“…The question of the Young Duke’s baptism certainly seems to be nonsense. I’ll stop it.”

When the Emperor shook his head and declared, Duke Orlando jumped up and spoke.

“To be honest, it’s really strange that he never set foot in the temple, isn’t it? Then, there is only one conclusion. As for the scam doctor, this is all to drive me away by releasing false information.”

The Duke’s relentless words seemed to go on endlessly, causing fatigue to settle among the attendees at the lengthy meeting.

“Honestly, what is the priest going to do here? Hurry up and tell me what you’re here for, priest. Can you swear in the name of God that you came without a plan?”

Duke Orlando’s anger was now directed towards the nonchalant Marcel, who found himself trapped by the Duke’s cunning questions and arguments.

In his role as judge, the Duke persisted in pressuring Marcel, presenting sharp and difficult-to-answer inquiries. Marcel, however, maintained his composure, listening attentively and responding calmly.

“I can’t understand, because I’m not good at the imperial language. I’m sorry.”

As the meeting dragged on and boredom permeated the room, a sense of calm descended. The Emperor, who had harbored hopes for Duke Orlando, silently released a deep sigh, realizing there was little he could do to intervene.

“Anyway, we had good intentions… black magic shouldn’t come out into the world.”

In a feeble voice, I, who had been resurrected through dark magic, uttered my words. Even now, I lacked shame and conscience…

The one who initiated contact was the other side.

“Our family is more sincere than anyone else to the imperial family and temple… it is truly regrettable that the opposite has become public opinion.”

I had to say such a statement due to my seemingly gentle demeanor. This was because, at first glance, father and Evan didn’t seem to take the Imperial family and the temple seriously.

“If this is true, that wizard should be detained immediately.”

Elanie spoke with cunning in her voice.

The wizard grimaced in pain, but considering that he had violated the rules from the beginning, it was an inevitable ending.

“Your Majesty, I will take care of this. I’m also trying to figure out the purchase list somehow. I need to go after that assassin who was released.”

The Emperor responded quickly to her ensuing words.

“That would be easy. You can use that truth drug directly on that wizard.”

But at that, Elanie shook her head.

“No, Your Majesty. When this drug becomes commercially available, the world will be terrified. The truth drug may scare them all from leaving the house.”

Releasing a drug that forced people to speak the truth uncontrollably just by inhaling it was certain to create immense chaos.

“It’s the role of the Imperial Family to ban it, so we can’t use it ourselves. Shouldn’t we set an example for the people of the Empire?”

As I gazed into Elanie’s radiant golden eyes, I was slightly moved.

In my past life, I had developed a strong fondness for the way I lived in my current life. It deviated slightly from my previous conviction of ‘I can do it, but you can’t.’

Similar to Lady Olivia’s thorough self-awareness, I possessed a keen sense of self-understanding, and I didn’t particularly enjoy being a leader like myself. It was a wise decision to heed my brother’s advice and refrain from establishing a dynasty.

Elanie answered sharply.

“This wizard has already violated the minimum ethics as a researcher, and that research product will also deserve to be discarded forever. I plan to do a fair investigation.”

It befitted the next Emperor that I should support.

Releasing a sigh, I fluttered my eyelashes as if gathering my resolve and speaking with newfound courage.

“And Duke Orlando… it was too much to manipulate the evidence in this way while even making it public.”

Of course, I was the one who manipulated the evidence…

“There are actually no real witnesses.”

Certainly, none of our witnesses were actually decent, but…

“To frame my family with things that are not true.”

Obviously, the facts were mixed in quite a bit…

“I feel so bad that father, who brought me who had nowhere to go with good intentions, is being framed like this.”

It was true that he didn’t bring it with good intentions, but still…

Father, Evan, and I wore expressions befitting shameless and conscienceless villains as if we were the most despised beings in the world. It was reminiscent of what father had mentioned before – that once you grow accustomed to it, such treatment becomes bearable.

We maintained our composure even in the presence of those who openly sought to harm us!

“Duke Orlando.”

As father slowly opened his mouth, a low, cool voice made the atmosphere freeze at once.

“Six years ago, you sent a spy who looked like Matilda to the Duke’s residence, and a while ago, there was a bombing.”

“What, what is that…!”

“I didn’t even make a public debate because the subordinates who said your name died. Did public debate that brings all these precious people together seem so easy to have?”

“You put such a false accusation on your own…”

“Even I, who felt the threat to my life, did not dare to speak publicly in front of the Emperor, but it is so amazing that a scammer asked for a meeting like this.”

Father, who had been played by the same scammer for seven years, even laughed dumbfoundedly.

“Since the temple and the Imperial Family have been called, just as the person himself said earlier…”

And he looked at the Emperor and spoke leisurely.

“Your Majesty, I think a punishment of demotion and confiscation of part of the territory should be given.”

As expected, such words were suitable for father, who did not have a good impression.

Having written all these scripts, I nodded my head in agreement with an innocent face.

* * *

When Medor was apprehended in Avonitar seven years ago, the Imperial Family remained clueless. After all, Medor was an assassin who moved with the stealth of a shadow.

However, the situation had changed now.

With Medor’s physical abilities significantly diminished, he could no longer conceal his presence completely. It meant that if I simply waited patiently, Elanie would eventually uncover the connection between Medor and Duke Orlando and take appropriate action.

Following the public debate, we proudly made a stop at the temple. Even Evan, who had undergone baptism by Marcel, accompanied us.

“The late Lady Matilda used to pray often.”

The high priest addressed us cautiously. Matilda would come here whenever she felt her strength waning, offering the same heartfelt prayers as always.

[ “Everything else is fine… I’m worried about the person who will be left behind. Who else but me will smile kindly at my husband’s words…” ]

Previously, father and the High Priest struggled to engage in a proper conversation due to father’s incessant focus on the holy relics. However, now, at long last, they were able to have a meaningful conversation.

“You’ve had all sorts of worries, Matilda.”

Father muttered with a smile.

In truth, it was not a matter that could be dismissed as a mere ‘major concern.’ Once again, I made a firm commitment to work diligently towards the revival of Duchy Icard and to continue the days when everyone relied on father. It was an abnormal situation, to say the least.

Regardless of how rotten it may be, I believed that the God of the temple must have heard Lady Matilda’s prayers.

Whether it was the devil or God who responded to her pleas, I would always stand by the side of Icard.

“Everybody likes it except for a few people.”

In an effort to diminish the significant number of those ‘few,’ I decided to assume the role left behind by the retired villain Mage.

“Then, let’s go.”

In any case, father’s expression as he spoke about Lady Matilda was noticeably lighter than before.

Witnessing this, both Evan and I felt a sense of ease. Father had refrained from making those peculiar jokes for quite some time now. It must have been around the time Serena predicted my death was approaching.

Thanks to the contract between the devil and Evan, I managed to survive.

As I departed from the temple, I silently offered my gratitude. Thank you, thank you regardless. It was such a wonderful day that I wanted to shout my appreciation to either God or the devil.

On that very same day, Seymour was also released from the Duke’s residence.

“I wanted to kill him from the first moment I saw him…”

Evan grumbled, mentioning that he had resisted the urge to kill Seymour for the 200th time. He couldn’t help but mutter a few more times about the impossibility of confessing to a married woman.

Viewing it from that perspective, I supposed I should consider him fortunate for being able to leave the Duke’s residence unscathed, thanks to Elanie’s intervention.

“Still, since it happened when you contracted with Neo, Seymour is also a victim.”

I reassured Evan, speaking carefully.

While I couldn’t divulge the full circumstances, I felt a tinge of sympathy for Seymour nonetheless. If it weren’t for me, he could have been twice as wealthy…

In the midst of it all, I had intentionally suppressed my conscience due to the busyness of my life. However, this time I made the decision to offer a genuine apology. So, while watching Seymour depart from the Duke’s residence, I penned a letter to Sven.

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