The count rushed into the room, followed by the two guards that broke down the door, with more on the way.
"Jonathan, what have you done?! Have you lost your mind?!"
"I-I don't have anything to do with this'! He was already like this when I entered!! I-I… I didn't even enter! He pushed me in! That's why his hand—"
"Enough! Guards, arrest him! We will listen to your lies in court, if you even make it to a trial!"
"Wha— You have no right to— No, let go of me! With my father dead I am the one you should be listening to, not him! I said let go!"
But no one listened. He was forcefully escorted out and his protests went silent once they left the soundproof room and closed the door behind them.
"I… I can't believe it… By the hands of his own son… I knew they did not get along well, but this… I need to get some air… You all, just wait in the room opposite to this one, I will deal with you later…"
"Of course, Count. Take your time, you must be in shock. We will he waiting."
As the Count left, he Yamato, Yuki and Lucy left the scene and entered the room opposite to the Baron's. It was an exact copy of the room they had been in just a moment ago, and Yamato sat down at a sofa in the waiting area. Lucy sat down opposite of him, and Yuki let herself fall down onto the sofa next to Yamato, pulling herself towards him and resting her head on his lap.
"Phew… Can someone please explain to me what just happened already?"
"It's all quite simple actually. It all started when I heard about the Count visiting the Baron for a few days, which initially made me come up with the idea in the first place. After asking Tom for information regarding the Count, I learned he was not too big of a fan of Jonathan, for whatever reason. After that, I asked Lucy to do some research on him and she found out he was actually concerned about a war breaking out soon, which was the reason for his visit in the first place. So when Jonathan challenged me to the duel, I accepted under the condition that if I won, I'd get to meet the Baron. However, my plan never was to interact with him personally. I knew what kind of person he was based on the condition of this town alone. My actual goal was to get Jonathan to the baron, with me just in proximity of him, so I could execute the final, most important step. So the night before the competition, Lucy broke into the castle and mapped everything out to the Barons room. All in preparation for today. Then, while I had the competition with Jonathan, she snuck into the castle disguised as a maid, and interacted with the Count. She slipped him some rumors that would indicate a war was indeed coming up, which was why he was so insistent on talking directly to the Baron. However, at that point, he was already dead. Lucy killed him just moments before, but made sure the door was locked, so that it seemed he was just asleep at the moment. After our competition ended, we met her at the gate, where she gave me a sign to tell me if everything worked out or not. Since everything until then worked out, we proceeded with bringing Jonathan to the room where the Baron was. Which was where you came into the picture. Using your pocket dimension, we were able to move the knife, that Lucy used to kill the baron, past the guards inspecting us. So I could then later use it and hand it to Jonathan, cutting myself for the victim role and pushing him in. Lucy then used a key, which she took earlier, to lock the door. She later placed the key back inside the room when everyone was distracted with Jonathan, so it looked like he was the one who used it to lock the door from the inside. The confusion of seeing his dead father mixed with randomly being pushed to the ground with a knife would give me just enough time to get the Count. And that's about it."
"And why exactly couldn't you include me more?!"
"Weren't you busy with the church? I didn't even think you would be part of it at all until you randomly showed up at the competition. I was actually planning to use a knife placed in the anteroom, but it would be difficult to get to in the time where we passed the anteroom without making a scene. So you actually made it a lot easier. Thank you."
"Hehe, well, I just can't help but be useful~ And you went along with all that, Lucy? No moral issues?"
"The Baron was without a doubt a bad person. My research showed that much. Though at the end, Jonathan seemed to not be as bad as expected, his behavior at our first meeting towards you was inexcusable. Along with his petty attempt to fight over you with Yamato, I believe I can live with framing him as long as it serves the towns well being."
"Alright, I guess that's that. Whatever then. I'm thinking I see what you're doing here, Master. Not very selfless of you…"
Yuki grabbed up to cup Yamato's face, idly squishing it together out of boredom and the genuine, unprovoked urge to do so.
"I do feel as though my actions could be considered selfless to an extent. Even if I ultimately gain something, I still put effort into it and no one forced me to."
"Hmm… Is that so… What do you think, Lucy?"
Lucy had gotten used to the affection Yuki openly expressed towards Yamato and just acted as if they were sitting normally next to each other. An essential skill for being a functional part of their dynamic.
"I agree with Yamato. I would argue that gaining something does not make an act outright less selfless. There are other factors that go into the equation, such as weighing the—"
"Boooring. But I do have a question… What Jonathan said earlier, with his father dead, the title of baron gets passed down to him and thus he is now in charge, or not? Can he even be convicted for the murder of his father?"
As Yuki ended the conversation with Lucy, one might think of it as rude. However, accepting her mood swings and expecting a loss of interest on topics not related to Yamato was also an essential skill required for a existing alongside Yuki.
Yamato gave into the urge to pet her head which he had this entire time. Much to Yuki's delight, of course.
"Well, that's pretty political. Do you want me to explain it to you or will that be too boring as well?"
"Nothing is boring if it comes out of your mouth!"
"Alright then, usually, you are right, it would be difficult to get him to trial and sort out if he received the title of baron or not, as usually nobles have lots of privileges that make them able to stall time for the trial or even have the "jury" be close friends or vassals that will just go for the lowest sentence or innocent. But it's completely different in this case, since it was witnessed by a noble that is superior to him. The count being on the scene removes all noble privileges Jonathan might have had access too. Additionally, he immediately lost entitlement to the title of baron, and there is not even need for a trial, as he is already deemed guilty. The death penalty is to be expected."
"Wow… Really sucks to be on the receiving end of the medieval justice system.""I
I don't think you want to be on the receiving end of any justice system, but this one is especially unforgiving, yes."
As Yuki enjoyed the Yamato's head petting, Lucy was impressed by Yamaro's legal knowledge.
"You seem to know a lot about these kind of things, Yamato… This seems to be a pretty niche scenario, yet you know so much about it."
"It's not that I know everything about the law… I just happen to know about this specific area, which is why I created a familiar scenario. I wouldn't have gone for this route in the first place without my niche knowledge."
"I see…"
"Besides, it plays into something far more important… Something that will enable me to affect the entire world…"
Yamato looked down at Yuki, who had almost fallen asleep, if it were not through the burst of energy she received each time she felt him touch his head. She sheer amount of bliss was too overwhelming to waste time on sleeping.
"It feels so safe and secure… I wanna do something, but can't! I hate this. Why did Lucy come with us anyway… The way I understand it she could've waited outside after killing the baron. Master and I could have been all alone now… It'd be so exciting! But no… Well, at least I'm alone on the couch with him. That's something, I guess."
"…Master, I don't wanna wait anymore. I'm bored."
"You should get up now anyway… I'm going to need you to act all shaken up, otherwise it will seem weird if you laze around carefree in my lap like that after what just happened."
"What you want them to think just happened… But alright, point taken. However… Considering I just witnessed a murder, I might be so shaken up that I'm too scared to be separated from my darling~!"
"While that is actually reasonable as long as you are not acting too giddy… It only makes things awkward for everyone else."
"So, I don't care."
"I kinda do."
"And suddenly I do too!"
Then the door opened, at which Yuki sat up straight in an instant, as if she had been sitting normally the entire time. Count Lintone entered, still visibly distressed but now composed.
"Hello, again. I'm terribly sorry for what occurred here today, and I feel somewhat responsible… However, I must ask who you are and what you were doing here in the first place."
"My name is Yamato, and earlier this morning, I had an archery competition against Jonathan, and after his loss, I was permitted an audience with the baron. However, he seemed off after his defeat… You don't think there is a connection, do you?"
"You won against Jonathan in archery? I find that hard to believe…"
"Well, he forfeited. If you still don't believe me, half the town was witnessing the event."
"He lost in front of that many people…? What a disgrace… Either way, I'm aware of the situation now. I might need to ask you a few questions later regarding some details, but I don't have a reason to keep you here. However I must inform you that you cannot leave town until the situation is resolved. And it would be very much appreciated if you would keep this to yourself for now."
"I understand. We will be leaving then."