Once again, Ryunosuke Naruhodo had uncovered the truth. It was an arduous trial, but at last, Albert Harebrayne's name was cleared and Enoch Drebber and the Scotland Yard coroner, Courtney Sithe, were both found guilty for the roles they had played in the entire affair—a scandal with ties to the Professor, and the murder of Odie Asman.
A jolt had gone through Susato at the sight of the coroner. She recognised her faintly from a day long ago. Susato had the distinct impression that she had seen the woman at Dr. Wilson's side. Perhaps Susato had seen her at the hospital? For some reason, she kept picturing a little girl as well. But that was not what had stunned Susato the most that day. Learning that Drebber had supposedly seen the Professor rise from his grave before being shot again sent a horrible chill creeping through Susato's entire being.
Her dismay and consternation increased when she learned the Professor had been executed in an iron mask, cutting off her only chance of ever discovering the truth of his identity. For that mask was on the waxwork as well—which had been recovered and even presented in court, as Drebber and Sithe had used it to help orchestrate Asman's murder.
Susato struggled to force the ordeal as far from her thoughts as she could. This was a moment of celebration, not a time to dwell on the tragedies of the past, no matter how fresh the wounds would always feel.
"What a splendid outcome, isn't it?" Ryunosuke said as they greeted Albert in the defendant's antechamber.
"Oh, it is, it is! Congratulations, Professor Harebrayne!" Susato said.
Albert bowed his head and shoulders. "Mr. Naruhodo...Miss Susato...I am truly...truly...beside myself with gratitude!" he shouted, his head shooting up, startling them both. "How can I ever thank you enough!?"
"I'm just glad it's all been cleared up. That you realise you were just caught up in a bad situation," Ryunosuke said, smiling.
"And I'm glad that a dear old friend has been exonerated!" Susato said.
"Aaaah! Right now, you know...if I had that research grant money...Aaah! I'd give the whole lot to you! Every penny!" Albert said.
Susato laughed softly.
"Well...that's very kind, but...I'm just a student, so..." Ryunosuke demurred.
"We don't need any financial reward. Your acquittal is more than enough!" Susato said.
"Oh dear...Oh, what can I do...?" Albert fretted. "Aha! How about this? As a memento? The paper about my hypothesis is inside!" He held up a remarkably tiny science publication.
"...Well, just as a memento then. Thank you," Ryunosuke said.
"I've been wondering, Professor Harebrayne...what are you going to do now?" Susato said. "Will you visit for a while?"
"Oh, oh my...yes...What am I going to do? My hypothesis and my great machine lie in ruins..." Albert said.
Susato frowned. "Oh, Professor Harebrayne..."
"But still, it's been too long since I was last in London, so perhaps I'll enjoy some sightseeing. I must explore the Great Exhibition whilst I'm here, too, and see if new inspiration hits me," Albert continued.
"Oh yes, that's a wonderful idea! Perhaps we can spend some time catching up as well? I'm sure you have much to tell me about Germany!" Susato said.
"Yes! Oh, I'm so glad to hear you say that, Miss Susato! I still remember that lunch you made before," Albert said.
Susato laughed. "I could make us all a nice lunch! And then perhaps we can all explore together?"
"Yes! Yes! That's an excellent idea!" Albert said.
"What do you think, Mr. Naruhodo? I—"
"I can't allow that."
Susato flinched. That voice was unmistakable.
"L-Lord van Zieks!" Ryunosuke stammered. "What are you doing in here?"
"Barok!" Albert said.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Albert," Barok said.
"Well, if I'm honest...it—it was terrifying!" Albert confessed. "You were like a great demon behind your bench there, snarling down on your prey!"
"...You're one of the few true friends I have," Barok said. "I couldn't leave it to anybody else to handle the prosecution...or the defense."
Susato's throat tightened.
"Sorry?" Ryunosuke said, stunned.
"I always knew that you had my best interests at heart, don't worry," Albert said. "Ah, how about you show me around while I'm here in town? It's been a long time since we left university. We have a lot to catch up on. And Miss Susato said she'd make us all one of her great lunches! Do you remember them, Barok?"
"....Listen, Albert...in a few days, your acquittal will be made official. When that happens...you must head straight to Dover. I'll accompany you," Barok said. "From there, you'll cross the Channel and make your way back to Germany. I've already purchased the tickets," Barok said.
"But—But no! Hold on a minute, Barok!" Albert said. "What about the Great Exhibition? This is the chance of a lifetime for me! I want to look around."
"No, no sightseeing, Albert. Give up on the idea," Barok said with finality.
"Ugh...S-Sometimes it's hard to see any warmth in those eyes, Barok..." Albert sighed.
"Um, Lord van Zieks...what's this all about?" Ryunosuke said.
"A necessary precaution," Barok said.
"Yes, I...think I understand," Susato said quietly.
"You do?" Ryunosuke said.
"Well, Iris told me that when you met Lord van Zieks at his office some days ago...he asked how Mr. Natsume was doing," Susato said.
"Yes, that's right! I remember being surprised at the time...and thinking it was nice of him to ask," Ryunosuke said.
Susato's heart rate elevated slightly. "The point is...Mr. Natsume is still alive and well! Even though it's been more than six months now since he stood trial with the Reaper as the prosecutor."
"Ah! You—you mean...the Reaper's influence doesn't stretch overseas?" Ryunosuke said.
"Those in the Reaper's sights meet their ends days or sometimes months after their acquittal," Barok said. "That's been the pattern up to now."
"But of course, we know that both Mr. Natsume and Gina were completely innocent," Susato said.
"...True. And perhaps that governs the Reaper's actions. The truly innocent are spared. But I don't want to take any chances with a close personal friend," Barok said.
Susato smiled, her heart suddenly feeling very warm.
"B-B-Barok..." Albert said.
"Like the moustached Nipponese...this man should leave the country without delay. That's why...I'm packing him off to Germany at once!" Barok said vehemently.
"R-Right..." Ryunosuke said.
"...This was your intention all along then. Wasn't it, Lord van Zieks?" Susato said.
Barok crossed his arms and looked away, maintaining his silence.
Susato stared at him, a smile creeping across her lips. Yes. She had been right all along. The man she knew was still there, just below a layer of ice.
"It's time to go, Albert. Back to the prison for the time being," Barok said.
"Ah, yes, alright. Well then, Mr. Naruhodo...thank you so much for everything!" Albert said.
"Not at all, Professor! It was a pleasure getting to know you!" Ryunosuke said.
"Best wishes, Professor Harebrayne," Susato said, bowing. "Please don't hesitate to write to us!"
"Well, once the dust has settled...you must come and visit me in Germany!" Albert said with extreme intensity.
Susato laughed. "I will try my best! It was so nice to see you again."
"Yes! Yes, likewise! Anyway, goodbye for now!" Albert said before leaving with the bailiff.
Barok turned sharply towards Ryunosuke. "Now, my Nipponese friend..."
"Oh! Yes?" Ryunosuke said.
"...We have matters to discuss. Can you spare me some time?" Barok said. His gaze flicked towards Susato. "Both of you."
"You want to talk with us?" Ryunosuke said.
Susato's breath thinned.
"...I'll be waiting in the courtroom in ten minutes," Barok said.
Susato's heart pounded in her throat. She stared at the doors, wondering what Barok could possibly have to say to them.
Ten minutes suddenly felt agonisingly long.
***
When they entered the courtroom, Barok was standing behind the Prosecutor's bench, the so-called Masked Apprentice at his side. And between them was the waxwork of the Professor.
Susato wasn't sure where to look. Her gaze shifted slowly from the hidden face of the Professor to the Apprentice to Barok. Her mouth ran dry from the thundering of her heart.
"So, are you satisfied? You saved a guileless scientist from a great injustice," Barok said, finally rupturing the silence.
"Um...yes! I think so! I'm relieved, at least, that the man's innocence could be proven," Ryunosuke said.
"And I am glad Professor Harebrayne is free to return home," Susato said quietly.
"...Anyway...I imagine you've been wondering where my animosity towards you Nipponese comes from," Barok said.
Susato's heart palpitated painfully. "Yes."
"Well, at first I thought you just didn't like me. I imagined you saw me as a pretentious child from an unimportant land, who had no business being here. Then...I wondered if it was because of your history with Miss Susato," Ryunosuke said.
Susato withered.
"But now I think differently," Ryunosuke said. "You clearly know our ways. So I would guess that some specific incident led to your thorough dislike of my race. Something other than Miss Susato's abrupt departure ten years ago. Will you tell me what happened, please?"
Susato watched Barok with sombre anticipation. She had no idea what he was going to say, but she hoped it would shed some light on this alleged 'crime' he had accused her of committing.
"....The Professor...I thought I'd never hear that name in this courtroom again, to be honest," Barok said, hand hovering over his scar.
Pressure against the backs of Susato's eyes. The pain was so clear upon Barok's face that it hurt to look at him.
"He—He took...he took a very dear life..." she said, her voice hushed.
"Yes, he did. Klint. My brother was Klint van Zieks. You knew him well," Barok said. He pressed his palms against the bench and leaned forward, shoulders bowed. "Sixteen years ago, when I was still just in my teens...Klint was already the Director of Prosecutions, and a key member of the judiciary. I looked up to him. He was everything I aspired to be."
"...He was a good man. Kind and...and welcoming...and so very dedicated. A true paragon of justice," Susato whispered. She felt it as Ryunosuke's stare fell upon her.
"...Yes. He was involved in the establishment of justice systems in foreign countries, as well. There were exchange programmes between Britain and other nations then too, to share knowledge and ideas. As part of one of those programmes...three judicial students came to Britain from your homeland, the Empire of Japan," Barok said, looking up suddenly. His eyes were so intense as they landed on Susato that she was stunned for an instant.
"...Y-Yes. My father arrived first. Ten years prior to...to the others," Susato said.
Barok nodded. "I was a minor at the time, studying the law. One day, Klint introduced me to the visiting Nipponese. They were polite and amicable. They were adept at their work and exacting in their standards. It was my first encounter with the Nipponese spirit, and it made a very great impression upon me." He narrowed his eyes. "But six years later...That's when it happened."
"My arrival and...shortly after...the Professor began killing," Susato said.
"The investigation was going nowhere. There were no suspects, even. Just an ever-growing list of victims," Barok said. "And in the end...my brother became one of them. The last in fact, before the case was finally resolved."
Susato's breath hitched. She fought to hold her emotions together. Thought of the manor unfurling before her like a living nightmare. Genshin rushing her away to her Baker Street. A glimpse through the door of Barok hunched over, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed. Klint's hand, the palm open, fingers stained red.
"I'm so sorry, Lord van Zieks," Ryunosuke said, bowing. "Truly..."
Barok's hand hovered over his scar. Susato wondered, not for the first time, if it pained him. "Klint was always ready to put his life on the line for justice anyway. So he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. He lost his life to the killer, but it was his victory in the end."
"His victory? What do you mean?" Susato said.
Barok gave her a long stare then braced his hands against the bench again, lowering his head. "For me personally, though, it was a great loss. I found myself in a very dark place indeed."
Guilt throttled Susato. I should have been there. I shouldn't have let anything interfere.
"When I finally found out the killer's identity...the reason why no one had been able to catch the man sooner ceased to be such a mystery." Barok lifted his head, his harsh stare piercing Susato. "He'd been hiding in plain sight all the time. Isn't that so, Miss Mikotoba?"
"I—I don't know what you mean," Susato said, her chest tight.
"In plain sight?" Ryunosuke echoed.
Barok leaned back. "Are you aware of political events ten years ago? It was a period of extremely sensitive diplomacy between the British and Japanese empires."
"A new treaty was being forged, I think?" Ryunosuke said.
"Correct. The Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Friendship and Navigation was being concluded. The leaders of both countries were deep in extensive political discussions. Which is why this particular killer's appearance in court was conducted as a closed trial," Barok said.
"A...closed trial..." Susato said slowly. "Oh. That must be why the news was only in the papers after the trial was concluded. Right before the execution..."
"If the British people had known the identity of the killer...not only would the treaty have been in jeopardy...our two nations could very well have ended up at war," Barok said.
"What!? A—A war...between Britain and Japan?" Ryunosuke said, flinching.
A terrible pounding leapt into Susato's temples. "But that would mean...Oh my! You mean to say the Professor was...But...how...how can that be?" Was there another Japanese man in London that Susato had never met?
Barok stared at her for a moment, the intensity painful, a certain hint of anger etched into his countenance. And then he turned and began to stride out from behind the bench, towards the waxwork. "When the trial reached its conclusion earlier, I thought to myself, 'yes, it's time.'" Barok stopped beside the waxwork, and Susato realised there was a key in his hand. His eyes landed upon her directly. "Time for you to come face to face with this hideous monster."
Susato's breath caught. She leaned forward, heart racing. Yes. She was eager to see the truth. She craved it, even, despite the anxiety twisting in her stomach.
"I borrowed the key for the mask from the proprietress of the waxwork museum," Barok continued, holding the key aloft for them to see. It almost felt like a threat to Susato, but she could not fathom why. "So see it for yourselves now. Confirm it with your own eyes: the truth that's been hidden this past decade."
Susato watched, wide-eyed, breath ensnared, as the mask fell away in two pieces. And the face appeared before them. Familiar. So painfully familiar. She knew that face. She knew it very well, indeed. It was a face that had been dear to her ever since she was an infant. A face she had missed for ten years. His calm smile. His warm eyes. His hand on her shoulder.
Genshin Asogi.
Ryunosuke gasped loudly. But Susato's throat had tightened too much for even a breath to escape. A terrible wave was crushing into her skull, her eyes, her heart.
Ryunosuke rushed out from behind the bench. Susato followed him a second after, as her numb legs remembered how to move. She stopped beside him, her stare locked on Genshin's face, the horror within intensifying in degrees. Her hands floated up. Her breath trembled from her open lips.
"That...That's the Professor?!" Ryunosuke said.
"Yes...that's him," Barok said.
A bright white flare in Susato's mind, a high-pitched ringing.
"Until now...the thought never even crossed my mind...that the mass murderer whose crimes shook Britain as never before...was Japanese!" Ryunosuke said.
"N-No!" Susato cried out, her entire body shaking violently. "This must be a mistake! He...He couldn't have—He couldn't!"
Something shattered. Susato jumped. Her wavering gaze slipped towards the Prosecutor's bench. The Masked Apprentice. He staggered, one hand braced against his head. And then he screamed. Long and loud and full of agony. Tears spilled silently down Susato's face as she watched him rip the cloak away.
"Fa...Father..." he exhaled.
"Wha...Father?" Ryunosuke echoed, watching as the apprentice began to stroll towards the waxwork.
And then he removed his mask, and what Susato had known to be true was confirmed.
"Kazuma!" Ryunosuke shouted.
Slowly, Kazuma turned his head towards them. And then his eyes widened, recognition lighting in his face.
"Ryunosuke..."
Ryunosuke's face tightened with mournful relief as he struggled to hold back his emotions. "Hello again...my friend," he said.
"Kazuma-sama!" Susato gasped out, rushing towards him. She stopped a few paces away from him, her trembling fingers knotted together, the tears uncontrollable. She stared into his face searchingly, her heart pitching.
"Judicial Assistant Mikotoba..." Kazuma let out a heavy breath and stared down at the mask in his hands. He closed his eyes. "It's been a very long road. I only hope...that your eyes have finally opened."
"Kazuma...Kazuma-sama! I—I don't understand. What...What do you mean?"
Kazuma glanced into her face, his mouth a grim line.
"I knew you wouldn't die that easily, Kazuma," Ryunosuke said.
Kazuma turned away from Susato and towards Ryunosuke. "...I owe you thanks, for taking good care of that in my absence."
"Hm? Oh!" Ryunosuke held up Karuma, removing it from his hip. "With this by my side, I always felt that you were watching over me somehow."
And then he returned it to Kazuma.
Susato's heart clutched as she watched Kazuma approach the waxwork.
"I've made it at last...Father," he said, voice low.
"Are you saying...? Surely not!" Ryunosuke gasped.
Susato pressed her hand over her mouth, stifling a sob.
"You mean...you—you knew all this time, Kazuma!?" Ryunosuke said.
"Ka-Kazuma-sama! Is this...Is this true?" Susato demanded.
And without another word, Kazuma drew Karuma. And sliced the waxwork in half.
Susato's breath left her in a rush. "What are you doing!? Ka-Kazuma-sama!"
Kazuma kept his back turned, his body still and rigid. "....Ryunosuke...we have much to talk about, but now is not the time. I'll be seeing you."
Susato watched helplessly as Kazuma strode out of the courtroom without even glancing at her. The doors groaned shut loudly behind him.
"So he's the living 'afterimage' of the man who took my brother's life, is he?" Barok said.
Susato flinched, her shoulders hunching. She breathed out shakily, a hysterical tremble encasing her mind.
"Yes. Kazuma Asogi. My best friend," Ryunosuke said.
"And...the man who was raised as a brother to Susato Mikotoba," Barok said.
"Wait, what? Miss Susato...What does he mean 'brother!?" Ryunosuke said.
Susato could not respond. Her throat was too full.
"Three months ago, when Lord Stronghart introduced us...I had an inkling there was something there. Some connection," Barok said. "The man was apprehended. Even executed...but his legacy just won't die."
Susato's head shot up. She stared at Barok, her vision bleary with tears. He was staring right at her. A horrible pain rushed through her. She recalled her own words. How pleased she had been to hear the Professor had been caught and tried, how she had viewed news of his hanging as an act of justice, of something to be celebrated. She had been so proud of Barok and so relieved for him when she had heard he had been acting prosecutor. She had not known. She hadn't even had the faintest trace of an idea that she had been applauding the death of the man who had raised her. It was too much. It was all too much.
"...That's the sad truth," Barok said, voice quiet. "Anyway, that's all I had to say. I thank you for meeting with me as I asked."
And with a bow, he was gone.
"Miss Susato...Are you alright?" Ryunosuke said.
Susato still could not move. She let out a shaking breath. "Ten years ago...I had to tell Kazuma-sama that his father was never coming home...That he had perished in London...The man who had raised both of us."
"Kazuma's father, Genshin Asogi...he raised both of you!?" Ryunosuke said.
"...I thought he had died of an illness. I...I didn't even know. How did...How did Kazuma-sama..."
And suddenly, Susato's legs propelled her forward, straight towards the courtroom's doors.
"M-Miss Susato!"
Susato ran into the sharp afternoon air, cold and stinging against her damp face. Barok was striding down the steps towards his carriage, which awaited him at the side of the Old Bailey. Vision blurring, Susato sprinted after him.
Hearing her footsteps, Barok turned. Susato stopped a few feet away. She stared into his face desperately, searching for an answer that did not exist, or else was entirely concealed by his guarded demeanour.
"You prosecuted Genshin-sama!" Susato said, her voice high and thin.
"Yes."
"All this time...I...I was so glad...so glad you had found justice for your brother. I didn't know! I—...How? How could he be the Professor!?" Susato's shoulders stiffened and then her knees gave out.
Susato sobbed into her hands. Barok's frigid shadow loomed over her.
"—sato! Miss Susato!"
Footsteps. They pounded against the stone. Then came to a stop beside her.
"...Miss Mikotoba has had a terrible shock. Take my carriage. Send it back when you arrive home," Barok said.
"You knew. And you never told her!?" Ryunosuke said, flint catching in his tone.
"...There is a bakery a short distance from here. They have Eccles cake. You should stop on your way," Barok said.
Then his shadow slid away from her.
Susato could not stop crying. Even as Ryunosuke spoke to her gently and helped her to stand, ushering her into the carriage. She could hear Barok's voice—but could not discern his words—as he gave instructions to the driver.
And then they were moving. The carriage rolled forward as Susato's heart stumbled into the snares of the past.