The false Haman vanished in an instant. Yohan stared irritably at the spot where he had disappeared.

"He's gone."

Serena remained unruffled.

"Don't worry. I heard everything: Berdan's movements, his identity, even the real Haman's location. If you wish, we should be able to capture him right away."

Her words were little comfort. Yohan found the very fact that he had been caught up in this business irritating and tiresome. He clicked his tongue and muttered,

"What a nuisance."

He had a mountain of more urgent matters to attend to. He did not want to spend much time on trifles like this.

Studying his expression, Serena spoke.

"You don't seem very concerned. Aren't you curious about what happened?"

His equanimity puzzled her a little. Even after Haman's true identity had been exposed, he had shown not the slightest sign of being shaken.

Yohan shook his head.

"Of course I'm curious. I simply find it rather bothersome. I hate to ask this, my lady, but... could you explain the situation as briefly as possible?"

He wanted to resolve this matter as quickly as possible and attend to other business.

Serena gazed thoughtfully at him, then gave a small, incredulous laugh.

"You truly are an unusual man. Nothing seems to shock you."

Since possessing this body, Yohan had experienced far too many crises and unforeseen developments: his sudden awakening as an Apostle, Kaiaze's appearance, Gawain's corruption... the list went on. Compared to those, the Haman problem was trivial. It could not stir him emotionally in the slightest.

He spoke calmly.

"Perhaps I'll be surprised once I hear the whole story. For now, please explain."

Serena nodded.

"You'll probably find it somewhat interesting. I'll keep it as brief as I can."

She began telling Yohan what she had learned through the Mind-Piercing Eye.

* * *

In a shabby warehouse in the royal capital's back alleys, the false Haman slumped to the floor, panting. A curse burst from his lips.

"Damn it, where did the information leak?"

Serena knew who he was. The false Haman could not fathom it. There had been no possible avenue for a leak.

Berdan the Schemer always worked alone. With no associates, his secrets stayed strictly confidential. At the very least, the mistake could not have been on his end.

He pondered for a moment, then muttered,

"... Could it have been the marquis's people?"

Not long ago, Berdan had taken a job from the marquisate of House Leonar. They had asked him to investigate the Watcher of the Abyss, and he had readily accepted. They had promised him an enormous reward.

He had begun before the Watcher of the Abyss even arrived in the royal capital. After obtaining information on the Miyatro mansion, he had investigated its servants' personal backgrounds in detail.

A butler named Haman had caught his eye first. A butler's position allowed the closest contact with the master of the house. Using him would make extracting information about the Watcher of the Abyss easy.

Berdan had immediately abducted Haman and disguised himself as him. With his power, Mimic, Berdan could become Haman himself. Appearance, speech, personality, minor habits, scent... he absorbed even the smallest details to imitate his target perfectly.

A disguise created through Mimic was on an entirely different level from ordinary disguises. The instant he activated the power, Berdan became another person entirely. No one could recognize his true identity.

But Serena was different. She had figured out everything. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

Berdan chewed his lip.

"The marquis. Yes, the leak came from his house."

There was no other explanation. Berdan slammed his hand against the floor.

"Careless bastards! Damn it!"

The resounding thud woke someone who had been unconscious, drawing a groan.

"S-spare me! Please! Please!"

In a corner of the warehouse, a person sat on a chair with a sack over his head. Berdan's face twisted into a scowl, and he rose from the floor and walked over.

"Shut up, you dimwitted fool!"

He yanked off the sack, revealing a man's face. It was identical to Berdan's current appearance, like a reflection in a mirror. Only their expressions differed.

The young man with dark red hair was trembling in terror. It was Haman, the butler. He cried desperately,

"S-sir! Please have mercy! I'll do anything you ask!"

Berdan slapped him hard across the face.

"You retarded bastard! You made them suspicious of me for no reason! You were supposedly the Academy of Court Service's top graduate. How can you be so fucking stupid?"

Haman was far too bumbling. The instant Berdan imitated him with Mimic, he became an idiot too. More precisely, he found it difficult to resist the urge to act stupidly.

It was a trait of Mimic. Its drive to reproduce the target completely made even his personality resemble theirs. Even now, Berdan was fighting Haman's sense of self. He wanted to act just as foolishly as Haman did.

"I-it's all my fault! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Berdan shouted as he seized the skin of his own face and tore it off.

"Damn it! I can't stand this anymore!"

His skin tore away like rags. The scraps of flesh turned to smoke and dispersed. Mimic ceased functioning, revealing his true appearance.

A shiny bald head, narrow, slitlike eyes, a crooked mouth. He was a young man with a thoroughly nasty look about him.

The instant Haman saw Berdan's true face, he began foaming at the mouth and shaking. Whenever Berdan returned to his own form, excruciating pain always followed for Haman. Another fingernail would be pulled out. Mimic required a fingernail from its target.

Haman clenched both fists tightly, desperately hiding his fingernails.

"I-I don't want it to hurt! Don't! Please!"

He screamed in panic. One immediate reaction after another came over him, like automatic reflexes.

Berdan grabbed a fistful of his hair and shook his head back and forth.

"Shut up! Shut up, I said! You useless idiot!"

He was under tremendous stress. His identity had been exposed, and the job was ruined. He wanted to blame Haman for all of it.

"U-uaaagh!"

The beating began. Berdan struck Haman indiscriminately. Bound to the chair, Haman could not offer even the slightest resistance. He could only be broken by the merciless violence.

His screams echoed for a long time. Only when Berdan began breathing heavily did the beating stop. He spat a gob of phlegm and said,

"Whew. A beating's the best cure for an idiot."

Haman hung limp, battered into a ragged wreck. Much of the anger had left Berdan's face. He felt somewhat refreshed. Most of his reason had returned, and now it was time to deal with the situation.

He looked at Haman, lost in thought.

'... First, kill him and get out of here.'

Since he did not know the extent of the leak, he had to abandon the job altogether. Once he had destroyed all the evidence, he would not so much as look toward the royal capital for a while. He would lose the payment from the marquis's house, but it could not be helped. His life mattered more.

Berdan drew a dagger from inside his clothes and slowly approached Haman. His face swollen, Haman watched him.

"Goodbye, you idiot."

He had only wanted to make an honest effort at life. He had only studied as if his life depended on it. His reward was a wretched death. Tears rolled from Haman's eyes.

The dagger drew closer.

At that moment, an explosive crash rang out. Berdan whipped his head toward the sound. The warehouse door had been smashed to pieces.

A knight clad in iron armor walked slowly inside. Drawing his sword, he spoke.

"... Berdan the Schemer. Is that you?"

A gold-coin seal adorned the knight's breastplate: the crest of House Marcano. In short, the uninvited guest was a knight of a Council house. He would surely possess overwhelming strength. Berdan had no hope of matching him.

Berdan went deathly pale.

"H-how did you find this place?"

This place was thoroughly hidden. Even the marquis's house did not know about it. Only Berdan knew of this hideout. There should have been no way to find it, yet the knight was right before him.

Berdan could hardly accept what was happening. Had his memories truly been read?

While he stood frozen, the knight swept his sword through the air. A blast of wind surged forth, sending Berdan flying into the wall.

Crying out in pain, he stared ahead. The knight was slowly approaching.

"Berdan the Schemer, you dared to dishonor a member of the Council. You will pay for that crime with your life."

He stamped down on Berdan's chest with his sabaton, the iron armor encasing his foot. Berdan ended up in the same state as Haman. Unable to offer the slightest resistance, he was dragged away by the knight.

* * *

In the dungeon beneath Baron Miyatro's mansion, Yohan stared into a cell. A man stripped naked and bound in chains was trembling inside. It was Berdan the Schemer.

"M-my lord. Please spare me! Please show me mercy, just this once!"

Yohan said nothing. He was considering something.

'How should I put him to use?'

Berdan was a spy sent by the marquisate of House Leonar. Not every detail had emerged, but that much was certain. House Leonar had acted against Yohan. Why, exactly, remained unclear.

Yohan slowly spoke.

"Berdan, I have a few questions for you."

Berdan nodded rapidly.

"I'll answer as honestly and thoroughly as I can."

He wanted to survive, whatever it took.

"Before that, there's one thing I want to check."

"I'll do my utmost, whatever it is!"

Yohan tossed something through the bars.

"Swallow it."

A stark white fingernail lay at Berdan's feet. Yohan's little finger was wrapped in layers of bandages. Berdan looked back and forth between him and the nail.

"W-why are you giving me this..."

Yohan scowled.

"I don't want to waste much time on the likes of you. Play ignorant as you just did, or try to deceive me, and I'll snap your neck on the spot."

Berdan made his decision quickly. He lowered his face to the floor like a dog. With all four limbs restrained, he had no other way to obey Yohan's order.

He swallowed Yohan's fingernail. At once, his skin began to soften and shift like clay. Before long, his appearance had changed completely. A naked Yohan hung in the chains where Berdan had been.

The false Yohan's lips spread into a broad smile.

"What do you think? Convincing, isn't it?"

His manner had suddenly become relaxed. His speech and expression were uncannily like Yohan's. The real Yohan chuckled.

"Interesting."

No sooner had he finished speaking than pitch-black smoke began rising from somewhere. The real Yohan's figure disappeared into the darkness. Within it, red light flickered.

The false Yohan furrowed his brow.

"What's suddenly—"

An eerie voice cut him off.

"Come closer."

The demonic energy vanished, clearing the view. A monstrous being stood there, its lips stretched into a wide smile.

"A Demon...!"

Maphel’tan beckoned with a black finger.

"Come on, now. I said come here."

If he made good use of Berdan, he would be able to operate at night from now on. Maphel’tan was quite pleased. He had received an unexpected, very welcome gift.