"Heh. I preferred your attitude from a minute ago."
Vincent gave a short laugh. Then he produced a grey-white revolver and fired it past Raffert's hairline — close enough to feel — and Raffert's pupils collapsed in sheer terror of death. The next second, his expression went slack and distant.
"Has your ancestor contacted you recently?"
Raffert slowly shook his head. "No."
"Since he told you to open this bar — nothing?"
"That's right."
"Do you know he's broken free?"
A tremor moved through Raffert's body. A flash of fanatical fervour briefly lit the blank eyes — but his mouth answered: "No."
"Do you know someone named Stephen?"
"No."
Vincent frowned inwardly. "He seems to know nothing," he said to Bernadette.
"Ask him whether he knows who his ancestor wanted him to open the bar to welcome," Bernadette said.
Vincent repeated the question.
Raffert shook his head blankly. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Why did your ancestor want you to open this bar?"
"I don't know."
The same answers as the last time he'd been hypnotised, word for word.
Vincent set the revolver down. "Still nothing."
"No."
Bernadette's tone was cool but pointed. "In fact, this does reveal something. Specifically — how did Stephen find out the bar was opened to wait for someone in the first place?"
Vincent caught it immediately: right. There were only two people who knew the answer — the "ancestor," presumably Medici, and Raffert Pound. Since Raffert knew nothing, any information Stephen had could only have come from Medici directly.
Which meant Stephen had gone to Medici himself at some point. And somewhere in that process, he'd unknowingly done exactly what Medici needed — collected the materials, broken the seal, and been taken as a host.
"There are several unanswered questions," Bernadette said, thinking it through. "First: why would Stephen go looking for that Evil Spirit on his own, without telling me — and how did he get past my magic to do it? What was his actual goal?"
"Second: before he disappeared, Stephen specifically prayed to you and asked about the 'Son of Chaos.' At that point he clearly hadn't been possessed yet."
"Third: what was actually the purpose of Raffert Pound opening this bar? Was it really, as Stephen said, to wait for someone? I genuinely can't see how that connects to the Evil Spirit's escape."
"Fourth — and most importantly: whether Stephen's disappearance has anything to do with the Evil Spirit is, in fact, still not confirmed."
Vincent lowered his eyes and thought for a while. Then he looked at Raffert again: "During this period, have you come into contact with any Beyonders?"
"Yes."
Finally — Raffert gave a nod.
"Tell me."
"Someone from the Intis Republic. They asked me some questions about a Solicitor Derlin. But I only knew that Derlin had been the previous tenant here — he disappeared suddenly some time ago, and the landlord re-let the space after."
Hm.
Were these the "mirror people" from before?
"And then?"
"I told him everything I knew. And then he seemed to go blank for a moment." Raffert's voice was confused. "And after that, he said he wanted to stay."
"Stay?"
"Here. In the tavern."
Vincent's eyes widened slightly. "You mean that person is still here?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"The bartender."
"!!!"
When Vincent returned to the bar, the bartender was still exactly where he'd been — no flight, no vanishing act. He was behind the counter with a smile on his face, mixing a cocktail for a customer.
Once that customer moved away, the bartender turned toward Vincent. "What can I get you, sir?"
"Seize him. Right now."
Bernadette's voice came sharp.
Vincent's foot hit the floor. An illusory chessboard erupted outward from where he stood, radiating in all directions to encompass the whole tavern — and in almost the same instant, every person inside froze, each one locked mid-motion.
Simultaneously, vivid green Beanstalk Vines erupted around the bartender, wrapping around him with startling speed.
The bartender's expression filled with terror. His voice came out in a long, distorted wail as the vines tightened: "Your — Ma — jes — ty — save — me—"
Bang.
The bartender shattered. A scatter of mirror fragments hit the floor.
"...Again."
Bernadette's voice went cold in a way that made the temperature in the room seem to drop. The fury underneath it was audible. Third time. Three encounters with a mirror person, and three times they'd been silenced before a single thing could be extracted.
The first two times, the mirror people had been curiosities — nothing found, nothing lost. But this time it was tied to Stephen.
"Your Majesty?"
Vincent said quietly. "Was that 'Your Majesty' — the Intis Emperor?"
"Impossible," Bernadette said immediately. "After Father was assassinated at the White Maple Palace and the Intis Empire was reformed into a republic, there has been no Emperor of Intis."
"Then who was this mirror person calling 'Your Majesty'? Loen's king? Feysac's Emperor? Feynapotter? It couldn't be your father, Emperor Roselle—"
As he said it, something shifted in his mind. "Wait. Actually — that's not impossible."
"Father?"
Bernadette murmured it to herself. Her memory suddenly surfaced: the very first time she'd encountered a mirror person, she'd used the Master of Language ability to catch a glimpse of a tall, upright figure — who had, for just an instant, made eye contact with her across the distance and said, "Let's end this here." They clearly hadn't wanted her to keep investigating.
From that brief appearance, the person had been someone significantly more powerful than her. Their unwillingness to have her pursue the matter wasn't out of fear — it had felt more like simply not wanting her involved.
But why?
That had been the question she couldn't answer at the time. Now — if that figure was Father — did it start to make sense?
Except: Father should be in a mausoleum on that nameless island in the Fog Sea, waiting to be resurrected. Why would he appear here, tangled up with these strange mirror people?
Vincent held the thought for a long moment, then said quietly: "Did Emperor Roselle ever go into the underground passages beneath Trier?"
"!!!"
Bernadette went still.
After a long pause, she shook her head slowly. "Not during the years I lived in Trier. But once I left — I can't say."
The figure from back then — could it truly be Father's Mirror Self?
To be continued…
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