Inside the Fortress of Meropide.
Luna sighed. "To think I'd end up being brought to the Fortress of Meropide by Miss Captain after all."
"Would you like a luxury cell? I can ask the Duke."
"Only if Miss Captain agrees to spend the rest of her life there with me."
Chevreuse huffed softly and glanced at the Madame walking behind them.
She had watched the judgment earlier and instantly recognized Luna on the stage. She had brought her here for one reason only.
-
Chevreuse found the handkerchief the Madame had given the child.
It was in Hector's office, tucked under a box.
If it weren't for her sharp eyes, she would have missed it.
The pattern on it was very similar to the drawing the Madame had provided.
After questioning the other members of the office, Chevreuse learned something—Hector had indeed taken in an infant and bought this handkerchief from human traffickers.
"The traffickers seem to have been arrested long ago," Chevreuse said, "but questioning them would be useless. They don't know which child had which name; they only saw them as commodities to be sold for profit."
Clorinde remained silent beside her.
Her gaze shifted back and forth between Luna and Chevreuse, a multitude of questions swirling in her mind.
"...You seem to have many questions," Chevreuse observed.
"Indeed."
"Our goals align. Just like before, we're temporarily working together."
"Understood."
So that's how it is.
Given Chevreuse's methods, this wasn't surprising. She had once temporarily allied with the Phantom Thief White Cat to infiltrate an enemy base.
Clorinde remembered it vividly.
Chevreuse continued, "Let me go on. After Hector bought the child, he gave her a name. You should remember it."
"Ester. Now known as Ester Wilger."
The Wilger family... Luna certainly hadn't forgotten.
Ronat, a former Court of Justice official, had forced the Wilger family's eldest son to "confess" to embezzlement and then take his own life.
Ester Wilger, their adopted daughter, had sought revenge under the guise of "Phantom Thief Black Cat." However, she was no match for the Special Task Force and Luna, and was now exiled to the Fortress of Meropide.
Her parents, equally driven by grief, had intended to kill Ronat themselves.
If Luna hadn't pulled the trigger for them, they too would have committed a crime and ended up here with their daughter.
"Ester Wilger's behavior wasn't good," Chevreuse explained. "She resisted performing 'special services' and never saw Hector as her guardian or his place as her home. Her repeated escape attempts all ended in failure."
"But fortunately, she met the Wilger couple."
"The Wilgers paid a hefty price to adopt Ester from Hector."
Luna murmured, "And in the end, her family was framed, her brother forced to commit suicide, her parents driven to the brink of collapse, and she herself was imprisoned here for seeking revenge."
Chevreuse sighed and nodded slightly.
She had appealed to the Duke of the Fortress of Meropide, and after she explained the full situation, he readily agreed, allowing them to bring the Madame to visit Ester.
I should thank Monsieur Wriothesley for being so understanding, Luna thought.
"We're here."
Chevreuse pointed to Ester Wilger, who was resting nearby.
"Please, go talk to her."
The Madame couldn't believe it. "She... she's my... child?"
"Biologically, yes," Luna said.
But not in identity.
The Madame cautiously approached Ester and held out the purple handkerchief.
"Do you... do you still recognize this?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Ester met her gaze with a blank expression.
"Excuse me, but... who are you?"
Tears streamed down the Madame's face. She covered her face and sank to her knees, sobbing. Ester now bore a faint resemblance to her, but it was only a physical similarity.
"Huh? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Ester panicked.
Watching the scene unfold, Clorinde remained silent.
Chevreuse also said nothing.
The mother had failed to protect her child, and her negligence was certainly a mistake. But the true culprits were the traffickers who had committed the crime.
If it weren't for these scum who harm others for their own selfish gain, this tragedy would never have happened.
Luna walked over to the Madame and gently helped her to her feet.
In the Madame's eyes, Luna saw her thoughts as clearly as if they were spoken: I've just lost my child forever.
They were strangers, connected only by blood.
"Are you going to lose the chance to make a friend, too?"
"Huh?"
The Madame froze.
Luna smiled gently. "I think you and Miss Ester could become very good friends."
"Miss Luna..."
Fresh tears welled in the Madame's eyes. "...Thank you."
-
Leaving the Fortress of Meropide, Luna grinned. "My, my, to think the Phantom Thief managed to escape from the Fortress of Meropide. The prison's security measures still aren't strong enough, are they?"
Chevreuse shot her a sideways glance.
"You're right," she replied, her tone utterly dismissive.
"So listless, Miss Captain."
Chevreuse opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she just turned her head away.
"I'm heading back."
"Not going to arrest me?"
"Just this once."
This "just this once" is happening far too often, Luna thought.
Chevreuse gave Clorinde one last look before leaving. Even if Luna found a new woman, Chevreuse couldn't say anything—they weren't in her bedroom right now.
Why isn't there a law in Fontaine against two-timing? she lamented silently. If there were, I could stack several more charges on Luna.
"Well then, I should be..."
"Luna."
Luna stopped in her tracks.
Clorinde's voice came from behind her. "You are Luna, aren't you? What you said to me on stage just now... those were the lines we practiced when we were rehearsing."
"What if I say I'm not?"
"Then you're a stalker."
Luna couldn't help but chuckle. "I'd rather not be called that."
She turned around, licking her fingertips. "Because I do more than just watch."
Then, before Clorinde's eyes, Luna's features and hairstyle rapidly shifted, returning to the familiar appearance Clorinde knew.
Clorinde closed her eyes. "So it really is you... Has it been you from the very beginning?"
"That's right. I've been the Phantom Thief since the day we first met. But you don't seem very surprised."
"No, I am surprised. It's just... not entirely unexpected."
Thinking back, Clorinde realized the nightmare she'd had before might have been her subconscious connecting Luna to the Phantom Thief.
As this thought crossed her mind, she gazed at Luna's smiling face.
She had so many questions.
For instance:
"Then what is our friendship to you?"
Luna countered, "Would you believe me if I told you the truth?"
"It would be hard to."
"I thought so. Since words won't convince you, why don't we try action instead?"
Luna spoke, then sat down on the floor.
"Please," she said.
Clorinde asked, confused, "Please what?"
"Do whatever you please with me."