Morning arrived, sharp and sudden and cold. Susato was quiet as they stood in the defendant's antechamber. Waiting for Barok to arrive. Waiting for the trial to begin. She sighed continually, her mind heavy laden.
"I'll be counting on your support more than ever today, Miss Susato!" Ryunosuke said. "...Um, Miss Susato?...You really don't seem like yourself at all today."
"It's just...it's so very much, isn't it? Kazuma-sama acting the way he is...Lord van Zieks on trial...Inspector Gregson...And poor Gina..." Susato said.
"Yes. It's...it certainly is," Ryunosuke said.
Susato glanced sideways and then stiffened. There he was. The bailiffs had just led Barok van Zieks into the antechamber. He stood there silently, staring at her. His gaze was heavy but strangely gentle as their eyes met, like ice that was beginning to thaw.
"Good morning," Susato said, voice hushed.
"Ah! Lord van Zieks!" Ryunosuke said.
"Thank you for all your efforts yesterday," Barok said.
"Wha..." Ryunosuke breathed.
"What?" Barok said, levelling his stare at Ryunosuke.
"Oh! Um, no, nothing. Just...I hope we can clear things up today," Ryunosuke said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He looked completely taken aback and nervous at the same time. His thoughts were, once again, all too obvious from his expression.
"Lord van Zieks isn't the Reaper, Mr. Naruhodo," Susato chastised solemnly.
"...Good point," Ryunosuke said.
"The Reaper? I suppose in hindsight...I shouldn't have allowed that misconception to go unchallenged," Barok said. "It was my tacit acceptance of that pseudonym...my failure to stop the Reaper becoming something more than a mere legend...that led to all this."
"But you're not to blame for that, Lord van Zieks!" Susato said.
"It's only because serious crime in the capital dropped off so sharply when the public started calling you that. That's why you didn't say anything, isn't it?" Ryunosuke said.
"...To be frank, I'm not sure that was the sole reason," Barok said.
"What do you mean?" Ryunosuke said.
"There was a rumour at the time that the Reaper was really the ghost of my late brother," Barok said. "That having been slain by an evil killer, Klint's restless spirit returned as some sort of demigod...to wield a deadly blade of justice where I, by dint of law, could not."
"Oh, that...Yes. Lord Stronghart mentioned that awful rumour," Susato said.
"When I lost him...I felt as though I'd lost my guiding light. I didn't know where to go or what to do. And so...in some small way, I wonder if perhaps those rumours made me feel his absence a little less keenly. Even if I knew it was just an illusion. Just some nonsense conjured up by an over-imaginative public," Barok said.
"He was so very important to you. Lord Klint van Zieks..." Susato said quietly. "And you were so alone..."
"Yes. I was. I lost everyone all at once. Klint. My sister-in-law....and you. Or so I had thought at the time," Barok said.
Susato looked down, throat tight, eyes wet and stinging.
"Well...what's important now is uncovering the truth. That's all that matters," Ryunosuke said. "I...I know that you didn't take anyone's life."
"Mr. Naruhodo..." Susato murmured, heart clutching warmly.
"And I intend to prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt in court today," Ryunosuke continued.
Barok's hand hovered over his scar. "I never thought I'd say this...but I can see it in your eyes. That burning desire to cut through all the lies and deception. I can't deny it any longer. You...are a lawyer of absolute integrity."
"...Thank you," Ryunosuke said.
"And you...Miss Susato..." Barok said.
"Oh...yes?" Susato said.
"...There is much I wish to say to you. This is hardly the place, but I fear there may not be another time."
"Lord van Zieks?" Susato said, brow furrowing.
"Um...I can stand over there, if you like?" Ryunosuke said.
"I read them. Your letters. All of them. Last night," Barok said.
Susato's heart palpitated, her mouth running dry. She stared up at Barok. His arms were crossed and his eyes were closed, but there was a deep notch in his brow, deeper than normal, and a frown arrowed down his lips. He let out a breath that sounded strangely uneven.
"What kind of woman...is so incessantly faithful?" Barok said.
"...What?" Susato whispered.
He uncrossed his arms and fixed her with his stare. There was no ice. For that moment, she saw it—a glimpse of warmth. Susato's breath caught.
"I had no idea...how you suffered upon your return to your nation. To lose your grandmother and the woman who was like your mother both...and all the while, all you wanted was some kind of word from me. Your patience and loyalty and...devotion...are beyond words. Your understanding and compassion...Why ? Why did you keep writing? Even when you believed I was scorning you?" Barok said, gaze digging deeply into hers, the notch growing more pronounced at the edge of his eyebrow.
Susato felt breathless. It took her voice a second to grasp onto sound. "It didn't matter if you never spoke to me again. I had to try. And...I wanted you to feel less alone."
"But, from your perspective...I was snubbing you. In the most dreadful way possible. While you bore your heart without restraint," Barok said.
Susato smiled at him tenderly. "I love you," she said, like it was the simplest thing in the world.
Barok's shock was palpable. All trace of façade and composure vanished as the emotion leapt into his face. And then a heavy solemnity overtook his countenance, and something about his stare felt almost desperate. "You...You could not possibly mean...No. You are speaking of the feelings of the past. Feelings...long forgotten."
"Lord van Zieks, I—"
"Oh! Iris! When did you get here?" Ryunosuke called out suddenly.
Susato startled, their interlocked gazes breaking apart. Iris was standing between them, head tilted back as she looked up at Barok.
"Iris!" Susato said.
"Ah! Um...I brought you one of my special blends!" Iris said, clasping her hands together and beaming.
Barok looked entirely disconcerted, a stark paleness bleaching his complexion.
"Hurley loves it," Iris continued. She pulled her pink thermos out of her bag and unscrewed the cap. She poured the tea into it and offered it to Barok. "He says it helps him to clear his head!"
"So...that is why I detected the scent of expensive tea leaves," Barok said. He bowed and accepted the cap from her. "I thank you."
"Oh...hee hee..." Iris said, eyes glittering, pink spilling into her cheeks.
Susato smiled tenderly at the scene, her heart throbbing.
"You seem different today, Iris," Ryunosuke said.
"Oh?" Iris said.
"Sort of...subdued, I suppose," Ryunosuke said.
"I am not!" Iris said and pouted. "Well, alright then! Good luck to you both. I have to make a move now."
"Oh...you're not staying?" Susato said.
"I thought you'd want to watch today's proceedings," Ryunosuke said.
"Well...I'd like to cheer you on, obviously. Especially with how much Susie cares about Mr. Reaper. But I've got lots to get ready," Iris said.
"Get ready? For what?" Ryunosuke said.
"Oh, yes. Would you take this?" Iris said and handed Ryunosuke some kind of blue bunny charm that was dressed in an outfit just like the one Sholmes wore while investigating.
"Isn't that one of the little felt dolls that's usually dangling from your knapsack?" Ryunosuke said.
"Yes! It's a lucky charm! A little Hurley that I made once," Iris said. "If for some reason you completely run out of options in the trial today...then just pull this little Hurley's ears as hard as you possibly can!"
"What...? Pull his ears?" Ryunosuke echoed.
"That's right! It's a way to bring good luck...I think you might need it!" Iris said.
"Y-You think...what we'll need is luck...?" Susato said warily, touching her fingers to her cheek, her stare shifting towards Barok.
"I just sneaked a peek inside the courtroom. And...it seemed very different to normal," Iris said, looking down, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears.
"Yes, it would seem that a certain someone has decided to pull out all the stops," Barok said.
A terrible chill ran through Susato.
"What does that mean?" Ryunosuke said.
Barok remained silent, and the chill grew more potent.
"Well...What about Mr. Sholmes, Iris?" Susato said, trying to level her voice.
"I...don't know. He was out all night and he hadn't come home by the time I left this morning," Iris said.
"Oh...I see..." Susato mumbled dejectedly.
"Was Professor Mikotoba out all night too, do you think, Miss Susato?" Ryunosuke said.
"Yes, it would seem so. I telegrammed the hotel this morning...and apparently, they didn't come back to their rooms last night at all," Susato said.
"'They?'" Ryunosuke said.
"Father and Judge Jigoku, I mean," Susato said.
"Judge Jigoku too?" he said.
"That's right. Nobody appears to have seen either of them since yesterday," Susato said.
"Counsel for the Defence and the defendant! Court is about to be in session. Please make your way inside the courtroom at once!" the Bailiff shouted.
Susato tensed. She glanced at Barok. He was staring at her, his eyes so terribly burdened. There was so much she wanted to say.
"Good luck then, Runo! Good luck, Susie!" Iris said.
"Yes...thanks, Iris," Ryunosuke said.
"And you, Mr. Reaper. I hope it goes well!" Iris said.
Barok bowed. "Once again, I thank you for the delicious tea. It was very soothing."
"Oh, I'm so glad!" Iris said and beamed, clasping her hands together once more.
And this time, Susato saw a look of bewilderment and pain flash across Barok's face.
"We must go inside now, Lord van Zieks," Susato said.
"Hm..."
Barok's response was short, but it unsettled Susato. Was it because of Iris? Or because of what was awaiting them in the courtroom?
But soon these musing were swept aside. For when they entered the courtroom, they were greeted by a truly ominous sight: Lord Mael Stronghart, in the judge's chair.
***
The court session was intense and Susato saw a side of Kazuma that grieved and horrified her. He was so singularly focused on destroying Barok. And a terrible truth was quickly gaining illumination. It seemed Susato had never known Kazuma's real reason for embarking to Britain. And somehow, upon his awakening to himself only eight days ago, Kazuma had become swept up in an assassination plot alongside Gregson, who really did appear to be working as part of the Reaper organisation, planning the murders.
Kazuma suggested Jigoku's disappearance was Barok's fault. That the Reaper had dispatched him...when Kazuma had failed to do so. And that Gregson had been killed for the failure to eliminate Jigoku as well. And so, they needed to find Jigoku immediately, to learn the truth about what had really happened onboard the SS Grouse.
A recess was called, and Ryunosuke turned with desperation to the little bunny Hurley from Iris. Sholmes' voice emanated from some kind of telephone-like device within the felt body. Susato's heart lifted with anxious hope: Sholmes and her father were tracking down Jigoku tirelessly. Could they truly find him within thirty minutes?
Susato glanced towards the doors to the defendant's antechamber.
"I...I'm going to see how Lord van Zieks is faring," she said.
"Okay. I'll wait here," Ryunosuke said.
Susato nodded and hurried out of the courtroom.
Barok was standing in the middle of the antechamber, his lips moving in a quiet prayer. Susato watched him for a moment. Then he appeared to have finished, for he turned towards her and looked at her patiently.
Susato drank in his appearance. His face, so handsome despite how ashen and sorrowful he always appeared these days. His impressive height and build, his stately bearing. She could still distantly remember the feeling of his hands, their gentleness and strength as he held her face or helped her down from her horse. His sureness of step as they danced. The way he guided her in those moments. How his breath had once fainted into hers as they drew so achingly close. How sweet and warm it had been.
Oh, she could not bear what would happen if they did not locate Jigoku. She wanted him to be safe, of course. She was greatly concerned about his state of health. But even more than that, she yearned for Barok to be exonerated. And she knew that if they failed...Barok would be hanged. The thought was so incredibly agonising. So utterly devastating. Susato did not know what she would do if he was lost. That was an anguish she knew she could not bear.
Tears began to spill down Susato's face. She smiled sadly up at Barok. He walked towards her. Stopped. He was close enough that if she outstretched her hand, she could touch him. But neither of them attempted to cross that distance.
"We'll find him, I promise! My father and Mr. Sholmes are looking for him right now! We have to find him," she said, and her voice tripped down her throat. Susato swallowed hard, reached again for words and sound. "I cannot believe this. Any of this. But no matter what happens, I promise I—I won't stop fighting! If they don't find him...I'll do anything to keep this trial going. To find the truth. I won't stop fighting for you, Lord van Zieks!"
"You never have. Have you? You have been fighting for me for a decade now," Barok said softly.
"Yes. I suppose I have," Susato said.
"It is hard for me to understand. Why you continue to hold me in any form of regard," Barok said. "After all, I am not the man I used to be. I know that well. I have changed, and none of it has been for the better. But you, Miss Susato....you have not changed at all, have you?"
"No, that's...that's not true! I...I have changed! I...Sometimes I serve sake at room temperature instead of steaming. And...And, oh! I once folded a page right in half to mark my spot in a book, which I had never done before! And I, um, I...I yelled at someone. For knocking down a child that was running by. He was old, but I yelled anyway and I didn't even bow in apology!...And...um, I can't eat grapes anymore because they make me think of our time at the vineyard. And I've started using some British expressions instead of some Japanese ones I used all the time before! And...there was that tampering incident, wasn't there? S-See? I've changed too."
Barok stared at her, his brow furrowing. He let out a breath that sounded like a frail chuckle. Then his hand was upon her face, lightly cupping her cheek, and Susato felt the breath go out of her.
"Yes, you have changed most wretchedly. You are practically unrecognisable as Susato Mikotoba. A woman of great persistence and kindness and intelligence."
"Lord van Zieks..."
She closed her eyes as he swept his thumb along her cheekbone, caressing away a tear.
"Never failing to support and defend those she cherishes. Fearlessly standing up to those who incur her wrath."
"Lord Stronghart is going to get a takedown if he isn't careful," Susato said, her brow furrowing sullenly, despite her attempt to jest with him.
"...How can you care for me? I am cold and cruel."
"No."
"Yes. That is what I have become. I cannot trust. I cannot show my heart to anyone anymore."
"But...you are still you. You're still Lord Barok van Zieks. Generous. Compassionate. Brilliant. And...ridiculously fussy."
"I thought we had agreed on 'meticulous.'"
"And I thought you valued honesty above all else," Susato said.
"...How am I still questioning your sincerity? I am afraid to believe in you as I used to. I am afraid...that my eyes have opened far too late."
"No. No. I'll keep fighting. Like I promised!" Susato said, clutching his hand, which was still gently cupping her face.
Barok sighed. Long and heavy. He dropped his hand away. "I know you will try your utmost. But even that may not be enough."
"It will be! It has to be!"
Barok met her eyes once more. For a moment, neither said a word. And then Susato smiled faintly.
"You say you cannot show your heart anymore. But...I can see it clearly in your eyes, at this very moment. Barok."
And his face filled with such aching emotion it overwhelmed Susato. Barok's brow furrowed heavily, his gaze growing warm and impossibly vulnerable as he stared deeply into her, a pained desperation coming alive in his face. He placed his hands on her shoulders. Susato's throat tightened. Was he about to embrace her?
The doors creaked open and Susato startled. She turned towards them, her hand a clutched fist, raised against her chest, her heart beating wildly.
Ryunosuke appeared in the doorway. His grave expression frightened Susato.
"Miss Susato."
"Y-Yes? Is it...Is it time already, Mr. Naruhodo?" Susato trembled out.
"It is, but..."
"...Jigoku?" Susato said, desperation shrilling inside of her.
Ryunosuke stared forward seriously. And then he nodded. "They found him. Alive."
Susato's entire body sagged beneath a tremendous wave of relief. She couldn't stop herself from smiling. First at Ryunosuke and then at Barok.
"I can't wait to see the look on their faces!" Susato said.
Ryunosuke smiled. "Let's do this, Miss Susato!"
"Yes!" Susato said.
And together, they strode back into the courtroom, a quiet note of hope, confidence, and warmth humming to life inside Susato.
***
Court was adjourned for the day, as Sholmes and Yujin were in the process of dragging Jigoku back from an attempted flight via steamship. They would not be able to get the man into the courtroom until the next day, which gave Susato a chance to catch her breath.
That night, Sholmes unveiled the truth to them. He had lied about Kazuma's death in order to protect him, thinking Kazuma was the target of an assassination plot, thanks to the telegram from the Graydon case, which Sholmes had first discovered over a year ago, prior to their arrival. He had always intended to redirect Kazuma, and the accident with Nikolina and Kazuma's subsequent coma and amnesia provided the perfect door to protect him. Sholmes had told Nikolina and the authorities the truth of Kazuma's fate and had helped Nikolina make her way to the United States. But Sholmes had thought it was best for the sake of Kazuma's safety that Susato and Ryunosuke continued to believe this terrible, agonising lie.
But it turned out Kazuma had been hired on as an assassin, himself. It was some sort of exchange between Britain and Japan. Asa Shinn went to Japan to kill Dr. Wilson. And Kazuma was meant to go to Britain to kill Gregson. For some reason, Jigoku had the telegram in his office, and it seemed he had arranged everything. Susato was filled with a terrible, stomach-churning dread. She ate very little that night, despite the feast Iris had put together to strengthen and encourage everyone.
Was it true? Had Kazuma really gone to London for the purpose of killing Gregson? All while knowing how Susato cared for the man. And he had brought Susato along with him, as part of this fake exchange. To keep up appearances, it seemed. Her deep hurt over this, her fear of what would come in the trial the next day, and her worry over Barok made it difficult to sleep.
But she did her best. She needed to be strong to help Barok. She needed to be strong to confront Kazuma.
She had no idea what terrible and far-reaching truth was about to be pulled violently into the light.
The shape from her nightmare was about to be set afire and every last shadow dispelled.