Conclusion
"To create such a tiresome scene with needless, cunning perjury..."
The wrinkles etched deep into his face by the passage of time spoke of age, but the distinctive air of authority had not faded from the Alfred family elder. He fixed his serpentine eyes on the corpse of the deceased Ciel Midford.
Ferzen, maintaining an impassive expression, turned his back and walked toward Euphemia.
"Euphemia."
"..."
She wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve, biting her lip to stifle any sobs, and looked up at Ferzen.
"Go back to the mansion first."
"You... you're..."
"Do you have the spare energy to worry about me...?"
With a faint sigh laced into his words, as if gently chiding her, Euphemia drooped her head powerlessly at Ferzen's remark.
He was right. Staying here any longer would only tarnish his dignity.
But why was this?
"Y-Yes..."
Her mouth assented, yet her hand had already softly clutched at the hem of Ferzen's clothes.
No... she had meant to.
"I-I'll... wait for you..."
Her hand, failing to reach and hovering in the air, fell like a fallen leaf.
Swish.
"Ah..."
But Ferzen, who had watched her silently, caught Euphemia's hand and tenderly smoothed her disheveled hair.
The affection etched into his fingertips—whether genuine or feigned, she couldn't tell...
—made Euphemia feel as though her tears might burst forth at any moment.
"Let me correct myself."
"..."
"Euphemia."
"..."
"Wait for me."
"..."
"I shall return without delay..."
It was a small difference.
Yet it changed everything.
"Yes..."
"I'll be waiting for you..."
The mansion in the capital. That place was now her home.
No... not quite.
Ferzen von Schweig Ruerg. The man who now shared her family name had become the place she returned to.
Yes, the gilded cage had become her nest.
The warmest, most comfortable one in the world...
Watching Euphemia's retreating figure as she departed first, I shifted my steps and returned to stand before Ciel Midford.
"Count."
"Yes."
"If you have no particular wishes, I shall incinerate it here."
The corpse of an Aura Knight was certainly rare.
But due to the realm he had reached in life and the physical damage from burns, its value was diminished.
The blessings of the Five Blessings Gods did not apply after death, after all.
Moreover, given that he had attempted to assassinate the Brutein bloodline, the Emperor seemed inclined to dispose of it immediately if I did not claim ownership.
"I shall take possession of it."
"Hm..."
The Emperor of the Ernes Empire.
The King of the Robelium Kingdom.
The Alfred family elder.
The head of Brutein, my brother.
All wore expressions of unexpected surprise.
Of course they would.
Brutein preserved the corpses of past heads who had awakened mana in pristine condition through long history.
Yet no one raised objections or questions.
They couldn't.
What grounds did a third party have to interfere in the choice of the very victim targeted for assassination by this criminal?
"Very well... so be it."
"Yes."
I activated Corpse Servitude on Ciel Midford's body, making it rise in place.
Then, stroking the ring on my left hand to open the subspatial altar, I had it enter on its own before severing the connection.
Afterward, I activated my special ability—Quantification—to straighten the slightly crooked ring, then quietly exhaled a sigh tinged with inexplicable sentiment.
"With this, the execution of the criminal Ciel Midford is concluded. Inas den Proissen Robelium, his master, shall fulfill the demanded conditions within three weeks of returning to his kingdom."
At the words of the Ernes Empire's sun, His Majesty the Emperor, Prince Inas, kneeling beside the King of Robelium, bowed his head deeply and opened his trembling lips.
"So it shall be done..."
And so, on May 23rd, Ciel Midford's execution came to a close.
"This should keep things quiet for the time being..."
As I quietly exited the Imperial Palace, I murmured to Jeremiah.
"Yes, likely so."
As head of Brutein, he was busy, and once I returned to routine, I wouldn't have the leisure to travel up to Brutein in person.
"Are you heading back immediately?"
"I've been away too long... I must."
Climbing into the Brutein-emblazoned carriage in the palace's inner stables, Jeremiah offered a faint smile.
"Ferzen."
"Yes."
"Your birthday is coming up soon."
"Don't send any gifts. I'm past that age."
"I thought a touch of childishness now might suit you."
"..."
"Very well. Then... baby supplies. Practical and not childish, right? Children grow so fast; I can send them every birthday without worry."
"If it's that much..."
"Of course, whether you're truly working on an heir..."
"I am. So you should marry soon, brother."
Jeremiah was still unmarried.
"Haha... it's not entirely up to me."
"As for me..."
Ferzen's ego twitched faintly, but suppressing it, I spoke with sincerity.
"If there's a woman you love, I won't concern myself with her status. Human character doesn't always follow bloodlines."
At my words—perhaps a moment of self-reflection—Jeremiah's eyes widened.
"You've become quite the outlier in many ways."
"Say I've matured."
"Yes, then... my beloved little brother Ferzen."
"..."
His call, embarrassingly cringeworthy, made me avert my gaze, unable to meet his eyes.
"Until next time."
"Yes... safe travels. It was a pleasure."
And a joy.
...Brother.
Twitch!
As the carriage door was about to close, my final words, softly resounding, made Jeremiah turn back.
He smiled kindly, then departed leisurely for Brutein.
Immediately after, I headed toward the opposite gate from which Jeremiah would pass, exiting the capital.
I still had unfinished business.
A wide, neatly paved road suited for carriages.
Veering from its roadside, I stepped into a secluded forest devoid of any human presence.
This should be far enough...
Even if I burned the corpse, only beasts or birds would be drawn by the scent.
Convinced of that, I stroked the ring on my left hand to open the subspatial altar and placed Ciel Midford before me.
His grotesque form, marred by burns across his body and fused armor.
It was hard to call the state of this world's protagonist—standing at the opposite pole of my fate—even passably good.
Gazing at him, I quietly spoke.
"Ciel Midford."
"..."
As expected, no response.
Cautiously radiating mana, I activated Corpse Servitude on his body and methodically received feedback.
If the enemy had any sense, they wouldn't have shown Ciel Midford clues identifying themselves.
Still, I couldn't skip the check, so I held onto his corpse for quite some time.
In the end, the successfully received feedback...
Was, naturally, only vague suspicions I already half-guessed.
The perjury implicating the Alfred family was aided by an unidentified man...
That was all.
"Ha..."
A hollow laugh escaped me as I retrieved the coffin containing Bayern von Grieel Brutein, the 27th head.
"Forgive my rudeness."
Activating him, I lit a cigarette dangling from my lips.
Fwoosh!
A bird perched quietly beside startled at the smell and flew into the sky.
What was the enemy's intent...?
After intending lethal poisoning, did they plan to steal the body en route to incineration?
No.
Even swapping the poison was barely feasible for an insider.
But smuggling a criminal's corpse—who had targeted the Brutein bloodline—without detection was near impossible.
...
Thus, the remaining hypothesis was one.
They had banked on the slim chance that I would claim Ciel Midford's corpse.
Recall how the commoner students from Class B with black magic talent died in the assault incident.
Their assigned corpses revived and slit their throats.
The enemy likely hoped for something similar—to kill me that way.
"What a truly fucked, fateful path."
Incongruously crude words spilled from my lips as I exhaled smoke.
"Don't you think, Ciel Midford...?"
"..."
"Your heroine stolen by the villain, defeated by that villain, burning your life without fearing death... only to have even your death faked, toyed with by others..."
Haha...!
"A protagonist with such a pitiful, dogshit life... I've never seen one in my life."
"..."
What thoughts did the author have in creating you?
And in trapping me in this body?
For a while, I stood rooted in place.
If the injected drug revived him around tonight...
I wanted to wait and at least reveal whose hand ended him.
Euphemia... I made a promise I couldn't keep.
I'd said I'd return without delay, but it seemed I'd be very late.
Thus, the sun slowly set, dusk fell, and night arrived.
Yet even past midnight...
Ciel Midford showed no signs of stirring.
"..."
My patience had reached its limit, so I extinguished the last of my chain-smoked cigarettes and reached into the subspatial altar.
"I—no, Lee Seojin—liked you."
Because your story was one of tenaciously surviving against all odds.
Reader Lee Seojin was drawn to the appeal of your life.
So he raged alongside you at the villain stealing your heroine.
Though it ended like this...
Pop—!
Uncorking a bottle of wine, I poured it over Ciel Midford's head.
A pleasant, tart aroma wafted gently.
"Ciel Midford."
"..."
"This world has no reincarnation..."
So.
"Next time, dream impossible dreams."
And achieve them.
"Fight unwinnable foes."
And seize victory.
"Chase unattainable love."
And claim it.
"Endure unbearable pain..."
And grasp stars beyond reach.
Roar!
Using the 27th head, I converted mana to flame and incinerated Ciel Midford's body.
Watching him burn amid the acrid stench...
I drained the remaining wine from the bottle and placed the half-smoked cigarette back between his lips.
Crackle...!
Thus, Ciel Midford—the protagonist diametrically opposed to the villain—slowly turned to ash.
Carried off by the wind, his remnants began their journey.
Gazing at that, I murmured quietly.
"Even with you dead..."
This world doesn't end.
The wind still blows.
The stars still sparkle in the sky.
The moon still illuminates the darkness.
Everything rolls on, indifferent to the protagonist's death.
Proof that this world is unequivocally real.
Crackle...
Soon, the scant ashes scattered entirely on the wind.
Staring at the scorched grass patch left behind, I closed my eyes.
Mana churned within me.
At Euclid rank, my mana quality limit was four faces.
To advance to three dimensions, I needed two more—and that void filled, forming a perfect solid.
Yes, devouring the fateful clouds of the protagonist at the opposite pole.
The villain I became an Apollyon-rank black mage.
"..."
The wind billowed my suit jacket.
Savoring the bittersweet yet exhilarating aftertaste for a time, I rose from where I'd sat so long.
Others won't know your true final moments.
But...
"I shall remember."
As the villain, I will never forget your death, protagonist, for the rest of my life.
With that, I departed.
Thereafter, the empty spot seemed as if nothing had been there.
Only a cool night breeze blew quietly, tickling the new grass.
"..."
Lights were on.
Bright ones, at that.
Had Euphemia not slept until this hour?
Feeling profound physical and mental fatigue, I passed the main gate and opened the mansion door.
"Ah! Master...!"
A maid rushed to me, fidgeting anxiously.
But my eyes went more to the physician standing behind her.
"Master!"
Ignoring the maid's call, I swiftly ascended and flung open the bedroom door.
Bang!
"..."
Yet Euphemia was fine.
She sat demurely on the bed, reading—or pretending to read—a dull book.
Her gaze fixed on the pages, but her eyes weren't moving.
"Ah..."
Finally noticing me so very late, Euphemia let out a soft exhale in response.
"Are you unwell?"
"N-No..."
She quietly shook her head.
"I saw the physician downstairs. Don't think to lie."
"I-I'm not... sick..."
"Euphemia."
"It's not... that I'm sick..."
Cautiously, with a dazed expression, she caressed her belly.
"I'm... pregnant... He said I have your child..."
"..."
"The physician said so."
In a tone devoid of reality, almost vacant, Euphemia continued murmuring.
"Here... in my belly, your seed... is growing..."
"..."
At her words, without hesitation.
Without doubt.
Without a single word.
Quietly, tenderly, gently.
I pulled her into my embrace.
"Hic... sob...!"
Soon after, the maids and physician followed...
And informed me: three weeks pregnant.
Yes. Euphemia el Lerenne Ruerg.
She carried my child.
She had become the mother of my child.