Chapter 87 Unable to catch the cat, Navia is furious…

All members of the Rose Society knew that their young lady had developed a new little hobby in the fall.

Detective work.

However, they only investigate specific cases.

"Detective Navia! How does that title sound?"

With a serious expression, Navia put the pipe in her mouth and turned to ask her purple friend.

"Not as good as Detective Clorinde."

The other party calmly took out stacks of documents and neatly arranged them on the table.

"We have collected information on 80% of the victims in all lynx cases here."

From the first case involving the murder of two young girls who came into contact with Les dealers, to the recent high-profile case of 53 murders in one night, a stack of photos of over a hundred people is piled up, all of them black and white portraits, with no trace of red blood.

Claude watched for a while, her expression gradually becoming serious.

"Lynx is a serial killer whose name cannot be matched even if you search through the entire history of Fontaine."

His outrageous methods and unpredictable movements meant that even the most experienced special patrol team and the sharpest-eyed Melousin couldn't catch a glimpse of him. Yet, he always managed to uncover several old cases from the victims' gardens... Ah.

"Although I don't want to say it like this."

Clarinde's head throbbed more and more as she flipped through the photos; the reason was simple: there were just too many.

"If the lynx could truly be judged alive, instead of being torn apart by those forces that hate him to the bone, then I can only think of one punishment that would be worthy of it."

"That's the death penalty."

Claude asserted.

"It would be abnormal not to use the death penalty."

This wasn't the first time Clarin and Navia had speculated about the punishment the lynx would face after being captured.

Both of them initially thought that the lynx would be imprisoned for a few years.

After a few more cases, it took several decades.

Now, after the case of the fifty-three people, Claurind has become convinced that the lynx is going to set a precedent for the death penalty in Fontaine.

“Fontaine is not without the death penalty, and the swords on display are not immune to bloodshed.”

"The death penalty? No, no!"

Navia slammed her hand on the table, pointing out the intelligence reports and the hidden crimes to her:

"Fontaine's death penalty is just a formality! ... And haven't we personally investigated these crimes that even death can't take away, witnessed the survivors' repeated protection of the lynx, and the complex feelings of both hatred and love towards the lynx within the entire Court of Justice? Clarind! He killed not a single good person!"

Even calling them bad people or evil people is too lenient.

"If this were any other country's law, even the most law-abiding among them would have been executed twice! The lynx was just taking them to where they were supposed to go—it just happened to take a few too many at once! How can the driver be sentenced to death?"

“Navia…”

Unlike before, Clarind did not give her a look of either indulgence or helplessness. She simply called out her best friend's name and then showed a pessimistic expression.

"I……"

"Alright, alright, that's enough."

Navia could guess what she was going to say even with her toes.

It's nothing more than the lynx's behavior going too far, more like a massacre of evildoers than vigilante justice, and then there's the law, procedural justice, judges, the seriousness of the situation, the lynx's survival being a trampling of order, and other such trivial matters. But how could Navia not know all of this?

“I understand your concerns. Indeed, such a brazen assassin is unprecedented even in the entire history of the Seven Kingdoms.”

"..."

Claurind didn't dare remind her that, in fact, the Kingdom of Justice had the most and best criminals among the seven kingdoms, and it took the construction of the Mero Petersburg to barely contain them all.

"But please don't forget, my dear friend!"

Navia's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"The justice of Fontaine is the justice of the people, and our assassins are no ordinary assassins!"

"...Justice for the people?"

After a moment's thought, a glimmer of light suddenly flashed in Clarinde's pessimistic eyes:

"You mean a decree ordering the cardinal?"

"Exactly!!"

Navia threw down her pipe and pointed in the opposite direction of the opera house, to the scales of justice, the creation of God.

"The trial in Fontaine was all a drama."

It's absurd, but it's the reality.

"The truth is the script, the witnesses are the actors, and the audience, the millions of Fontainebleau citizens—to put it bluntly, they are the gods who decide the final outcome of this drama! Anger, compassion, the desire for justice... these surging emotions are the source of energy that drives the Cardinals of the Proclamation and Judgment!"

"!"

The decree decreed that the cardinal's mind indeed swayed with the audience's thoughts, and Clarin looked at the animated Navia with some surprise.

“Tell me, friend.”

She grabbed a thick stack of documents about crimes committed against lynx victims and shook them violently.

"When they see that nothing has been torn apart by the lynx's claws but injustice and despair, will their deafening cry be 'death sentence'?"

"..."

Claude thought about it for a while and found that what she said made a lot of sense:

"When did you become so smart?"

"I've always been smart, okay! Hmph, don't worry, Clarind, as long as the lynx's hands don't bleed the innocent, nor do they commit violence against the innocent."

She held up one finger to emphasize.

"The evidence we've collected will definitely influence the audience's emotions in court, and he will certainly not become Fontaine's first death row inmate... Of course, he'll definitely have to go to jail eventually."

Reasonable.

"It's already a miracle that you're alive."

At that moment, Clarinde's expression relaxed, and her worry vanished.

“We should catch him as soon as possible. Speaking of which, look at this detailed report from Melusin. A 1.5 to 1.6-meter-tall, thin, and incredibly strong underage male. Have you ever heard of anyone like that?”

"..."

"Navia? Why is she suddenly silent?"

"It shouldn't be him, haha. Although he can break a pistol, he didn't even dare to use a knife when interrogating Myles... How could he dare to kill someone, haha, haha."

...

It really is true!

Not only is it true, but the other party has also become depraved, resorting to underhanded tactics such as kidnapping an innocent old man!

"Hey, hey! You, En!! Speak up and explain yourself!!"

Navia truly hated that the other person was mute.

Discovering the lynx's true form only brought her more confusion.

"Why did you arrest my father? He did break the law, but he's not some heinous criminal!"

He quickly packed up the fetal water, and little Navia jumped up and punched him:

"Speak! Ah! Weren't you quite the talker before!?"

This is also a point of doubt.

The punch landed on him, barely heavier than snow, but Mainkun still staggered backward, almost running away with his head in his hands.

"Where is your composure and demeanor as a serial killer? What do you use to kill? Crying and begging your victim to smash you into mincemeat?"

This is also a point of doubt.

Why did you kill? For money? For fame? For revenge?

However, the other party was not dressed in fine clothes, kept his identity hidden, and the deceased included people of all kinds, rich and poor, with almost no connection between them.

"I really don't understand you."

The other party is full of suspicious points.

Without clarifying these doubts and having everything under control, Navia cannot confidently send him to the opera house.

"Speak up!"

But the other person just happens to be mute!

Mainkun has always been a non-violent, non-cooperative person. Navia, as a tiny human, is scary, but not scary enough to make a half-demon reveal her mixed-race troubles.

[...]

The silent boy, with his long legs, frantically dragged little Navia around the stronghold several times. After discovering that everything there had been cleared away by Marcellus beforehand, he quickly ran away.

[Walk! ]

Once a cat wants to run, who can stop it? Navia could only watch helplessly as the other person grabbed Marcell and the water bottle, jumped into the water, and slithered away quickly.

Not even a single bottle of fetal seawater was left.

"You ungrateful bastard!"

Navia was furious.

"At least tell me where Dad is!"

Although she seemed to have the upper hand all along, upon closer examination, Navia angrily discovered that she had gained nothing but confusion.

She could only angrily put on her diving suit and return to shore empty-handed.

"I absolutely, absolutely, must catch you!"

"Who!...Young Miss! You're not dead! You're not dead! Thank God!!"

As soon as she surfaced from the sea, a group of men in suits yelled and grabbed her, tears streaming down their faces onto her helmet.

"Die? What do you mean, die?"

Little Navia was already annoyed, and upon hearing this, she didn't hold back, kicking them with her short legs:

"Your young lady is wise and powerful, she'll live to be a hundred!"

"Young Miss! You are unaware of this!"

Someone complained, sobbing:

“We were supposed to wait for you here as arranged by Miles, but as we waited, we saw that brat who kidnapped the master jump out of the sea, holding Mr. Marcellus in his hand, so we shot him…”

"shot!?"

Navia was horrified and quickly grabbed him, asking:

"I hope no one was hurt!"

"No, no, we were all afraid of hurting Mr. Marcell, so we basically just fired shots to scare him, but it didn't work at all! Mr. Marcell was kidnapped too!"

Navia suppressed her initial worry: "...Okay."

She recalled the hours of torture Marcellus endured underwater and thought he might have preferred to be killed on the spot rather than fall into the hands of a lynx.

"Young Miss, Young Miss—Waaaaaah! How can we live without you!"

The crying hadn't stopped, and Navia was distraught:

"Alright, alright, alright! I just went into the water, why are you all crying like this?"

"Young Miss, you are unaware of this!"

The familiar accusations rang out again:

"We saw that he was only holding Marcellus in his hand, and we didn't see you. So we fired and asked him, 'Tell me! Where did you take our young lady?' Who knew, who knew that he would actually... Waaaaah!"

Another terrified sob escaped Navia's lips, making her extremely anxious.

"What did he do? Tell me quickly!"

"He...he didn't say anything. We kept asking where you were, and he hesitated before raising his hand..."

The young man in the suit turned pale as he recalled the events.

"He slit his own throat... Waaah! Young lady! We all thought he killed you!"

"..."

"Young Miss, Young Miss? Why aren't you saying anything? Has your throat really been cut?"

"..."

Navia slapped away her underling's hand, which was trying to pull off her diving helmet, and endured it all.

"You're insane!"

I couldn't resist!

"No, why would he do that?! Does it feel good to be misunderstood? Does it feel good to be hated? Does he really enjoy being shot?! He's insane! A masochist!!"

"Young...Young Miss?"

The young man in the suit looked at Navia in a panic as she lost all composure and began to curse him.

"This is the first time I've seen the young lady like this..."

"Fine, you inhuman creature, you mouthless turtle shell, I'll make sure you don't get your way!... Listen up, Silver!"

Filled with rage, Navia angrily slapped her younger brother on the shoulder.

"Please give your orders, young lady! Should we pursue the kidnapper? He's in that direction..."

"Now, immediately, right now! Seize all of Marcell's residence and assets! Seal off all water-related items in the house! Don't touch them!"

"I'm going to get the yacht right now...wait, wait, wait??"

Silver was momentarily stunned; he was still a young man, not as composed as Future.

"Why Mr. Marcellus?"

"You idiots! Listen carefully—"

Navia gritted her teeth, burning with rage, to clarify things for the mute cat:

"The one who wanted to kill me in the deep sea was not that droopy-eared boy En! It was Marcel, whom I regarded as family!"

"What……"

"And this murderer who kidnapped my father—is also my savior, Navia!"

Amidst gasps of disbelief, she continued to drop bombshells.

"If he hadn't saved me, I would be dead now!"

"Huh? No? What's he after? Is he crazy?"

More than gratitude, doubt naturally arose first.

"Ha, who knows."

Filled with rage, Navia let out two sinister laughs.

"You must remember the kindness he showed me by saving my life..."

Whether you're a masochist or mentally ill, that bastard with the single name "En," no matter why you try so hard to be hated...

You're all going to get away with this!! Ah! I'm going to explode!

Navia: "Capture him for me..."

"Regardless of life or death?"

Silver responded skillfully.

"Dead? Forget about him! He has to be alive! Bring him here properly!"

-----------------------

Author's Note: I forgot to mention, I always felt that Myles alone wasn't enough. He's a steady old guy, and writing about him wasn't always smooth, so Silver, you'll have to join the Rose Society ahead of schedule.