After hearing what Leo said, Myles prepared to get up and lead the two of them to a quieter place.
After all, Navia was in a bad mood now—if things continued as they were, it might only cause more trouble.
Once the three of them left, only Furina and Navia remained in the room. That did not bother Furina in the slightest; on the contrary, she felt relieved knowing that Leo and Clorinde were close by.
Meanwhile, Navia kept her head lowered, lost in thought. For a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl to lose her father and suddenly inherit such a vast organization, the burden of the past month had been far too heavy.
In the next room, Silver was busy with desserts. At that moment, he was baking macarons and preparing small cakes.
When the three entered, Silver immediately stood up and asked:
"What's wrong? The cake will be ready soon!"
Waving his hands, Myles said:
"It's fine, it's fine. But you'll need to listen carefully to what I say next."
He looked at Leo and Clorinde.
"You two—what did the master say before he died?"
Clorinde nodded. "I'll go first.
Before the trial began that day, Carles came to me and asked me to take good care of Miss Navia, to protect her safety."
Hearing her words, Myles nodded. That was exactly the kind of thing the master would say. After all, throughout Fontaine, the number of people more powerful than Clorinde could be counted on one hand.
"That same day, when Lady Furina and I arrived at the Opera Epiclese, Mr. Carles asked to see me," Leo continued. "When we met, he first lamented that everyone pushes against a falling wall, and then he brought up the case of the missing girls."
"What?" Myles and Silver both showed surprise.
Leo pressed on: "At that time, he told me the next target of the serial disappearances would be Miss Navia. Then he stopped speaking and only hoped that I would secretly protect her."
"Is that so? Are you two here to reopen the case?" Myles quickly understood what Leo and Clorinde meant. They believed something was amiss with Carles's trial.
Clorinde confirmed with a nod.
"Well then, what do you wish to ask?"
Standing up, Clorinde took a scroll from Leo's hand, spread it out across the table, and said:
"We all know what kind of man Mr. Carles was. He was not someone who would commit murder. Mr. Myles, I want to know—why was Mr. Carles so certain that the next target of the serial abductions would be Miss Navia?"
Leo picked up the thread of her words.
"What exactly happened before, and what happened that day? How are they connected to the serial disappearances?"
Myles thought for a while before answering. Finally, he recounted everything that had happened over the past year.
When he was finished, Leo and Clorinde exchanged thoughts. After some discussion, they settled on several pressing doubts:
What kind of drink is Leshi, that it could possess such strange effects?
The connection between Carles and the deceased.
A puddle of water and discarded clothes found on the ground.
Looking at the case photos, Leo unconsciously recalled a certain place—the door at the end of the underground corridor in Lady Furina's office, upon which was written Fontaine's prophecy.
An absurd yet chilling possibility crept into his mind, raising goosebumps across his skin.
"Tell me, is it possible," Leo said slowly, "that aside from Mr. Carles and the victim… there was a third person present at the scene?"
The three others looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what Leo meant.
"How do you know?"
Pointing to the water and the soaked clothing in the photograph, Leo shuddered.
"The third person… was dissolved into water."
As soon as those words left his mouth, the room fell into a tense, almost eerie silence.
People dissolving into water—wasn't that only a legend?
"Mr. Leo, don't joke about such things. How could a person possibly dissolve into water?" Silver asked in disbelief.
Myles, however, pinched his chin thoughtfully, considering the possibility.
As for Clorinde, a flicker of shock passed through her eyes. She had never imagined such a thing.
"Dissolving into water… that is Fontaine's prophecy. Just a legend. Mr. Leo, do you truly believe it's real?" Myles asked, still doubtful.
Leo nodded firmly. "The prophecy is true."
He continued:
"Think about the previous cases of missing girls. So many vanished, yet no matter how hard we searched, no trace could be found—no living victims, no bodies, nothing. Even after their disappearances, there was never any news.
Many assumed the girls had been deceived and taken abroad. But some disappeared right in the Palais Mermonia, vanishing without a trace in a single day. By normal reasoning, such a mystery is impossible to solve. But if we factor in the prophecy—suddenly, it makes sense.
The missing girls may have been taken to the sea, or confined in basements or private homes… and then subjected to some kind of experiment."
As Leo said this, he felt as if he were narrating the plot of a mystery novel. Yet when combined with the prophecy, the pieces fit together disturbingly well.
Later, after leaving the room, Leo returned to Lady Furina. She had been dozing, chin propped up on her hand, a large plate of desserts in front of her. The moment she saw Leo walk in with more desserts in hand, her sleepiness vanished instantly.
A loyal guard and a sweet treat—both were her favorite comforts. The only pity was that they weren't at home; otherwise, she could have had Leo feed her. She loved it most when her hands were free.
As Myles and Silver came out, Navia looked at them, hoping to glean some hint from their faces—but she saw nothing. The four of them kept their discussion a secret, the details known only to them.
While nibbling on a dessert, Furina glanced at Leo, already plotting how to tease him later that night.
Who gave you the courage to flirt with another woman in front of me?
Sensing her heated gaze, Leo turned his head toward her. The flames in her eyes sent a chill down his spine. He suddenly felt he might not survive the night.
Clorinde, seated on the other side and calmly eating macarons, noticed the subtle exchange between Leo and Furina. Her eyes dropped to Furina's jewelry—the color of her ring and bracelet looked oddly familiar. She glanced at Leo, then back at Furina. Something wasn't right.
That evening, she resolved to travel to Merope's Fortress. Without verifying the truth, she wouldn't be able to sleep.
That night, in the Duke's office at Merope's Fortress—
The Duke was drinking tea and reading a newspaper when a knock came at the door.
"Come in," he said casually.
Looking up, Leosly immediately stood, a smile spreading across his face at the sight of the striking woman who entered.
"Miss Clorinde! How rare for you to visit my prison. By the looks of it, it's already quite late."
Tossing a bag of tea leaves onto the table, Clorinde poured herself a cup and said flatly:
"Enough small talk. Tell me—is the one Leo truly likes Lady Furina?"
Tilting his head, Leosly chuckled, amused. "Why do you ask?"
Clorinde pulled two photos from her pocket and slid them across the desk.
"Take a look."
Leosly examined them—and could not suppress a grin. The photos, taken at a candid angle, showed Leo and Furina sitting together, eating dessert and exchanging glances. Clorinde had even circled key details with a pen: the matching rings and bracelets.
"As expected of my good friend—you really did manage to win over the Hydro Archon herself! Wait a moment, I've got some photos of my own. Want to see them?"
Seeing his flippant attitude, Clorinde sipped her tea, casting him a cold glance. The meaning was obvious.
Still smiling, Leosly walked to the desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a stack of photographs.
"Come, have a look. These are shots I secretly took when Leo last came to Merope's Fortress!"
Clorinde leaned forward—and froze at the first picture.
In the photo, Leo and Furina were kissing.
"When did you take this photo?" she demanded.
"Secretly," Leosly answered with a smirk.