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Edgar opened his eyes, which had been tightly shut, and dawn filled his vision.

Before him stood victory.

All those who had come this far with him—subordinates, comrades, friends, and even lovers—were gathered together, reveling in the joy of triumph.

“You’re awake?”

“…Yeah.”

Ariel approached him as if welcoming a wandering lover back from a journey, speaking as though she had expected him to wake up.

Edgar, replying hoarsely, absentmindedly looked down at his body.

There wasn’t a single wound on his abdomen, where there should have been an opening.

‘Did Ariel heal me?’

It would have been difficult to return to this state with just the touch of an ordinary healer.

Seeing that his clothes were also mended, Edgar realized that his lover had put in a great effort.

As the hazy sunlight filled his sight, he opened his eyes slowly, as if resisting.

It felt unreal.

More than the fact that he was alive when he thought he was dead, it was more astonishing that Ariel stood before him.

“Looks like I owe you again.”

Yet he wanted to complete things perfectly as a man.

It was a bit embarrassing for Edgar to always have to rely on his lover at the last moment.

Ariel probably wouldn’t care about that, though.

“…You fool. If you know, then do better.”

“It’s not that easy.”

Puff!

As he shrugged it off casually, Ariel’s hand burst with fire.

With a thud, pain shot through his shoulder, and Edgar pretended to slump over dramatically, whining.

Actually, it was quite a significant pain.

“…I’m a patient.”

“Hmph, think you’re getting off easy just because you’re a patient?”

Though she wanted to hit him more, Ariel sneered, saying she had things to do soon.

Only then did Edgar realize that everything wasn’t over; a new task awaited him.

“Has there been any contact from the Imperial Palace?”

“There has. We have to go there right away.”

Even if they tried to hide something this large, it wouldn’t stay hidden.

The Imperial Palace or the surrounding families must have noticed something unusual; it couldn’t have been concealed until the end.

After all, a huge family like the Marquis had practically vanished, so who wouldn’t notice?

“…And the Emperor has already revealed the truth. The palace is in chaos because of it.”

“He revealed it… all?”

“Yes.”

At Ariel’s calm reply, he clenched his fist with just his upper body raised.

By “all,” it likely meant that Albrecht had manipulated the imperial family, along with all the detailed circumstances.

Things had taken a turn different from what they had agreed upon earlier.

“Not very surprised, are you?”

Ariel wondered, her eyes wide with surprise when she thought Edgar would jump up immediately upon hearing this.

“Well… I had a feeling he would do that.”

“But still, did you not try to stop him?”

“From the outset, the choice isn’t mine to make. If the Emperor thought it was right, then it must be right.”

What Edgar proposed was merely a path.

Whether to walk that path or not was entirely Barthus’s right.

Even if the power that extricated him from that pit was courtesy of Edgar and those around him, they had no right to force him into the decisions afterward.

“What did the vassals think?”

“They’re half skeptical. The officials who usually followed the Emperor closely seem to believe it, but… most are painting us as the villains.”

“Sounds like a conspiracy theory.”

That wasn’t an entirely unexpected reaction.

They hadn’t thought everyone would believe them easily, which was why they collected anything that could serve as proof and prepared meticulously.

Now, all they had to do was gather those pieces and persuade the rest.

“So we’re heading to the palace like this?”

“Yeah. My father is coming too. Kelrag, Minette, and others will probably arrive soon.”

“It’s going to get noisy.”

As Edgar felt a weight lift from his chest and tried to smile, something warm came close and embraced him.

It was none other than Ariel’s touch.

“Did you forget our promise?”

“What promise?”

Patting her back, Edgar replied to the voice ringing in his ear.

He mostly didn’t forget promises, but he had been so out of sorts that he had completely erased it from his mind.

What promise was that?

“When you come back hurt, you said you’d stay by my side forever.”

“…Seriously, is that all you have to say to someone who’s been through a lot?”

“It’s important to me. So, are you going to break it?”

Having pulled away momentarily, she glared at him with fierce eyes, as if she wouldn’t listen to any arguments.

Since it was his fault for losing the bet, Edgar happily admitted his guilt and decided to go along with her words.

“Just don’t toss me aside when you get bored.”

“I won’t toss you aside. I’ll keep you precious until you get old and worn out.”

‘Like the book I once cherished the most.’

With that statement, Ariel gently pressed her lips against his.

Perhaps because they had just finished a fierce battle, they could feel a faint scent of blood from each other, but neither cared.

Finally, true sunlight shone down on them.

* * * * * * *

Soon, the two arrived at the Imperial Palace in a carriage, and before they could share the joy of victory with the Emperor, they had to explain everything to the vassals.

“I’m Dana.”

At that moment, Dana, who belonged to Silvia’s family, arrived late and chimed in.

She revealed that she had targeted Edgar’s life and told the truth she had heard from those around her, detailing everything she knew.

With her late testimony aligning with that of others, the credibility of their claims strengthened.

It truly was good news.

“Even so, there might have been a more peaceful solution. Such hasty measures…!”

However, a few vassals who had received help from Bertus’s family during the ordeal began to chastise the Robeheim family.

Despite how serious their crimes might be, the argument was whether it was proper to take down a family so independently without permission from the Emperor.

It wasn’t a wrong argument per se, but the problem was that Albrecht’s crimes were far too egregious.

“Hey, how dare you speak like that in front of His Majesty! Marquis Albrecht is one of the most notable criminals in history for trying to manipulate the imperial family!”

“That’s right! If we succeeded in exposing the existence of a criminal, we must cut off the roots quickly! Moreover, Albrecht must have been threatening the imperial family, so how can we talk about permissions?”

The counterarguments were also valid.

After all, seeking help from others in that situation could have prevented Albrecht from escaping detection.

Moreover, the Emperor could not act recklessly due to Albrecht’s influence, forcing decisive action.

To summarize, while it was a tough measure, it wasn’t wrong, which was the general sentiment.

If there hadn’t been enough evidence to call it evidence, this opinion might have been split down the middle.

Barthus tapped his chair to calm the lively atmosphere.

Everyone’s heads were too heated. With the villain vanquished, there was no reason for allies to fight, yet any small opening made them eager to tear at each other.

“Everyone quiet down. Right now, I’m talking with these two.”

“Pardon my rudeness, Your Majesty.”

As Barthus’s stern voice echoed, silence fell across the room.

With calm eyes surveying the gathered, he turned his gaze to Edgar and spoke.

“Because you came to see me that night, this country could step onto a new path. For that, I am truly grateful.”

“I’m not worthy of such praise, Your Majesty.”

As Edgar bowed earnestly, Barthus gave him a warm smile.

The more he looked, the more he desired this man.

He wanted to wed him to his own daughter, but he could easily see that the Grand Duke would not take that lightly.

“This news will spread quickly. If the citizens learn of this situation, I plan to leave the choice to them. Perhaps there will come a day when I pass this position down to you, Grand Duke.”

“……!”

“Your Majesty! What do you mean by that?”

At the Emperor’s statement, all the vassals gasped, their eyes wide in shock.

Ariel didn’t show a huge expression of surprise but was somewhat taken aback that it was said outright in front of everyone.

“I’ve already informed the vassals. If this country cannot forgive me, I will step down completely.”

“Even so, I’m not going to wear a crown.”

“Oh? Even if that’s the will of the majority?”

It wasn’t something gained through rebellion; it was the outcome of the Emperor’s own perspective and the country’s opinion.

Accepting it calmly wouldn’t cause significant problems.

In fact, even if there would be problems, they were merely voices that would soon be suppressed.

Yet, Barthus’s brow raised at Ariel’s refusal.

Was it simply because she didn’t want to face potential accusations from the public?

Or was it because she had no intention to be here?

“I am someone who attempted to betray Your Majesty. I’m not sure how you will interpret this, but when this wrongdoing is revealed, I was solely focused on taking down Albrecht. I think it’s safe to say that I treated the entire imperial family as criminals and accomplices.”

“Y-Your Grace!”

“Enough. Everyone, be quiet.”

Faced with Ariel’s unreserved honesty, voices of concern erupted from many, but Barthus preemptively shut them down.

Taking advantage of that, she continued in a low voice.

“I only held onto the hand of Your Majesty, who nearly fell off the cliff to the end. So, someone who has betrayed Your Majesty once cannot accept that crown.”

“…Is that so?”

Barthus understood that this was merely a pathetic excuse.

However, he realized it was Ariel’s own plan to shift all the credit to her lover and didn’t feel the need to elaborate further.

“I understand your sentiment. Well then, let’s put aside the serious matters for now and dismiss everyone.”

Night had deepened.

Barthus felt a bit guilty for having detained the heroes who had taken down the villain until this hour, so he decided to postpone the remaining discussions until tomorrow.

Just then, Ariel’s face lifted slightly as she smiled.

“Your Majesty, could you please wait a moment? A guest will be arriving.”

“Hm? A guest…?”

In the middle of the night, who would be a guest?

And it wasn’t even an ideal situation to welcome one.

But since it came from the Grand Duke, Barthus blinked in surprise and decided to wait for this guest.

Creak.

Before long, with a cue, a massive door opened, and a man appeared.

Despite his heavy yet somewhat rough appearance, his eyes filled with warmth and indescribable emotions.

Meanwhile, surprise filled Barthus’s gaze as he looked at the man who had come to greet him.

“Yulken… is that you?”

Determined to distance himself from everyone around, he hadn’t even notified anyone, and now his old friend was standing before him again.