31 — Chapter 31

“Clemens von Rottner?”

Hearing the name of the individual newly designated for imprisonment, Liesel’s made-up eyes widened.

“Wait, isn’t that the person the pig-warden sends the fake reports to? The one overseeing this entire prison? Why on earth him?”

“Attempted assassination of royalty, and the crime of sending innocent citizens to prison in exchange for power. For instance—a courtesan who was imprisoned as a harlot in league with demons, simply for refusing a summon from a king,” Gilbert stated, his eyes casting over the thick letter.

Liesel blinked his long lashes.

“The one who sent innocent people to prison wasn’t the King of Luden, but the Prime Minister’s doing…?”

However, Heidemarie, who should have been the most affected party, didn’t seem to care about that information at all. Keeping her eyes fixed on the chessboard, she asked Gilbert a single question.

“And Elma?”

Her voice was laced with a careful tension.

“That girl… she isn’t coming back here? Is she… doing well?”

“Yeah.”

There was a trace of a laugh in Gilbert’s response. It might have been described as a wry smile.

“Apparently, Elma was the one who denounced Marquis Rottner. While they were investigating the Marquis’s other crimes, it came to light that she had anticipated and thwarted the traps he tried to set. It seems Elma is becoming quite the hero at the castle right now.”

The person who had sent the letter to the warden was a young Holy Medical Mentor named Dennis, who was temporarily assisting with prison-related affairs in place of the arrested Clemens. Whether he was a devoted fan of this “hero” or not, he had devoted far more space on the paper to describing Elma than providing information about Clemens.

“Elma is a total celebrity out there. …Congratulations, Marie. It looks like you’ve won this bet as well.”

“…Thank goodness.”

At Gilbert’s congratulations, Heidemarie smiled softly and unclasped her hands. Sinking back into the sofa, she repeated the words with deep emotion.

“Truly, thank goodness.”

In stark contrast to Heidemarie, who was visibly relaxing and wearing a blissful expression, Liesel felt completely left behind by the conversation.

“What do you mean? You won the bet… and why are you so happy that the girl isn’t coming back? I mean, Rottner was your sworn enemy, wasn’t he? Are you really just going to breeze past that?”

He was confused. He had suspected Heidemarie’s imprisonment was a false accusation, but he was slightly surprised that the mastermind was the Prime Minister rather than the King. More than that, it was baffling that she showed no reaction to the news of his capture.

No—come to think of it, Heidemarie had never made any attempt to clear her name. Her only obsession had been arranging a comfortable living space. Yes, if that were the case, the hypothesis that she had plotted revenge using Elma after all this time felt a bit out of place.

Liesel, his confidence in his own theory completely shattered, wore a look of utter loss. Heidemarie gave him a playful giggle.

“Listen, Liesel. Just for you, I’ll give you the answer. You see, if anything, I’m actually grateful to Marquis Rottner.”

“…What?”

The story was becoming even more incomprehensible. As Liesel knit his well-groomed brows, Heidemarie, wearing a contrasting, serene smile, rose gracefully from the sofa.

“The suspicion cast upon me—that I consorted with a survivor of the Demon Race and bore his child. That… is the truth.”

“…Huh?”

Liesel responded in his natural, deep voice by mistake. “My, what a low voice,” Heidemarie noted cheerfully as she leaned down elegantly. She reached for the chessboard, picked up a lustrous black piece, and pressed a kiss to it with her perfectly shaped lips.

“It shouldn’t be a surprise, should it? After all, I didn’t come to this prison under any other pretense. You, and everyone else, must have interacted with Elma while half-believing she was a demon child.”

“No, well… it was exactly ‘half,’ or rather, we were skeptical…”

They had often sensed something non-human in Elma’s extraordinary talents. However, because her mentors—the “family”—were even more over-the-top, they had simply thought, I suppose even a human can do this much.

In any case, in a prison where those who had strayed from the path of humanity gathered, whether Elma had demon blood or not was a triviality. That was why Liesel and the others never felt the need to interrogate Elma’s true nature.

When he pointed this out with a mumble, Heidemarie nodded. “Exactly.”

“That is exactly what I wished for.”

“What…?”

“If you want to hide a tree, do it in a forest. If you want to hide a non-human—do it among those who have strayed from the human path.”

She stroked the black piece with a tender touch.

“Elma’s father was the last survivor of the Demon Race. ‘Demon Race’ is such a terrifying name, isn’t it? He himself was a much gentler, calmer man than any human male out there. Just because he was a ‘Demon,’ he had been trampled upon since childhood and lived with bated breath… He was just a man who was a bit dexterous and strong.”

A being that was not human.

Threatening existences.

Regardless of their true nature, if someone was identified as a member of the Demon Race, they would be shunned as a heretic and have stones thrown at them.

When Heidemarie became pregnant with the child of the demon she loved, she felt joy, but she also feared the malice that would surely fall upon her daughter. And so, she came up with an idea: to secure a sturdy cradle. She would hide her unique child among other unique individuals and raise her with “normal” affection.

Heidemarie cast a brief glance at Gilbert and smiled as if remembering something from long ago.

“You probably thought it was reckless for a single woman to try and seize control of a prison, didn’t you? But I had Gil. My kindhearted hero. Once Gil realized that Elma’s father—a demon—was simply a being oppressed by humans, he lowered his sword and formed a friendship with him. He even declared that when death came for the man, he would look after his wife in his stead. …Though, of course, Gil was stripped of his title as a hero because of it.”

“…Hah. So that’s how it was.”

The past was something these people, each with their own skeletons in the closet, had never dared to delve into deeply. Hearing the details for the first time, Liesel nodded vaguely. Heidemarie gave only a simple “Yes” in response and turned her gaze back to the chessboard.

“Surrounded by an affectionate and distinctive ‘family,’ Elma was able to spend her time without ever thinking of herself as different or being persecuted. A perfect cradle. I was satisfied. I even felt grateful to the King, or the Prime Minister, or whoever it was that sent me to prison. But when I heard that the King of Luden had passed away, I realized something.”

A sorrowful sigh escaped her beautifully painted lips.

“Even a King fortified by wealth and power cannot defeat old age. Parents cannot live longer than their children.”

It was a fact so obvious it went without saying. However, while building a life in a place so far removed from common sense, she had completely forgotten it. If she were to die, surely someone in the “family” would take over and lead this cradle. But once that person died, what would become of Elma?

Would she be suddenly thrown into the secular world after spending most of her life away from it, struggling to blend in? Or would she quietly breathe her last in a cradle where no family remained? Heidemarie wanted neither of those futures for her daughter.

“Besides, the girl is the avatar of [Pride], after all. She doesn’t try to understand others deeply, and she’s convinced that her own yardstick is absolute. It’s because we kept pouring our distorted love and values into her.”

They had given her familial affection. In excess, even. However, an environment where she was loved so unilaterally robbed her of interest in others. Furthermore, while family love was offered in abundance, there was no one in this prison who could provide romantic feelings or friendship.

Building relationships through trial and error. Knowing not just the gentleness of love, but its terror and its burdens. Understanding that one’s own “normal” is different from another’s. These were things that, in the end, could only be learned outside the cradle.

It would be too late once Elma as a person was “complete.” She had decided to release her from her parents’ side now, to let her learn a “love” and a “normal” different from this prison, and allow her to melt into the circle of humanity.

“I don’t care how much I’m called selfish or shallow. But it was the best plan I could devise. I release her from this prison, and simply pray that she will be safely accepted by people—”

Heidemarie placed the Black Queen piece firmly in the center of the chessboard with a soft thud.

“And so, I have won the bet.”

Then, she gracefully extended her arm toward Gilbert, who had remained silent all this time.

“—Sorry to keep you waiting, Gilbert. My bet ends here. Now that I’ve seen Elma safely leave the nest, I have no lingering regrets.”

The moment she spoke, Gilbert caught his breath. He stared intently at Heidemarie before asking in a whisper.

“…Heidemarie. Then…”

“Yes. I accept your proposal.”

For Gilbert, who stood frozen, unable even to take her arm, Heidemarie took a step closer herself and gently rested her dainty palm on his bony hand.

“It’s been fifteen years. …I’m sure he would forgive us now.”

As if confirming the temperature of the skin they shared, she gently raised his hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. It was a gesture radiating a natural affection, like a couple who had been together for many years.

The one left behind by the conversation was Liesel. He looked back and forth between the serenely smiling Heidemarie and the speechless, overwhelmed Gilbert, running his hands through his hair in confusion.

“Wait, what? Wha…? Weren’t you two already a thing ages ago? Eh? What? You mean, Gil, you helped seize control of this prison for a woman who wasn’t even yours?”

“Yes.”

The earnest Gilbert, while timidly embracing Heidemarie, explained to Liesel with a solemn face.

“I fell in love with Marie at first sight, but at the time, she was already my friend’s wife. Even after my friend’s death, I felt a sense of duty toward him, and she said she wanted to prioritize being a mother. So, we agreed to wait until Elma was grown up.”

“I intended to keep stalling and make my escape, but he’s been like this for fifteen years. I’ve finally been won over.”

The beautiful courtesan wore a wry smile as she accepted the embrace. Gently soothing Gilbert, who was tightening his arms around her, she gave Liesel a mischievous wink.

“Say, Liesel. You called me ‘stubborn and beyond saving,’ but don’t you think this man’s—Gilbert’s—lust, or rather, his affection, is far more beyond saving?”

“…You’re right. I thought Gil was the most plain and decent among us, but I’m revising that perception as of this moment.”

To have a face like a clump of common sense and morality, yet throw away a hero’s title for a woman who wasn’t even his wife and reign as the King of the Prison for fifteen years… Liesel shrugged in exasperation.

Then, Gilbert—branded as a hopeless case by the two of them—offered a rebuttal with a complicated expression.

“…What is so strange about persistently trying to win the woman you favor? Love is a virtue that should be praised outside of prison, and to keep loving what you love… is perfectly normal.”

At his huffy, bewildered voice, Heidemarie giggled. Then, burying her face in his chest, she murmured in a sing-song voice.

“If that’s the case, then the ‘normal’ of the outside world is truly difficult, isn’t it?”