The moon rose in the dark blue sky.

Arasila quietly sent away Audrey who had come to invite her to dinner. She had instructed that no one should visit until called.

Several hours had already passed since she handed Monica’s diary to Demian. There was no reaction from him left alone in the room.

What was he doing beyond the door now? She hoped he wasn’t hurting too much…

But Arasila knew that was too much to ask. Though she had only read the beginning of Monica’s last diary entry before closing it, she could still feel her gentle and kind nature that persisted until death.

As well as the tender love of a mother for her son permeating throughout the diary.

Demian must have felt that too. So he was likely in great pain, sadness, and anguish right now.

No longer wanting to leave him alone, Arasila knocked on the bedroom door. There was no answer, but she went inside.

Demian sat motionless on the sofa like a statue, his head bowed. Monica’s diary was in his hands.

“Demian.”

When she carefully approached and called his name, Demian slowly raised his head. His face revealed in the cold moonlight was a mess.

His eyes were dull, his complexion pale. Though there were no tear stains on his dry face, Arasila could tell he had cried a lot because of that.

Demian opened his parched lips with difficulty.

“…I resent myself. I hate my foolish younger self who hindered my mother instead of helping her.”

“Don’t say such things. Why do you resent and hate yourself when it’s not your fault?”

Arasila grabbed both his cheeks and met his eyes. She filled his empty golden eyes.

“Did your mother say she resented you?”

“…No.”

“Then, did she tell you to live hating yourself?”

“…She didn’t.”

Demian lowered his eyes and looked at his mother’s diary again.

The meaning of the last diary entry left as a will was clear. Monica wished for her son not to waste his one precious life consumed by revenge.

Rather than living hating, despising, and cursing someone, she wanted him to be happy and break free from the ill fate of his parents’ generation to live his own life.

“Mother didn’t want me to seek revenge. But contrary to her wishes… I staked everything on revenge and ruined myself.”

Even with empty words, one couldn’t say Demian’s life was peaceful after his mother’s death. He had to fight to survive every moment, and grew up unable to believe in love while dreaming of revenge.

He spent time in perfect opposition to what his mother had wished for. Despite receiving an overflowing amount of love.

“I have no face to meet Mother later…”

“You didn’t ruin yourself.”

A clear voice firmly cut off Demian’s gloomy words.

“You’re a good person, Demian. You’re not damaged at all.”

“…How can you be so sure?”

“I’m your wife. Is there anyone who’s been closer to you than me?”

Arasila smiled brightly. Demian didn’t deny it. After Monica’s death, the person who had penetrated deepest into his life was Arasila.

Right now, there was no one in this world closer to Demian than her. Because she was his only family.

“If you’ve made any mistakes or done wrong in your life, that’s something everyone goes through as humans. I did too. So don’t blame and belittle yourself.”

“…”

“Why is a young person with more days ahead than behind making hasty judgments? Can’t you live from now on as your mother wanted?”

Arasila scolded, hands on her hips, then sat beside Demian and turned his face towards her.

“So it’s okay, Demian.”

“…”

“It’s okay.”

Demian stared blankly at Arasila. It seemed he had been waiting for someone to say those words all along. That it wasn’t his fault so it was okay, that it wasn’t too late, that he still had a chance…

A gentle hand brushed his reddened eyes. The warmth was so comforting that Demian choked up. Something hot welled up inside him.

Tears he couldn’t shed even when alone finally forced their way out.

Arasila silently patted Demian’s back as he buried his face in her shoulder. Though not usually one to cry when others did, her nose stung.

After crying silently in her embrace for a while, Demian spoke in a subdued voice.

“I won’t seek revenge as Mother wished. But I will make sure those who committed crimes pay for their sins.”

Though his face was much more of a mess than before, he declared with an incomparably refreshed expression. His eyes shone with more intelligence and clarity than ever.

“I’ll join you on that path too.”

Arasila gladly took Demian’s hand. They were spouses after all. Spouses who needed to share both pain and happiness.

She decided to no longer care whether that relationship was fake or real. What mattered was the sincere desire to be together.

A comfortable night gently enveloped them. No longer cold or lonely.

As soon as he saw Demian, Lucas shed dewy tears and embraced him.

“Sob! I truly missed you, my friend!”

“Yes, Your Highness. But this is…”

“I was so afraid I’d lose you forever! I was determined to defeat the enemies and get you back!”

Demian’s expression went from gratitude to ambiguity as Lucas clung tightly and poured out all sorts of burdensome words.

Arasila struggled to hold back her laughter as she watched. She stepped in to help Demian, who seemed to be reluctantly enduring Lucas’s reaction.

“You two look just like a couple. Is this because you spent a night together?”

“…Wife, please stop saying such creepy things.”

Lucas burst into laughter, unable to hold it back before Arasila. The tears he shed upon seeing Demian’s return had long since dried.

Realizing midway that Lucas was acting excessively to tease him, Demian rubbed his forehead.

“You haven’t changed at all.”

“People don’t change easily, Lord.”

Lucas replied leisurely as he plopped down on the sofa.

Though he seemed the same, he had actually changed a lot. The carefree atmosphere of a wandering idler was gone, replaced by the feeling of a relaxed predator eyeing the next imperial throne.

“Anyway, I’m truly glad to see your face again. Welcome back.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Demian bowed his head respectfully.

It was always both disappointing and trustworthy how he never crossed the line despite their close friendship. Lucas’s playful smile faded as he spoke seriously.

“Now then, shall we discuss the other reason I came today? Frederick’s movements have been suspicious lately.”

Since realizing Demian was likely to return victorious from war, he had been increasing the number of suspicious meetings with nobles supporting him.

Moreover, information came that the Lester duchy, which could be called his left arm at this point, had secretly liquidated part of their assets into cash.

“Decisively, Ryley, who infiltrated the Habitz trading company, sent a letter yesterday. He said the company has been quite busy lately with a surge in weapons purchases.”

“Is the Crown Prince buying them?”

“Most likely. If we leave things be, Frederick might really start a rebellion.”

“Then we need to stop him before that.”

Arasila and Lucas nodded at Demian’s words. Nothing good would come from a civil war. That’s why they had been diligently gathering evidence of treason and building up forces.

However, in the process, Arasila realized how cunning Frederick was. His skill in perfectly cutting ties with Oscar Vandermir in her prophetic dream was no coincidence.

Frederick thoroughly used those around him, but never did anything directly himself. The dark magic artifacts and weapons were purchased by nobles around him, and the owl familiars were managed by the Lester duchy.

If they rashly accused him, he might cut ties again and slip away alone this time too.

“I’m thinking of bringing up Frederick’s treason at the court meeting. If we present the evidence we’ve gathered then, and our nobles lend their support…”

“Just a moment, Your Highness.”

Arasila, who had been deep in thought with a pensive look, suddenly spoke.

“That seems too conventional and peaceful. Wouldn’t it be better to make a flashier revelation to draw attention?”

“Oh? Does the lady have an idea?”

“Actually, I recently heard from Colin that the Crown Prince’s side is still frantically searching for Brady.”

Arasila smiled faintly. She had one plan she’d briefly considered after hearing that.

“What if we send that Brady to the Vandermir duchy? Have him go there and reveal that the true culprit who killed Oscar Vandermir was the Crown Prince, driving a wedge between them.”

Currently, the Vandermir duchy was half-detached from Frederick.

However, since the family and duke were still sound, they hadn’t been completely abandoned yet. Though no longer the main force of the Crown Prince’s faction, they were still important enough to be involved in weapons purchases, so they had enough value to be used.

“So we guide the duke and duchess to accuse the Crown Prince.”

Arasila guessed they must know something about the rebellion. Otherwise, there’s no way they would have gathered so many weapons.

Even if they didn’t know, it didn’t matter. We could let them know by spreading the word through Brady.

“It’s not ideal if evidence and witnesses only come from our side.”

“That’s true, but… If the duchy kills Brady, won’t we lose an important witness?”

“That’s why I plan to send him with a powerful protective magic item imbued with my mana. I happen to have an item for use inside magic towers that allows one-time teleportation.”

Lucas’s expression noticeably softened at Arasila’s answer. He nodded slightly and muttered.

“Then we can send him without worry. It would certainly be more effective if the duchy accuses Frederick first and then we step in. But… is it really okay?”

Lucas cast a worried glance at Demian.

One way or another, the Vandermir duchy was the family Demian belonged to. Lucas hadn’t touched them so far because they could be harmed if handled wrong.

“It’s fine.”

However, Demian answered decisively.

“If they’re smart, they’ll create an escape route for themselves, and if not, my wife and I have a clever plan.”

It was a rather confident and assured voice. Arasila was also smiling leisurely beside Demian.

“If you two say so, alright then. Let’s go with that plan.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The three discussed the plan in more detail and concluded the meeting.

As they started wrapping up, Arasila said in a bright voice.

“Now it’s our turn.”

They had all been unilaterally attacked until now. But this time, they would take the initiative and go on the offensive.

Their turn had finally come, so they intended to pay back fiercely. So that the turn would never go to the other side again.

“Long live Lord Vandermir!”

When she arrived at the lab with the Dilai flower Demian had given her, Sally and Rudy were jumping up and down with joy. They sang praises to Demian in excited voices.

Even Eric was so happy he didn’t know what to do, holding hands with Sally and Rudy as they spun around the lab.

Arasila felt proud for no reason and smiled contentedly, resting her chin on her interlocked fingers.

“Now that we have a specimen, there’s no way the research can fail, right? Let’s quickly increase the number and try making the truth serum.”

“Yes, senior!”

“Certainly.”

Eric nodded vigorously with sparkling eyes at the expectation of restoring an extinct flower. For the first time in a very long while, vitality returned to the lab.

They immediately began the work of obtaining seeds from the Dilai flower.

The reason the Dilai flower went extinct in the past was clear. It could only grow at a specific temperature, but no one knew that fact.

More precisely, they knew it only grew in cold places, but didn’t know the temperature had to be maintained constantly.

After clearly determining those environmental conditions, the lab artificially lowered the temperature below zero, planted the Dilai flowers in that greenhouse, and used magic potions to make them flourish.

The flowers that grew and withered in a short time dropped small black seeds. They sowed those seeds in soil infused with magic potions to bloom flowers.

After repeating that process several times, the number of Dilai flowers soon increased to dozens of stems. Once they secured enough flowers to be used as ingredients for the truth serum, they immediately began production.

In the past, the truth serum had the side effect of making people vomit blood when ingested. The lab improved that aspect to create a new method for developing the truth serum.

And finally, the first truth serum was completed. The four people gathered around the bottle.

“Oh, our first truth serum is finally complete…!”

“The color is truly ethereal. It’s like dropping pink paint into emerald sea water.”

“The scent is also pleasant, so people will likely enjoy consuming it?”

“You all worked hard. We couldn’t have made this without even one of us four.”

At Arasila’s words, everyone smiled shyly. Seeing the result of a full year’s research before their eyes filled them with emotion.

All that remained was to actually use it and confirm if it worked properly.

“First, let’s try it ourselves to check if it’s effective. Any volunteers?”

A brief silence fell. As they exchanged glances, Rudy raised his hand.

“I’ll drink it.”

“Impressive, Rudy!”

Eric gave a thumbs up as he handed over the bottle. Rudy gulped down the truth serum. The three watched tensely.

“Hey, how is it? Any discomfort anywhere?”

“No.”

“No feeling like you’ll vomit blood or nausea?”

“I’m fine.”

The three exchanged glances. Seeing no symptoms after drinking, the side effects seemed certainly improved.

“That’s a relief. Now, we’ll ask some simple questions, so try your best to answer with lies. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Rudy nodded casually. The three pondered what questions to ask.

Just then, Eric, who had been thinking with a hand on his cheek, suddenly asked:

“Do you currently like someone?”

“N-”

Rudy’s lips, about to immediately deny, trembled and stopped moving.

His tongue, trying to tell a lie, twisted uncontrollably. Though he desperately resisted, his mouth, properly affected by the truth serum, spilled the truth.

“Y-es, I d-o.”

“Oh my.”

“Ugh!”

Rudy, who had tried to lie and resist the truth serum until the end, dry heaved. Yet he still couldn’t utter anything but the truth.

Seeing his pale face, Eric felt sorry.

He had casually asked the question, assuming Rudy had no love interest since he usually showed no interest in romance, but unintentionally ended up prying into his private life.

As the truth serum’s effectiveness seemed good enough without further testing, Arasila stopped the questions and gave Rudy a break. The drug’s effect would wear off on its own in about 30 minutes.

She tapped the glass bottle containing the mysteriously colored liquid and raised the corner of her mouth in a smirk.

With this, all preparations were complete. All that remained was the downfall of their enemies.