12 O’Clock Marionette

Chapter 10

In times like these, I had to be even more careful.

I couldn't let anyone see my holy power, so the amount I could use was limited.

A pure white force discreetly searched my body.

The poison fiercely resisted at first, but upon realizing the difference in strength, it began to flee.

It crawled up from my lungs, slithering through my bronchial tubes, winding around my spine, and creeping higher.

Just before it could pass my cervical vertebrae and burrow into my brain—

‘Got you!’

The poison melted away without even having the chance to scream.

Phew, that was close.

Once I quietly retrieved my holy power, it was over.

Carefully, I removed the bag and wiped the sweat from my forehead.

“Whew.”

I locked eyes with Nina Grace Holmaze.

Her face was streaked with tear stains, and she was staring at me in a daze.

Still gripping my hand so tightly that my fingers ached.

Her dumbfounded expression was amusing, so I flashed her a grin.

“See? You didn’t die.”

“……Yes.”

“Then, would you mind letting go of my hand?”

Please. I hadn’t realized it while I was focused, but now my hand was completely numb.

As soon as Nina released me, I shook my hand out in the air.

“Oh my god, she’s really healed.”

“Does that bag have some kind of special property?”

“I thought you had been poisoned… But I suppose that wasn’t the case.”

Hearing their astonished murmurs made me feel a bit smug.

One or two sharp individuals had made me nervous, but ultimately, only the result mattered.

Just then, Minuet arrived with a priest.

She rushed over to check Nina Grace Holmaze’s condition, her face soon twisting in bewilderment.

“She’s perfectly healthy.”

Yeah, I already knew that.

***

The party was effectively over.

Sensing something amiss, Minuet quickly made excuses and sent the guests home.

I could tell her about the poison incident after she finished seeing everyone off.

For now, I collapsed onto a chair, sprawling out.

“I thought I was going to die.”

I had managed to pull it off, but Siora’s body was so weak that it made things twice as exhausting.

Compared to my previous bodies, this one was particularly frail—maybe I should start exercising or something.

“You’re still here?”

Gavotte approached.

Judging by his sweat-soaked, once-impeccable clothing, he had been running around just as frantically as I had.

I greeted him with enthusiasm.

“Comrade!”

“Don’t spout nonsense.”

Lowering his voice, he subtly gestured outside with his thumb.

At the end of his gaze was a servant moving suspiciously.

Ha, looks like I’d be getting all my exercise today after all.

Swallowing my frustration, I forced myself to move.

***

‘My heart’s going to burst.’

Leon, a servant, frantically glanced around as he hurried toward the storage room.

His fingers clutched a lemon-colored brooch so tightly his knuckles were white.

It’s fine.

This brooch was supposed to have an enchantment that prevented recognition—there was no way he had been exposed.

Finally reaching his destination, Leon pulled out a small hand mirror.

But instead of his own reflection, another person appeared in the glass.

A young man with a hood pulled low over his face.

The moment Leon saw him, relief washed over him—only to be replaced by a surge of fury.

“Y-you said it was just a laxative!”

He had been completely deceived.

They had first met at a gambling den.

Leon, having lost all his money and sunk into despair, had been approached by the hooded man.

“You’re the new servant at the Bonetti household, aren’t you?”

The man had scorned the abrupt rise of Siora Velvet and asked Leon to ruin her party.

All he had to do was slip a laxative into the wine, and he would be rewarded handsomely.

Drowning in gambling debt, Leon had been unable to resist the lure of gold.

Besides, he, too, resented the sudden appearance of this Cinderella figure, so he had felt little guilt.

But it had all been a trap.

Only when Nina Grace Holmaze collapsed in agony did Leon realize the truth.

[“Enough with the nonsense. So? How many died?”]

“……I won’t tell you. Find out yourself!”

[“Oh, I will. Not that the number matters.”]

The mirror flickered briefly before returning to normal.

[“By the way—you're still not caught?”]

“Huh? W-what do you mean…? I-I had the brooch with me the whole time!”

"Did you really think that was a real magic artifact?"

The hooded young man burst into laughter.

As he looked at the dumbfounded Leon, he tapped his temple with his index finger.

Tap, tap.

"Check your head. I'm worried there's nothing inside."

And with that, his illusion vanished.

The mirror once again reflected Leon’s stupid face.

“It… wasn’t real?”

Then what?

Did that mean there was no recognition-blocking enchantment at all?

At that moment, someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

Leon flinched violently and fell flat on his rear.

"H-Hah!"

"Hello."

Looking up blankly, he met a pair of sharp, violet eyes gazing down at him.

A high-chroma purple, glinting with amusement.

"It seems we have a lot to talk about."

The weight of the stare, shadowed by long lashes, pierced through Leon.

***

"I-I really didn’t know! I didn’t realize it was such a dangerous poison!"

Leon—whose name I had to ask for—was kneeling, pleading desperately.

Summing up his story:

1. Because of his gambling debt, he accepted a bribe from someone he didn’t even know and poisoned the wine.

2. He also replaced all the party glasses, which had poison-detection enchantments.

3. No one died, so could we just let him off?

Minuet answered.

"Take care of him."

"Yes, Lady Minuet."

"P-please spare me!"

Leon was dragged away.

As a side note, the person responsible for final checks before the wine was served and the noble house that wrote Leon’s recommendation were unlikely to escape unscathed either.

And now, it was my turn.

Minuet turned to face me.

"I apologize for the disaster that nearly ruined your party, Siora. But how did you know?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"You and Gavotte were running around like lunatics. You knew the wine was poisoned, didn’t you?"

Right, it was impossible not to get caught after moving so obviously.

As I debated how to respond, I decided to just be shameless about it.

"I don’t know, my body just moved on its own. Maybe I studied something like that before?"

Minuet let out a baffled chuckle, but hey—

I had amnesia—or at least, that’s what I claimed.

Oh, everything was buried deep in my subconscious!

"…Then why did you use the bag? Did your body just move on its own for that too?"

"That was just for hyperventilation."

"Hyper… what?"

Ah, right.

With the rise of priests and increasing reliance on temples, medicine had declined.

Doctors still existed, but medical knowledge wasn’t common.

But for me? My old temple had books on everything.

Hmm.

"Good question, what is that?"

And so, I played dumb again.

Gavotte looked at me like I was an idiot.

Well, he didn’t know I was supposed to have amnesia, so I’d let it slide.

"You… are you messing with me right now?"

Minuet cut herself off mid-sentence and rubbed the back of her neck.

Had the blood rushed to her head?

Poor thing, so young yet already under so much stress.

"Siora, this was your party. Who do you think was targeted?"

"Me?"

"If we don’t find out who’s behind this, won’t something like this happen again?"

"Probably?"

"And if you keep your mouth shut, will that help us catch them?"

"Nope?"

"Then why are you—!"

Minuet was furious, but there was nothing I could do.

I already had a pretty good idea of where this was coming from.

It had to be the White Desert Elders.

They often used monster venom, as recorded in The Book of Fate.

The Grand Elder was an outright blood supremacist.

Since he couldn’t undo the identity swap that Cruello had agreed to, he must have wanted to create an excuse to void it.

I had expected them to retaliate, but not this quickly.

Given Cruello’s extensive history of broken engagements, I thought they’d take their time—but they were moving with unexpected urgency.

…Did they actually want this engagement to happen?

Anyway, the culprit was obvious, so there was no need to explain things to Minuet.

But then—

"The one who ordered it was Julian Minerva."

…Excuse me?

I blinked at Gavotte’s words.

"How do you know that? The mirror had a recognition-blocking enchantment."

"He tapped his head with his finger and said, ‘Check if you have a brain.’"

Gavotte’s voice darkened as he continued.

"That’s Julian’s habit. He probably said it unconsciously…"

"It’s not enough to be solid proof."

"I know. But it’s better than nothing."

"Um."

I raised my hand, cutting into the conversation.

"So, who exactly is Julian Minerva?"

"…He was my classmate at the academy."

Gavotte’s answer made the room’s temperature plummet to zero.

What the hell? Why did things turn so ominous over an academy classmate?

Even I couldn’t help but be wary of the atmosphere.

Just then—

"Ah, you’re all here."

Betty!

A new arrival to change the mood.

I looked up eagerly.

"The White Desert Duke has come to see you."

"The party’s over, though?"

He said he wouldn’t come, so why show up now?

Betty smiled awkwardly and added,

"Well… He brought a whole box of antidotes for monster venom."

The temperature dropped below freezing.

***

"The culprit always returns to the scene."

I stared blankly at Cruello.

"So, you poisoned the wine, Your Grace?"

"Let’s say it was me."

The man replied immediately.

…What?

Was this one of those, ‘I didn’t do it, but even if I deny it, you won’t believe me’ situations?

He smirked and casually crossed his legs.

"I actually brought the antidotes for a reason. I thought the banquet hall would be in chaos."

"So, what you’re saying is…"

Wait.

Cruello knew the Elders would poison the wine.

If left unchecked, it would’ve caused an uproar, giving them a reason to break off the engagement.

"You’re taking the blame for it yourself?"

That would shut the Elders up completely.

Hah.

I was momentarily speechless.

"Wouldn’t it have been easier to just prevent the poisoning?"

"Believe it or not, I came as soon as I found out."

Cruello drooped his eyes sorrowfully, feigning sadness.

I was about to call him out, but then I noticed how disheveled his hair had become.

…Fine, I’d give him that much.

"I’ll leave the antidotes. You might need them someday."

"You’re leaving? After just arriving?"

"I’m a busy man. I know you’ll miss me, but—"

"Goodbye."

He chuckled and rose from his seat.

Being someone who understood etiquette, I at least escorted him to the door.

But then—

"By the way, darling."

Just as he was about to leave the parlor, Cruello suddenly gripped the door handle.

His eyes glowed with a strange light.

"Aren’t you going to ask who was behind it?"

"No need."

"So, you already know?"

"…I’d be an idiot if I didn’t."

Cruello narrowed his eyes.

"Our Elders have quite a decent reputation among most people."

"I guess that means I’m not ‘most people.’"

"No self-deprecation now."

He let go of the door handle.

The way each of his fingers slowly lifted, one by one, was like playing a piano.

"Congratulations on your engagement. Have a lovely evening."

The door closed.

The moment he was gone, I exhaled deeply.

"If you’re going to congratulate me, at least bring flowers."

Frustrated, I turned back to finish my tea.

And then—

Something that hadn’t been there before appeared.

"Huh."

A vibrant bouquet of flowers.