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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: The Case's Conclusion (2)
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*Swoosh!*
“...!”
But then, the doll, which hadn't moved at all, raised its hand and very carefully embraced Cliff.
“Thank you... brother...”
“...!”
And then, one more word, accompanied by a bright smile.
That was the last of it. After those words, as if its task was complete, the doll too, with a faint light, instantly reverted to its original wooden form.
“...”
But Cliff still held the now stiff doll in his arms, showing no sign of moving.
And from his eyes, a single tear, long held back, slowly trickled down.
“Tsk!”
Meanwhile, Sei-an watched the scene, his brow subtly furrowed, and clicked his tongue softly.
He knew that Cliff's heartfelt apology just moments ago had wounded Jestin's soul, which was still lingering around him, yet he had wished for it to inhabit the doll.
Of course, it was only for a very brief moment, so the wound wasn't severe, but he couldn't help but click his tongue at Jestin's action, risking annihilation just to convey those few words.
Seeing Jestin's soul safely emerge from the doll once more and finally disappear, following the Grim Reaper, Sei-an also let out a short sigh of relief.
*Pitter-patter... Pitter-patter...*
A moment later, Jestin's soul vanished, and as if to weep along with Cliff's tears, the sky, as if on cue, began to pour rain.
“...”
Sei-an raised his head and found himself staring blankly at the falling rain.
Though this matter had concluded well, he couldn't shake a bitter feeling.
“What in the world...?”
Meanwhile, Prince Idis was considerably flustered by Jestin's transformation into a wooden doll.
Unable to comprehend what had happened with his common sense, he immediately turned his head towards Sei-an to unravel this mystery.
“...”
But at the sight of Sei-an standing silently in the rain, Prince Idis subtly furrowed his brow.
Then, taking off his outer garment, he slowly approached him.
Even by his own common sense, he knew it wouldn't be good for someone who had recently been in an accident to stand in the rain.
*Swoosh!*
“...!”
However, just before Prince Idis could get close to Sei-an, someone else was quicker to take off their outer garment and place it over Sei-an's head: it was Lucian.
“I’m fine.”
“You’ll catch a cold. You're already not well.”
“...”
Sei-an declined, saying it wasn't necessary, but Lucian wrapped the garment more tightly around him, shaking his head. He had thought the exact same thing as Prince Idis.
“...?”
Eventually, unable to refuse any further, Sei-an, now wearing Lucian's outer garment, turned his head and met the eyes of Prince Idis, who stood beside him in an awkward pose.
“Why are you taking off your outer garment when it’s raining?”
“...Because it’s hot.”
“Pardon?”
“I said I took it off because it’s hot.”
“...”
Sei-an thought to himself that the more he knew Prince Idis, the more peculiar a person he seemed to be. He stared at him for a moment, then took a step closer.
“If you’re hot, could you lend this to me?”
“What?”
“You don’t need it, do you?”
Then, he snatched the outer garment from Prince Idis’s hand and, returning to Lucian's side, draped it over him.
“You’ll catch a cold too, Brother. His Highness Idis says he doesn’t need it because he runs hot, so you should wear it.”
“...”
“...”
At Sei-an's actions, Prince Idis could only stare at him with an exasperated expression.
To snatch away a prince's garment so boldly, even if he didn't need it!
Prince Idis felt a sudden surge of irritation.
“Don’t worry, I’ll wash it before I return it.”
Furthermore, Sei-an's words, mistaking his glare for concern about the garment getting dirty, made him even more dumbfounded.
“...Make sure you wash it spotlessly clean and bring it back.”
“I told you I would.”
Still, he couldn't possibly admit that he was upset because the garment he had intended to give was rejected and given to someone else. So, Prince Idis glared at Sei-an one last time, then abruptly turned his head and quickly left the spot.
“...?”
Watching Prince Idis disappear, Sei-an tilted his head repeatedly, wondering if he had done something else wrong.
***
“Elajan and Bellison... sentenced to death.”
The trial was remarkably swift.
Though they were the count's wife and son, their crimes were so grave and malicious that there was no room for leniency.
All evidence was clear, and Prince Idis himself had directly confirmed and witnessed Elajan and Bellison's guilt, so the trial proceeded even more quickly and came to a conclusion.
“...”
At the death sentence, Elajan wore an indifferent expression. She had already given up everything.
At first, she had pleaded for Bellison's life, claiming all the guilt was hers, but in the end, her own sins had led to her son's death as well.
*Crank... Crank...*
“...”
On the very afternoon the verdict was delivered, the execution of the two began immediately.
Listening to the slow ascent of the guillotine blade, Elajan sat slumped on the ground, like one whose spirit had fled.
*Thump... Thump...*
“...?”
But then, someone quietly approached her.
Someone walked with an unhurried pace right up to the guillotine, a place where no one but the executioner was allowed during an execution, and stood before Elajan.
Elajan, dazed, slowly raised her head to look at the person without realizing it.
“...! Yo-you are!”
Her eyes widened, turning to a look of shock.
“I’ve come to collect the payment for the item.”
It was Shainos standing before her. He wore a bright smile that seemed utterly out of place with the scene.
“...?”
But what was strange was that none of the many people around seemed to see him.
To be more precise, it seemed no one could see the person standing before her.
Even the executioner, who was raising her and binding her to the guillotine, simply passed by the man without a word, continuing his work.
“W-who are you?!”
Elajan suddenly shouted at Shainos.
He had been strange from the beginning, but in her desperate haste to complete her plan, she had never thought deeply about him.
She should have realized how odd it was to create a living doll with just a little thought.
But now, seeing that others couldn't see the man before her eyes, Elajan looked at Shainos with fear-filled eyes.
“Are you afraid of me even when facing death? Heh.”
Shainos chuckled softly at Elajan’s reaction.
He found her amusing, feeling fear towards another being even when she was about to die.
“Wh-who are you?!”
Elajan shrieked at Shainos’s words as if in agony.
At her behavior, the others around seemed to think she had finally gone mad, facing death, and shook their heads.
“I’ve come to collect payment; who else would I be?”
“...What do you want to take from me?”
“Your soul.”
“...What?”
“Most who commit evil deeds and die don't easily follow the Grim Reaper. So, they’re forcibly transported in the form of payment like this.”
“Wh-what are you talking about! The, the Grim Reaper?”
*Clang! Thud!*
“...!”
She didn't understand what Shainos was saying and frantically tried to ask another question, but she couldn't hear his final answer.
The blade of the guillotine, which had risen, now fell towards her, Shainos's smiling face and waving hand being the last thing she saw.
“...”
From her body, which had met its end, a small lump of light flowed out, and Shainos quickly took possession of it.
“Shall we go?”
And then, as if he had no more business there, Shainos slowly departed from the spot, as unhurriedly as he had arrived.
***
*Thud!*
“Here it is.”
“...What is this?”
“Your garment.”
“...”
“I washed and ironed it cleanly for you.”
Sei-an, visiting the Imperial Palace after a long time, returned the garment Prince Idis had lent him, which he had personally washed and ironed, placing it before the Prince.
“...”
Prince Idis looked at the garment Sei-an handed him with a displeased expression for a moment, then tossed it aside as if discarding it.
The irritation he had felt that day suddenly resurfaced.
“Are you perhaps picking a fight with me right now?”
“What if I am?”
“What would I do? What could I say about His Highness’s actions? Do as you please.”
“...”
Despite Prince Idis’s actions, Sei-an showed no change in expression. He picked up the fallen garment, carried it to one side himself, folded it neatly, and placed it down.
Prince Idis, however, looked even more displeased.
“What exactly was that thing that day?”
A moment later, Prince Idis asked Sei-an a question he hadn't managed to ask that day, the day Jestin’s corpse was found.
The mystery of what that being, identical to Jestin, that he had seen truly was, still hadn't been solved.
“Do I have to answer?”
“It’s a command.”
“...”
He didn’t particularly want to answer, but knowing Prince Idis’s personality, he would use every method available to him as a prince until his curiosity was satisfied. So, Sei-an sighed and gave a brief answer.
“It was a doll.”
“...A doll?”
“Yes.”
“How can a doll move on its own...! Don’t tell me...”
Prince Idis, who had been speaking with a somewhat surprised expression at Sei-an’s words, suddenly looked even more shocked, as if something had just occurred to him.
“Yes, the puppetry from the book you found interesting before is the same method used to create the doll you saw that day, Your Highness.”
“...!”
It meant that he had directly witnessed with his own eyes the ability of a puppeteer, described in the book he had been interested in just recently.
“A puppeteer, huh... Where is he now?”
“I wouldn’t know. He’s not one to settle in one place.”
“Are you well acquainted with him?”
“We’re not particularly close. I only came to know him by chance myself.”
“...”
People's perception of puppeteers wasn't very good. They were often thought to be individuals who deceived people, practiced trickery, and cast curses.
But Prince Idis thought differently.
Though it was a long time ago, he had read in a book about an incident where the armies of numerous nations, including the empire, were annihilated by a single puppeteer, which had piqued his interest in puppeteers.
Perhaps it was an instinctive attraction to powerful individuals.
“By the way, how exactly did you end up at that location that day?”
Now, it was Sei-an’s turn to ask Prince Idis, who had been lost in thought for a moment.
