"Why... why are you doing this..."
Mario barely managed to speak in a trembling voice.
“You don’t want to die, right?”
"...Ugh, yes."
"Lie face down on the floor with your hands on the ground."
Trembling, Mario did as he was told.
Then Alexander knelt down in front of him and began digging into Mario's arms and the backs of his hands as he lay prone.
“Ah, ah!”
What on earth is this?
With a cold gun barrel aimed at his head, Mario suddenly lifted his head.
“Stay still.”
Then he suddenly discovered it.
Alexander's neck, visible up close, was red. A 'prepared' mark, as if someone had strangled him tightly.
And now Alexander is scratching Mario's skin from various angles until his fingernails fall off.
Mario realized immediately.
What Alexander is plotting.
It naturally comes to mind.
Mario is strangling Alexander. Alexander, writhing in agony while gripping the forearm of the assailant, strangling him...
'You... you fucking bastard! Are you trying to fabricate evidence!'
It was clear that Wassenberg was trying to create a situation where he was trying to eliminate the defense attorney to cover up the Konrad massacre.
'Isn't he crazy?!'
You dare do this to a person with supernatural abilities just to win the trial?
That's a foolish move that doesn't consider the consequences at all.
"Wake up."
Alexander, having made defensive marks on the fingertips of both his hands, gave an order.
Mario had no choice but to follow.
Since he was being aimed at the whole time by that weapon, whether it was a gun or whatever, that was emitting magical power.
Bang! Bang!
Alexander fired two more shots at the iron railing surrounding the garden, destroying it.
Teuung-!
Then, without hesitation, he kicked the table as well. As it fell, the documents on top tumbled down in a chaotic mess.
Mario, who was watching, swallowed hard.
This bastard with an extraordinary mind is orchestrating the scene without a single moment of hesitation or unnecessary embellishment.
“Walk over there.”
Alexander put the gun to Mario's back and spoke toward the collapsed railing.
Mario walked slowly, limping.
And the moment he looked down below the railing, he realized.
'Ah'
He wondered why he did something so unmanageable.
Alexander had no intention of letting him go alive from the beginning.
A villa in the mountains.
There is a cliff below the railing.
The surrounding area is landscaped by cutting down trees to enhance the villa's scenery and leaving only rocks nearby.
It wasn't a deep cliff, but it was a game where death was certain if you fell.
'Fuck you.'
It was clearly the place chosen to bury Alexander without evidence.
If Alexander had anticipated this situation from the beginning, he might have actually welcomed the invitation to come here.
'This can't be done.'
Only instinct remained in the face of death.
If he was going to die anyway, he had to at least struggle, even if it meant getting hit by that crazy weapon.
Mario turned around with a whoosh.
First, subdue the hand holding the weapon...
'Ah.'
The gun barrel touched his forehead the moment he turned.
The pain of the first time he was hit came to mind, and his mind went blank.
The situation happened in an instant.
“Aaaahhh!”
The body, flailing and staggering, tilted backward.
It was a fall.
"Ah, just a moment."
Alexander flinched.
This is because he hadn't realized that Mario would suddenly stumble first while he was mentally preparing himself.
"Crazy. Don't look."
But isn't it said that curiosity kills the cat?
Alexander glanced down...
"Kyaaaak!"
Blood was flowing thickly from the back of his head. He saw Mario's corpse, his limbs twisted from hitting a rock.
'Ah! Why did I look at it! Why did I go out of my way to preview his appearance?!'
He regretted it, but it was too late.
Alexander must now jump from here.
Since he's in a position where he must die unconditionally anyway, and make his very existence into proof by resurrecting.
Also, even if a situation was created where Mario threatened his life, as long as he survives, the situation becomes complicated.
Whether intentional or not, it amounts to daring to kill a Wassenberg ability user.
Now, only by dying together can Mario be made the perfect perpetrator.
Now!
Jump down!
"It's okay."
You won't feel any pain.
This is because about four minutes have passed since he swallowed the paralyzing medicine his kind brother-in-law gave him, which he had been holding under his tongue.
"Swallow it last. Your sense of pain will be numb in five minutes."
So there is no need to get hurt.
After jumping, you will just open your eyes and be at home.
"Let's Go!"
Alexander had a line he really wanted to say before his tongue went completely stiff.
"I am the god who controls the deaths!"
Eventually, [the God who controls death] squeezed his eyes shut and jumped down the cliff.
***
Shaaaa.
Heavy rain poured down from the cloudy sky as if in mourning.
The cemetery inside Belzer Castle, where people dressed in black mourning clothes are paying their respects.
Some of those holding white chrysanthemums they had not yet been able to put down were shedding tears.
Mr. Smith, a local resident running a restaurant in Belzer, approached the coffin holding a black umbrella.
Pure white coffin.
Today was the funeral of the lord's son.
Smith put down the chrysanthemums and mourned, then looked at the lord's family, who were keeping watch by his side.
The lord and his daughter stood at the very front. Although the daughter's face could not be seen as she was veiled in black, the lord remained in his place throughout the funeral, without even attempting to conceal his haggard appearance.
His lips, cracked from not touching a single sip of water, and his empty eyes spoke of the shock he was feeling right now.
Smith still couldn't believe it, so he barely managed to move his trembling legs and get out of there.
Outside was Hannah, a restaurant employee who had already come out after laying flowers.
"I don't know what's going on all of a sudden."
Smith muttered hollowly.
He had a feeling that there had been nothing but joyous events in the estate this year...
"Boss, you know that the lord served time in prison for murder, right?"
"Suddenly? Yes. Well. I know."
At Hannah's question, Smith nodded with a reluctant expression.
Where people gather, how could gossip not spread?
A lord was released from prison in Abyssinian, an imperial prison known for housing only notorious criminals.
Word spread by word of mouth, and now no villager did not know his past.
Although there were some who were somewhat displeased, Smith had no major grievances.
"But I've never actually seen anyone with supernatural abilities, so it feels unreal. I also wonder if it makes sense to blow up an entire territory."
Twelve? How could the lord have known anything at such a young age to commit murder? They say a power called a supernatural ability went out of control by mistake, but he doesn't even know what that is.
Above all, the Lord that Smith knew was a very cheerful and kind man, so he had no connection to such a terrible crime.
"Ah."
Smith, who had been inadvertently defending the lord, realized his mistake.
"Miss Hanna, please don't misunderstand. I'm not condoning crime..."
"It seems it was a frame-up."
"Yes?"
"They say the reason the young master became a lawyer is also because of the Lord. A retrial for the Lord's case was held recently, and he went to the capital to defend him in that trial."
“What?”
"He met with misfortune on his way back from the trial..."
“Uh. No way.”
"Yes. They say it looks like the work of the real culprits, trying to cover up the incident. The other person died during the struggle, and he was from the Lord's main family."
Smith's mouth dropped open in shock.
"I heard that the signs of intimidation on the young master's body were so clear that the entire circumstances of the case were revealed through the autopsy alone, without the need for a detailed investigation."
"Oh, my God."
"What's even more shocking is that, of all things, the Imperial Investigation Unit handed over the body. That's why it seems the entire capital is in complete chaos right now."
'It’s nothing but shocking news.' Hannah whispered into Smith’s ear, who was gaping in disbelief.
"...His Royal Highness the Third Prince discovered the Young Master's body himself."
One of the recent joyous events for the Third Prince Belzer was that the Lord's daughter, Vania, married him.
So, the Third Prince essentially took care of the body of his brother-in-law, who was practically 'murdered,' himself.
It was not difficult to guess just how furious the imperial family must be right now.
"Uh... ah."
Smith was so shocked that he could not bring himself to speak, and he looked back at the castle he had come out of.
He recalled the lord's face, with its empty eyes, in front of his son's coffin.
Fraudulent at a young age.
Innocent imprisonment.
A lifetime lived under the stigma of being a criminal.
Nevertheless, he was a man who lived steadfastly, sacrificing his family in battle.
How proud he must have been of his son, who even became a lawyer to clear his father's name.
However, what returned as a result of that was the cold corpse of the son.
The sky was so heartless.
Smith could not possibly gauge how the lord was feeling at that moment.
***
Dang- dang-
The bell rang, and the coffin went down into the pit.
Dirt began to cover.
Ryan quickly left Alexander's tomb, as if he could not bear to watch the whole scene.
I followed suit.
Our family gathered together for the first time in a long while.
Revan, Kali, and Merchen were also with us.
"I'm going to get sick. Sick."
Revan muttered behind me.
"Lord, do you intend to go check on it once a day?"
Kali sighed and said.
"It must have been a huge shock, so I can only imagine how bad it is. Let's try to understand."
Merchen also said a word.
Ryan, with half his face gaunt and dressed in black, practically ran to the chapel inside the castle.
It was a space built to house the portraits of the Belzer family in the future.
I didn't expect the first user to appear this quickly, though.
"Take your time, Dad."
Ryan, who was with Alex on the autopsy in the capital—is that why?
His nerves were on edge, so he tried to check on Alex at every opportunity.
Ryan entered the chapel, strode across the quiet prayer room, and flung open the back door.
A staircase leading to the basement appeared.
After going quite a distance down a spiral staircase surrounded by narrow stone walls, a door firmly locked with a large padlock came into view.
Ryan opens it with the key.
"Whoa! Our young master has been successfully apprehended!"
Mumbles of voices leaked out.
"Ah, again?!"
"Ahahaha! Wow, catching thieves is really fun!"
In a cozy nest, with plenty of food piled up nearby, our knights Max, Jeff, and Rocky were playing a card game.
Alex, who was between them, turned to look at us just as he was putting bread in his mouth.
My younger sibling, who had long since been resurrected, was on the way home.
"Oh!"
With cheese stretched out around the corners of his mouth, he mumbles and leisurely waves his hand.
"Did my funeral go well~?"
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