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12 O’Clock Marionette

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Chapter 3

“…That’s right, you’re helpful.”

Minuet clapped my hand a little nervously.

However, her eyes softened a bit.

She handed me an envelope.

I opened it without delay and checked the contents.

“Puppet show tickets?”

“The Duke, who has a very noble taste, told me that if I would agree to the marriage talk, to go to the place.”

“Aha.”

Alright, the opportunity has arisen.

Minuet passed her ticket and immediately turned around and walked away.

I stared at her back for a moment, then returned to my bedroom.

* * *

The theater was dark.

It was a space that was not just large or small, and only half of the space was filled with people.

I could see quite a few people covering their faces with masks, and I was also one of them.

It’s a shame that aristocrats enjoy the hobbies of commoners, which was why people wore masks.

I was deep in thought, buried in the backrest.

The topic was, of course, the person I was supposed to meet today.

The villain who will destroy the world.

Because of that, I went through three bodies.

10 ~12 years old, Amy.

15 ~ 17 years old, Rain.

And now, 20 year old Shiora.

Coincidentally, it is quite regular. What are the initials A, B, and C?

(tl/n: well the names are supposed to have initials\, A\, B\, C\, but I guess the translated names don’t *wheeze*. So to keep the story moving (and with a little research)\, her names will be as follows: Amy\, Biga\, Ciola from now on.)

There is one more thing in common.

‘I had blonde hair all these times.’

I fiddled with my hair.

At this point, I doubt the god’s taste.

Anyways.

[The performance will begin soon. Please take a seat.]

What I felt throughout the body is that the child grows up quickly.

While spending time together, the change felt slow, but when I died and moved on to the next body, there was a change as steep as the time gap.

The villain I met during Amy was innocent.

The villain I met during Biga was out of order.

Then what about him meeting me as Ciora?

I’m not really looking forward to it, but it’s a matter to judge after the meeting.

I thought about it this much. Why isn’t he coming yet?

“If you sent an invitation, shouldn’t you come in advance?”

“I’m here.”

Suddenly, I heard a voice.

It didn’t come from the stage.

The seat next to me was empty a while ago.

I turned my head to the side.

“I’m appreciating Miss Bonetti’s face because she’s changed.”

A dim shape is buried in the dark.

The tall man had his legs elegantly crossed and his hands crossed on them.

The silver mask that covered half of his face has only an eye hole.

The eyes seen through the gap bent in a familiar shape.

“Hi, fake Bonetti. So, you’re here to meet me, right?”

He didn’t even show his face and the space was dark.

I could not see anything.

But I overlapped several images on top of it.

His late, mid, and early teens.

A vision of a young man with cloudy sky blue hair going against time.

“Who are you?”

The voice of a young child ringed in my ears.

My breath almost stopped and the illusion disappeared.

Then what was revealed was a growing physique, deeper eyes, and a voice that had changed.

I exclaimed his name like a groan.

“…Cruello.”

Cruello White Desert.

He was the villain I saw again after years.

“It’s my first time meeting you, but I can’t believe you called my name.”

“Oh, well, I’m sorry. I’ve heard so many names.”

An excuse flowed out of my mouth by itself. Then I thought about it.

I feel like the story that had been organized in my head has been turned upside down.

What should I talk about first?

Cruello pointed to the stage with the tip of his chin.

“Don’t you like the puppet show? You’re not even looking at it.”

When he said that, I looked at the stage reflexively.

Dolls with strings hanging on each joint move around.

The curtains were quite deep down, so the person controlling the dolls could not be seen.

The dolls are singing something… It doesn’t come into my ears.

Because… I’m very nervous right now.

Why? I didn’t come here without knowing who I would meet, but I felt strange.

Will it be like this if I meet a person who shook the war zone again?

Cruello stared at me like that.

“It’s a huge surprise that people change at the proposal.”

“Well, I understand that you’re disappointed.”

“It can’t be disappointing. I’m fine. I’m good with blondes.”

I felt guilty for no reason.

“If you don’t want to watch the play, just tell me. You have something to say, right?”

“Here?”

“If you speak quietly, no one will know.”

It was bold to negotiate in the theater to decide whether to change the marriage partner or not.

But as he said, it was true. No one was looking this way.

Although I spoke quietly, someone would have heard it somehow due to the nature of the place.

I held my breath for a moment and focused on my senses, and suddenly saw Cruello’s outerwear.

There was a brooch.

“Magic?”

“…That’s right. It’s to keep the sound from leaking out.”

That’s right.

The small sense made me feel at ease.

I was able to organize the story that I had prepared again.

“Your Highness, what do you think of family?”

It was hard to say ‘your highness’.

Cruello, who succeeded to the new title he didn’t see, was at fault.

“I think it connects to the heart.”

“Get to the conclusion.”

“I want to be engaged to your highness instead of Minuet.”

Cruello squinted and looked at me.

Ah.

“I’m late to introduce my name.”

“Ciora Velvet.”

“Right. My age is…”

“Twenty.”

“And my parents…”

“The Count’s younger brother and his wife.”

“Yes. My surname is not ‘Bonetti’, but if Your Highness consents—.”

“They would adopt you.”

“Wow, you know everything!”

As expected, you’ve already completed my background investigation like a fox.

It was comfortable because there was no need to add additional explanations.

I wrinkled my nose and smiled.

“It doesn’t have to be Minuet, right?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

I know.

Since I remember everything Minuet did in 〈Fate〉, I can do twice that.

Cruello’s eyes tilted.

“If you marry me, Bonetti will give you something.”

“What?”

“Money? Power? Oh, because it’s Bonetti, did you want to bring a spirit?”

“He said he’d give you everything.”

It was a flurry of conversion, and he didn’t even blink.

No, he even pretended not to hear it.

“Whatever it is, it deserves to be a deal, so I would have accepted it.”

“Didn’t you hear me?”

“I’m not saying I don’t like the lady. But there’s a condition.”

“What is it?”

“I can’t say it now.”

Am I being teased?

“If you want to listen, it doesn’t matter if the opponent changes.”

“I don’t know what the conditions are.”

“It’s a verbal contract anyways. What do you think?”

If he doesn’t like it, he’ll break it.

It’s not wrong. I’m in a situation where I’m being trapped.

I nodded coolly.

Cruello laughed.

“Good, darling.”

What’s wrong with the name?

“It’s a bit disappointing. There was something I wanted to show the Count.”

“What is it?”

“Performance.”

Cruello pointed back to the stage and leaned to get closer.

The light shining like jewels in the sunlight is now dark as if blood is lumped together.

Pls read only at pink muffin tl.

Maybe the color of his eyes has gotten darker as he grew up.

“Darling, which doll do you like the most?”

I pointed to any doll on the stage.

The prettiest doll with black hair hanging down.

Cruello didn’t even pretend to see it.

Instead, he pointed somewhere with his neat fingers.

“But I like that doll.”

Brown hair was seen at the end of his index finger.

The figure wore a mask and a black coat.

He held a large bag in one hand.

Except, it was a human being.

I was confused and Creuello whispered.

“He’s Count Bonetti’s servant.”

“What?”

“I think they’re here to do a secret trade today. They brought in a pretty good product.”

Phew. Fortunately, the theme was not romance.

A movement occurred at the tip of Cruello’s index finger as I was relieved.

Count Bonetti’s subordinate crept his hand.

Fixing his gaze on the stage, he secretly turned the bag over to the person next to him.

The person sitting there pretended to be nodding and received the goods.

It was such a secret movement that no one around noticed.

“It is an item that is prohibited from being brought in twice by the Imperial Family and the Temple.”

“…”

“It’s a higher-quality energy source than the magic crystal, and it’s very attractive for illegal purposes.”

He continued, syllable by syllable.

In a very snake-like voice.

“It’s not likely that a high-ranking noble, like a count, would have a goal, but it would be quite troublesome if he were caught, so why did he do that?”

“What are you saying now?”

“And what should we do? Darling?”

Cruello slowly felt the ends of my hair.

His voice subsides as if immersed in darkness.

“Is it better to accuse your father of infidelity? Or do you want me to close my eyes?”

I frowned and hit his hand.

“He’s not my father yet, he’s just a man right now.”

“I know it too. It was a waste of the lines I had prepared, so I just recited it.”

“Did you mean to tell Minuet?”

“Of course, it’s fun.”

Did you mean to accuse her father of corruption when she came to agree to the marriage talk?

It’s a bad taste that will never happen again.