The hamster scratched its ear and peeked its small head.

“What about the specialties? Did you buy some?”

Strangely, it was only after looking at Mu that I truly felt I had returned to the palace. As the tension in my body eased, a laugh burst out.

“Hehe. Mu.”

“What’s with that silly laughter? Are you trying to fill the void with laughter because you came back empty-handed?”

Mu rushed towards me after giving me a strange look, then playfully smacked me on the head with its tiny paw.

“And! I clearly told you to save your strength! Instead of saving, you gave it all away! Gave it all away!”

“Mu.”
“Ugh! So, this is what humans call the heart of parents raising children! Seeing my child with my strength getting scolded out there, it feels like my insides are exploding!”

Well, who scolded me saying that I got scolded so badly? While looking at Mu, who was tapping its chest above my head, I asked.

“Mu, is there really an afterlife?”

Mu, who was tapping its chest, stopped and slid down as if slipping.

“Why? Why suddenly ask such a thing?”

“The person who recently became my new guardian mentioned it. Whether there is an afterlife or not.”

“Hmm.”

“If there is, will there be no pain when you go there? …It reminded me of our mom.”

Mu hesitated. The hamster’s face wasn’t smiling, nor was it crying. The expression of a creature that couldn’t be read was staring at me intently.

When Mu stared at me like that, it sometimes felt like everything inside me was exposed, giving me goosebumps.

“Well, if someone wishes for it, there may be an afterlife. If no one wishes for it, then there might not be.”

“Where is that?”

“That’s how gods are originally. They seem to not exist, but they do. Also, they seem to exist, but they don’t.”

“…”

“Ah, well. Just because you know me doesn’t mean you can understand everything about the gods.”

“Are you favoring me? Then tell me one thing. Is our mom doing well?”

Mu turned its head away. Then, it quietly stared at the sky beyond the window.

“Your mom is doing well.”

“That’s good….”

“Not in this world, but in another.”

I was about to say it’s fine as long as my mom is doing well, but the strange follow-up made me tilt my head.

“In another world?”

In another world… Are they talking about the afterlife? It seemed like Mu was secretly revealing it after saying it couldn’t know everything.

‘Well, it can’t say it directly. That’s how it is.’

I nodded understandingly.

“I’m glad she’s doing well.”

Mu turned its head with a look of disbelief. It was a puzzled look when it saw me quickly catching on.

‘I didn’t expect you to catch on so quickly. You probably didn’t know that I could figure out the hidden meaning so well.’

I shrugged my shoulders with a triumphant expression, chuckling.

“…You’re such a fool.”

Mu seemed to mutter something, but I lightly ignored it.

The next day, surprisingly, Revenfeld formally entrusted Clint with the overall management of the knighthood, along with the responsibility of personally guarding me.

And as soon as it became daylight, we went to visit Viscount Adreza. Revenfeld hoped I wouldn’t go with him because prisons are cold and scary, but I stubbornly followed along.

I don’t like cold and scary places, but…

I wanted to hear exactly what words were coming out of Viscount Adreza’s mouth, without passing through anyone else’s lips.

“Ugh….”
After a long time, he looked different from before. Viscount Adreza, who was imprisoned, appeared thinner and gaunter. Especially the sagging flesh under his eyes had disappeared significantly, making it seem like you could see his skull.

Standing in front of me, Clint, as if guarding me, sharpened his teeth as if he would tear Viscount Adreza apart at any moment.

“Viscount Adreza.”

“L, Let me… Let me live…”

Advancing forward, Revenfeld handed a waterskin to Elipheu, who threw it in front of Viscount Adreza.

“This is the waterskin Generva used. Do you know anything?”

Viscount Adreza looked down and stared at the two waterskins thrown on the ground. One was the waterskin used during the Daejin incident, and the other was a waterskin left deliberately by someone for the Esteria Emperor.

“…I, I don’t know!”

The face of Viscount Adreza, who shouted that he didn’t know, was filled with a sinister terror. His eyes, which had lost focus after checking the waterskins, regained focus.

‘He knows what this waterskin is.’

Just by seeing him terrified upon looking at this waterskin, it explained everything. Viscount Adreza was collaborating with Generva.

“I heard that Generva is coming to the Empire soon.”

“H, H-How did…?”

“One of the captured guys mentioned it.”

Revenfeld laughed mockingly, telling a blatant lie.

“Viscount Adreza, there’s no use playing innocent now. Playing innocent is useless, and we already have evidence that you’re on the same side as Generva.”

“W-What… Evidence!”

“He is already in a state where he has promised safety in exchange for providing information over there. He is comfortably providing all information and evidence on the surface, not in the prison.”

“W-What did you say?”

Viscount Adreza’s pupils shook. Naturally, it was a lie, but Viscount Adreza, who had been imprisoned for several weeks, had no way of knowing.

Moreover, looking at his emaciated face and the awkward arms and legs, he seemed to have a hard time in prison and might not be in the right state of mind.

“But now, we need one more person to confirm whether the information from that guy is real. Acting hastily based on one person’s testimony is intolerable. ”

“…So?”

“There’s already evidence that the Viscount boarded the same ship as Generva and has been selling the child for experimentation. We also know who went to meet him as he arrived in the Empire.”

“…”

Seeing the information flowing smoothly, Viscount Adreza’s face turned ghastly pale.

“If you tell everything, it will be easier for you. What will you do?”

“I, I, I…”

“It would be better to decide quickly. If another guy comes out saying he’ll spill information, and…”

Revenfeld made a gesture as if he was slashing his throat with his sword.

“Once you become unnecessary, you’ll immediately meet death by my sword.”

“Ugh.”

Viscount Adreza took a deep breath. Fear saturated his slightly trembling body.

“What will you do?”

Revenfeld asked with a chilling, stiff face.