Epilogue: <em>Dementia: Lost Memories</em>
"You've been through a lot."
Even in the darkness, her blue eyes shone brightly.
The black-haired female investigator unlocked the handcuffs that had been clamping down on his wrists.
Clank!
As the heavy metal clump rolled across the floor, the old man stared at it blankly and asked.
"......What happened?"
"We've caught the real culprits. The perpetrators are the gardener Philip who worked at the mansion and Lady Margareta Lancaster."
The investigator explained the full story to Claude.
The gardener Philip and Margareta Lancaster had been secret lovers, but they clashed with her father, Edmund Lancaster, over an arranged marriage.
In the end, she confronted her father about her relationship with Philip, revealed that she was pregnant with his child, and threatened to kill herself if he didn't let her keep it.
She had already been placed on near-expulsion probation at the academy for an unsavory incident, so Edmund Lancaster had no choice but to accept her demand.
In place of that, he began taking out his frustration on Claude, who had brought Philip into the household as a servant.
But Philip's depraved behavior didn't stop there. He got caught by the viscount after sleeping around with other maids—including Jaina and the rest.
That was also why the viscount had privately met with Sheriff Gilbert Crawford, with whom he had bad blood over corruption issues.
In the end, after hearing everything, Philip and Margareta teamed up and murdered the viscount before the report could be filed.
"......"
The old man let out a groan after hearing the whole tale.
To be honest, he had known.
The gardener Philip was the vigorous young boy he saw every time he visited his hometown.
He was neat in appearance, diligent in everything, and popular thanks to his silver tongue.
That's why he had given him a chance. But he never imagined he'd get involved with Lady Margareta.
If he had known, he never would have brought him into the mansion.
"What will happen to Philip and the lady?"
"The gardener will probably get the death penalty for murdering a noble. Lady Margareta has the added charge of killing her parent, so even as a noble's daughter, she won't escape a heavy sentence."
The old man nodded.
They were the ones who had framed him.
He couldn't pity them. He was human, after all.
But the bitterness and emptiness were unavoidable.
Claude Penwick.
He had served the Lancaster family from the previous viscount all the way to Edmund Lancaster.
—Take good care of my son, my friend......
Claude remembered his master's voice, fading as he withered away.
It had been a vicious plague.
He wasn't a noble of his own territory, but he never hesitated to care for the subjects of the county where Claude resided. A true humanitarian.
That might be why Edmund had gone astray.
Having lost his parents at a young age, it was understandable how his personality had turned arrogant.
But now, even pity had no meaning.
With both his past and future masters gone, where was a butler like him to go?
"This is compensation. It's about all the investigation bureau can offer."
The investigator handed him a small pouch.
It contained six gold coins.
Compensation and severance pay in one.
As Claude let out a hollow laugh, the investigator bowed in apology.
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. By the way...... I heard that mage cleared my name."
"Yes. Without the evidence confirmed there, the supplementary investigation wouldn't have happened."
"Where can I find him?"
"He usually stays at the Central Imperial Magic Library. His name is Yujin Feltro, the third son of the Feltro Count."
"Yujin Feltro...... Understood."
The old man thanked the investigator who had come to see him off one last time, then headed toward the library.
"May I serve you, young master?"
"????"
It was closing time at the library. I'd just shooed out the shut-in mages and was about to lock up.
"Who are you talking about?"
I asked with a dumb look on my face, and Claude politely pointed at me with both hands.
I was flustered.
Why serve me all of a sudden?
Sure, I'd helped clear his wrongful accusation.
To be precise, it was my invention, the "Dimension" and "Dementia: Lost Memories."
But our connection ended there.
I was just cooperating with the bureau's official request on the "Lancaster Vice-Count Murder Case."
Claude was the innocent victim of that same case.
There was nothing left tying us together.
But Claude's eyes sparkled through the wrinkles as he replied.
"I have nowhere left to go."
"Why not? The Lancaster family hasn't been completely wiped out—"
"Haha, Young Master Feltro. Who would take in a butler who's lost two masters?"
"......"
I knew all too well the harshness of noble society.
That's part of why I'd seriously followed Master Arkythia and holed up in this quiet library—to avoid it.
I was sick of it in my past life and this one alike. The judgmental stares that sized people up.
Spending time bantering with Wiki over dumb jokes and making games was way more productive than dancing at noble parties and sipping champagne.
No one cared about the third son of a fallen count anyway.
......Like the discrimination a washed-up director faces at his company.
In that sense, Claude wouldn't be welcome in any noble house.
And he was too old.
Maybe his career had ended the moment he got framed—or when the vice-count died.
Seeming to realize I understood, Claude nodded slowly.
"It doesn't matter. You don't have to pay me. I can handle things on my own. But I've served others my whole life, so I just need someone to serve. Truth be told, you saved my life. It's only right I repay my benefactor."
"I get that, but I'm not as great as you think."
My family was still thriving.
My brothers were hitting new peaks every day.
While I flirted with Liana and made board games, they were rubbing shoulders with the empire's core powers.
But I didn't even live in the mansion, had no servants for a butler to manage, and sure as hell didn't have fancy titles like "Empire's Youngest Inspection Team Leader" or nicknames like "Dragon Slayer."
Even Liana called me something ridiculous like "Academy's Heretical Student Council President Whatever" ^that long thing^.
That was the extent of my descriptors.
A seasoned butler with experience and skill wasn't worth his final housekeeping gig on someone like me.
"It doesn't matter."
But Claude's gaze was unwavering. No pretense.
Truth be told, I couldn't resist this emotional appeal.
My innate sentimentality blocked my cold, rational judgment.
Then I suddenly remembered Master—and the library's routine deep clean in a few days.
Deep clean. Last year was brutal even with magic.
A butler who managed a mansion that size had to be way more capable than me, right......?
At that thought, the old butler in front of me looked like a ★6 limited-edition character dropped from the sky.
"......If you're that set on it, how about working at the library?"
"The magic library? Unfortunately, I have no talent for magic......"
"Ah, you don't need to use magic here. I graduated from the academy and I'm still only 2nd Circle."
"I can't even handle circles at all."
"But you can clean and organize books, right? You can read, too. And besides......"
I made an offer I knew he couldn't refuse.
"My master is pretty scatterbrained. It's exhausting managing everything myself. But with someone as experienced as you helping, library work would be a breeze."
"Well now, and who might this master be......?"
"Archmage Arkythia. The continent's only 8th Circle space mage."
Suddenly, Claude's eyebrows shot up.
I didn't know those old eyes could get that wide.
"Library management is entirely up to me right now. I've never done it before, but I can hire staff at my discretion. Master Arkythia lives in the lab on the third floor, so you could handle that too."
A 2nd Circle game dev Yujin Feltro's butler? Whatever.
But an 8th Circle archmage's butler?
Not a bad title for a final career.
Claude Penwick seemed to ponder for a moment, then cautiously spoke.
"Would that...... really be okay......?"
I grinned and took the old butler's hand.
"Looking forward to working with you."
Jackpot. Yeah, I needed a proper career vet colleague instead of a slacking spirit.
Claude relaxed and smiled brighter than ever.
"By the way, Young Master Yujin."
"You're library staff now, so just call me Librarian Yujin. No point flaunting nobility in front of mages anyway."
"Ah...... yes, got it. Understood, Librarian Yujin."
"Yes. Is there something else on your mind?"
"Nothing much, but when I was in that eerie mansion, something bothered me."
I jumped in surprise.
What? Did he find a bug?
I'd rushed the deadline and skipped proper debugging.
I pulled out my notebook.
Couldn't miss this valuable QA chance.
"How did you recreate the viscount's voice?"
"Huh?"
"At the very end, after gathering all the remains and tidying up, he sincerely thanked me, apologized, and said farewell. I asked the investigators, and they said it was all fake magic...... But it felt too real."
"I didn't add any such feature......?"
"No, it was definitely the viscount's voice. I couldn't mistake it...... He even said it was his fault for not raising his children properly."
The pursuer "Edmund's Wraith," recycled from Jack the Ripper assets, is set not to appear after the soul rests.
No dialogue exists, and neither I nor Wiki even knew the viscount's real voice.
"......"
A chill ran down my spine.
Dementia. Never play this solo.
And exactly one week later.
"Did my little Yujin miss his master?"
Archmage Arkythia had arrived.