"So what you're saying is, the culprit behind the serial disappearances of young girls wasn't the Spina di Rosula's Callas, but someone else? A man who disappeared more than ten years ago, an adventurer, who also happens to be the mastermind behind the illegal drink 'Sinthe'?"
Furina felt dizzy. Too much information had been crammed into her head at once. How had Richard managed to uncover so much in just one morning?
And just what exactly had he and Lynette gone off to do?!
"Yes, Lady Furina. Lynette and I found the production site for Sinthe. Inside, we discovered a series of documents, decisive evidence. The missing girls were dissolved by Vacher using Primordial Sea Water, just like how that Treasure Hoarders' leader we encountered turned into water."
"Wait, hold on. What is Primordial Sea Water? And why does it feel like you know all kinds of things I don't? What did you even do this weekend while I wasn't around?!" Furina waved her hands, signaling Richard to stop so she could sort through her thoughts.
The flood of information was overwhelming. She couldn't tell who the culprit was, who Vacher even was, or what this so-called Primordial Sea Water really meant.
"It's too much to explain right now. Let's find somewhere quiet. When Clorinde comes back, I'll explain everything to all of you together."
Soon, Clorinde returned, bringing with her Navia, wearing a doubtful expression, and her two companions.
Lynette also arrived, carrying her magic satchel stuffed with evidence.
She had already taken off her heavy diving suit back home, quickly showered, and changed back into her professional secretary attire.
"Miss Navia, please enjoy some tea," Lynette said as she set cups before everyone, then quietly found a seat.
"Monsieur Richard… do you truly have direct evidence proving my father was framed? I, I don't mean to doubt you, I just…" Navia was too anxious to even look at the tea. Her focus was solely on Richard's answer.
It was about her father, the truth she had been desperately searching for all these years. And now, suddenly, someone told her the answer had been found. Of course, her first reaction was disbelief.
"Yes, Miss Navia. Don't worry, I'll explain everything slowly. And to find the true culprit, I'll need your cooperation, and the support of the Spina di Rosula behind you," Richard said gently.
"Cooperate? Catch the culprit? No problem, Monsieur Richard. As long as you can prove what you say is true, I'll do whatever you ask." The beautiful young lady in her ornate dress spoke with sincerity.
'Oh? Anything?'
Richard wasn't thinking anything indecent; he simply wanted to tease her, maybe toss her a math problem just to raise the stakes.
But seeing how genuinely anxious she looked, and how serious the atmosphere was, he swallowed back the urge.
Richard then carefully explained everything he and Lynette had uncovered in the ruins, while Lynette distributed the evidence she had collected for everyone to examine.
Furina, though still lost on some details, studied the evidence attentively. When she reached the notebook describing human experiments, she let out a horrified gasp.
"Outrageous, far too outrageous! I cannot imagine that in a 'nation of justice,' something this appalling could have taken place."
The sheer number of lives Vacher had taken, dozens, maybe even hundreds, was already damning. And the countless families indirectly destroyed by his production of Sinthe only added to the weight of his sins.
He was truly a cancer to Fontaine; the damage he inflicted was impossible to calculate.
"Father…" Navia's tears overflowed as she finished reading the evidence, sobbing softly.
"Miss…" Miles, her loyal attendant, shifted as though he wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Monsieur Miles, do you know something?" Richard immediately noticed and asked.
Miles had served Callas for years; if anyone still alive knew the truth, it was him.
"Yes, Monsieur Richard." Miles didn't deny it. At this point, there was no reason to hide anything. Everyone present could be trusted. Clorinde, Lady Furina, Richard, and Lynette were clearly beyond corruption by the Sinthe syndicate.
Navia turned to him with tear-filled eyes. "So you really do know something, Miles?"
"In truth, the master had long known about the connection between 'Sinthe' and the serial disappearances," Miles confessed.
"Then why didn't he say it outright?" Furina asked, puzzled.
"Because he only knew the two were connected, he didn't know who the mastermind was. If he spoke out prematurely, Miss Navia would have been in danger. For a father, what could be more important than his daughter's safety?" Richard explained.
"Monsieur Richard is correct. The master feared their terrifying ability to dissolve people into water. He knew rash action would put you in mortal danger, Miss." Miles sighed heavily, as though mourning his late master's painful decision.
"To sacrifice both his reputation in life and his legacy after death, all to protect his daughter… Monsieur Callas was truly a great father."
"And the Maison Gardiennage? The Marechaussee Hunters? Did they do nothing?" Furina pressed.
"Lady Furina, I'm afraid both organizations have already been heavily infiltrated. Haven't you noticed? Every time they organized a crackdown, the best they managed was a few crates of Sinthe and a handful of petty lackeys."
"Ugh…" Furina had no reply. She realized how utterly isolated Callas must have been back then. Just imagining it left her feeling suffocated.
But then she realized, she no longer felt that same crushing despair herself. When had she stopped hiding in her bed to cry in secret? When had those unintentional tears all but disappeared?
Unconsciously, her gaze shifted toward Richard. She hadn't even noticed until now… but the way she looked at him was already different from how she looked at anyone else.
"If not for the evidence Monsiuer Richard brought today, you would have never told me, would you?" Navia wiped away her tears with her black lace gloves.
"…" Miles was silent for a long moment. "Miss, as your father's steward, I must remind you that our enemy is ruthless and dangerous. The master already paid with his life for opposing him. In the state the Spina di Rosula is in now, with Whitepine Town finally at peace, pursuing this path again may not be wise."
The unspoken meaning: he would have kept the secret until his dying day if not forced to reveal it now.
"If that was truly his wish, then he should have told me himself. I was his closest family member, yet I was left like an outsider. He died carrying secrets, protecting nothing. Sinthe still exists. 'The traitor Callas' still exists. The dying Spina di Rosula still exists. Nothing has changed."
"Did he really think I would tolerate such a meaningless death and live a meaningless life? From that day onward, I never once thought that way."
"I will bring justice. To the missing, to the victims… and to myself."
Navia's resolve was absolute.
"Uh, actually, you don't need to sound so tragic," Clorinde finally spoke up. "Just tell Richard what he needs. He'll handle it."
Everyone turned to stare at her. Oh, so you're the 'voice of reason,' huh?
Clorinde blinked, then looked to Lynette. "Did I… say something wrong again?"
Lynette calmly sipped her tea. "No. What you said was correct."
"Then, "
"But you shouldn't have said it out loud."
The words themselves weren't wrong, but the timing was.
Everyone else was fired up, ready to fight a merciless enemy, and she came out with, Don't worry, Richard will handle it.
It made everyone else feel like dead weight.
Thankfully, kind-hearted Miles smoothed things over. "Now truly is the best time, Miss. Your partner is reliable, and most importantly, you yourself look ready. And since Monsiuer Richard has already struck at a Sinthe production site, war has effectively been declared. We have no choice."
"I've been investigating as much as I could over the years, though my abilities are limited. Now, I can finally share what I found."
"There are three primary suspects: Spina di Rosula strategist Florent, the Spina di Rosula's liaison with the Gardiennage, Thierry, and the leader of the Confrerie of Cabriere, Marcel."
"Marcel?" Furina perked up. "Did you just say that Confrerie of Cabriere leader's name is Marcel?"
"You know him?" Richard asked, surprised. The Confrerie of Cabriere was only mid-sized at best, not particularly notable in Fontaine.
"No, I don't know him. But I saw the name in Vigneire's diary."
After reading the terrifying experiment logs, Furina had sought relief in the sweet romance diary. And in one entry, she'd spotted the name "Marcel."
She quickly flipped through until she found the page.
"Here it is." She spread the diary on the table, pointing to the name.
"Is this… a list of baby names?" Navia asked. The page was filled with names, each one crossed out, except "Marcel." It must have been the name Vigneire had settled on.
"But Marcel isn't that young, is he? If he were really Vacher's son, the timeline wouldn't match. Wait… I see it now!" Furina clapped her hands, a cartoonish "lightbulb" practically flashing over her head.
"His lover dissolved into water. To bring her back, and to better carry out his experiments, 'he' forged the identity of Marcel, destroying everything tied to the name Vacher!"
"From then on, the world knew only Marcel. Vacher ceased to exist. That explains everything!"
"Ah, as expected of me. Always the one to seize the key clue from a sea of information and link it all together." Furina even managed to boast after finishing her deduction.
But truly, if she hadn't noticed this detail, they might have overlooked the Confrerie of Cabriere leader entirely.
After all, Marcel had always been one of Navia's strongest supporters, funding her and backing the Spina di Rosula. Even Miles himself had ranked him as the least likely suspect among the three.
Now, with Furina's revelation, his suspicion shot to the top.
"Uncle Marcel… he's always supported us in the fight against Sinthe. Could he really be fighting against himself? Too hard to believe… The fox I fought for so long was at my side all along, the person I least suspected."
Navia's emotions were complicated, her voice low.
"Even in opera, there are rarely villains this cold and cunning," Furina muttered, shaking her head.
If she imagined Richard, the one who supported her most, as the true cause of Fontaine's crisis, she too would struggle to accept it.
Thankfully, she knew that wasn't the case.
"So do we go straight for Marcel now, or check the other two suspects first?" Furina asked, already fully invested in her detective role.
"To be safe, let's investigate the other two first. We'll set out immediately," Richard decided.
Though the situation was becoming clear, he wanted to be thorough.
Looking at Clorinde, who seemed ready to depart with them, Richard added:
"Clorinde, I'll ask you to keep watch on Marcel in the meantime. The chances of being discovered are low, but we can't take any risks."
Clorinde: '…Why am I always the one getting assigned extra work?'
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu