“You wouldn’t say you don’t remember this memorandum, would you.”

“……!”

His eyes, widened in shock, shook roughly. Howard stepped back hesitantly as if facing a monster.

“How, how do you have that……!”

“When my parents passed away and Uncle took office as my guardian, you promised. That you would return the family and title to me when I came of age.”

Carl lifted the paper slightly upward so many people could see it as he spoke.

“This is the memorandum Uncle wrote at that time. It even received notarization from the temple.”

When taking away the family and title from his young nephew left alone after his parents died, Howard had put on such a kind face.

In front, he acted as if he purely cared for his nephew, while behind he only created justification for himself to swallow up Celsior.

But in the end, what he had done in the past brought about the result of catching his present self.

“So from now on, I intend to take everything back from you, Uncle.”

Carl’s face, pulling up the corner of his mouth, looked like a devil’s smile to Howard.

The enemy-like nephew who had crawled back alive from the hell he had created.

As the courtroom was dyed in silence, Linus, reading the atmosphere, stepped forward.

“Since the Celsior side says they will withdraw everything, the answer is clear.”

He subtly gave indirect recognition to the fact that Carl had become the new duke.

Because he knew it would be good for Shailyn and Dain’s family.

Linus, standing up from his seat, bowed his head toward his father.

“Your Majesty, please immediately release the innocent Diart family and Count Sharofe and set the law straight.”

The emperor frowned faintly. Now the atmosphere had already tilted too much to directly seize control and hand it over to Howard.

He, having already pushed it somewhat when supporting him earlier, slowly nodded his head.

“Do so.”

“……!”

Howard, realizing the emperor had finally let go of his hand, looked up at the high seat with a hollow expression.

However, even as emperor, he had no choice.

The Diart family, recognized by god as not being heretics, and the appearance of a new duke were unexpected variables.

Thus, the heretic trial revived after a hundred years came to an end with the victory of innocent people.

***

— Ding!

【Wow! Although the mission failed, you escaped from the crisis?

Great.Job.Well.Done♥

With this, the mission failure penalty has naturally expired.

Execution and behavioral restrictions have been lifted, so move around freely again!

I hope you definitely don’t fail missions from now on, taking this incident as a lesson（＾＿－）≡★】

The moment a sparkling system window appeared before my eyes, I almost cried for a moment.

Phew, it feels like I stuck my neck into a guillotine and then pulled it back out.

Finally we became free. While leaving the courtroom with our bonds released, I busily rolled my eyes.

I wanted to meet Carl and hear an explanation of what exactly had happened……

“I’m glad you were safely released.”

The tower master was waiting for us instead of my bondservant.

Confirming that Carl was nowhere to be found, I hid my surging disappointment and bewilderment and greeted him.

“It’s all thanks to you, Tower Master. Thank you so much for helping us.”

“Not at all. Since the accident that happened at the magic tower was the starting point of this incident, I naturally had to help.”

“……By any chance, was the culprit who caused the explosion accident also revealed?”

Deborah, leaning against His Grace, asked carefully. Fortunately, the tower master nodded.

“After Spencer gritted his teeth and investigated, we found out it was Ezra. There was a reason he gave unfavorable testimony about you.”

The name Ezra was familiar to me too. Because he was none other than the mage who had lied that Deborah touched the magical tool during the explosion accident.

I learned about it while reading the newspaper the head priest brought while I was imprisoned in the temple jail.

“Ah, senior…… Where is Ezra now?”

“After that incident, he quit without permission, so his whereabouts are now mysterious. Perhaps he received a large reward from Celsior and left for a foreign country.”

Everyone frowned at those words.

Because as the tower master said, the possibility that he had already fled was highest.

While cursing the mage named Ezra inwardly, I couldn’t completely abandon my lingering attachment to Carl and continued to look around.

There are so many things to talk about if I see his face, but is he really not here…….

The tower master, quietly observing me like that, spoke bluntly.

“The person you’re looking for can’t come right now.”

“……What?”

“Instead, he asked me to deliver this to you.”

He handed me a letter. I received it with a puzzled face and unfolded it.

Surprisingly, the sender of that letter was Carl.

「To Master

I’ll come to meet you, so don’t be impatient and wait. Don’t wander around looking for me for no reason.」

Honestly, I had been thinking of exploring the surroundings briefly to look for him, but how did he know?

Feeling awkward at the ghost-like letter content, I asked with a somewhat complicated heart.

“……Did you know Carl’s identity?”

“I didn’t know. But after you were captured, he came to find me asking for help and told me who he was.”

I see. It’s fortunate that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know.

‘To think Carl was the young duke of Celsior……’

Even though I saw it with my own eyes, I bit my lips tightly at the fact that was still hard to believe.

“No wonder that face wasn’t entirely unfamiliar. It was because he greatly resembled the former duke.”

Lord Diart crossed his arms and nodded.

“Especially when his eye color returned to normal, I could definitely recognize him.”

“Then we’ve been treating a young lord as a bondservant all this time? Haha.”

Dain threw out a light joke.

I laughed softly along with him, but the strange feeling didn’t go away, so I lowered my eyes.

‘Why……’

Countless questions about Carl floated around chaotically in my head.

Why didn’t he tell me earlier.

Why did he deceive me and follow me as if he had lost his memory.

Why…… did he say he would stay by my side for life.

If Carl was a young lord, he would have been someone who had to return to his family someday to inherit the title, just like now.

“Sister, are you okay?”

“……Yeah, I’m okay.”

Deborah’s hand suddenly entered my field of vision. I barely smiled at the warmth that gently held my hand.

I decided to postpone matters related to Carl until I met him again.

I was busy enjoying the victory and freedom before my eyes.

After that day.

After shedding the stigma of being traitors who joined hands with heretics, we slowly recovered our daily lives.

All the servants who had been dragged away with us, like Mandy and Paul, were also released, and we newly filled the vacant head maid position.

Deborah, who heard about Emma’s circumstances from me, remained silent for a long time and then said the following.

‘I can’t forgive her, but I can understand. Still, I don’t want to see Emma ever again.’

I prepared to accuse the Celsior father and daughter while discussing with Lord Diart and His Grace.

Because we had to pay back what we received.

Whether they knew our movements or not, the Celsior ducal family was in an uproar, decorating the newspapers day after day.

〈A Dead Young Lord Returns Alive To Become Duke? The Celsior Ducal Family Turned Upside Down〉

〈Does the Resurrected Young Lord No Longer Have Madness?〉

〈With the Mad Young Lord’s Return, an Ominous Atmosphere Is Surrounding Celsior! Is This Okay?〉

I found myself muttering while reading the articles without realizing it.

“Really, what do they know to speak so carelessly.”

Carl being crazy, what nonsense.

‘My bondservant was perfectly fine!’

I had also heard plenty about the bad reputation that followed Carl in the past, but when I watched him without any prejudice, he was a completely different person from the rumors.

Of course, I don’t know exactly how he was in the past……

Anyway, Carl wasn’t a madman like people were chattering about.

I let out a deep sigh, closed the newspaper, and flopped down on the bed. Mandy carefully approached my side.

“Miss, would you like some cake?”

“No……”

“Then is there anything else you’d like to eat? I’ll bring it right away.”

“It’s fine, I’m not hungry.”

When I waved my hand, Mandy made a tearful face and said.

“But you’ve been skipping meals frequently since you returned.”

“I don’t have an appetite.”

“You’re not sick anywhere, are you?”

“Not at all. I just…… feel a bit empty.”

Among the many people in this mansion, only Carl, just one person, had disappeared.

An inexplicable sense of loss dominated me. The saying that you don’t know a place when someone is there but you know when they’re gone seemed to fit perfectly.

‘He said he’d come to meet me. When will he come, this guy……’

I sighed and drooped. Even looking at the newspapers, Carl seemed to have no leisure. I knew in my head that I couldn’t rush him, but I couldn’t help being anxious.

When exactly would I be able to see him.

It was the very next day that an unexpected visitor came to me while I was agonizing.