12 O’Clock Marionette

Chapter 20

The rain suddenly poured down without warning.

It was bold for an autumn rain, and the view outside the window blurred as the rain fell heavily.

The young man, wearing only his robe, sat on the sofa and stared blankly at the glass in his hand.

The snake pattern etched on the surface brought to mind something he had heard the day before.

“Be careful of the snake.”

What did they know when they said that?

Julian twisted his mouth in a wry smile.

The desperate pleas of the servant scattered his thoughts.

“I’m sorry, Young Master! I was wrong! Please, please, just one more time…!”

He turned his gaze to the side.

A servant was kneeling, with Julian’s precious bottle of alcohol shattered before him.

The bottle lay in pieces, no longer drinkable.

The butler asked.

“What shall we do?”

“Throw him out of the mansion.”

“As you wish.”

The servant, still howling, was dragged out without a recommendation letter, cast out into the street, but Julian felt no sympathy.

After all, the price of the alcohol the servant had broken was several times more than the servant's value, so it might even be considered a blessing.

“What about the alcohol?”

“Well… What was left?”

“Shall I bring the gift bottle from yesterday?”

The drink that was said to be made by the Gypsy clan?

Normally, Julian wouldn’t even glance at it, but the gloomy weather made him want to indulge in some caprice.

Julian nodded, and soon a black bottle was placed on the table.

He stopped the butler from opening it and personally twisted off the cap.

At that moment.

Shaaak!

“Your Highness!”

A snake sprang out from the bottle.

Julian quickly turned his face to avoid being bitten, but the snake’s fangs scratched his cheek.

“Heh.”

Julian touched the bloodstains on his face and chuckled.

So this was what they meant by it.

“Be careful of the snake.”

“What a double dose of bad luck.”

The young man, shaking off the venomous energy, stood up.

The viper tried to strike again but was tangled up by the violet vines that had wrapped around his body, rendering it immobile.

Julian stomped on the snake, crushing it, and said coldly.

“Bring the one who gave this to me in front of me.”

The butler bowed his head.

***

The court ball, filled with talk and turmoil, had finally ended.

When I returned to the Count’s estate, I immediately collapsed into bed.

The next morning.

“Betty, I’m meeting the Duke in three days. Please mark it on the calendar.”

“Go ahead, talk.”

“I can’t here. There are too many people for such a secretive conversation.”

“But you came to talk to me, didn’t you? It’s not a conversation, it’s an announcement.”

“I was respecting darling’s schedule. I’ll pick you up in three days.”

Perhaps he was trying to play on the growing anxiety as time passed.

I tried to lighten my mood.

As Betty marked the date on the calendar, she passed along some news.

“Oh, Miss Siora. The court ball has been reported in the newspaper.”

Betty brought a stack of newspapers.

It seemed like the newspapers had colluded because Cruello’s face was plastered all over the front page, smiling joyously.

It made me want to argue with the paper.

Is it fun? Well, of course, it’s fun for you.

I scowled as I skimmed through the newspaper.

It was surprising that my name wasn’t mentioned at all… until I saw it.

“Hm?”

“Unlicensed performance by the Recanon Church. Is this really okay?”

I blinked when I saw the phrase in the corner.

Recanon?

“The Recanon Church performed another unlicensed puppet show during the harvest festival. At the end, they handed out mementos to the audience, which turned out to be highly toxic, potentially fatal if inhaled. No deaths have occurred yet, but 80% of the audience were children under seven years old, and the temple is not going to ignore this…”

“That’s right. It’s the holy water that Saint ordered to be distributed to those who attended the harvest festival.”

Wait, that’s the poison we were given?

It had holy power, sure.

Cruello’s words suddenly resurfaced.

“Just in case, darling, don’t use that holy water.”

“It’s old. It went bad the last time I used it, and I got into trouble.”

I had even placed tracking magic on one of the priests.

This is becoming suspicious, to say the least.

I rummaged through the drawers for five seconds before giving up on finding the holy water I received last time.

It's someone else's problem, so it's annoying.

“What are you looking for?”

“Hm. The bottle I received during the harvest festival.”

“Ah… I’ve put it aside somewhere, but where was it?”

“It’s not urgent. Just give it to me when you find it later.”

“Got it. Also, there’s more invitations—”

“I’m not going.”

“I knew you’d say that, so I already burned them.”

Impressive work.

I nodded in satisfaction.

Today’s schedule is done!

…Or so I thought.

“Really hurts.”

I spoke as I looked at Gavotte.

His complexion had turned pale, and he could barely keep his eyelids open because of the fever.

I had heard he was in pain from Betty, but seeing it firsthand was worse than I imagined.

Gavotte let out a dry laugh.

“You called me out of the bedroom, and now you’re saying that?”

“No, Betty told me to come... and I thought you might be bored, so here I am.”

“I’m bored, alright, but... cough.”

He covered his mouth with his hand as a violent cough escaped him.

Hm.

Was it some congenital weakness, or did he fall into a frozen lake, or maybe overexert himself?

It was strange to see him ill without any of those triggers.

“What’s with the look? Is this your first time seeing someone sick?”

“No. I was just thinking about what to say to comfort you.”

“So, what will you say?”

I tried my best to offer words of comfort.

“Oh dear.”

“It’s frustrating, so just keep quiet until I’m better.”

“...”

I looked around and found my notebook.

I wrote something with my fountain pen and handed it to Gavotte.

?Oh dear.?

“Can’t you just go back to your room?”

?It’s because I’m worried about you.?

Gavotte snatched the notebook away and ripped it up.

He seemed to be in more pain, pressing his forehead as if a headache had struck.

“Ugh!”

Maybe I should just stay quiet.

“If it’s worse with me here, I’ll leave. You shouldn’t push yourself when you’re sick.”

“…It’s fine, being bored is worse.”

“Then can I ask you something?”

“You were pretending to be all weak, huh? What is it?”

“It’s about spirits. Why can’t you summon them?”

He frowned and seemed to want to say something, but slowly changed his expression.

Gavotte looked at me intently.

“Come to think of it, you’re officially a Bonetti now.”

“Huh?”

“Get up, let’s try summoning one.”

Huh?

And just like that, I found myself preparing to summon a spirit.

It wasn’t exactly a secret space of the Count’s estate, though it had decent lighting, but still...

I stood awkwardly in a room built for a specific purpose.

Gavotte lifted the carpet from the floor and brought over a book.

Then, he started drawing something from the book onto the floor.

He was sick, yet working so diligently for no good reason.

“Gavotte, the family treasures should be treated with respect. You can’t just teach anyone how to do this.”

“Yeah, yeah, Lady Siora Bonetti.”

“You opposed my registration.”

“My opposition was opposed. And I have a headache, so be quiet.”

With his usual defensive shield over my mouth, Gavotte continued his work.

I peeked at the pages of the book he held.

On the garden floor was a pentagram, with complicated ancient symbols intertwined in a strange pattern.

“Isn’t the middle a bit too blurry?”

“It’s been years. Of course, it’s faded.”

“Didn’t you cast preservation magic on it?”

“That didn’t become widespread until less than 200 years ago.”

How unfortunate.

“But I probably won’t be able to summon anything. I don’t even have Bonetti blood mixed in.”

“Shut up. You asked why you can’t summon a spirit, so I’m telling you why.”

So he was holding a grudge.

Narrow-minded Gavotte.

“You were cursing me inside, weren’t you?”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize when that happens. It’s frustrating.”

“Gavotte’s insides must be like pudding. Ah, you made a mistake over there.”

“Where?”

“Third at 3 o’clock, sixth at 4 o’clock, first at 11 o’clock.”

“Huh? I didn’t make a mistake. How could I after drawing this so many times?”

He didn’t even realize he was wrong. How pitiful.

It’s not that I didn’t trust Gavotte, it’s that I know Ancient Script.

If you draw it like that, it’ll actually disrupt the flow.

That’s why he can’t summon spirits.

It’s like blocking a doghouse door with a wooden plank and then trying to call a dog.

A strong dog might break through the plank, but most dogs would sit there and whimper.

Gavotte, you fool.

“Now, try it.”

Without knowing what I was thinking, Gavotte straightened up.

“Sure.”

“You just need to drop blood in the center, trace the pattern, and read the incantation.”

I knew the pattern was wrong from the start, but I didn’t bother correcting it.

Spirits aren’t that common a talent, so nothing would happen.

Of course, I’m versatile and capable of anything, but summoning spirits would make me too inhuman, don’t you think?

But, for now, I followed Gavotte’s instructions, cutting my fingertip with a dagger and reciting the words.

“By the supreme nature that governs the world, I ask— the breath of life, the eternal flow, the great winds that carry the four seasons, I ask of thee.”

The rest was omitted.

I was asking if I was worthy of a contract with the wind spirit.

I fully expected nothing to happen, so I lazily muttered the incantation.

However, halfway through, the mana started to be sucked into the pattern.

Whooo, it started as a small hum, but the sound grew louder and louder.

A massive amount of mana was swirling, and I could hear a deafening roar.

The reaction wasn’t ordinary.

Goodness.

“I really have no humanity.”

Once again, I’ve given the people of this world a deep sense of deprivation.

Of course, including Gavotte.

“W-what is this, exactly?”

From beyond the pattern, a colossal presence could be felt.

A wild and free spirit, more untamed than anything else.

The sensation of it opening its eyes and staring at me was vivid.

As though to demonstrate its power, a whirlwind began swirling around the pattern.

What could it look like? I was curious, but... hm...

“Forget it!”

I quickly withdrew my hand from the pattern.

Even so, for a moment, my vision went dizzy.

I almost felt like my soul was about to be sucked away.

Normally, my body could handle it, but since I was using someone else’s body, this kind of force was overwhelming.

If I had died, I would’ve ended up in the history books for the wrong reasons.

“Failed, Gavotte.”

As the wind settled, I turned to look at Gavotte.

He had a dumbfounded expression on his face.

“Failed? But just now...”

“What? You have a problem with my failure?”

“...Wouldn’t dare.”

Gavotte blinked, looking confused, but he must have thought it was all a misunderstanding.

Soon, his spirits lifted, and he puffed out his chest proudly.

“See? I told you it wasn’t easy.”

“Alright, now Gavotte, you try it.”