can't rely on you for this. So… what I want now is for you to listen to my decision, and then give me your evaluation. If I really am wrong, at least there might still be a chance to correct it."
Faced with her courage, all Steven could do was stand up from his seat, cross his arms, and adopt a serious, attentive posture.
"Alright," he said quietly. "I'm listening."
"...Hah….."
Talulah exhaled slowly, then spoke.
"For those Infected who want to leave, I won't stop them. I also can't bring myself to do something as cruel as eliminating these so-called traitors while they're still within our control."
"As long as they haven't truly betrayed Reunion, or betrayed their fellow Infected, then they are still Infected. And as such, they remain people I have sworn to protect."
She bit her lower lip lightly. She knew better than anyone that this decision could be called nothing but foolish from a certain perspective.
But she believed Steven would understand.
And more importantly—this wasn't the end of it.
"As for food and supplies," she continued, "they'll only be given the portion they were entitled to before receiving your aid. That much is theirs by right. The resources you provided—I don't have the authority to distribute those."
"And finally," Talulah said, her voice steady, "this decision is mine alone, made as the leader. So any risks it entails should also be borne by me alone."
"To ensure that they don't commit betrayal after leaving, I will remain here on the tundra with them. I won't depart until I've confirmed that their future actions won't endanger other Infected."
Having finally spoken her choice aloud—choosing to trust the Infected, to trust that most of those leaving were doing so simply because they had yet to fully trust her or Reunion—Talulah drew in a deep breath.
With that, the hesitation vanished from her eyes.
In its place was the posture of a warrior once more—a fighter who had chosen her path, and would walk it to the end.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M