“What, what are you scared of? The guy inside is dead, isn’t he?”
“Scared? It’s usually the one who brings it up that talks about that kind of stuff.”
“Even if he were alive, he’s wearing the restraint, so it wouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“Alive? What are you talking about? He’s dead, haha.”
“Ah, right. Hahaha.”
There was a brief, dry laugh.
Renzo was dead. The display of the magical device that checks for vital signs clearly stated so.
But if the magical device was wrong, and if he were alive.
Even with the restraint, Renzo is strong even without his aura.
Someone has to open the door, but no one steps forward willingly.
It’s like trying to bell the cat.
“What are you all doing?”
A single voice broke through their hesitation.
A woman with purple hair that fell to her waist walked over. Her low-heeled shoes clicked as she moved.
“Di-, Director.”
“Renzo’s dead, you say?”
The woman opened the crack of the solitary cell to check inside.
Hmm, she hummed through her nose and then opened the door.
Creak-
“Director Esther. It’s dangerous.”
“Are you idiots? Now you’re scared of a dead man? And you call yourselves guards of Morion?”
The guards were speechless, unable to say anything.
Esther was the youngest female guard in Morion. The fact that she was a woman wasn’t particularly unusual. There were many female guards present here.
What made her unique wasn’t her gender but her youth compared to the other guards.
Her skills and character played a big part, but above all, her ability was most suited for the prison known as Morion.
Esther entered the solitary cell and approached Renzo, who was sitting on the floor. She reached for his neck.
Her eyes narrowed.
“He’s dead.”
Esther pulled a small flashlight from the inside pocket of her coat. It was small enough to fit in her hand.
She flipped Renzo’s left eyelid with her thumb and shone the flashlight on it.
“He’s dead.”
Then she checked the neck, chest, and wrist for any pulse.
“Dead. Definitely.”
Esther brushed herself off and stood up. She threw a glance at the guards behind her.
“Even after all this confirmation, does anyone still believe he’s alive?”
“……”
The guards kept their mouths shut.
“Clean it up. Prepare the solitary cell and dispose of the body.”
“Yes!”
As Esther left the solitary cell, the guards entered in turn. Esther watched them for a moment, sighed, and walked away.
‘Renzo has taken his own life.’
She too found it hard to believe Renzo was dead.
She had just performed various examinations in front of the guards to show them Renzo was indeed dead, but she was also curious herself.
However, she had checked it with her own hands. Renzo was dead.
‘I thought that solitary cell wouldn’t be usable for decades.’
She had thought Renzo would never die.
Even in the madness-inducing solitary cell, she imagined Renzo would remain calm, with that bitter smile on his face.
‘So he was human after all.’
The end of a man who had terrorized the continent seemed so futile.
Esther returned to her office and went through her files. She opened the file where all of Renzo’s records were organized.
‘Hedonist… If he finds it ‘fun’, he’ll just do it. That’s why Renzo has no complete allies or enemies. It’s easier to think of everyone as a potential threat, never knowing when they might cause trouble.’
Most of the information came from Constel and the royal palace.
Renzo had crashed a practical exam at Constel and was restrained by the pro ‘Eden Hamelot’.
‘This part is ambiguously described.’
It clearly states that Eden restrained Renzo.
But the Renzo who was detained in Morion was missing an arm.
So, was it Eden who took off that arm? Naturally, this question arises, and one would assume so, but that crucial sentence is missing.
Bringing down someone of Renzo’s caliber would already be a considerable public achievement. There’s no reason to deny it, nor any need to hide the records.
Yet, for some reason, Eden Hamelot is evading investigation.
‘…Constel.’
A wealth of information burst forth when he infiltrated Constel. It revealed that he was a hedonist and shed light on his way of life.
‘…Renzo killed himself. Unable to endure the torment of solitary confinement. That seems the most logical conclusion at first glance.’
But if that’s not the truth.
If Renzo had something else in mind following his death.
Then thoroughly verifying that wouldn’t be a loss.
“Maybe I should visit Constel first.”
Even if Eden was the one to overpower Renzo.
Someone else must have realized that Renzo’s life was centered around ‘fun.’ If Eden had known that, he would have spread the information long ago.
So, there must be someone else who truly understands what kind of person Renzo was.
Esther stood in front of a mirror. It was a full-length mirror that showed her from head to toe.
Her eyes briefly sparkled, and the woman reflected in the mirror, who was Esther’s doppelgänger, didn’t mimic Esther’s movements but instead stepped ‘through’ the mirror.
The mirror-image of Esther, a reversed figure, said,
“Lift your right hand.”
Esther raised her right hand at the mirror Esther’s command.
Mirror Esther nodded.
“I see. In this world, this is the right side. Are you the original?”
“Probably.”
Esther turned her back after saying so.
Her doppelgänger, emerging from the mirror, always asked similar questions.
However, Esther herself had never once confused her left and right. She hadn’t trained to adapt to such. Therefore, she was the original.
In other words, Esther believed she was the original for just that reason alone.
“I’ll be back in a bit.”
Esther left the office.
Esther decided to leave the minor tasks to her doppelgänger, confident that it would perform just as competently as she does.