"If Luna hadn't encountered certain events, she might have become part of the Maison Gardiennage or the Special Task Force."
Many years ago, during the period when Lynette hadn't yet started calling Luna "Lulu," there was a day...
After entering the House of the Hearth, Luna had been practicing her throwing knives as usual when she heard Lynette sigh.
Luna turned her head, puzzled. "Really?"
"Mhm."
"Your reason?"
"Precisely this."
Lynette hugged her pillow, cat ears twitching. "The way you directly ask for reasons and causes... It's just like those Maison Gardiennage people."
"I don't think so. We've suffered plenty at their hands, haven't we? Remember how we nearly got caught by the Maison Gardiennage's Clockwork Meka last time?"
Luna retrieved all the knives embedded in the target and set them aside.
Lynette pondered. "But Luna, you don't dislike them, do you?"
"Of course not."
Luna bounced onto the sofa and plopped down. "What they do is right. If it's right, how could I dislike them?"
"Then what about what we do?"
"Hmm... How should I put it... 'Right'—Father would never say that."
Arlecchino never claimed her actions were right.
Instead, she might counter with: "Then what do you think I am?"
Truth is invincible, yet it can be concealed, buried, and obscured.
Prejudice achieves precisely this.
How to discern truth and eliminate falsehoods remains one of the lifelong lessons Arlecchino left for her children.
"...Luna, you're always talking about 'Father'."
Luna blushed. "Me? I don't talk about her constantly."
"...Then." Lynette tapped her own cheek.
"Then?"
"Don't play dumb. You were the one who brought it up first."
Luna's eyes darted about, clearly embarrassed and flustered.
"I did mention it first, but you're the one who suggested continuing, aren't you?"
Lynette's cheeks flushed pink, the truth undeniable.
But that's not important. She bent down, planting her hands on the sofa cushions as she slowly leaned toward Luna, her tail swishing slightly behind her.
"Right, so let's continue."
It sounded suggestive, but in reality, it was just a cheek kiss.
Once daily, no more, no less.
Lynette felt Luna's cool, slightly damp lips press against her cheek, the cat ears twitching with amusement.
"...I feel like you'll get so used to this that you'll forget it's happening," she suddenly remarked.
Until you end up wanting to kiss every pretty girl you see.
"Will I?"
"I feel like I might."
However, there were no girls who had a particularly close relationship with Luna yet, except for her.
"Father" was no longer a girl, but a mature woman. She couldn't be counted among them.
Luna said with slight dissatisfaction, "Am I that kind of person?"
"Maybe, maybe not."
"Ah..."
Lynette smiled faintly, then suddenly remembered something. "Ah, I almost forgot. My brother said he has something to show you - a magic trick we prepared. Come here."
She took Luna's hand and led her to the space below the mansion.
The space below the mansion had existed for a long time, but it seemed that before they joined the House of the Hearth, "Father" had cleaned it out completely, leaving nothing behind.
Now it had become the children's little world, where you could see some graffiti and drawings on the walls.
Of course, if Arlecchino discovered them, she would definitely wash them all clean.
Thump-thump. Lynette's voice carried no particular inflection.
"...A box?"
At that moment, Lyney and Freminet emerged from the box.
Lyney rubbed his head. "That device almost flattened my head."
"My apologies. It seems we need more adjustments..." Freminet said with an apologetic expression.
"It's all part of the process," Lyney said. "Magic is like that—you need constant adjustments and preparations... Oh, Luna, you're here! Come check out our new prop!"
The "prop" was actually just a large box.
After joining the House of the Hearth, Lyney and Lynette had spent over ten days learning from a Magician, gaining many new skills in magic. What they'd learned before had been just the basics.
Sometimes the House of the Hearth needed famous children to carry out their tasks, and these two happened to have the right qualities. Becoming a famous Magician wasn't a bad choice.
"What a big box," Luna remarked.
"...What other thoughts do you have?"
"It's very square."
Lynette's face remained expressionless. "How could a box not be square?"
"There are round boxes too," Luna countered.
"That's not important," Lynette said softly. "What matters is that we want to forge our own path in magic. My brother feels the same way."
Lyney nodded seriously. "We are the children of 'Father,' but that doesn't mean our minds must be confined to the present."
"I think 'Father' would want that too," Freminet added in a quiet voice.
Their "Father" possessed a unique tenderness.
Assigning them cruel tasks didn't mean turning them into mindless tools.
"So what's the result?"
Lyney awkwardly averted his gaze.
Luna sighed and carefully examined the box once more.
"There's another box inside," she said, surprised.
"Exactly. The inner box will be the key to our magic," Lyney said confidently.
Lynette murmured, "The box can be raised or lowered. If we conceal it properly, we can achieve 'transference'."
"We could place a device inside to play my voice or something. That way everyone would be deceived. Lynette and I look very similar—if we change our clothes—"
Lynette immediately clarified, "You mean you want to wear women's clothes, Brother?"
"No! You're the one who needs to pretend to be me!" Lyney hastily corrected.
Luna smiled. "I think Lynette's plan works too."
"No, no, no, no—I refuse."
Freminet covered his mouth with a chuckle before adding, "But this magic's premise is the 'channel'. As long as we have a passage connecting the two boxes, we can achieve the effect..."
Lynette continued, "If this were a mystery novel, something would happen in that passage..."
"Don't jinx it."
"I'm a cat, not a crow."
-
Memories from the past surfaced in Luna's mind, making her pause momentarily.
She quickly steadied her breathing and continued, "That's the basic principle. At that time, Mr. Lyney was at the vent in the tunnel, preparing to return from the Oratrice's core room."
"He was completely unaware of everything that happened in the tunnel."
The audience nodded in understanding.
So this was the principle behind the magic trick.
It sounded simple enough, but achieving it required extensive preparation.
What a pity. If only the performance could have continued to the very end.
"Of course, Miss Lynette, having remained in another wooden box throughout, is also cleared of suspicion."
Furina asked, puzzled, "Then who is the real culprit? You can't possibly mean..."
"The murderer in this case is Cowell, the deceased assistant magician! But the one who directed him was none other than the accused standing before us all—Vacher!"
"As an assistant magician, Cowell had the perfect opportunity to rig the magic props."
"The mechanism of the number selector was fixed—it would inevitably choose number 73."
"Everyone attending the performance had to register at the Opera House, with seating assignments determined beforehand. Thus, the culprit knew exactly who number 73 was, yet still selected her."
"The purpose was simple: he wanted to frame Mr. Lyney and Miss Lynette for the Serial Disappearance Case!"
One truth after another erupted forth.
This was no longer defense, but a one-sided assault, a crushing blow.
Truth had become Luna's weapon, and all she needed to do was deliver the final strike at this last trial.
"Search Cowell's luggage. There must be the original Primordial Sea water inside."
After some time, the Maison Gardiennage indeed found several test tubes.
Inside were the original Primordial Sea water.
"The magic box contained balloons. When the inner magic box carrying audience member 73 descended, Cowell used a hidden iron hook to pierce the balloons, causing the Primordial Sea water to fall."
"The young girl would have been dissolved—this should have been the progression."
Luna murmured, "Miss Chevreuse, please go to the Opera House. That audience member 73 must still be there."
To be frank, this wasn't the Special Task Force's work.
But Chevreuse didn't refuse, nodding gently.
She quickly found audience member 73 in a room.
Though the registration listed the name "Halsey", the true name was "Liliane".
Indeed, she was the young girl who had taken Halsey's place.
Liliane hadn't expected to be caught so quickly. She shrank back, her voice trembling.
"I... I'm not Halsey at all. I stole a ticket to get in. My name is Liliane, from Mondstadt..."
"After I entered the magic box, I got drenched in water for no reason. I panicked and rushed out, but then someone jumped out to grab me."
"Don't judge me by my looks—I'm actually quite athletic. He couldn't beat me. I knocked him out and shoved him back into that magic box," Liliane whispered.
What a pathetic murderer! Furina thought.
He couldn't even handle a simple ambush and got killed instead.
Navia's expression turned sardine. "If a thief could knock him out, it seems the guy you hired, Vacher, is completely useless."
Vacher, uncharacteristically silent, seemed to have already conceded. Any attempt at rebuttal would be futile.
Luna smiled. "When Cowell was stuffed into the magic box, the mechanism activated. As the box ascended back to the stage, the ropes he'd set up became the weapon that delivered his fatal blow."
"It's clear he wanted to use 'accident' to cover up the truth of the dissolution. Yet he himself was crushed to dust by the falling tank."
The witness who decided this case's outcome was Liliane.
With her testimony, everything Luna had said received absolute support.
Furina exhaled deeply. "Everything makes sense now. It seems Mr. Lyney and Miss Lynette are indeed innocent. The truly guilty ones are Cowell and Vacher!"
She turned to Neuvillette.
"I believe this trial is over, Monsieur Neuvillette. You should—"
"There's one more!" Luna's voice remained steady.
Ah?
One more!?
Clorinde murmured, "They're truly leaving no survivors."
"One more? Who?" Furina looked utterly confused.
Navia suddenly understood. "I get it now!"
"To frame someone else, you must make sure they discover the 'evidence.' And the one who could do that is—"
Chevreuse narrowed her eyes, comprehension dawning on her as well.
It's a mole within the Maison Gardiennage!
Luna's face lit up with a smile. "Officer Vaughn, what's that in your arms?"
"Attack!" Vacher suddenly shouted.
So what if his true identity was exposed? He could still drag these detestable Fontainians to their graves!
Vaughn and another guard immediately pulled out several tubes of Primordial Sea water from their coats and hurled them toward the audience.
Furina's eyes wavered violently. "Watch out!" she cried out, her voice cracking.
Everything was so sudden. Chevreuse, Navia, and Clorinde had already moved.
But they were too close to the audience. Even if they shot the tubes with bullets, the dispersing Primordial Sea water would kill several spectators.
Neuvillette narrowed his eyes and raised his hand...
Just then.
Click.
The flying test tubes suddenly slowed to a crawl.
"What?!" Vacher's eyes widened, and Vaughn's face showed equal shock.
Time... the flow of time had slowed!
Furina blinked repeatedly. "What's happening?"
Neuvillette paused and lowered his hand. It seemed he wouldn't need to intervene after all.
Chevreuse, Navia, and Clorinde froze momentarily, but their movements didn't stop. Taking advantage of the slowed test tubes, they carefully secured them.
Chevreuse kicked Vaughn in the face.
Clorinde fired a bullet into another Maison Gardiennage member's knee.
Both went down in one strike.
Vacher was struck hard with Navia's umbrella.
With a dull thud, Vacher collapsed to the ground.
The audience, now safe after the ordeal, slumped in their seats, limbs trembling.
They had nearly been dissolved...
The infiltration of the Maison Gardiennage ran deeper than anyone imagined! Whether they could trust the security force again became a pressing question.
Neuvillette sighed. "Utterly audacious. Special Task Force, you're in charge of the investigation."
Chevreuse nodded, raising her fist. "Special Task Force, assemble!"
At the command, members of the Special Task Force stationed outside filed in one by one.
As a special unit, they naturally had the authority to search the Maison Gardiennage in this situation. She didn't care what the high-ranking officials of the Court of Justice thought.
After all, there had nearly been casualties. Moreover, Neuvillette had explicitly ordered them to handle the matter.
"But what happened earlier..."
It was clear that the time flow within the test tube had changed.
Who had done it? Who could possibly perform such a feat?
As Chevreuse pondered this, the first image that came to mind was the White Cat.
She scanned the audience thoroughly but found no clues.
"....."
Luna glanced at the thoughtful Chevreuse and discreetly tucked away her pocket watch.
Of course, Chevreuse couldn't find the Phantom Thief among the audience.
Because she was standing at the prosecutor's position herself.
Furina snapped out of her daze and plopped back into her seat.
Thank goodness, no one was dissolved... After the initial relief, anger flared up. She suddenly stood up, pounding the railing.
"Neuvillette, it's time for judgment! We can't let scum like this go unpunished!"
Her words finally drew everyone's attention back to the trial.
The outcome was already decided.
The balance tilted completely toward Luna and Navia. Since the Oratrice had taken this stance, Neuvillette naturally followed suit.
"The final decision of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale is—"
Neuvillette picked up the card ejected by the Oratrice.
"Guilty!"
With this, the case of the young girl murders and the Callas case finally came to an end.
But no one cheered for this moment. Only bewilderment and anxiety remained on the spectators' faces.
Dissolution. The Fontainians would be dissolved!
"Lady Furina..."
One pair of fearful eyes after another turned toward Furina.
"Save us! We don't want to be dissolved!"
"You're a god, aren't you? There must be some way!"
Under the weight of so many desperate gazes, Furina felt her chest tighten.
"Ha... ha ha ha..."
But laughter escaped her lips despite herself.
Furina patted her chest and declared with false confidence, "Fear not, my beloved subjects! Trust your Archon. Only through your faith can I wield my full power!"
It'll be fine. It has to be fine.
...I can only believe that, Furina thought.
Luna observed Furina's confident facade, her expression thoughtful.