12 O’Clock Marionette

Chapter 24

“That is not allowed.”

We were rejected at the door.

I could understand them turning me away, but it was surprising that even the infamous White Desert Duke’s name held no weight here.

“The involvement of outsiders compromises fairness. The investigation is nearing its conclusion, so please wait outside.”

“I have additional evidence.”

“We have already secured sufficient evidence.”

“Then I would like to at least meet with Saint Mamic.”

“Please request an audience again once the investigation is over.”

How frustratingly firm.

It seemed the temple was treating this matter far more seriously than expected.

Even requesting a meeting with the theater director was out of the question.

If I kept pushing, I wouldn’t be uncovering the truth—I’d just become a nuisance.

“In that case—”

Squeak.

A familiar sound reached my ears.

What was that? Was Gavotte’s birdbrain somewhere nearby?

I glanced around, but there was no sign of him.

Then, something tugged at the hem of my skirt.

I looked down.

“Winter Lynx?”

It was the same cat I had met during the Harvest Festival.

I had assumed it had run away long ago, but was it being protected here?

“Kitty!”

Squeak, squeak!

I hadn’t expected to see it again, so I was genuinely delighted.

And judging by its excitement, the feeling was mutual—the Winter Lynx kept crying out, its voice high-pitched and eager.

“Oh? Wait—!”

Before I could react, it climbed up my body and burrowed into my arms.

As if demanding to know why I had taken so long to return, it rubbed its face against my cheek.

Goodness.

It was heartbreakingly adorable.

“You’re going to kill people with how cute you are.”

“My heavens, that creature…!”

A priest muttered in shock.

Cruello’s voice pulled me back to my senses.

“It seems to have taken a liking to you, darling.”

Oh, right—I shouldn’t act too familiar.

I had nothing to do with the Harvest Festival incident, after all.

I tried to set the Winter Lynx down, but it whimpered pitifully and clung to my clothes with its tiny claws.

Hmm.

Hmmm…

“Priest, would it be alright if I held onto this cat for a while?”

“Here, try feeding it this!”

“Pardon?”

Another priest hurriedly handed me a plate and a fork.

On the plate was a yellow, star-shaped tropical fruit.

For a lynx?

“Sacred beasts don’t eat meat.”

“……”

Losing to Cruello in terms of knowledge stung my pride more than I cared to admit.

I speared a piece of fruit with the fork and held it out.

The Winter Lynx grasped the fork with its tiny paws and nibbled at the fruit.

A priest gasped in excitement.

“It ate it!”

“Uh, yes. The lynx is eating… Excuse me?”

“It’s been days since it arrived here, but—hic—it hasn’t eaten anything until now! We were so worried… sob!”

She was crying.

She had been so unyielding with people, but in front of a kitten, she was completely helpless.

Meanwhile, the lynx was too busy eating to even look at her.

Regardless, the priest dabbed at her tears with her sleeve, then her eyes took on a determined gleam.

“Alright. I will let you meet Saint Mamic.”

“P-Priestess Friga!”

“You can tell just by how the sacred beast is reacting. They are not here with ill intent!”

Right?

I smiled at her bright, innocent face and thought to myself—

She would be so easy to deceive.

Thanks to the lynx’s unexpected help, we were granted entry into the temple.

The Winter Lynx still refused to let go of me, so I held it close.

It was cute, so I didn’t mind.

Saint Mamic was deep within the capital’s grand temple.

We walked down corridor after corridor, until finally, at the very end of a secluded hallway, we stopped.

Knock, knock.

The priest from earlier rapped on the door.

"Saint, this is Friga. I have brought two visitors."

"Ah, please come in."

As the door opened, the first thing that caught my eye was something long and flowing.

Deep green, curly hair. It looked like…

"Seaweed?"

"Have you had a good meal? I wanted to ask—"

I quickly shut my mouth.

Fortunately, Friga was already explaining the situation, so no one had heard me.

"Hmm."

…Cruello seemed to have heard, but he wasn’t human, so that didn’t count.

"Then, please converse freely. I will take my leave."

The priest who had guided us left.

There were two people in the room.

One was a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties—this must be Mamic.

Her complexion was pallid, her drooping eyes tinged with a gloomy purple hue.

She was tall but so thin that she seemed devoid of any vitality.

Beside her stood a knight with light lavender hair. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties.

His long hair was tied at the nape of his neck, and he had a composed, strikingly handsome face.

From his golden eyes, I could feel a powerful divine energy.

Time for introductions.

"Hello, Saint Mamic. My name is Siora Bonetti."

"Cruello White Desert."

"Ah, pleased to meet you. My name is Mamic. Though embarrassing, I am called a saint. And this is—"

"I am Ro Blue, assigned to guard the Saint."

I extended my hand to Mamic for a handshake.

At the same time, I confirmed it—there was no trace of divine energy.

The theory of Mamic being a legitimate saint? Discarded.

"So, what brings you two to see me?"

We came to see the holy relic!

I wanted to say that, but I had at least a basic understanding of social etiquette now.

I needed to phrase it tactfully. As I was forming the words in my mind—

"We came to see Recanon’s holy relic."

That was not me.

The culprit? Cruello.

"Pardon?"

"Some followers of Recanon are suspicious. They wonder if 'Saint Mamic' was fabricated by the temple. Whether that relic is even real."

Oh…

"Since we are not followers of Recanon, we have no reason to aid them, so they requested a fair investigation. They—mmph."

I clamped my hand over Cruello’s mouth.

But it was too late—he had already mixed just enough truth with lies to sow chaos.

"How dare you! Show respect to the Saint!"

‘Do you think you can claim duty while neglecting the very followers of your faith?’

Mouth covered, Cruello traced letters in the air.

For some reason, I suddenly sympathized with Gavotte.

The unfair part? Back then, I had been in Cruello’s position.

Why did I always end up being the one reining him in?

Frustrated, I let go of him.

"It is not the Saint’s duty to cover for the sins of a heretic. Furthermore, she is merely a descendant of a past Saint of Recanon—she does not actually believe in Recanon."

"That’s… true. I believe there has been a misunderstanding."

Oh?

Since I had already freed Cruello, I decided to join the fight.

"But it is thanks to Recanon that you became a Saint, isn’t it?"

"That is…"

"If the name of Recanon did not exist, would you be receiving the same treatment?"

"There is no point in continuing this conversation! Please leave at once!"

"I wonder who is truly being disrespectful to the Saint here."

Cruello sneered at Ro Blue.

Despite his sharp words, his eyes curved into an amused smile.

Even as his supposed ally, I found him irritating.

"You silence her as if you were her spokesperson. Are you treating her like a helpless child in need of protection, or is she just a convenient public symbol?"

He had a point—why was Ro Blue the only one responding?

He opened his mouth as if to argue but quickly pressed his lips shut.

Perhaps he had decided that continuing the conversation would only be a greater insult to Mamic.

At last, Mamic spoke up.

"Of course... I would like to help the followers of Recanon. But using poison is a grave crime—I cannot simply overlook it."

So she was choosing not to get involved in a losing fight.

"That’s why I came prepared."

Tada!

I pulled a vial of holy water from my coat.

Then, I removed the stopper and turned the bottle upside down.

The stark evidence of poison was undeniable.

Ro Blue instinctively stepped in front of Mamic, shielding her.

"I assume you understand now how it was poisoned?"

"Is that... the vial from that day?"

"Yes, I received it myself."

Mamic hesitated, unable to reach for it. Instead, Ro Blue took the bottle and examined it closely.

His stern demeanor softened slightly.

"We need to verify that this wasn’t fabricated by Recanon’s own people."

"If that were the case, they wouldn’t have used black poison. They would have used white—something unnoticeable. Instead, they used black, almost as if they wanted the contamination to be discovered immediately."

Holy water is clear—black poison would stand out instantly.

If Recanon had done it, they would have used a toxin that blended in.

Of course, I hadn’t mentioned this to Joel.

Ro Blue stared at me in silence before sighing lightly.

"…Understood. I will submit this as evidence."

Okay, problem solved!

…Wait.

Why was I arguing so hard for this?

I had come here to drop off evidence and see the relic, not play detective.

I traced back the flow of the conversation and found the culprit.

Cruello.

He had smoothly slipped to the background, blinking innocently.

That bastard had set me up!

At that moment, a loud explosion echoed from somewhere far off.

It sounded distant, but still within the temple grounds—had a sacred beast caused an incident?

"If there’s nothing else—"

"There’s an emergency!"

Someone burst through the door without knocking.

Judging by the uniform, he was a Holy Knight. Ro Blue, whose expression had only just relaxed, immediately tensed again.

"Follow proper procedure."

"Ah, yes! Sir, I am Lucas of the Halo Second Knight Order! A Recanon follower we were interrogating went berserk, injuring five priests!"

Huh?

"Furthermore, individuals claiming to be Recanon followers have attacked the chapel, destroying nearly half the building!"

Excuse me?

"Seven visiting worshipers have been taken hostage! They are demanding the return of the Recanon relic, warning that one hostage will be executed every five minutes until it is returned!"

Uh…

"The High Priest has ordered us to evacuate the Saint immediately!"

The room was in chaos, but I discreetly nudged Cruello.

When he looked at me, I mouthed a single word.

‘Gate.’

Let’s run.

We needed to get out of here immediately.

The timing of this attack—right after we had defended Recanon—was disastrous.

Cruello’s eyes curved into a smirk as he silently mouthed back:

‘Denied.’

Bastard.

As I suffered in silence, Ro Blue, having processed the situation, turned to Mamic.

"Saint, depending on how this unfolds, we may not be able to protect Recanon’s relic."

"…That’s fine. The lives of the faithful come before a relic that has lost its miracle."

"Wait, it lost its miracle?"

"It is shameful to admit, but by the time I discovered it, only traces of its divine power remained. I do not know what miracle it once contained."

With those words, Mamic stepped deeper into the room and retrieved a box.

When she opened it, the so-called "holy relic" was revealed—

A white donkey figurine.

Only its head remained intact.

Two blue sacred stones were embedded in its eyes, but the divine energy was faint, barely detectable.

Seeing it in person made it all feel real.

Recanon had once been one of the most powerful ancient religious orders.

Now it had come to this.

Even though they were our enemies, it felt oddly desolate.

Ro Blue turned to us and spoke.