The First Imperial Prince, Theseus Vicious von Miltonia, made a shocking return.
“P-Prince Theseus?”
“Is there a problem?”
“N-No…… it’s just…….”
“Then I’ll proceed as is.”
Theseus returned to the Imperial Castle dressed in black mourning clothes.
Abraham, who had come out to receive him, couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.
“Mourning clothes suit you well. Who are they for?”
“They are for my father.”
A stir ran through the audience chamber.
Everyone was unsettled by the sight of Theseus, who had just returned after so long, openly declaring war on the Emperor.
As for Theseus himself, he had simply spoken the truth without adding a single lie.
Unfortunately, because he was an honest man, he had no talent for speaking in roundabout ways.
“That is truly unfortunate.”
Abraham nodded calmly, already knowing the truth.
The officials could barely breathe as they witnessed the unprecedented exchange between the two men.
“So then? Why have you returned?”
“To drag you down from that seat. What other reason could there be?”
“Excellent. It should serve as a fitting motivation for Lobelia as well.”
Abraham smiled faintly and rose from his seat.
“There will be no party for the prodigal son’s return. Everyone, disperse.”
That was Theseus’s return.
A remarkably indifferent story.
Such was the full account of that incident.
***
Before leaving the Misfits’ hideout,
I visited a grave located some distance away from the estate.
“Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if it really had to be you.”
Only one person died in the battle with the Scriptwriter.
The others who had previously infiltrated the castle were all merely detained and locked in solitary confinement. None of them were killed.
“Immun.”
The only one who died was the most mature yet childlike person there, the one who still carried a sense of chivalry.
Immun died.
“…….”
…Immun died.
This wasn’t the first time I’d seen someone die, but the death of someone close to me was still something I couldn’t get used to.
Kult, Tillis, Vidar, and the Scriptwriter.
Each of them had reasons why they deserved to die.
So even if I had some level of acquaintance with them, there was no reason for me to grieve their deaths.
But Immun was different.
He was someone who had no reason to die here.
“I knew this would happen.”
I knew Immun would die.
I could clearly see his ending from the start. To begin with, this was a world where people with dispositions like Immun’s had a hard time living long.
If anything, he lived longer than most.
“Still, if he left satisfied, I suppose that’s something to be grateful for?”
How many people leave this world feeling content?
Even if he was killed, he never bent his will and achieved what he wanted, so by that standard, it was a good death.
Yes, a good death.
So there was no reason to sink into gloom.
“Don’t regret it.”
“…….”
“Don’t cling to it, either.”
I was standing blankly in front of Immun’s grave when it happened.
At some point, Melana had appeared beside me like a ghost.
“You’ve seen with your own eyes what that ending looks like.”
Hollow eyes.
Someone who had reached a point of no return because of past regrets and lingering attachments.
Melana was a cautionary example.
For her to advise me meant she was willingly taking on that role herself.
“What have you been doing all this time?”
“Sleeping like a dead rat. Well, I might actually die soon.”
“That’s a horrible joke.”
“I wish it was a joke too.”
She had always acted like someone who would be leaving soon, but today it was especially bad.
Or was this really the time she was about to leave?
I’d been thinking it was hard to even catch a glimpse of her lately, and sure enough, she’d grown even more desolate.
“Well, I’m not planning to die just like this.”
At least it seemed she still had the will to live. That was probably good news for Jeff.
“Johan.”
“Huh? O-Oh…….”
This is really awkward.
Between Melana and me, there had been nothing but bad entanglements, so I had no idea what I was supposed to say.
“I do feel sorry toward you.”
“No, why bring that up now…… it’s all in the past, so it’s fine.”
Why is this getting so awkward?
***
After ending that uncomfortable reunion with Melana, I steadied myself and headed for the Ether Duchy.
Before coming here, I had actually sent Ariel to Lobelia first.
It was to see just how angry she was.
But then…nothing. The news stopped.
Ariel never returned after going to see Lobelia.
So I sent Yuna.
……Yuna also stopped responding.
That’s why I came in person. I couldn’t just abandon my lovely fiancées.
“…….”
When I arrived at the estate, the servants guided me in silence.
They didn’t ask my purpose or anything like that; they just led me straight to the room where Lobelia was resting.
I wish they’d said something, but they didn’t.
I reached the door to Lobelia’s room feeling like a condemned man being led to the execution ground.
“Ahem, Your Highness. This is Johan Damus. May I come in?”
I knocked and announced myself.
I hoped she’d say no, but……
“Enter.”
Unfortunately, a voice so cold it sent a chill through me called me inside.
Even if you enter a tiger’s den, you can survive as long as you keep your wits about you.
With that thought, I opened the door to Lobelia’s room.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“…….”
“…….”
I realized that old proverb was a lie.
Lobelia, who had been lying in bed just a few days ago, was now sitting in a chair.
Her hands clasped together, her forehead resting on them. Well……
She radiated a kind of charisma that made me want to leave this place immediately.
“What is your business?”
“I was wondering…… if your condition had improved at all.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say anything more.
How am I supposed to bring up Theseus in an atmosphere like this?
It feels like the moment that name slips out, my head will go flying.
“Ah, so you came for the same reason as Ariel and Yuna.”
Only then did I notice the two of them standing quietly off to the side.
They avoided my gaze and lowered their heads in silence.
There’s no need to bow.
I get it.
I thought they’d gone missing, but it turns out they were stuck here like me, unable to bring themselves to mention Theseus.
I mean, how could anyone bring it up in this kind of mood?
But still……
“So? Anything else you want to say?”
“……No.”
Lobelia knew.
How could she not? She knows where we went. She’s not someone who would miss the connection.
“All of you coming here together with nothing to say. What an amusing situation.”
“…….”
I quietly shuffled over and took a spot next to Ariel and Yuna.
There was no special reason. It just seemed like the safest place to be.
“I heard that Brother Theseus returned to the Imperial Castle…… Do you know anything about it, Ariel?”
“Wh-What?! M-Me? Uh, well…… I’m not really…….”
Ariel jumped in surprise when she was singled out and quickly looked away.
The moment our eyes met as her gaze wandered, I had a bad feeling.
“Johan.”
“……Yes.”
Of course. I knew it would come to this in the end.
From the start, Lobelia might have been waiting for me to show up.
She probably kept Ariel and Yuna here precisely so I would come.
“Explain.”
“I-I don’t really know either. We fought together, but why did that lunatic go back to the Imperial Castle…….”
I really don’t know.
Why did he go back, anyway?
“To begin with, I couldn’t even stay conscious until the end, so I don’t know how it turned out. I passed out halfway through. If anything, Yuna might know?”
“Johan……?”
Well, did I say anything wrong?
***
I confirmed that Yuna and Ariel were safe.
So I sold out Yuna and made my escape.
Honestly, isn’t it true that Yuna knows the course of events best?
I passed out because of the hole in my body, so I don’t really know much.
“Phew, did we manage to get through it somehow?”
I was pretty worried, but thankfully it worked out.
Who would’ve thought passing out could be such a relief?
If it’s Yuna, I trust she explained everything cleverly and smoothed things over.
Alright, then it’s about time I head back to the Cradle after so long.
I’ve been away for quite a while, so I should probably clean my dorm room too.
The aftermath of the war was bad enough, but after that I went to the front lines to placate Lobelia, and then wandered around outside dealing with the playwright’s issue as well.
By now, wouldn’t my room be covered in a thick layer of dust?
“Oh, Student Johan!”
“Huh?”
Just as I was about to head back to my room, the dorm supervisor stopped me at the entrance.
What is it? Another announcement or something?
I remember the semester still hadn’t started yet because of civil support duties and all that……?
Maybe there’s something I don’t know.
Well, I was gone for a long time.
“A letter came for you.”
“……A letter?”
From who? To me?
I can’t even begin to guess. Who would send me a letter?
Not from home…… If they had something to say, they wouldn’t bother with a letter. They could just contact me through the Silver Mirror.
……It’s not a love letter, is it? I may not look it, but I’m already taken.
Well, I am extremely popular, so you never know.
Haah…… this cursed popularity.
“It’s from your family.”
“Oh, is that so?”
So it’s from home.
Every single deduction I made was wrong. Maybe I really am past my prime.
“Still, a letter……”
Why a letter all of a sudden?
Ah, did Chris send it?
I turned the letter over and over, looking for the sender’s name.
To. Samuel Damus
It’s my father.
I really don’t get it. He has a Silver Mirror, so what is he doing? Did he break it or something? That expensive thing?
“Ah, thank you. I’ll go in and check it.”
I bowed slightly to the dorm supervisor and then headed toward my room.
Still, it was a letter exchanged between nobles. It didn’t feel right to read it in front of others.
“Let’s see…….”
A sudden letter.
I opened it with a vague sense of unease at this unfamiliar form of contact.
[Johan, it’s me. You’re probably wondering why I suddenly sent a letter. I’m sorry. I couldn’t bring myself to speak face-to-face through the Silver Mirror.]
“…….”
An unsettling opening. Had something gone wrong without my knowing?
[There are two important matters to discuss. The first concerns your younger brother.]
Chris? Don’t tell me something happened to Chris again.
He’d been sickly ever since he was young. Of course I couldn’t help but worry.
[Your brother’s physique has noticeably shrunk recently. Your mother was pleased, but Chris himself seems to be struggling with a strong sense of loss.]
“……Ah.”
I understood.
With the death of Vidar the Great Warrior, Varg vanished from this world.
If so, then Varg’s curse must have disappeared as well.
I didn’t cure Chris’s illness. I couldn’t cure it.
To be precise, I reversed the effects of the curse that had been acting on Chris through the medicine.
I inverted the trait that made him grow weaker the more he was exposed to light, turning it into one that made him healthier the more light he received.
So strictly speaking, it wasn’t a cure.
Chris becoming absurdly muscular could be considered a side effect of that.
Then what about now, with Varg’s curse gone?
“Did the reversed trait disappear too?”
That’s good news.
It means Chris’s illness has been completely cured.
[Now, from here on is the second matter. You may find it strange that the first topic didn’t wrap up cleanly, but I felt this needed to be said first.]
The story ended awkwardly with talk of Chris feeling a sense of loss.
What could this second story be for the topic to shift like this?
[The second matter also concerns your younger sibling.]
“Huh……?”
I looked over the letter again.
The first matter was clearly about Chris.
But was the second one about Chris too?
[You have a third sibling now.]
“……?”
[It’s been a while since the baby was born.]
Father…….
You’re still quite vigorous, I see.
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