Craig and I were alone in my bedroom. Not long ago, this had been our regular morning routine. But it wasn’t morning now—it was early dusk. On top of that, I was supposed to be the master of this house...but as Craig glared down at me with one hand on his hip, he gave off the impression that he was the one in charge.
“I’m glad to see you awake,” he said. “Did you sleep well?”
I finally managed to get out a question of my own. “Wh... Why are you here?”
Having a conversation while I was lying down felt awkward, so I slowly sat myself up on the side of the bed.
“I am delivering your wake-up call, just as you requested of me.”
“I canceled that ages ago! You’re going against my orders!”
“I suppose you did. However, I have already been dismissed from your employ. I no longer have any obligation to obey your orders, do I?”
Now you’re contradicting yourself! He’s not going to give me a straight answer, is he? But, well... Given the situation, it’s not that hard to guess why he’s here. Am I getting an ending more like the novel after all?
“Did you meet your true master?”
Since I had the chance to ask, I at least wanted a bit of good news to tide me over on my way to the afterlife.
I’d caught a glimpse of a blue robe in the shadows of an alleyway in the capital—one of the robes Sig and Natasha wore. The robed figure had immediately retreated down the alley, so I hadn’t seen which of them it was. But there was no way the two of them would’ve split up, so they must have already infiltrated the capital together. That said, I hadn’t actually been able to check for myself, so I’d been a little worried. Had Craig managed to meet up with the rebels at their hideout?
Still staring down at me, Craig raised an eyebrow slightly as he answered. “I have no idea how you knew that His Highness would be there at that time, but yes, I did—thanks to you. We were also able to secure shelter for my family.”
“Damn, good for you. Guess you’re finally a free man, once and for all.”
“Indeed, I am. And so I have returned to this manor—to you.”
As he finished speaking, he gave my chest a light shove. Unresisting, I fell back onto the black sheets once again, and Craig was immediately on top of me. The iron whip gave a harsh jangle as it got in his way; he tore it from my belt and tossed it onto the floor. He’d taken away my weapon, but just to be safe, he grabbed both of my hands and pinned them on either side of my head. I accepted it all calmly, without complaint.
My captor furrowed his brow with a strange expression. “You look rather unconcerned. Are you still half asleep, perhaps?”
“Nah, not really. Oh, word of advice—after you kill me, head straight back to the capital and finish the job. Once I die, my liege will definitely take action. With troops moving under His Majesty’s direct command, the casualties are going to be unfathomable.”
I thought he’d run me through with his sword, but is he going to strangle me instead? Or beat me to death, maybe? Anyway, just hurry up and do it. I want to get this over with already.
“Do you intend to die without a fight?”
“Yup. Perfect outcome, isn’t it?”
For me, and also for you. This is what you’ve wanted all along, right?
So I’d hoped, but Craig’s response was the exact opposite of what I wanted to hear.
“I suppose it would be—if you were truly His Grace the Duke.”
Oh, come on. You still don’t believe me?
I let out a sigh and put on an annoyed tone. “This again? You really don’t know when to let go, do you?”
“You didn’t convince me when we last discussed this either.”
“Bullshit. You’re the one who dragged me up by the collar!”
I’d provoked him, and he’d flown into a rage. The whole thing should’ve been fresh in his memory. There was no damn way he’d forgotten. Once I reminded him of it, he seemed to realize I had a point, and he got an awkward look on his face.
“Well, I can’t say I was completely unconvinced. However, all of my doubts still stand, and you have provided no satisfactory explanation whatsoever.”
“Hey, I explained it all, didn’t I?”
“You were performing an experiment to amuse yourself with my reactions—was that it? Even if that were the case, once you had exposed the trick, there would be no reason not to return to your old ways. You played the part more thoroughly with your demeanor, but your actual behavior remained just as reserved as before. And furthermore,” Craig continued, not giving me a moment to speak up, “the disappearance of Marquis Zechress and his family served as incontrovertible proof. You are the one who told them—or Lady Angelica, rather—where to flee, aren’t you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“If you wish to feign ignorance, then there’s no need for you to answer—I already have corroborating testimony. You tracked down the operating base of a group of traitors, and yet not only did you take no action, but you even made use of our shelter yourself. I imagine coming up with a plausible excuse would be quite taxing for you.”
Wait, did he say he had testimony? Did Angelica blab about me giving her directions? I guess I didn’t actually tell her to keep quiet, but I went to all that trouble to make sure Craig wouldn’t overhear us—with her brains, I thought she’d take the hint on her own...
I couldn’t tell where any of this was headed, but I didn’t like it. The fact was, everything Craig had said was perfectly on the mark. I’d just provoked him to anger and used that as a smoke screen to cover everything up. Once he’d calmed down, it’d been easy for him to see that my position was kind of shaky. He must’ve already figured out my strategy, so I wasn’t going to be able to pull the same trick again.
But that didn’t matter.
“I’m still Heinreid, all the same.”
The sins I’d committed would never disappear. The one who’d perpetrated all those irredeemable acts of evil was undeniably me, no one else. They were too heavy a weight to toss aside, and they were carved too deep to just forget. If I’d ever had any intention of taking that path, I wouldn’t have begun settling my affairs in the first place.
“I suppose you are. For my part, I no longer believe that you are a different person entirely.”
“Then—”
“However,” Craig cut me off, refusing to let me speak. “Duke Heinreid. You will never perpetrate another act of villainy, will you.”
He wasn’t asking. His voice had a ring of definitive certainty.
“In that case, you are indeed no longer the same man as the duke I once served.”
My mouth hung open in dumbfounded shock as I took in his words.
What the hell is he even saying? That doesn’t make any sense—it’s pure wishful thinking! Is that seriously supposed to convince anyone? Did you even manage to convince yourself with that argument?
Faced with his utterly ridiculous leaps of logic, I absolutely couldn’t stay quiet. I had circumstantial evidence of my own to lean on. It wasn’t like I hadn’t committed any evil acts since I’d awoken.
“D-Don’t be ridiculous! Have you forgotten how I made you draw your sword against Sig by the Pieira River?”
“Of course not—how could I ever? But I am also aware that word of all your actions travels to His Majesty. In order to operate while evading the king’s gaze, you needed to play the role of the duke to a certain extent. Having received the report of intruders, you were unable to ignore it. And so, you issued your commands to me, knowing that I would soften my blows as much as I was able—do I have the gist of it? That you sent no pursuers after them is clear evidence in itself.”