Chapter 92……………………………………………
For me, it was an unbelievable situation, yet Elliot was apologizing to me.
“My suspicion that you colluded with Tara hasn’t changed. But after what I’ve experienced over the past few days, I’ve concluded that you’re not the villain I thought you were. You do have a knack for irritating people, though.”
An apology… right?
“Anyway, I’m sorry. Back then, I deliberately went overboard to shake you up.”
I felt dazed.
“You were grinding your teeth at me because you said I made Riena cry…”
“Th-that is… after calming down and thinking it over, just because Lady Riena shed tears doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a bad person. In the first place, in human relationships, people can get hurt due to misunderstandings even if no one committed a grave wrongdoing.”
Incredible. Elliot was capable of such ordinary and rational thinking even when it came to Riena. It was hard to imagine this from the old him.
“Uh, well.”
Since I’d received his apology, it was my turn to respond.
“I was really angry back then and felt a lot of pressure because of you, but it’s in the past now, so I’ll accept your apology. On one condition.”
“A condition?”
“It’s nothing difficult.”
“I’m not someone who just talks. As long as it’s not an unreasonable demand, I’ll accept.”
A moment later, I reached my hand through the iron bars and tapped his head lightly with my fan—just like he had done to me before.
“…Satisfied?”
“Yes! I really wanted to return the favor for that.”
“Indeed, touching someone’s body can be quite insulting. I went too far.”
Having completed my revenge, I snapped the fan open. On the blue fabric were embroidered splendid geometric patterns.
It had originally been confiscated when Elliot was escorted here, and I’d just retrieved it from storage.
“It’s a pretty fan.”
“It’s a gift. You use it.”
“Really? Isn’t it expensive?”
“Not particularly. Besides, I’m either going to die or rot in prison for the rest of my life anyway. No point in keeping such things.”
“Uh… okay, thank you.”
Elliot kept doing things he’d never done before, and it made the atmosphere unbearably awkward. Thankfully, he changed the subject.
“So, I have a request…”
“A request? As long as it’s not unreasonable, I’ll consider it positively.”
“It’s something the Second Prince could probably accomplish more easily than you. But I find him rather uncomfortable.”
“What is it?”
“If I receive a prison sentence at trial, I want to be incarcerated in Elshinja Prison.”
“Elshinja Prison…?”
“As the name suggests, it’s located in the Elshinja region, bordering the western frontier.”
“Wait, then isn’t that close to Count Miloam’s territory?”
“Fairly close.”
“Hmm.”
“What’s with that smile?”
“When did you get so close to the Count?”
Elliot slammed his hand on the desk.
“Don’t misunderstand! I simply don’t want to leave something I’ve started halfway!”
“Something you started?”
“The development plan I wrote up for Count Miloam’s territory. The more we talked, the more I realized his knowledge of regional development is close to nonexistent.”
Elliot sighed and shook his head.
“At this rate, the plans I graciously drafted will all go to waste. If I’m nearby, I can advise the Count when he comes seeking guidance. There’s no harm in that.”
“The western region is relatively underdeveloped within the Empire. The prison facilities are probably poor. Are you sure you’ll be fine?”
“That much is nothing to me. It would be rewarding to improve it.”
Says the man who refused to eat the food here because it tasted bad. Still, there was something else that needed to be addressed.
“What about Riena? If you go west, it’ll be hard for her to visit often.”
“……”
Elliot’s expression turned somewhat downcast.
“I know. But Lady Riena won’t visit me often anyway. From an outside perspective, I’m the man who ruined the Iber Company out of greed. If she visits frequently, people will grow suspicious.”
I agreed. Unless she secretly helped him escape and made him her subordinate again, Riena wasn’t the type to visit him while risking suspicion.
“And to be honest…”
After hesitating, Elliot spoke.
“I don’t particularly wish to see her.”
The shock that hit me was several times stronger than when I’d received his apology.
“Are you sick or something?”
“I’m perfectly healthy.”
“Then why?”
“When I’m with her, I feel like I’m no longer Elliot Rude. That frightens me.”
A shadow fell across his face.
“I’m a logical person. As a human being, I can’t claim I was always logical, but for most of my life I’ve lived based on rational thinking. But…”
“But?”
“Since meeting Lady Riena, I can’t control myself. When it comes to her, I act without any calculation.”
“……”
“Part of me always felt something was strange. But people say that’s what love is like, so I assumed I was infatuated with her.”
“And now you think it might not be?”
“I don’t know. After being apart from her for a few days… and after hearing what the Count said yesterday… I don’t understand anything anymore.”
The genius who used to act like he knew everything was now confessing he didn’t know. His face was filled only with confusion.
“I still like Lady Riena. I miss her. I think she’s cute and lovely. But I also have doubts—these feelings don’t seem like me.”
“Calm down. You’re getting worked up.”
At my words, Elliot steadied his breathing.
“So I’d like to take this opportunity to spend some time apart from her. I have a feeling—if I see her again now, I’ll return to my old self.”
He stared at the floor for a while before lamenting,
“My uncle told me to become someone useful to the world. I never wanted to be a great man, but at least I thought I shouldn’t become a villain…”
His hollow question echoed beyond the iron bars.
“Where did it all go wrong?”
Early the next morning, the Imperial Palace released an official statement.
The mastermind behind the recent Iber Company incident that had stirred the world was Elliot Rude, the company’s vice director, and there was no direct connection between the incident and Lady Cassius.
With that, the Iber Company affair was concluded. The investigation team’s work was also finished.
Elliot Rude was handed over to the security forces. It was time to part with the man whose face I’d grown sick of seeing over the past few days.
“Take care.”
As he left the room he’d stayed in at the annex of the security bureau to be transferred to the main building, he said that to me. I answered simply,
“You too.”
“Thank you for hearing my request.”
“Even if I speak well to His Highness, it’s not guaranteed to happen.”
“Still.”
“It’ll work out.”
Though my words were vague about what exactly would work out, the corners of his lips loosened. It was the first smile I’d seen from Elliot without mockery.
“If you ever commit a crime and go to prison, request Elshinja Prison too. It’ll be less boring if there’s at least one familiar face.”
“As if that’ll ever happen.”
Even at the end, he couldn’t resist being irritating. His eyes looked bluer than usual.
For a moment, I felt his gaze had become clear—like when I’d once seen Duke Cassius.
That afternoon, Terence came to return the annex that the security bureau had lent to the investigation team. I told him my final decision regarding Elliot’s treatment.
“Understood. Then we’ll consider the plan to eliminate Elliot Rude as never having existed.”
Surprisingly, he followed my opinion without objection.
“That’s unexpected.”
“Why?”
“Honestly, I thought you’d oppose it. I assumed you disliked Elliot.”
“I do. But separately from that, I trust Idel’s judgment.”
“…Aren’t you overestimating me?”
“Not at all. You managed to receive a sincere apology from that arrogant man, didn’t you?”
“The one who changed Elliot was Count Miloam. I didn’t do much.”
“I think otherwise. And it was you who placed Count Miloam beside Elliot.”
“Is that so? Then I suppose I really am impressive.”
Keeping my old resolve not to underestimate myself, I spoke confidently, and Terence smiled with satisfaction.
That night, after returning to the embassy residence and falling asleep for the first time in a while, I had a strange dream.
“So that’s the one? The person you prayed to me about, asking that he succeed?”
Someone seemed to whisper by my bedside.
“You’re quite unusual. The first wish you’ve ever made to me was for someone else. Different from that child who always prays for herself.”
It was the same voice I’d heard in the temple within the Forest of Wanderers.
“Ah, yes, yes. I know. There’s not much difference between you and that child. In terms of how you use your abilities, and their power as well. Unfair, you say? What can you do? The world was never fair.”
I was just about to feel irritated by the teasing tone.
“Oh dear, don’t be so angry. Instead, I’ll give you a gift.”
A gift?
“What you most want to know right now. It slightly violates causality, but surely I can do at least this much for us! Don’t worry. You won’t properly remember it once you wake up anyway.”
I wanted to ask what that meant, but no sound came out.
Instead, the white void of my vision twisted. When I regained my senses, I found myself facing an unfamiliar scene.
It was a castle. Rough, yet looking extremely sturdy. Perhaps built on hilly terrain, as a vast plain surrounding the fortress could be seen at a glance.
There was a watchtower—the highest point of the high fortress. On it stood an old man, looking down below.
Despite his advanced age, his back was firm, and there was something about him that resembled the castle itself.
[So you were here.]
Another person climbed up to the watchtower and spoke. This time, it was a middle-aged man. Without even turning around, the old man responded in a voice thick with amusement.
[Oh, isn’t it our genius strategist?]
