“Are you trying to get yourself killed, you idiot?” Rosalyne glared fiercely at Ye Xun, her eyes practically spouting fire.
“Of course not,” Ye Xun replied, his expression calm as ever.
“It’s just that every time I see you, the affection in my heart…
becomes impossible to suppress.” Before the words had even fully left his mouth, Rosalyne’s delicate eyebrows arched, and her fury exploded.
She took a step forward and slammed her high heel heavily onto his chest.
“Hss!” A sharp pain shot through him, twisting Ye Xun’s face.
This woman really didn’t hold back when she got violent!
Yet he gritted his teeth without making a sound.
Instead, taking advantage of his position lying on his back, his gaze traveled upward along those long, smooth legs.
Under the lamplight, her skin was as delicate and pale as white porcelain, her curves sleek and alluring.
Further up…
he caught a faint, tantalizing glimpse of the shadowy depths beneath her hem.
Rosalyne instantly noticed where he was looking, and a sudden wave of embarrassment and rage rushed through her.
She lifted her foot and kicked him hard several times before barely suppressing the anger in her chest.
After a moment, Ye Xun slowly stood up from the ground and calmly brushed the dust off his clothes.
“Ye Xun!” Rosalyne’s tone was frantic and annoyed.
“Your plan failed.
Pierro merely suspended the deal between Dottore and Pantalone; he didn’t ban human experimentation.” She paused, her expression growing solemn.
“So, you had better leave Snezhnaya right now.” Hearing this, a wave of warmth welled up in Ye Xun’s heart.
This usually proud, cold, and glamorous woman was constantly calling him an “idiot,” yet she had been worrying about his safety all along.
Beneath that icy exterior was a soft heart.
He smiled.
“My plan has only just begun.” “Just begun?” Rosalyne froze, a flicker of bewilderment passing through her eyes.
“You have a follow-up?” The corners of Ye Xun’s lips curled up slightly.
“You’ll find out very soon.” Hearing those words, Rosalyne wanted nothing more than to give this obnoxious bastard a thorough beating.
She let out a cold scoff, turned, and walked toward the exit.
As she reached the doorway, her footsteps suddenly paused.
“If it comes to an absolute crisis, don’t try to play the hero…
I won’t be collecting your corpse, you idiot!” Throwing down that parting line, she walked ahead without looking back, leaving behind the fading silhouette of her mature figure.
…
The next morning.
As usual, Furina sat at the dining table, eating breakfast while flipping through today’s copy of *The Steambird*.
She had barely taken her second bite of bread when an eye-catching headline firmly grabbed her attention: *SHOCKING!!!
The Truth Behind the Serial Maiden Disappearances Turned Out to Be…* She was all too familiar with this strange, unresolved case.
Over the past twenty years, twenty-four young maidens had vanished from Fontaine without warning or trace.
Yet despite the Marechaussee Phantom spending countless human and financial resources investigating, they had failed to turn up a single lead.
Those missing girls seemed to have evaporated into thin air, leaving behind not the slightest clue.
Furina’s curiosity was completely piqued, and she couldn’t wait to read on.
“…Through the writer’s rigorous deduction, the victims were lured to the Winter Capital, becoming sacrifices in secret human experimentation.
Next, the evidence…” The article began analyzing from the very first disappearance twenty years ago: “Back then, the young maiden Vigneire went on an adventure with her Snezhnayan boyfriend, Vacher, after which no word was ever heard from her again.
Her disappearance was no accident; Vacher lured her to the Winter Capital and sold her to a human experiment lab…” By the time she reached this point, Furina was already thoroughly convinced by the deduction.
“So that’s how it was…
No wonder Fontaine’s investigations kept hitting a dead end.” She read through the entire article in one breath, but her heart couldn’t settle down for a long time.
This cold case that had shaken Fontaine for twenty years had finally found its “truth.” And yet…
there was nothing she could do about it.
Because the culprit was the wicked Fatui; provoking them could easily spark an uncontrollable conflict.
Was she supposed to just let it go?
After a long moment, Furina stood up resolutely and walked toward the door.
A true deity of Fontaine would surely uphold justice for her people!
If she remained indifferent, this “performance” of hers would undoubtedly lose its luster.
Before long, she stepped into the solemn and dignified office of the Iudex.
Inside the room, Neuvillette sat upright behind his desk, head lowered as he attentively handled official business.
Noticing Furina’s arrival, he set down his documents and looked up at her as she approached.
“Chief Justice Neuvillette,” Furina stood gracefully before his desk, her chin raised slightly.
“Have you read today’s copy of *The Steambird*?” “I have,” Neuvillette replied calmly.
“Then what do you think of that analysis regarding the serial maiden disappearances?” Furina asked with a hint of urgency.
Neuvillette pondered for a moment, but the answer he gave was outside her expectations: “Though well-reasoned and logical, it is unlikely.” “What?” Furina involuntarily widened her eyes, her voice rising a pitch.
“But it makes complete sense!” Neuvillette’s expression remained neutral, his voice low and steady.
“Years ago, someone within the Marechaussee Phantom proposed a similar hypothesis.
However, after a thorough investigation, that possibility was ruled out.” He paused before explaining, “The reason is that it is virtually impossible for the perpetrator to quietly transport twenty-four maidens out of Fontaine without alerting anyone.” Furina froze, suddenly realizing this fatal flaw.
During the period of the disappearances, Fontaine had implemented multiple rounds of high-intensity inspections on all incoming and outgoing individuals.
The possibility of smuggling twenty-four young women out of the country without being detected was almost negligible.
Yet…
if not that, how else could this cold case be explained?
Currently, this was the explanation that made the most sense.
Recalling the article *She Who Vanished* that she had read yesterday, she was still more inclined to believe the newspaper’s deduction.
“Chief Justice Neuvillette, regardless of the difficulty, we should launch an investigation.
Perhaps the other party used some miraculous method…
like a grand illusion trick where a living person vanishes into thin air.” The more she spoke, the more Furina felt this possibility existed.
Neuvillette frowned slightly, falling into thought.
What he was considering was not the case itself, but the lingering impact brought by that article.
Once the news spread, the public would undoubtedly demand that Palais Mermonia launch an investigation.
Even if the authorities came forward to clarify, if they could not provide a more convincing alternative explanation, the public would not buy it.
Furthermore, the case involved the Fatui.
If they refused to investigate, it would be viewed as bowing to “evil,” severely damaging the credibility of the judiciary.
Weighing the options repeatedly, he finally came to a decision.
“I will issue an official diplomatic communication to Snezhnaya in the name of the Iudex, requesting an investigation into their medical research institutes.” Hearing this, Furina’s eyes curved into crescent moons, as though she had just delivered a great stroke of justice.
However, there was no sign of a smile on Neuvillette’s face.
He had a premonition that Fontaine had fallen into a scheme meticulously woven by someone else.
And they were merely pieces on the opponent’s chessboard.