Samuel’s Death

Once I sent Earl Riea and Al away, Louise, Claire, and Mia looked at me with a complicated expression.

"… Is it done?" Little Claire asked.

I nodded. "Sorry, I know that it must hurt you. But don't worry, I put a spell on them before sending them away. At the very least, their lives will be safe. They will die of old age."

Louise, Mia, and Claire put on relived expressions.

Most likely, my words relieved their guilt a bit. At the end of the day, despite everything, that man was their father and husband.

However, they did not know that sometimes death is a relief.

The spell I put on Earl Riea and Al is one that won't allow them to die. Even if they try to commit suicide, or if someone wants to kill them, they will survive.

They are destined to continue with their lives until they die of old age.

If they manage to overcome their past and leave it behind, then perhaps they will start a new life and achieve happiness, but if they fail, they will live until old age while carrying the hatred and despair they feel towards me until their grave.

Actually, the only reason I gave them this chance was that they were Louise, Claire, and Mia's family.

I can't believe I have become this softhearted.

"Let's go. I will take you back to the capital."

The mother and daughters nodded.

When we returned to the capital, Mia learned that her family had been released. They did not recover their status as nobles, and their possessions were in Louise's hands, but at the very least, they were free.

I made sure that they could leave the capital and met with Christine smoothly. And afterward, they left the empire.

It was the end of one of the biggest noble families in the empire.

"… Are you sure you don't want to go with them?" I asked Mia after her family left.

Mia hesitated before shaking her head. "My daughters are here. They are more important to me than them."

"I'm sure that they will be happy to hear that."

"I hope so... Claus, thank you. I don't know what would have happened to us without you."

"Perhaps your husband would have succeeded." I chuckled.

"Or perhaps our entire family would have been destroyed," Mia replied with a sigh. "Please, take care of my daughters. They are good kids."

"I will. And I will take care of you as well, mother-in-law."

Mia stiffened before looking at me with an amused expression.

"Are you hitting on me?"

"What do you think?"

Mia looked at me and rolled her eyes.

"Dream on. You should be satisfied with my daughters. I'm not an easy woman."

She then turned around and left.

However, I did not miss the slight reddish color in her cheeks.

Mother-in-law, mother-in-law, do you think it's so easy to escape from my hands?

Sigh, I should stop chasing women. I'm already a married man after all.

Chuckling to myself, I stepped across space and left the place.

When I reappeared, I was in the Imperial Institute.

Or in the ruins of it.

You could still see the traces of the battle against the monsters. Almost nothing of the once glorious academy remained.

However, I was not here for that.

Instead, I continued walking until I arrived at a small cottage in the back of the ruins.

Strangely, this place was not destroyed during the battle against the monsters. Perhaps this was the only place in the entire institute that stayed unscathed.

When I approached the cottage, I saw a black-haired woman kneeling in the garden with a dazed expression.

"Evelyn…" I muttered.

The woman did not reply. She instead remained kneeling, looking ahead in a daze, as though she was lost in her memories.

In front of her, you could see a tombstone crudely made. With just a glance, I knew that it was made by Evelyn herself.

On it, you could read the words, 'Samuel Barstool, a great father and teacher'.

I sighed softly when I saw that.

Yes, Samuel Barstool, the man who opened the portal that allowed Bringer of End to bring the monsters to this world, was dead.

He died two days ago after spending his last moments with Headmistress Evelyn.

I don't feel pity for him. He was blinded by his ambition and jealously, almost causing a disaster that could have killed millions. However, I felt pity for Evelyn.

To Evelyn, Samuel was not just her teacher, but also her father.

Despite everything that happened, she could not help but feel pained after he died.

She had not moved from this place after she buried him. She remained here, remembering her memories beside him.

I sighed and approached her, hugging her from behind and kissing her hair.

"Claus, I…" Evelyn turned around and looked at me dazedly. Then, she leaned on my chest and started to cry silently.

For several seconds, she stayed like that.

And eventually, she fell asleep.

I looked at her gently and brought her inside the cottage in my arms. Then, I put her on the bed.

After that, I used my powers over space to get some ingredients and started to cook.

Evelyn must have not eaten anything in the last few days. Even though eating is not that necessary for someone at her level, it will help to improve her mood.

A couple of hours later, when I finished cooking, Evelyn woke up groggily.

"Claus…"

"Hello, sleeping beauty. Come, I prepared something nice."

Evelyn forced out a smile.

"… Thank you."

We ate the meal in complete silence, but as I expected, it helped to improve Evelyn's mood.

Eventually, she spoke to me.

"… Before meeting my teacher, I was just an unneeded child. A bother. Nobody in my family looked at me with good eyes.

"Teacher was like my father. When he accepted me as his disciple, he treated me like his child. It was the first time I felt I was loved.

"I know that he was wrong, but… He was my only family… Now that he is gone, I have nothing left."

"You still have me," I replied while looking straight into her eyes. "There is also Katherine, Rose, and Dina. I'm sure that they consider you their family."

"Yeah… You are right, Katherine is like my daughter and Rose and Dina are like two mischievous little sisters. Then there is you…"

"What about me?" I asked with a smile.

Evelyn fell silent and looked at my face with a dazed expression, but before she could say anything, I brought my face close to hers.

Then, while she was startled and flustered, I kissed her lips gently.

"You…"

"I'm not sure what do you think of me, Evelyn, but I would like to be your lover."

Evelyn stiffened. Her expression became completely red, and her eyes started to move around in a flustered way.

I chuckled when I saw her innocent reaction. To think that the normally serious headmistress would be so cute.

I could not resist her cuteness and kissed her lips again.

This time, though, I was not planning to end it with just a kiss.