I’d thought maybe I could sneak out of my room without getting caught, but those naive hopes had been well and truly dashed, and now I was stuck holed up in here until morning. I didn’t have a choice—I might not have valued my life, but I still cared about my chastity.
That said, I didn’t actually plan on sleeping, so I killed time by counting the stars in the night sky. I’d be in deep shit if I opened the window and Craig immediately charged in, though, so I just stuck to the little slice of sky I could see from inside the room. Even then, there were far too many stars to finish counting in just one night—I hadn’t even gotten halfway before the sky started to lighten. Just as the last faint twinkle disappeared, I heard a soft creak coming from the door.
At least pretend you care enough to knock, dammit!
Craig slipped stealthily into the room, then blinked in surprise as he saw my look of exasperation.
“Good morning,” he said slowly. “You’re up rather early today.”
“Morning. Same to you.”
“I am always awake at this hour.”
Damn, knights have it rough, huh?
I gave some vague response or other as I stepped over to a glass case by the wall and searched around inside. I quickly found what I was looking for and pulled it out, along with two small glasses. Setting them down briefly on a nearby table, I grabbed a corkscrew and twisted the cork out of the liquor bottle I’d retrieved. I poured the amber liquid into both glasses until each was half full, then held one out to Craig, still standing there watching me.
“Just a pick-me-up—it’ll take the drowsiness off. Here, have some.”
You said you’re fine, but you definitely didn’t get any sleep either. You must’ve been on high alert all night making sure I didn’t run off. And besides, given the circumstances, you’d want to be prepared in case anything else went wrong.
“No, I—”
“It’s fine—it won’t get you drunk,” I said, lightly sloshing the glass around as Craig hesitated. “The flavor might be a bit strong for a little baby like you, though.”
My mockery got a sullen, huffy response out of him.
“I am an adult. I’m only two years younger than you.”
“Sure, physically. But mentally...” I smugly tapped a finger to the side of my head. “Well, if you don’t want any, I’ll just drink it myself.”
I raised the glass to my lips, and Craig immediately grabbed it away from me. I watched as he downed it in one gulp.
Yeah, if an older guy—especially one you’re trying to look cool in front of—provokes you like that, of course you’ll get worked up. I get it. I used to be the same way, back in the day.
Once he’d drained the glass, Craig made a face and wiped his mouth with his hand.
“It’s so bitter...”
“Mm-hmm. It’s sorta like medicine, basically.”
I picked up my own glass and gulped down the lukewarm, bitter liquid without pausing to taste it. As I finished the last drop and set the glass down on the table with a thud, an overwhelming feeling I couldn’t put into words welled up within me.
Suddenly—more than anything—I wanted to see those red roses again.
“I want to go to the garden.”
The fervent wish spilled straight out of my mouth as soon as it formed in my mind.
“But—”
“We’ve still got time,” I insisted. “C’mon, please...”
I fully understood that there were more important things to be doing right now. Craig’s reluctance was only natural. This was just a meaningless, selfish personal whim.
A brief silence flowed between us, but Craig didn’t refuse my request.
“I shall accompany you.”
Out in the garden, the early morning air was clean and crisp. I savored it, breathing deeply. It was gearing up to be a bright, sunny day. Beneath the pale blue sky, the roses on the dewy hedges glittered and sparkled like sugar glass.
“I guess this’ll be my last time seeing these.”
As I spoke, I thought about reaching out to touch them. But somehow, I had a feeling I’d get stabbed by a thorn again, so I decided against it. I stilled my hand and just gazed at the roses without disturbing them.
“So long as you survive, you’ll be able to see them again,” Craig said.
“I don’t know about that. Even after this is all over, I don’t think I’ll get to come back here.”
I definitely wouldn’t be allowed to stay on as the master of this estate or the lord of this duchy. Nobody would ever stand for that, and I didn’t want it either. Craig must have understood that as well—he briefly fell silent, then changed the topic a little abruptly.
“You’re quite fond of roses, aren’t you?”
“Yeah... Well, it’s really the scent more than anything. It brings back a lot of old memories.”
The truth was, I wouldn’t have made it this far here—in this world, this estate, this body—if not for the power of these roses. They let me reconnect, ever so slightly, with the past I’d thrown away. They let me entertain that delusion.
As I lost myself in nostalgia, I heard Craig’s voice behind me. It was faltering—searching for the best words to say.
“Just...who are you, really?”
Who am I?
I already told you, didn’t I?
I looked away from the roses and turned to face him. I locked my gaze onto that deep emerald green.
And I spoke the simple truth.
“Heinreid von Rodvelia. I’m the same man you’ve served all these years—a wicked and despicable duke.”
I couldn’t say which happened first—me finishing my sentence or Craig falling to his knees. I was too distracted as my own body went limp and toppled backward into the bushes.
Craig grunted in shock, but I just chuckled.
“Looks like it’s kicking in.”
I slid down to the ground with a rustling and a cracking as my body tore through the foliage. Countless little branches snapped under my weight, and the red roses scattered their petals like tears.
“What...did you...?”
“You’ve gotta be more careful, Craig... You can’t go around accepting drinks from...guys like me...”
I thought I heard Craig’s breath catch in his throat.
“Did you...poison it?”
“It’s just...a light muscle relaxant. It’ll be out of your system in half a day or so...”
If I’d wanted to kill Craig, there were plenty of deadlier options in my poisoned liquor cabinet, but I’d just needed to incapacitate him. The one I’d used was nonlethal and didn’t have any lingering aftereffects—it just robbed you of your ability to fight back. Pretty mild, as poisons went. I’d never imagined I’d actually end up using it, but I guess it never hurt to have a collection handy.
“Why would you—?”
He tried to press me for answers, but his voice cut off partway through.
From across the garden that should have been empty except for the two of us, the stamping of several pairs of boots and the rattling of metal rang out. The sounds steadily drew closer, as though they knew exactly where we’d be. We didn’t have to wait long before the new arrivals revealed themselves.
“We have come to collect you, Your Grace.”
“Good work,” I said feebly.
Through the hedges stepped a familiar tailcoat, a perfectly straight back, a pair of wire-frame glasses, and the unreadable gray eyes behind them. The soldiers standing at his rear were Heinreid’s devotees who I’d thrown into the First Dungeon a while back. Now, they were glaring at me with pure rage.
Yeah, this is more or less what I expected. But even his timing is absolutely flawless—he really is the perfect butler.
“Karl...Anker?!”
Craig called his name, and Karl turned to glance at him. Craig couldn’t move to block his way, but he immediately gritted out a warning.
“Don’t you dare lay...a finger on him. If you do...I’ll—”
But before Craig could finish, Karl impassively looked away from him and turned to face me.
“As you are well aware, His Majesty’s request was for you alone. Please rest assured—so long as we are able to bring you back alive, we have been instructed that we need not concern ourselves with any others.”
“How merciful of His Majesty...”
I was a little concerned about why Eberhart would’ve gone to the trouble of telling them they could leave everyone else alone, but for the time being, I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I told him he could do as he pleased with me, and two of the soldiers came stomping over to me at Karl’s command.
“W...ait!” Craig shouted.
“Sorry, Craig.”
As the soldiers roughly yanked me up by the arms, I somehow managed to get my limp, uncooperative neck to turn to look back at Craig. Throughout my time playing the villain, the corners of my mouth had always stubbornly refused to budge, but now, they finally lifted into a smile.
“I’m an evil man.”
Two sharp, clear discs of emerald stared back at me. His eyes had been dazed and confused, but now they glimmered with a fierce, blazing anger.
Ahh... That hue really is the most beautiful of all...
My head filled with my true, undisguised feelings.
See? No matter how much I try to ignore it or brush over it, that’s what I really am in the end.
“Hein...reid...!”
A familiar cry, trembling with rage, stabbed at my back as the soldiers dragged me out of the garden.