"Serial missing-girls case?"
Furina, having eaten and drunk sufficiently, froze the moment she heard the name.
She was, of course, familiar with the case.
Back when the trial was held, there had already been many things that felt wrong, but without crucial evidence, they had been powerless to proceed.
That case had left all of them frustrated.
"The mastermind is still at large. As the former God of Justice, shouldn't you do something?" Koji asked.
"Who is it?"
Furina's brows shot up.
A mastermind still roaming free was a direct insult to Fontaine's law.
Even though people of Fontaine no longer dissolved into pure water spirits after touching the Primordial Womb Sea…
The culprit had harmed who knew how many innocent young women—there was no way she could let them go unpunished.
"Rather than you, I think someone else would be even more eager to know who the mastermind behind the serial missing-girls case is," Koji said with a deep meaning.
"…"
"You mean Navia from the Spina di Rosula?"
Furina thought for a moment.
She remembered the trial from three years ago clearly.
Callas wasn't a bad man, but without absolute evidence, they couldn't clear his name or prove his innocence.
Now, throughout the streets of Fontaine, people called him "Unjust Callas," because he had been branded as the murderer who "killed" his friend, and in the end died in the dueling arena.
"When that case happened, Navia herself was a young girl. She fits the profile of the culprit's target perfectly," Furina analyzed.
"Wait—what is that expression supposed to mean?"
Furina suddenly noticed Koji's strange look and became irritated.
Did he think she was three idiots stacked together?
"Nothing. I just didn't expect you, Fufu, to have a talent for this."
She wasn't actually stupid.
After overseeing trials for more than five hundred years, she had naturally accumulated a significant amount of investigative intuition.
Furina was so annoyed she felt like biting him.
…
Koji and the others soon found Navia.
The Spina di Rosula was well-known—tracking them down wasn't difficult.
"Lady Furina, may I ask what brings you here?"
Navia was surprised.
She didn't have much personal connection with Furina. She knew Furina—but Furina might not even remember her.
"Navia, this concerns your father Callas. We've identified the culprit behind the serial missing-girls case," Furina said bluntly.
"Really?"
Navia stared at her, excitement trembling in her voice.
She had investigated the case for three years and still found nothing.
She knew her father had been framed, but all traces from that year had been erased too perfectly; there was no evidence left.
"Navia, are you really going to let Fufu go hungry?" Koji said suddenly.
"You're right! Lady Furina, please wait—I'll make macarons for you myself!" Navia reacted instantly, rushing toward the kitchen, not even asking Miles or Silver for help.
The two men smiled.
Seeing their young lady smiling so brightly was enough to fill them with genuine happiness.
…
"Lady Furina, these macarons just finished baking. Please enjoy."
Navia watched her with anticipation, unsure of how the Hydro Archon would judge her work.
"Oh—these look wonderful. The designs are adorable—almost like art pieces."
Furina praised them sincerely.
Even without tasting, the presentation alone made her satisfied.
"Mmm… The flavor is excellent too, but it's a bit too sweet. You could reduce the sugar next time."
Her assessment was honest.
The taste was great, but…
Did the Spina di Rosula treat sugar like it grew on trees?
"I understand. Next time Lady Furina wants some, I'll use less sugar," Navia responded earnestly.
Miles' mouth twitched slightly.
He knew exactly how much sugar their young lady used—one bite was enough to send your blood sugar skyrocketing.
"It's delicious! Navia, you make great desserts," Paimon said happily.
She cared only about taste.
Koji and the others only sampled a single piece.
The sweetness wasn't to their taste, so they stopped there.
"The culprit of the serial missing-girls case is Marcel. You all know him, right?" Koji said.
"Him?"
Navia and the others clearly recognized the name, but no matter how they thought about it, they couldn't link him to such evil deeds—much less to killing Marcel.
"He wasn't from Fontaine, so he didn't dissolve. But his girlfriend dissolved into water and disappeared, and after losing his sanity, he started experimenting on young Fontaine girls," Koji explained.
"What?!"
Furina was shocked.
Such an absurd reason—for a single person, he harmed so many innocent girls. It was utterly extreme.
"Marcel, huh…"
Clorinde frowned.
She knew of him, but they had barely interacted.
She never expected such a major case to be connected to him.
You truly couldn't judge appearances.
"Lady Furina, I will go arrest Marcel at once."
"No—wait," Furina stopped her.
"Marcel doesn't know we've uncovered the truth. There's no need to rush. He won't escape."
Even if he fled to Snezhnaya, Fontaine could pressure them to extradite him—unless Snezhnaya wanted a diplomatic conflict.
"Uncle Marcel… did something like this?" Navia's voice trembled as she covered her mouth.
…
Too vicious.
A perfect façade on the surface, hiding monstrous crimes underneath.
"No wonder we could never find any trace of the missing girls—they were dissolved," Furina concluded. Everything finally made sense.
"Young lady, there's something I never told you," Miles said quietly.
"The boss once personally told me—you were once chosen as a target for the serial missing-girls case."
"I see…"
Navia finally understood her father's intent.
He had been protecting her.
"How can someone be this awful?" Paimon shouted angrily.
Just because he loved one person, he harmed countless others?
He was a lunatic.
"He must be sentenced to death. Absolutely."
Such crimes could never be tolerated.
Calling it "devotion" was too kind—it was the deranged behavior of a monster.
Furina had judged many vile criminals, but cases like this were still rare.
"What we need now is evidence. We can't convict Marcel just with words," Navia said. She no longer called him "Uncle"—he didn't deserve it.
"The evidence is in an underwater domain outside the city," Koji said, giving them the exact location.
Furina nodded and turned to Clorinde.
This matter was best entrusted to her.
"I understand," Clorinde replied.
This involved Navia and could clear Mr. Callas's name. She would not refuse.
Navia watched Clorinde, her expression complex.
(End of Chapter)
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