12 O’Clock Marionette

“Are you two close enough to speak so casually?”

Julian’s cheerful remark made it obvious—

He had noticed that Dory Wund was actually Cruello.

And he had poured me Baeders tea on purpose.

Cruello’s expression darkened.

It was a look I had rarely seen on him, but it was eerily similar to the gaze I had glimpsed through the mist.

If I had to define it, it was something close to murderous intent, and it was directed at Julian.

A tense silence fell over the table.

I swallowed a sigh.

“……”

Even if Cruello’s identity was exposed here, it wouldn’t damage his reputation.

And frankly, I didn’t care what happened to Julian Minerva.

However, losing a free key just because of Julian’s provocation would be a waste.

I couldn’t trust that Nigellia would keep her word, but that was precisely why I wanted more time to observe her true motives.

So, how do I get us out of this situation?

Simple.

I stood up from my seat and stepped between Cruello and Julian.@@novelbin@@

Then—

“Excuse us, something urgent has come up.”

Grasping his hand, I pulled him away from the tea party.

If Cruello had resisted, I wouldn’t have been able to take him.

But luckily, he followed me without protest.

…Well, it felt more like he was too dazed to react.

“L-Lady Siora? Lady—!”

Nina Holmaze’s voice faded behind me, but I didn’t stop.

Since the tea party was being held in the estate’s back garden, we had to cut through the mansion to reach the front gate.