Chapter 33

The day after hearing the story from Grace, Gilbert had already come up with this plan. Gilbert was the one who conceived the main idea of the plan. It was Cecilia who suggested getting everyone to help if that was the case. "We know who attacked Emily. We want to catch him, so we need your cooperation." Everyone readily agreed to help. From his old acquaintances and connections, Huey found out about the black envelope. Based on that information, the envelope was made by Jade, who had recently acquired a printing company. The content of the letter was written by Lean. Dante was the one who broke into the mansion and slipped the letter into Bernard's room. And the one who testified to the confession was Oscar, a member of the royal family. Gilbert could have been a witness, but if Bernard were caught, the Coleson family might interfere to protect Ticky. The Coleson and Sylvie families were both ducal families. If they interfered, there might be something they couldn't give up. If Bernard, who had hurt his sister, got a reduced sentence, another killer might appear. Bernard growled, still encased in the transparent shell, his eyes glaring at Gilbert.

"So, the idea of avenging the Coleson family...?"

"It's obviously a lie. Everything written on that paper was her creation, including my past."

"Thank you for reading."

Lean smiled and bowed gracefully. Seeing this, Bernard trembled violently. His face was red with anger, and if Cecilia hadn't held him back, he would have lunged at Lean.

(At least, it seems to have worked.)

Cecilia sighed in relief, looking at Bernard, who was not resisting. Honestly, she had been half-skeptical about whether it would succeed. If he had been more cautious about verifying the authenticity of the black envelope, this plan probably wouldn't have worked.

"...He attacked Emily?"

Behind the group, who had relaxed their shoulders, a trembling voice came from Mordred, who had been brought here almost forcibly. He pushed Oscar, who was in front of him, and clung to the transparent shell supported by Cecilia. With an expression she had never seen before, he pounded his fist on it, shocking everyone.

"Cecil! Open this up for me!"

"What!? No, no way! We finally caught him—"

"I won't let him escape! I have to hit him, I have to—"

"Shut up."

Huey punched Mordred in the stomach. The sudden impact made Mordred groan and lose consciousness.

"Wha—"

"Well, it's troublesome if he starts causing a commotion here, isn't it?"

Dante laughed at the flustered Cecilia. Indeed, now that they had met the minimum requirement of catching the real culprit in front of everyone, Mordred's presence or absence didn't matter much. Perhaps they had no hesitation. Huey carried the unconscious Mordred on his shoulder, a small but strong man lifting a full-grown adult effortlessly.

"I'll take the teacher to the infirmary."

"If you're going, I'll come too!"

Lean said in a cute voice.

"You don't have to come."

"Oh, I just want to go with you."

She immediately returned the treasure to Jade and followed him with a bouncing step. Watching them leave, the group turned back to Bernard. He remained bowed, not moving an inch.

"All that's left is to hand him over to the military police with this, and the case will be closed."

Dante pointed to the phonograph Grace had made. Feeling a sense of closure, Cecilia sighed in relief. At that moment—

"Damn you!"

"Huh?"

"You're mocking me!"

Enraged, Bernard clawed at the shell.

"Hey!"

A loud static-like sound rang out, and his arm was repelled. But he didn't give up and clawed at the shell again.

"Hey, what are you doing!? It's dangerous!"

"You're mocking me! You're mocking me! You're mocking me!"

"Calm down."

"Be, Bernard?"

Gilbert tried to calm him down, and Jade stepped back in fear.

"You too! All of you! All of you! Just disappear from my world!!"

"Wow, that's a villainous line."

"Shut up!!"

He dismissed Dante's casual words.

"Hey! You'll lose the use of your arms! Try to calm down a little!"

"Shut up!! Shut up!! Shut up!!"

He ignored even Oscar's words, who had been so timid before.

"AAAAAAH!!"

His eyes were bloodshot, his teeth bared. Smoke rose from his palms, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. His hair floated up, and a black mist began to rise—

"Wha!? Wait, wait!"

A beast-like growl escaped Bernard, who was being invaded by the 'hindrance.' Cecilia panicked.

"Cecil! It's going to break!"

"Huh?"

Hearing Oscar's voice, she looked at the shell, where his fingers were embedded. Cracks began to spread from there.

"Wait!"

Trying to prevent the shell from breaking, Cecilia focused her power on the treasure. Then—

"AAAAAAH!"

With a scream, his arms were flung backward. There was a sickening sound of bones breaking.

(Oh no—)

She quickly released her power. This time, he headbutted the shell, using his head instead of his broken arms.

"Wha!!"

With the help of the 'hindrance,' the thinning shell shattered under the impact, breaking into pieces. He lunged at Cecilia, who was closest, baring his teeth, probably intending to tear out her throat. Cecilia squeezed her eyes shut.

"!"

"CECIL!"

Gilbert's voice rang out, and she was pushed away. When she landed on her bottom, she saw Oscar with his arm bitten by Bernard.

"Oscar!!"

"Oscar?!"

"Your Highness!!"

The other three shouted. Oscar, with a pained expression, stabbed the treasure sword into Bernard's abdomen. At that moment, the black mist slipped out of Bernard's body.

"..."

With the 'hindrance' gone, Bernard's body collapsed like a marionette whose strings had been cut, losing consciousness.

"Damn, he bit you hard—"

"Oscar!?"

Cecilia rushed to Oscar, who was kneeling. Despite the clothes, blood was seeping from where Bernard had bitten him.