Ch.211I’ll Give You My Last Name (1)

As soon as news of Eidel’s double engagement broke, the Adelbein main house fell into chaos.

Jerome took immediate action. He announced that the Adelbein main house had no involvement in this engagement, claiming it was Rheinland family’s unilateral decision. He essentially begged people to curse those bastards instead of their family.

Afterward, he tried to contact the council of elders and Zernya. More precisely, he was about to try.

Thump, thump, thump.

“Who is it?”

“Honey, we’re in big trouble! There are prosecutors and inspectors here!”

Jerome’s thoughts froze.

“Why are prosecutors here?”

“Aren’t they here to investigate us?”

There were too many suspicious points for him to swallow. Jerome calmly checked the dock. These weren’t the Northern District prosecutors that the Adelbein family had already worked over.

“…Damn it.”

They were the Southern District prosecutors, infamous for their mercilessness.

Thump, thump, thump.

BANG—!!

The steel alloy front door of the dock shattered. Prosecutors accompanied by heavily armed police and military stormed in. It was a violent, unauthorized intrusion impossible in a civilized era governed by the rule of law.

Jerome considered fleeing, but realizing that would only make him look guilty, he got dressed and went out. He decided to face them brazenly.

“What is this about!”

“Southern District Chief Prosecutor Heresset. This is our Special Inspector.”

“You’ve brought riot police and even military personnel—what business do you have here?”

“I wonder about that myself. Why do you think I’m here?”

Chief Prosecutor Heresset smirked and displayed a screen.

What appeared was none other than an arrest warrant.

“See this? A fresh permit I received just two hours ago. Adelbein family head, if you wanted to play SM games, you should have called me directly.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“I’m saying you didn’t need to hint at it indirectly through your son-in-law.”

“Son-in-law?”

Eidel von Rheinland.

Blood vessels bulged on Jerome’s forehead. But he had no time to get angry. The riot police presented him with silver bracelets as a gift.

“What are you doing! Don’t you know the presumption of innocence? And you call yourself a prosecutor!”

“Let me ask you instead. Are you even human?”

“What…?”

“I’ll keep this brief.”

Chief Prosecutor Heresset narrowed his eyes as he displayed piles of evidence.

“Jerome von Adelbein, Trisha von Adelbein. We’re conducting a search and seizure for 147 charges including violations of bioethics laws. Additionally, due to concerns about evidence destruction and flight risk, you are under immediate arrest. That is all.”

“What are you saying? Arrest? We haven’t done anything wrong!”

“The investigation will reveal everything. I heard you’ve hidden tremendous ‘secrets’ in your underground vault—why keep such wonderful things all to yourselves?”

The prosecutor smiled coldly. Jerome felt a chill run down his spine.

If by ‘secrets’ in the vault, he meant the confidential information known only to a select few Adelbeins—research on turning humans into monsters or avatar bodies.

“And there’s more. See this? My goodness, how many pages is this?”

The prosecutors thrust evidence before his eyes. It contained detailed records of all the serious crimes committed by the main house. This was information that could only be accessed through the Adelbein internal network.

“Well, we’ll find out if it’s true when we search the place.”

At the prosecutor’s gesture, his team dispersed.

They thoroughly found and verified all relevant materials, went to the vault, and confirmed the horrific scenes.

That was the end.

The collapse of the Adelbein family was only a matter of time.

***

After this, the Heresset faction prosecutors continued their investigation using methods somewhat aggressive for prosecutors. Starting with the main house and close relatives, extending to distant branches, they broke into every home and conducted searches.

As a result, about 80% of the family members were found to be criminals.

“Those who married into other families or became adopted sons-in-law were the ones who survived. Well, such people were probably just pawns. How pitiful.”

Brian frowned as he read the news article.

The collapse of the Adelbein family was unbelievable news. Not only ordinary citizens but also the other top ten families fell into panic. No one could predict how the landscape of the top ten families would change.

The crimes committed by the Adelbeins were also shocking.

“They turned people into avatar bodies? Did they think they were gods or something?”

“I agree, my lord. I’ve never seen such a horrific case…”

“That brother of Eidel really did a number on them.”

Brian had already figured out that all this was Eidel’s work. The evidence was his additional engagement while already in an arranged marriage. Having gathered all information about the Adelbeins, he had made his decisive move.

But he wasn’t sure exactly how it was done.

Could it be that Zernya Adelbein had genuinely fallen for him?

“Young master, aren’t you worried this might affect you too?”

“Hmm.”

Brian pondered. The fall of the Adelbeins was unexpected but fine by him. What mattered most now was whether this situation presented an opportunity or a threat to him.

Originally, he had planned to control the Adelbeins through Eidel, but now that was neither a gain nor a loss. However, since the option of sending him away as an adopted son-in-law was gone, all that remained was to drive him to mental illness.

How could he manage that?

“Erica. Bring me my brother’s medical records.”

“Yes, here they are.”

These were Eidel’s medical records from when he was in intensive care. They clearly suggested the involvement of gods.

However, when Brian examined him, those symptoms had completely disappeared. He had manipulated the waveforms to forge the records, but the original case wasn’t entirely meaningless.

“Huh?”

He hadn’t noticed before, but there was something like a barcode at the bottom of the record.

“Erica, what’s this?”

“I’ve never seen it before either. Just a moment. Let me scan it.”

Erica tilted her head and said:

“It’s a document authentication code from ‘MeiDoc,’ Miss Seti’s company. It allows verification of original records for each case. It assigns random numbers so the access path is different each time, making it very secure.”

“…What did you just say?”

Just then.

Thump, thump, thump.

A heavy sound like someone beating with a club came from beyond the door. Brian frowned deeply and put his ear to the door. Then, even louder: Thump, thump, thump! His breath caught.

“Y-young master…?”

Brian took a deep breath. Could it be? No, surely not. Even so, would the fallout reach this far? He had always maintained good relations with the Adelbein family.

But sometimes the unthinkable happens.

“Who is it?”

“Federal Prosecution. Are you Brian von Rheinland?”

“Yes, that’s me, but…”

“We’re conducting a non-custodial investigation for violations of medical law. Please cooperate quietly.”

The prosecutor produced a file comparing the forged documents Brian was currently holding with the real records.

For a moment, his mind went blank.

Just when…

When had I been placed on his chopping block?

“Let’s go.”

Brian moved forward in a half-dazed state.

***

About two weeks had passed since my engagement to Rustila.

Contrary to concerns, the investigation and judgment were proceeding smoothly. Honestly, I had expected at least one assassination attempt, but Zernya’s preemptive strike had been so powerful that everyone seemed to have lost their will to fight.

Well, when the family head betrays her own family…

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

I was also subjected to a search. Naturally, I was innocent. After all, searching my computer would only reveal academic papers.

When I heard them say, ‘This person only exchanges emails with professors…’, I felt a bit embarrassed. But that was all just a passing incident.

Meanwhile, my father was quite disappointed when Brian came under investigation.

He scolded me, asking if I was crazy to report my own brother right after becoming family head, but when presented with the MeiDoc medical code as evidence, he couldn’t say anything more.

It was fortunate anyway. I had somehow managed to eliminate one of the Five Evils before Darwin’s Legion began their major invasion.

But I couldn’t think everything was over. In matters like this, proper follow-up is essential to avoid future problems.

Currently, my priority was to comfort Zernya. She had suffered more psychological damage from this incident than expected. She showed symptoms of anxiety and needed care.

I headed to the detention center where Zernya was being held, accompanied by Rustila. The reason Zernya was detained was because she was the head of the Adelbein family.

She had submitted the evidence necessary for the prosecution. But crimes aren’t nullified just because you confess to them. While I was released quickly, Zernya, as a direct Adelbein, required more investigation and judgment.

“Ah, Eidel.”

She was trembling pitifully like a kitten abandoned in the city.

“The Adelbeins are gone now, right? Right?”

“Yes.”

“I, I’ve destroyed everything with my own hands. Power, wealth, my position as family head. Everything. Ahaha…”

Though she had made her decision, the shock must have been immense.

Over the past two weeks, I had been checking the news regularly. Most comments were criticizing Zernya.

“Ha, p-people are all cursing me. Even though I gave up everything. I let go of everything. All I get in return are such looks. I knew it would happen, I was prepared for it. Yes, I know this is right, but…”

“Zernya.”

“They say that just because I confessed, it doesn’t absolve me from evil after committing such cruel acts. I, I also turned a blind eye to those deeds, so I deserve at least life imprisonment.”

In reality, Zernya must know that comments from ordinary people have no legal effect. Her sentence will be determined by a judge or an automated judgment system.

The real reason for her distress was:

“Eidel… if you marry me, you’ll be cursed too.”

She didn’t want to make me the husband of a family of serious criminals.

“I can bear being pointed at by the world. B-but you know what? I absolutely cannot bear you being criticized because of me after getting me out of here. Of course, we talked about this before, but now that we’re here, I just can’t do such a trashy thing… So, rather…”

“Are you asking me to break off our engagement?”

The question wasn’t from me. A sharp female voice cut through the air and flowed into the visiting room. It was Rustila.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Rustila continued coldly.

“I told you before. Eidel needs both you and me. Of course, I still hate the idea of polygamy. But I thought it couldn’t be helped. So why are you pretending to be generous now after we’ve all agreed?”

“You…”

“Don’t you know this just makes Eidel and me look like bad people? You still lack consideration, don’t you?”

It was harsh but not accusatory. Rather, it was sincere concern—words that only someone like Rustila could speak from the heart.

I nodded at her words and stood up. I opened the visiting room door and went to the other side. Then, caressing her cheek that was red and tender like an apple, I said:

“Zernya. I told you before. What you did was morally right. You were a victim, and you did nothing wrong.”

“Ah, Eidel.”

“I promised to make you happy for life.”

“Still, I’m an Adelbein…”

“Says who?”

I took out a small box from my pocket and opened it. Inside were three yellow diamond rings. Needless to say, yellow is the color symbolizing the Rheinland family.

What I was about to say next was clear.

“I’ll give you my surname.”

“Ah…”

“Zernya von Rheinland. That’s your name from now on. Even if you refuse, I’ll register it that way.”

Zernya’s expression went blank.

Contrary to concerns, Zernya was found not guilty and was able to safely return to school.

***

Meanwhile, there was one more victim trembling in fear for the same reason of bearing the Adelbein surname:

Rezein, Seti’s birth mother.

“T-to show your true colors only now…”

Thinking she was completely cornered, she was preparing to flee.