“First, do you have any idea why the demon John kidnapped the Crown Prince?”
At the Archbishop’s request, Joel took a moment to organize his thoughts before opening his mouth.
The excuse that he had defeated a demon with a holy relic wouldn’t hold up here; he needed to provide a more persuasive explanation to the Archbishop and the Marquis.
How could he cover up the fact that the Crown Prince had made a contract with the demon?
“I’ll explain,” the Crown Prince began.
“But Your Highness, were you not unconscious the entire time after drinking the tea laced with sleeping pills?” Marquis Langston countered.
The tense Crown Prince tried to step in for Joel, but he fell silent upon hearing the Marquis’s rebuttal.
To reassure him, Joel gave the Prince’s hand a firm squeeze under the table.
Then, he turned to the Archbishop and spoke calmly.
“…In my opinion, the demon John wasn’t after the Crown Prince’s soul, but the soul of the baby in my womb. He threatened me, saying that if I wanted to save the Crown Prince, I had to give up the baby’s soul.”
“The baby’s soul?”
“The baby’s soul? Not the Crown Prince’s?”
Marquis Langston and the Archbishop asked simultaneously.
This was a development they hadn’t even imagined.
After a moment of thought, Marquis Langston nodded.
“Hmm… that would explain why the demon John went through the trouble of having the brainwashed Lord Bennett drag Young Master Joel to the underground dungeon.”
“But a demon, regardless of the strength of its powers, cannot touch a human soul recklessly—especially one of the Imperial bloodline protected by divine grace. Why, then, did the Young Master believe the demon could harm His Highness?”
Facing the still-skeptical Archbishop, Joel put on his most foolish face.
“I don’t know about things like that. He said he was going to kill the Crown Prince, so I thought he really would. John kept telling me he’d spare the Prince if I gave him the baby’s soul. He said since the baby is still inside me, I could… act as a deputy? I don’t know what a ‘deputy’ is, but he said I could make the decision for the baby.”
As Joel’s explanation continued, the suspicion in the Archbishop’s eyes began to fade.
He figured it would be child’s play for a demon to intimidate someone as simple-minded as Joel.
To put it another way, it was the moment Joel’s long-cultivated image of being a “dimwit” truly shone.
When Joel blinked his innocent eyes and added, “By the way, what does it mean to be a ‘deputy’ for a decision?” the Archbishop’s suspicion vanished completely.
“I see. And then? Did you agree to the deal the demon proposed?”
“No. When I insisted I couldn’t give up the baby’s soul, the demon pulled something that looked like a soul out of the Crown Prince’s chest as if to threaten me. I tried to stop him, but whatever magic the demon used, I couldn’t even twitch a finger.”
“An object presumed to be a soul?” Marquis Langston interjected.
Joel explained, “It was a small, glowing golden sphere. About this big.”
The Archbishop nodded. “That matches the description of a soul in the scriptures.”
“And then, just as the demon was about to put the Prince’s soul in his mouth right in front of me, he suddenly started acting in pain and collapsed on the floor. I could move again then. So, I immediately stabbed a dagger into the demon’s back. He coughed up blue blood and collapsed completely.”
Joel’s “I don’t know anything” strategy worked effectively.
The Archbishop and the Marquis began to piece the situation together themselves.
While the two whispered with their heads together, Joel added, “Actually, I didn’t even know that dagger was a holy relic. I wanted to pull out the greatsword at the Crown Prince’s waist, but it was too heavy, so I just took the dagger,” further emphasizing that he was an easily manipulated simpleton.
Ultimately, the Archbishop and Marquis Langston reached a consensus: the demon had suffered a backlash from rashly touching the soul of an innocent member of the Imperial family.
Weakened by that backlash, he became vulnerable to a fatal blow from a holy relic.
The meticulous Archbishop briefly wondered if the Prince had made a contract, but when the Prince snapped angrily, “Do I look like a person so lacking in faith and judgment that I would trade with a demon?” the Archbishop immediately backed down.
With that, the three-hour meeting came to an end.
Joel had successfully kept the secret of the Crown Prince turning back time.
“Thank you for your time during this busy period. An investigation of the underground estate shows no remaining link to hell. It will take at least 500 years for John to recover his former powers, so neither of you need to worry about him further.”
While the Archbishop wrapped up, Joel and the Prince exchanged glances.
The Prince looked at Joel with pride, seemingly impressed by his quick wit.
Joel felt a sense of accomplishment—even if he remained a fool in the eyes of the Archbishop and the Marquis, he had earned a bit more trust from the Prince.
“Then, Archbishop, I can leave now, right?”
“Yes. You’ve done well.”
“You’ve done well too, Archbishop! Your Highness, let’s go.”
Joel linked arms with the Prince and strolled out of the meeting hall.
The exact reason the demon was struck that day remained a mystery, but Joel didn’t really care.
If they were truly curious, they could investigate again later, after the Emperor passed and their positions were solidified.
In any case, they wouldn’t see the demon John in this land again, and Joel was satisfied with that.
With Joel’s testimony concluded, the incident at Lord Bennett’s estate—which had caused quite a stir—finally came to a close.
The execution of Count Lucas, which had been dragging on, was also decided.
Naturally, the final sentence for Count Lucas was death. He was to meet a miserable end by beheading in front of a crowd.
Not only the Count and his immediate family but also his relatives within four degrees of kinship were sentenced to death by national law.
However, Joel was excluded from punishment as he was not blood-related to Count Lucas and had played a significant role in finding evidence of the Count’s rebellion.
When news arrived that the execution date had been set, the Emperor finally granted Joel an audience.
Two weeks after arriving in the capital, Joel could not hide his joy at meeting the Emperor.
He was shocked to see the Emperor looking almost like a corpse, but he hid his reaction and behaved politely according to etiquette.
The Emperor, while still casting a somewhat dissatisfied look at Joel, seemed impressed that the “untamed colt” had adopted such a calm demeanor.
He expressed his gratitude to Joel for saving the Crown Prince and finding the evidence of rebellion—resolving a 25-year-old grievance—and promised to bestow a title and territory upon him.
The day before his adoptive father’s execution, Joel headed to the palace dungeons to meet him.
“Master, you are carrying a baby; must you really see such a hideous sight?”
Becky tried to dissuade Joel several times on the way to the dungeon.
But Joel brushed her off and walked on steadfastly.
He didn’t particularly want to see his doomed adoptive father, but considering how much he had suffered under the man for three years, he felt it would be an eternal injustice to let him go without saying a word.
Finally arriving at the entrance of the dungeon, the Crown Prince was waiting for him.
Even in the dark hallway, the Prince’s handsome face shone brilliantly, making Joel grin involuntarily.
The Prince thought that if Joel had a tail like a puppy, it would be wagging invisibly fast right now.
He leaned down so that Joel, who had rushed into his space, could kiss his cheek.
“Are you sure you want to see your adoptive father? The Count’s appearance has become quite haggard after his time in prison. It might be a difficult sight for someone with a weak stomach like you.”
The Crown Prince, who had seen Count Lucas many times while wrapping up the rebellion case, also tried to stop him.
But as Joel remained firm, the Prince respected his decision.
“Becky, you wait here. You too, Your Highness.”
Before stepping into the dungeon, Joel asked the Prince and Becky to wait at the door.
“But, Master…”
“I cannot allow that. It’s dangerous.”
The Prince and Becky protested immediately, but when Joel earnestly requested that he had something to say to the Count alone, they eventually stepped back.
Joel stepped into the prison, accompanied only by four guards in case of an emergency.
