Chapter 6: Liberation
Five days after Duke Randert departed for the imperial capital, Bayul arrived in Hamilton as well. It stung a little to part with his friends so soon after reuniting with them, but a part of him looked forward to what awaited him back home.
"Kyeng!"
The first to greet Bayul as he stepped down from the carriage was, of course, Jasper. The dog cut straight through the rain and came bounding up to fling himself into his master's arms.
"Woof woof woof!"
Right on his heels came the Gem Foursome, racing after him at breakneck speed as if it were some kind of contest. Sure enough, they had grown so much that Bayul could barely recognize them.
"Whoa, you've all gotten so big! Jasper! Citrine! Rose! Smoky! Crystal! Have you all been well?"
The moment he called out the names his father had given them himself, the dogs each barked back in response as if they actually understood.
"Young Master, please be careful."
Unlike before, all five of them had pounced at once, and Bayul had no hope of holding his ground. When he wobbled and nearly toppled over, Ian quickly reached out to steady him by the back. His other hand was still holding an umbrella, shielding Bayul from the downpour.
"Jasper! So you don't see me as your master today either?"
"Kyeng kyeng kyeng!"
"Hmph, fine by me. I have my own priorities these days, you know. Ruby—!"
Jasper's excuses didn't work on her today. Rita turned her head away from him with theatrical disdain and called for Ruby instead, and Ruby, who had been watching from a distance, came running over with her tail wagging.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
The Gem Foursome, who had been busy licking Bayul all over, dutifully followed their mother and transferred their affections to Rita. They seemed to know exactly where their meals would be coming from from now on.
"Eek, why are you all crowding me! Go on, shoo!"
Rita's skirt was a mess in seconds. She grumbled that her beloved going-out dress had gotten filthy, but there wasn't a trace of displeasure anywhere on her face. If anything, her beaming smile looked like the picture of pure delight. It was the smile she only ever wore when they came to Hamilton.
"It would be so nice if my master smiled like that at the sight of me……"
Bar, who had been stuck as a walking target for scolding ever since returning from the Demon Realm, muttered gloomily to himself without realizing it. He had startled everyone with his suddenly improved cooking right before they left for the Demon Realm, but for whatever reason, his skills had reverted right back to their original state.
Bar was crushed by that miserable reality, and Rita had nearly fainted clutching the back of her neck, screaming that she was losing her mind. She'd shrieked herself hoarse demanding to know where everything she'd taught him had gone, but the most frustrated of them all was Bar himself. He'd only done exactly as he was told, and the sheer injustice of it kept him up at night. The one silver lining was that his remaining arm was still intact.
"My goodness, you've all grown so much in no time. Cuter every time I see them."
At some point, Amon had joined Rita's crowd. Gazing over the Gem Foursome with those unseeing eyes of his, he stroked them diligently one by one.
If anyone lays a hand on my meat again this time, I will not let it slide!
Death, for his part, glared at the Gem Foursome with a fire in his belly, sworn to defend his food at all costs. With how scarce food was in Hamilton, he was bound to be prickly for a while.
"Young Master, it's cold out. Let's get you inside."
At Ian's urging, Bayul finally tore his eyes away from Jasper and straightened up. In that brief moment, every last servant in the castle had come out and was bowing respectfully to him.
"Oh no, everyone's been standing out here in the rain because of me!"
Feeling terribly sorry, Bayul hurried them all inside.
Hamilton hadn't changed one bit. The rain was still coming down in torrents, and a bone-deep chill seeped through to his very marrow.
I have to put a stop to this rain before long. I will.
Bayul thought briefly of Innocent and made himself that promise. The moment his preparations were complete, he intended to act.
Once even the servants had come indoors, Butler Cunning and housekeeper Joanna stepped forward to greet him once more.
"Young Master Bayul, thank heavens you're safe!"
"We're so glad to have you home in good health!"
Their eyes, fixed on Bayul, brimmed with emotion.
Only days earlier, word had reached them that Bayul had died. It had been a bolt from the blue, devastating news out of a clear sky. He had been in perfect health at the start of summer break, and then they heard that the Young Master had been attacked during the festival and had passed away. At first, no one could believe it.
After all, no one had ever imagined assassins would storm the academy itself and commit such an act.
Between the Duke's sudden departure for Carrington and the message that Bayul had come back to life, Hamilton had been darkness itself. The peaceful everyday life they had enjoyed since the end of the Ten-Year War had shattered in an instant.
If the one son they had left were to leave them too, their lord would truly be alone in the world. They couldn't help worrying, wondering what they would do if they had to watch their master crumble all over again.
And yet in the midst of all that, the Young Master had miraculously come back to life and returned home looking no different than before.
"Bayul……"
But when had that face appeared among the servants?
The owner of a visage that looked carved straight from her uncle's features—Derrick's younger sister, and Bayul's cousin, Lilith. She had come ahead of time to see him.
"…Lilith?"
It had been more than two years, but he recognized her at a glance. In the meantime, his cousin had gone from girl to woman. She had always been lovely, but with maturity layered over that youthful grace, her whole air had changed.
"It's really been far too long!"
Bayul rushed over to Lilith with utter delight.
"Hee hee, it has been a while, hasn't it?"
She looked a little awkward, perhaps from the same stiffness, but in truth Lilith was every bit as glad to see Bayul.
"How have you been? I heard you'd started your bridal lessons!"
"Getting by, I suppose. But Bayul—are you really all right now?"
News of Bayul had naturally reached his uncle's household as well. Hearing that the cousin they thought dead was alive and coming home, they could hardly sit still. Told he would arrive around today, Lilith had been waiting here since morning.
Her father had received the Duke's message and gone straight up to the imperial capital, and her brother Derrick was still locked away in prison. Her mother had pleaded poor health and put things off until later, but Lilith knew better than anyone that it was an excuse. Her mother would likely never come to see Bayul again.
"Oh—of course you were worried! I didn't even think of that."
It simply hadn't crossed his mind. He had worried her through no fault of her own, and the apology came flooding in, late as it was.
"I'm so relieved you came back safe. It was a bit unfair that I cried over you, but this is so much better that I'll let it go."
Watching her crack a joke first so he wouldn't feel guilty, Bayul could tell that Lilith hadn't changed a bit. He remembered well how thoughtful and kind she had always been to her frail younger cousin.
Just as he'd thought—his cousin was nothing like Derrick.
"Lilith, come on, let's head inside and catch up properly!"
They couldn't keep the servants pinned at the entrance forever. Only once Bayul moved would everyone return to their duties.
"I shall have warm tea brought in at once."
Only when Butler Cunning gave the signal did the servants scatter quickly to their posts. The Death brothers trailed after Rita toward the kitchen, while Bayul went with Lilith to the drawing room.
"So Father has escorted His Highness the Crown Prince back to the capital, I take it?"
Lilith had heard only that Bayul was alive; she knew none of the details. With her father off to the imperial capital, she had her guesses, but seeing Bayul return alone, he somehow looked lonely to her. She understood why her uncle had to see to the Crown Prince before his own son—but she couldn't help feeling sorry for her cousin all the same.
"That's how it is. And it seems he'll be marching to war soon."
"To war?"
At Bayul's abrupt words, Lilith's already wide eyes grew rounder still.
"Don't tell me they've already found who was behind it?"
Bayul explained briefly that the one who had ordered the attack was Emperor Royan of Dwyat. Lilith had worn a stunned expression at the name she'd never expected, and when it came out that the real target of the assassination had been Bayul himself, she let out a sharp gasp.
"How could anyone do such a thing…!"
They had tried to kill the only son of Duke Randert. He truly had died and come back to life, which meant, in effect, that the assassination had succeeded. But of course, his resurrection did not erase their crime.
The crime of daring to harm the son of Duke Randert.
It was nothing that could be brushed aside.
War was gathering over the continent once more.
"Bayul, I'm so glad you're safe."
Lilith let out a long breath and felt the tension drain from her shoulders. The mere thought of Bayul dying was horrific. She had already lost a cousin once. It must never happen again.
"And… I'm sorry."
"…?"
The truth was, this was what Lilith had most wanted to say.
"That must have been a shock, huh?"
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"…About Derrick."
"Oh. That……"
Everything that had happened had been so enormous that he'd completely forgotten. Until just before the festival began, Derrick had weighed on his mind now and then, but once he returned to Hamilton, it hadn't crossed his mind at all.
"…How is he doing?"
Somehow it felt strange to be the one asking, but he couldn't very well not ask.
"He seems fine. It's just as well—this finally made him quit gambling."
"Gambling?"
"You didn't hear?"
"Don't tell me… the reason Derrick embezzled the minerals was gambling?"
It was a reason he'd never imagined. Bayul reeled in disbelief, and Lilith offered a bitter smile.
"It's actually been going on for a while now. Then he racked up debts. He's my brother, but isn't he an absolute fool? Bayul, I'm so embarrassed to even show you my face."
"…Are you all right, though?"
"I'm fine. I just have no face to show your father or you."
"And your father—how has he taken it?"
He could only imagine the shock must have been considerable. His own father had surely been no less stunned.
"He flew into a rage and ordered him locked in prison himself. And judging by how he hasn't visited Derrick even once, he'll be holding out for quite a while."
"I see……"
Though none of it was his fault, Bayul felt an odd pang of guilt. Since he was the one who had uncovered Derrick's crimes and brought them to light, it felt almost as though he had shattered an otherwise whole family. For an instant, the venomous glare of Derrick's mother flashed through his mind.
"…I know your mother came to see you. If she said anything that hurt you that day, I want to apologize in her place."
"No, Lilith! You mustn't say such things!"
"She's my mother. Which means the apology has to come from me."
There was something quietly heartbreaking about Lilith's expression.
Bayul had seen the hidden side of his aunt, the side she had kept concealed for so many long years. And it seemed Lilith had known it all along. The look on her face now was that of a daughter disappointed in her own parent.
"I should have stopped him from the very beginning, and I couldn't. My mother tends to get carried away whenever it's about my brother."
"Lilith, I'm fine. You don't have to explain all that—I understand exactly how you feel."
"But……"
"Nothing you're worried about actually happened, so please don't fret."
"…You really mean nothing at all happened? That can't be true……"
Something had happened. But if he told her, Lilith would only be more hurt, more guilt-ridden. He didn't want to be the one to put that feeling in her.
"Your mother was doing it for her son's sake. Honestly, I think it was only natural. And it's all in the past now. Derrick is paying for what he did, too. Why don't we drop the painful topics and talk about something else instead?"
"Something else?"
"Yeah—like, say, the man you're going to marry?"
Lilith's wedding was fast approaching. Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, and thankfully, unlike Derrick's match, hers seemed unlikely to fall through.
"So what kind of person is my future brother-in-law? Now I'm curious!"
"…Bayul, you really have changed so much, haven't you?"
"Huh?"
"I heard you'd recovered your health. I couldn't send my congratulations directly, but I was happy for you all the same. Still, I never imagined you'd brighten up this much. Academy life must truly agree with you."
So much had changed since Bayul had enrolled at Carrington Academy. It hadn't even been a full year yet—what on earth had transformed him so completely?
"Honestly, seeing you like this, I'd bet stories about your academy life would be far more entertaining than talk of my wedding. Have you made lots of friends? How do you like living in the dorms? Are your grades good? Surely you're not bringing disgrace upon our family name, are you?"
Lilith's barrage of questions came one after another. And so, far from hearing about his future brother-in-law, Bayul spent the entire day pouring out story after story about the academy instead.