Capgras Syndrome (4)

The count's study was located on the ground floor of the Rondine Tower. Therefore, access was relatively easy, but the problem was Ferdinand, who was in the study.

From a hidden spot in the bushes near the window, I could observe Ferdinand pacing inside. He looked incredibly busy.

Leonardo draped his arm across my shoulder.

It was heavy. I hadn't noticed before because his movements were so swift, but he really had turned into a muscular giant. Lately, it felt like one side of the bed was unusually sunken.

Lost in thought, I heard the original Leonardo whisper softly in my ear.

"He's about to be crushed under the weight of it all."

His words were valid.

Not only did he have to imprison his own father and personally select the guards, but now he had to manage hundreds of people brought in by the king. On top of that, the entire El Dante system was shifting to root out those involved, so it was no surprise he was exhausted.

"My brother doesn't know how to think outside the box. He was always the model student, just doing what he was told. So, even if I told him to step aside and let me visit the old man, he'd resist all the way."

"You mean that using persuasion isn't as effective as trying something else?"

"Exactly."

Ferdinand always used polite language regardless of social status, but he often became rigid and couldn't be flexible in certain situations, which made his behaviour understandable.

Although it felt a bit too much, considering the urgency of the situation, I decided to accept the original Leonardo's suggestion. After all, as brothers, he'd know best.

Trying to divert his attention for just a moment was necessary, because if we waited too long to return, things could get worse…

"Do you think Celestina can help?"

Whoosh!

"Oh, right. It's time for the youngest to play their part."

Leonardo picked up a small pebble from the ground and tossed it upward. The pebble hit the window with a light tap, and Leonardo exclaimed, "Oh, a direct hit."

As several pebbles piled up on the windowsill, Celestina finally opened the window.

Looking down, she blinked in surprise. It had been just a few minutes, but seeing us again felt a little awkward. With her mask lowered, she awkwardly waved and gave a small smile.

Meanwhile, the original Leonardo calmly pointed back and forth between the south tower and the office, then waved his hand in a dismissive gesture as if signalling to send someone out.

Celestina, whose eyes were slightly swollen from crying, nodded resolutely as if she understood. A moment later, through the window, we could see Celestina peeking her head into the office.

Only then did Ferdinand, who had been holding his quill, look up and engage in a conversation with Celestina, both wearing serious expressions.

'What are they talking about?'

「She's probably telling him that he looks overwhelmed with work. She'll probably suggest a walk to clear his mind, and if she presses him, he'll eventually agree.」

As predicted, after a moment of hesitation, Ferdinand eventually couldn't resist and left the office. Before closing the door, Celestina waved three fingers in the direction of the window.

「She's giving us about 30 minutes. Let's go.」

The skill with which the two siblings deceived the eldest was impressive.

'…It feels like Ferdinand is the only one who was truly born from the Count's legitimate line.'

「What does that mean?」

'It's a thing.'

And just like that, we successfully infiltrated the office. If this were a side quest in a scenario, a "Quest Cleared" notification would've popped up triumphantly.

As soon as we entered the office, the original Leonardo, who had been pacing around, suddenly stopped in front of a bookshelf. He lightly shuffled his feet, and the thick carpet muffled the sound.

"Here, beneath. It's empty."

His hearing must be incredibly sharp. As he said, when we rolled up the rug, we could see a door leading downwards. Since we hadn't brought a lantern, we'd have to fumble through the darkness and move forward carefully.

"I'll go ahead. Just make sure to hold on if you don't want to trip."

"Mm."

I wasn't sure where to grab, but awkwardly, I lightly touched his shoulder. Leonardo seemed taken aback and commented with amusement.

"You and the hero are always groping around and acting all flustered, but now you're being all formal with me? Are you picking favourites?"

"No, you're saying it wrong. We've never— we're just looking out for each other!"

"Oh, is that so?"

Ignoring my words, the original Leonardo grabbed my hand. The rough contours of his hand felt like a mountain range, and even as we hurried along, I couldn't help but feel self-conscious about it.

"My hands… I do take care of them, I manage them often. But I guess they're not enough, right?"

"It's fine. They're not cut off or anything. When calluses form, they don't hurt when you snap, so it's better, right?"

He responded nonchalantly.

In the darkness, as I watched Leonardo Ertinez, I felt a sense of certainty that this man would sacrifice his life without hesitation for his family, just as he had been willing to sacrifice his beloved music. 

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Leonardo added:

"But you should be careful when applying the ointment."

"Why? Did I make a mistake? Does it dry out more if you put oil on it?"

"No, not me. I mean you… Ah, we're here."

He stopped as if he was about to say something else, then felt around the ceiling.

The original Leonardo placed a finger over his lips, signalling me to be quiet, and carefully pushed the door open. As I peeked out, I realized we had entered the interior of the southern tower. It was a successful infiltration.

As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I saw a spiral staircase rising high. The Count Ertinez must be up there.

「Be careful not to make any noise when you climb the stairs.」

He gestures, reminding me of the guards standing watch outside. We started slowly up the steps. Although I knew we didn't have much time, the fact that we couldn't rush felt frustrating, and my hands grew damp with sweat.

Finally, we reached the top floor.

Silently, I called out to the Count.

"Count."

"…Who is it?"

The Count, sitting on a small bed in the darkness, turned around. Having just returned from a hunting expedition and without any time to rest, he looked more disheveled than ever, wearing an expression of unjust suffering.

He was holding a small piece of paper in his hand. Seeing that one of the drawers containing telegrams was open, it seemed like he had been looking at one of the old telegrams. 

The paper, bathed in the dim moonlight, glowed faintly. It was addressed, "From your Veronica."

The Count, isolated in the tower, was quietly reading a telegram his wife had written when she was still alive.

"We're here."

I lowered my mask slightly to reveal my face, and the Count visibly startled.

"How did you—"

"That's not important. We don't have much time."

The Count set the telegram down on the desk and lowered his voice.

"Coming here recklessly… that was a foolish decision. Didn't you consider the possibility that I might have been one of them?"

"We know how to handle it."

Even though my ability to access information has failed, I am certain that the Count of Ertinez and his entourage, personally brought in by the main author and assistant writer, have not been consumed by it.

"Who are you exactly…"

The Count of Ertinez stared at me with an indescribable expression before turning his gaze back to Leonardo and falling silent. His expression quickly regained its usual sternness.

"You're right. Time is running out. But if I leave this tower, it will soon be proven through the trial, and it will look like I ran away in fear. If that happens, the knights who went on the hunt will also become targets for punishment."

At that answer, the original Leonardo, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up, his tone slightly sharp.

"So you intend to resist here?"

The Count widened his eyes slightly, then nodded slowly. Despite his ragged appearance, he stood tall with his back straight and shoulders squared, exuding the presence of a warrior.

"There should be no problem."

"It would be admirable if you could hold on purely by willpower, but I still brought some water and bread just in case. Please eat. More importantly, it's not just the trial of the sustenance that matters. The real issue is that the king won't just target you with this; he won't stop here."

At that, the Count's face drained of colour. The chaos and imprisonment were merely tactics to buy time. It was clear that the Count had not been assimilated after all.

It is crucial not to overlook the true intentions of Sub-Writer 1 and Godric's side.

"The castle is in a vulnerable state, isn't it? If King Godric finds a clue for a coup during this time, the Ertinez family…"

I didn't finish the sentence. The Count himself would understand better.

"Count."

I simply called him again to bring him back to reality.

"It's time to tell your children the truth."

The truth about his wife, his pain, the revenge he prepared, and the secret he crafted over many years.

"Of course, destroying the evidence to prevent further trouble is the immediate priority."

The Count silently caressed the telegram on his desk. His touch was soft and careful, as though it were something far more delicate than paper. After what felt like a long silence, he spoke. His voice, trembling, was one I had never heard before.

"…I had to kill Veronica. No, it was that thing that looked like Veronica."

Finally, after seven years, the truth was revealed.

"It was all a lie that I said the disease had worsened, and that I couldn't live in the same place as you anymore."

"…"

"Because of my stubbornness, I trapped a spectre in the castle that resembled her… and almost lost my own children."

In the span of a moment, the Count appeared to have aged. A certain kind of regret was evident in the lines of his weathered face and the coldness of his furrowed brows.

I wonder if, someday, when I reach that age, I'll understand the weight of what has passed with time. When I truly come to grasp the emotions he must be feeling at this very moment, will I fully comprehend it?

Perhaps that will be the moment when I truly become an adult—when I realize the burden on those shoulders once strong, the severity of the lips now etched with the wrinkles of time.

"I swore I would never repeat such a mistake, but there were some I had to make answer for."

Gradually, the Count's eyes began to burn with cold fury.

"I intend to raise a grave suspicion, one that should not be dared by any being who stands above all others."

The Count, no longer silent, spoke with conviction.

"I suspect that the king, in consolidating his authority and manipulating the kingdom's high-ranking figures, is using humanity's most wicked and vile enemies."

The simplest way to eliminate dissenters.

"After years of investigation, there is a list of those who met mysterious deaths and those who are suspected to have been transformed long ago. You must find it before the king does and destroy it."

The Count's voice trembled faintly.

"The moment it is discovered, it will be treason, and the entire family will be doomed to annihilation. Listen carefully. The location of the list is—"

And at that very moment…

[Assistant Writer: Stop the statement.]

[Assistant Writer: He is watching.]

A sensation as if a giant eye in the sky was watching.

Chills ran down my spine.