Navia went from one to another to question Florent and Thierry. After talking with them, she found no major suspicions; both answered naturally.
Especially with Furina, the Hydro Archon, present, the two men were obviously nervous, yet even in that state, they revealed nothing suspicious. It seemed they truly had no problems.
With Richard's sharp eyes, even trained professionals would find it difficult to escape his scrutiny. Heart rate, micro-expressions, and breathing intervals- these subtle, uncontrollable details allowed him to judge lies with ease.
In a way, if one mastered this skill to the highest level, it was no different from mind-reading.
After all, Richard often used this very method on Furina, so she couldn't really be blamed for suspecting he had actual mind-reading powers.
"Next is Marcel. Navia, what are your thoughts?" Furina asked, curious about the girl's inner struggle.
"I… I'm sorry, Lady Furina. I still hope this is all just a coincidence. Because if Uncle Marcel truly is Vacher… It's too much to imagine." Navia's voice was heavy.
She was torn. On one hand, she wanted Marcel to be the culprit; then the countless victims would finally have closure. On the other hand, she wished he wasn't, because to her, Marcel was the elder who had watched her grow up since childhood. She didn't want all of that to be a lie.
"Let's go. Clorinde is already waiting. Whatever the truth, it will soon be revealed. Whether coincidence or fact, we'll only know by confronting him directly," Richard said.
Even if Marcel wasn't the true mastermind, Richard would do everything in his power to uncover who was.
And if he truly couldn't… well, then he might have to resort to "mysticism."
Astrology, he didn't use it much, but he had learned some from Alice, and achieved a bit of success with it.
He didn't really have talent in that area; most of his talent points seemed to be invested in combat strength.
Soon, the group arrived at the Confrerie of Cabriere, where they easily spotted Clorinde standing at the gates.
Though dressed like a secretary, her fiery figure was paired with a cold, sharp face and an intimidating aura.
Most who saw her at first glance felt she was "to be admired from afar, but not to be approached." Few dared talk to her directly.
But Richard knew she wasn't as unapproachable as she looked. At least, he found her quite useful.
Hardworking, uncomplaining, it was rare to find someone both competent and easy to handle.
"I checked, Marcel is inside," Clorinde said as she walked up to Richard's group.
"Why didn't you just go in?" Navia couldn't help asking.
Judging from the uneasy face of the receptionist nearby, Clorinde had probably been standing at the entrance like a stone pillar for quite a while.
Most likely, since the time they went to question the other two suspects, she had been here like a guardian statue.
"What for?" Clorinde countered.
Navia was left speechless. Indeed, even if she had gone inside, there wasn't much she could actually do. Waiting at the door was simpler.
The only consequence was that her intimidating presence might hurt business. After all, with Clorinde, the strongest Dueliest, standing at the front gate, who wouldn't suspect the Confrerie of Cabriere had landed in serious trouble?
Clorinde's reputation was well-known in Fontaine.
"Well, this way we at least don't have to worry about Clorinde saying something wrong," Furina muttered. Clearly, Clorinde's "resignation tricks" had left a deep impression on her.
Clorinde stared at Furina in disbelief, like she was looking at a heartless scoundrel.
'Lady Furina, do you even know? Without my little interjections, Richard would have bullied you into the ground long ago!'
'I really did misplace my loyalty~'
"Why are you looking at me like that? It's not like I said anything wrong. You're making me feel like some ungrateful villain in an opera…" Furina faltered under Clorinde's gaze, her confidence dipping.
But she quickly puffed herself up again. After all, it was Clorinde who had "called her out" so many times in the past.
Clorinde took a deep breath, chest rising with frustration, and signaled Richard with her eyes.
'Next time, I'm siding with you.'
Richard ignored her. 'Your "side" is meaningless. At best, you block some of Furina's shots, and even then, your shield leaks.'
Soon, the group was respectfully invited into the reception room. With Furina and the Spina di Rosula's young lady, Navi, both present, the Confrerie of Cabriere had no choice but to treat them as honored guests.
Especially Furina, her presence made the receptionist wonder if the Confrerie of Cabriere had grown so large that even the Hydro Archon had to visit in person.
Not long after the receptionist went upstairs, Marcel hurried down.
"Here, here, sorry to keep you waiting. Is that… Lady Furina?"
He was visibly shocked by Furina's presence. Turning to Navia, the one he was most familiar with, he asked, "Navia, did the Spina di Rosula need my help again?"
He guessed her visit must be related to the recent reappearance of Sinthe. Over the years, Navia had sought his financial aid many times to fight the organization behind it.
And seeing Furina with her, Marcel assumed Navia must have managed to enlist the Archon's support in the crusade against Sinthe.
"As for why the Archon would care so much… it probably has to do with the incident in Whitepine Town, when those Treasure Hoarders dissolved into water," he reasoned.
"Yes. I wanted to talk with you about what happened recently in Poisson Town and at the Fontaine Research Institute ruins. Sinthe has appeared again, you've heard, haven't you?" Navia asked, her beautiful eyes fixed sharply on Marcel, searching for any sign of guilt.
But Marcel had been hiding in Fontaine for over a decade. His depth of scheming wasn't something a young lady like Navia could hope to pierce.
He reacted with just the right amount of surprise, then anger.
"They've appeared again?!"
His acting was far better than that of the average opera star.
'This man should have gone into politics,' Richard thought.
While Marcel's face showed shock and fury, Richard's senses told a different story. His heartbeat, blood flow, and micro-expressions all betrayed one truth: Marcel already knew.
'Interesting,' Richard mused. 'If he already knew, why pretend otherwise?'
"These past days, the Confrerie of Cabriere has suffered heavy losses because of the Institute incident. I've been busy managing that, and never imagined those worms would exploit the chaos…" Marcel explained, then quickly pledged:
"Don't worry, Navia. I'll always stand by you. There's still some funds left in the Confrerie of Cabriere; you take them. I'll find more later. Whatever it takes, we must suppress that cancer!"
His speech was flawless. Just by hearing him, even insiders might begin to wonder if there had been a mistake, if perhaps "Marcel" was simply a coincidence in name.
After all, he presented himself as the perfect image of a righteous merchant, hating evil, unselfishly throwing resources into the fight against Sinthe.
But that was his greatest flaw. Richard knew Marcel had risen to power only a decade ago with Callas' help. Before that, he had been impoverished.
For someone like him to pour money endlessly into a bottomless pit like the Sinthe war, without asking for compensation, even with Furina present as a representative of Fontaine's government, it didn't add up.
No profit, no fame… what did he truly want?
By this point, Richard had already formed his judgment. And just then, he noticed Furina's small, confused eyes looking at him.
Clearly, "Great Detective Furina" couldn't tell good from bad here.
Richard gave her a calm, reassuring look. She immediately understood, closing her mouth obediently, waiting for Richard to take the lead.
After spending so much time with him, Furina had learned one truth: silence was golden. Until the truth became clear, it was better not to jump in; otherwise, one risked a backlash.
She had learned this the hard way, many times.
"Thank you, Uncle Marcel," Navia said, nodding. Yet she couldn't help glancing at Richard, clearly wanting his opinion.
Though they hadn't known each other long, it was obvious from how Clorinde and Furina treated him that Richard was the true leader among them, the "external brain."
"So you must be Lord Richard from the Ministry of Administration?" Marcel followed her gaze and spoke.
"You know me?" Richard raised a brow.
Though not a secret, most ordinary Fontainians saw him only as a higher-ranking civil servant, perhaps the Hydro Archon's administrative aide, with little real power.
Only those who understood Fontaine's inner workings knew: ministers came and went, but the civil service endured.
And among civil servants, Richard was exceptional. His authority far exceeded that of other permanent secretaries. Under his management, the Ministry of Administration had become an ironclad fortress.
Marcel's reaction showed he not only knew of Richard but even harbored a faint sense of unease toward him.
"Lord Richard forgets easily. At Monsieur Harbault's banquet, I was present as well. But as the Confrerie of Cabriere is not a large one, I could hardly hope to speak with someone of your stature, so I could only keep to the sidelines."
"Still, from the many great merchants there, I heard of your reputation."
Marcel wasn't lying. He had indeed learned of Richard through other business leaders.
This Richard was no ordinary official. Though unassuming, he held frightening influence. For Fontaine's merchants, he was even more important than the Ministry of Commerce.
After all, the Commerce set policies, but the Administration handled coordination among all departments, urban management, public works, sanitation, and more. In simple terms, it was the bridge between every branch of government.
And merchants knew better than anyone the power of a middleman.
Mess with anyone else in Fontaine, maybe you'd survive, but mess with Administration? You'd have no good end.
And Richard had transformed that once-corrupt, useless office into a powerhouse second only to the Court of Fontaine itself.
"Then how do they evaluate me?" Richard asked with a faint smile.
"A good official. Lord Richard is a good official, and a good man. Just like…" Marcel paused, unsure if he should continue.
"Just like… Callas," Richard finished for him.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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