Father's Cold Blood

After the young lady exposed her father's crimes, a silence so profound it hurt our ears descended upon us. The count had shown no further surprise; he simply folded his arms and watched the young lady, while the head butler shut his eyes with a troubled expression and Captain Maxim stood gaping so openly that his shock was impossible to miss.

Of course, it was the young lady who broke the silence.

"You knew that House Riviere was behind the diversion of the Talent Jewels, Father, but you were unable to do anything about it. No matter how much power you possess with the 'Magic Eye of Judgment,' only you can prove whether your opponent is lying. You can throw your weight around with noble houses below the rank of count, but you cannot lay a hand on a higher-ranking house—one of the most powerful ducal houses in the country. So, Father, you first planned the attempted poisoning of Kurvshrat-sama. —Captain Maxim."

The young lady suddenly addressed him, and the captain responded in a shrill voice, "Y-yes."

"I heard earlier that Reiji didn't know anything, but when you accompanied Father to the 'New Sprout and New Moon Banquet,' didn't he give you some kind of medicine?"

"Er, ah, yes. He said, 'It's a panacea effective against every poison, though there's almost no chance of such a thing happening. Give it to anyone who collapses'—ah!"

It seemed she had hit the mark, but Captain Maxim had clapped a hand over his mouth after the head butler glared at him as if to say, 'Don't say anything unnecessary.'

"Father must have anticipated that either Etan-sama of House Ebenyu or his guard would detect the poison. Even if Kurvshrat-sama drank it, Captain Maxim would be able to cure him. But in that case, Captain Maxim's actions would have become far too suspicious, limiting what he could do afterward... And, similarly, Reiji's detection of the poison placed the same limitations on Father's actions."

Being able to detect poison or cure it was a double-edged sword that all but screamed, "You're the culprit, aren't you?" Therefore, the count's next move could only be to wait until things had cooled down—about a month.

"You had the man who administered the poison killed immediately, didn't you? If you preserved his body in a freezing magic item, you could keep it intact. Originally, you planned to have House Ebenyu detect the poison, claim that you had seen the man at House Riviere, and then, once his corpse was found at the Riviere estate, march in and search the place. After all, you had secured his body, so you could fabricate as much evidence as you liked. You were certain that House Riviere was behind the diversion of the Talent Jewels, and you knew that an investigation would uncover evidence, didn't you?"

Ouroboros's rampage had been a stroke of luck for the count. He had probably intended to do this after the Talent Jewel award ceremony. Above all else, the count had been forced to prioritize bestowing the Talent Jewel upon the young lady.

The count must have had agents besides Captain Maxim. Even when I was speaking with El-san at the Holy King's Palace today, many people were lurking outside, holding their breath. I had deliberately said nothing about it.

Once the mansion had been destroyed, it would be less suspicious if a badly deteriorated corpse were planted there amid the confusion.

"That is an excellent deduction."

The count smiled calmly.

He neither denied nor confirmed it.

"You really have become quite the noble, haven't you?"

"It is all thanks to your education, Father."

"No—"

The count glanced at me.

"...Eva must have learned to think hard about the things she needed to figure out. Because of someone-san, of course."

Was he talking about me? Surely not?

"Count, there was one thing I wanted to ask you, too."

"What might that be, someone-san?"

So he was talking about me after all?

"...Er, you didn't know that something was going to happen at the Talent Jewel award ceremony, did you? But you weren't there. Why not?"

"Ah, that's simple. Many priests attend the award ceremony, so it was a chance to search the private room of the priest who had been diverting Talent Jewels to House Riviere. I found a secret letter showing that he had been corresponding with House Riviere—the letter said, 'Destroy this immediately,' but he must have wanted to keep it as well, so House Riviere could not betray him."

I see. The award ceremony had been the perfect opportunity to investigate the priests. The count had had a reason to wait for it...

"Afterward, when the Dark Dome appeared, I sensed that something was wrong and searched for something that might serve as a weapon. I happened upon a particular stone. It had long been reputed to possess a special power."

In the end, the count's slender arms had been unable to destroy it, so I had done the job in his place.

"Count, why did that priest hand Talent Jewels over to House Riviere? That's a grave crime, isn't it?"

"That, too, is simple. Money. ...Eva, remember this well. Most things in this world can be settled with money. And money causes people to ruin themselves and throw their lives into chaos."

The young lady and the count locked eyes.

I had no idea what the young lady was thinking now. When she had confided this deduction—and probably the truth—to me, she had been so pale that she looked ready to collapse. But now, she wore the expression of someone who had steeled herself.

"Father. Did you commit wrongdoing yourself in order to correct wrongdoing? Even going so far as to take a person's life?"

Had I really needed to make the young lady say such things? I had vaguely sensed that the count's actions were strange, too, and carried a hazy suspicion somewhere in the back of my mind. But the young lady had realized it before I did. If I had not told her more than I needed to, the count surely would have covered it all up with a polished lie.

The young lady was only twelve.

Even if she had become an "adult," did I really have to show her the ugliness of adults and burden her with their responsibilities immediately after she became one?

(If I had been a little smarter, the young lady might never have realized it.)

Even so—I think that later, whether months or years from now, she would have reached the truth on her own and confronted the count like this.

To be honest.

I wanted her to do it where I couldn't see it, where I wouldn't know about it, where I couldn't hear about it.

That was my unvarnished feeling.

This was too painful.

"...The man who administered the poison was originally supposed to be executed. He was a man from a noble house involved in diverting Talent Jewels, but for some reason, he escaped without being caught. He understood his own crime, and knew that its consequences would extend to his wife and children, who had lived in luxury on his money."

The count paused there.

He must have offered the man a deal: if he gave up his life, his wife and children would be spared.

"Father, crimes must be judged according to the law."

"Exactly. House Riviere will surely be judged as well."

Ah... This man had decided to treat the young lady as an "adult." It was obvious even from his choice of words.

And having decided to treat her as an "adult," he must have decided never to show her his true feelings again.

Even though they were father and daughter, with no one else between them.

"..."

The young lady's profile twisted. She looked as though she were holding back tears.

The young lady had probably expected the count to tell her everything. That was why she had confronted him directly.

I had felt that it was a gamble with poor odds, and unfortunately, my premonition had come true.

"Eva. There is no such thing as a 'justice' that everyone acknowledges. Even the employment agency you smashed because you believed it to be 'injustice' was 'justice' to people desperate enough to sell themselves for money."

"Don't try to deceive me with nothing but sophistry."

"What 'truth' did you learn by taking action yourself this time? Everything you know is merely 'information' you heard from Reiji-san, isn't it?"

"That's..."

"What if Reiji-san is lying?"

"—!?"

The young lady flinched and looked at me fearfully.

(...Come on, Count. That's going too far.)

In a sense, I had thought this was a quarrel between parent and child. The young lady would get angry, and the count would beg her forgiveness. How wonderful it would have been if things could have been settled so simply.

I understood the count's position, too. Because he truly cared about this country, he believed that the corruption at the One Heaven Altar, the heart of the country, had to be rooted out at any cost—even if he had to commit a crime himself.

But that had absolutely nothing to do with the relationship between the young lady and me. If he was going to drag me into this, then I had a say in the matter, too.

"Count. As of today, I am stepping down from my duties as bodyguard to House Syries. Since this is before the contract is over, I will return all my wages."

"!?"

This time, the young lady's face flushed with shock.

"That means my association with House Syries is over, and our interests are no longer connected. —Young lady, I haven't lied to you about a single thing. You know the secret I told you this morning, don't you?"

What did the count want to do about the relationship between the young lady and me? Did he really think he could destroy it with words like these? —No, was there some other meaning behind them?

"...I'm sorry, Reiji. I was wrong to lose my composure. You could never lie to me. So don't say that you're quitting as my bodyguard."

"That's right, Reiji-san. If you quit as her bodyguard, you won't get what you want either, will you?"

"No, Count. I obtained one thing today."

"...What did you say?"

The count shouldn't have known about my conversation with El-san, so it felt rather good to see his face as he realized he had been caught off guard.

"So either way... I needed to leave here before too long."

"...Reiji, what do you mean?"

"Young lady, I'll tell you about it later."

"..."

The young lady wore an expression that clearly said she could not accept it, but—

"I'm sure of it."

In the end, she accepted my answer.

But then—

"Perhaps that was convenient, in a sense."

The count said something that threatened to undo the young lady's acceptance.

"What do you mean?"

It was then that I would learn—truly learn—what the title "Cold-Blooded Lord" really meant, and see him at his most formidable.

"The Six Great Ducal Houses are quite troublesome. Even when all the evidence is in place, they resist with one excuse or another. Even if His Majesty the Holy King intervenes personally, they cannot be easily dissolved. And this time, I—a mere count—have become deeply involved, so the other ducal houses are strongly opposed as well."

"...What are you talking about?"

"In short, some kind of 'sharing the pain'... some sort of scapegoat is necessary. For example, the surrender of a hero who distinguished himself."

The count gave me the most radiant smile I had ever seen on his face.

"By the way, Reiji-san. There is something you have been hiding from me, isn't there?"

I felt something crawl up my spine.

So that's how it was... The count already knew my secret: that my hair and eyes had originally been black.

"House Ebenyu is saying that our family is harboring a black-haired, black-eyed 'Child of Calamity.' They say that if we hand you over, they will overlook the fault of our house, a mere count's house... Indeed, if you are no longer my bodyguard, I will have no reason to protect you, will I?"

At that moment, despite how late it was, I heard the commotion of many people outside the window.

"Hmm... I told them to come tomorrow afternoon, but they certainly are quick about it. The forces of House Ebenyu must have arrived."

So the matter had already been settled between the count and House Ebenyu?

How many moves ahead was this man thinking? Had he known that the young lady would denounce him? No, even if he had not known, perhaps this man had—

(Was he planning to confess everything to the young lady himself?)

If he had possessed that much resolve, then from the count's perspective, the young lady discovering the truth herself had actually been a cause for rejoicing?

"Eva, Reiji-san. What will you two do? Will you continue to cry out for 'justice'? Or will you help me accomplish a 'greater good' even knowing that it is 'injustice'?"

In other words, the count was telling the young lady and me to join him. If we did, he would protect me.