Chapter 970 [Viewpoint] Our positions are fundamentally different.

Bertrand smiled at Behringer, "Do you remember the magic I asked you to memorize last time?"

Bechfenger nodded. "I remember."

“Then try it on them.” Bertrand raised his arm and pointed to the three dolls lying on the operating table, a wicked smile on his lips.

“Huh?” Behffinger uttered a short syllable, turned to look at the puppets, hesitated for a moment, then looked at Bertrand’s bright smile, and finally nodded, “...Alright.”

He took out his wand, muttered a few words of magic, and pointed at the puppet.

The doll's body underwent a noticeable change instantly, especially in its texture.

Before the spell was cast, the doll had a strange and rough texture, but after the spell was cast, it looked more like a human on the surface.

Bertrand's smile deepened as he took out a small knife and made a cut on one of the dolls.

Although no blood was seeping out, it looked very much like human tissue being cut open.

Bertrand chuckled, put the knife and the three dolls into his bag, then floated over and wrapped his arm around Behringer's waist. "Alright, Behringer, use the conveyor belt to take me somewhere~"

"where?"

Bertrand's lips curled slightly as he slowly said, "Prison."

Although Behringer was puzzled, he did as instructed.

Upon arriving at the prison, Behringer immediately cast an invisibility spell on himself as instructed by Bertrand, and then casually "strolled" around the prison.

Arriving outside the cell where the three robbers were being held, Bertrand thought for a moment and waved to Behringer.

The latter remained silent and became an accomplice.

After knocking the prisoner unconscious, Bertrand threw out the finished dolls and then had Behrfinger teleport the three real people to his laboratory.

Looking at the three people lying sprawled on the ground, Bertrand smiled and looked at Behringer, letting him leave.

"Bei-chan, you can leave now~"

“…Okay.” After glancing at the three somewhat familiar-looking guys, Behringer silently left.

Bertrand watched him leave, then casually took a syringe from his bag, injected the drug into it, and then used the same syringe to inject one-third of each of them.

He then pulled up a chair and sat down leisurely, waiting for them to wake up.

Once they wake up, they will face torment until death.

Black Square Gin and the others: "..."

So that's what he was doing during the month he couldn't be contacted by Bertrand...

Several police officers: "..."

I never expected them to kidnap the prisoner so brazenly.

The culprit, Bertrand, having eaten and drunk his fill, nestled in Gin's arms, closed his eyes, and fell fast asleep, completely oblivious to the moviegoers and the others around him.

Meanwhile, the accomplice, Behefinger, buried his face in Qianzhu's shoulder.

Although Qianzhu was helpless, there was nothing she could do, so she could only adjust her posture slightly when she got tired.

And just like that, Behefinger also fell asleep, eventually lying on Qianzhu's lap and snoring away.

Liu Qingyao: ... one or two of them.

[...]

The new video clip is not presented in chronological order, but rather as a clip from a year ago.

Judging from the time... it was about two weeks after Date Wataru's death in the car accident.

Bertrand sat on the edge of the rooftop, yawning and gazing at the sunset with his eyelashes half-closed.

"It's a bit boring."

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the boy looked like a white angel gilded with gold.

He rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the scene before him, like an angel who had just descended to earth observing the world.

But as night fell, his kind exterior crumbled, revealing his dark, demonic core.

Bathed in moonlight, Bertrand stood with one foot on the windowsill, holding a proper gun in his hand.

That's right, it's a proper rifle, not a toy gun that looks like a toy.

His light green eyes gleamed with an eerie light, and a forced, insincere smile played at the corners of his mouth.

He then pointed his gun at passersby below.

The boy made a soft "bang" sound, but he didn't actually fire the gun.

Bertrand sighed, feeling bored, picked up his gun and moved to another spot. Not long after, Behringer also appeared there.

The little boy's eyes sparkled, and then he gave him a bright smile.

For some reason, Behringer felt uneasy.

Sure enough, the next second Bertrand's voice rang out, "Hey, Bertrand, I found it."

Bechfinger paused before answering, "...What?"

A hint of a smile appeared in Bertrand's eyes. "An undercover agent, huh? Scotland was sent by the Public Security Bureau, and that's when I discovered—Bourbon and Scotland were actually from the same cohort!"

He chuckled twice, raised the gun in his hand, pointed the muzzle at the window, and continued, "Since he's an undercover agent, we have to take care of him~ What do you say, Bei-chan~"

As Bertrand said these words, his gaze lingered on the bright moon outside the window. Even without paying special attention to Behringer, one could sense the fluctuations in his emotions.

He couldn't help but laugh, a laugh tinged with ruthlessness and a barely perceptible hint of madness. "Tonight, Bourbon will be here for a mission~"

Hearing the slightly heavier breathing beside him, Bertrand caught a glimpse of a wary figure entering his field of vision out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, they're here."

He pointed the gun at the other man, his finger already on the trigger, seemingly about to pull it down.

Bertrand did try to pull the trigger, but a gloved hand appeared beside him and blocked the muzzle.

He glanced at her with a half-smile, "Not going to keep it a secret anymore, huh? Bei-chan~"

Behrfinger's hands trembled, his eyes reddening beneath his hood. He stammered for a long time before pleading, "I'm so sorry for keeping this from you, but please, don't kill him... I..."

"Oh, I see~" Bertrand twitched the corners of his mouth, then lowered his head, his shoulders shaking as if he was holding back laughter. Finally, he couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face.

He wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes, casually put the rifle back into his bag, then raised one hand, pulled back Behringer's hood, and pinched his chubby cheek. Looking at his red-rimmed eyes, he teased, "Behringer, you're really gullible. That's not Bourbon down there, it's just a doll~"

Behrfinger's eyes flickered, it was hard to tell whether he breathed a sigh of relief or took another deep breath.

Bertrand smiled. "Even though you and he are good friends, an undercover agent really can't stay here, Betty~"

Tears welled up in Behringer's eyes as she looked pleadingly at Bertrand.

Bertrand looked at him, chuckled softly, and then, with a hint of seduction in his eyes, said, "However... it's not impossible for me to let him go—as long as you promise me one thing."

Behringer was taken aback, and tears welled up in his eyes and slid down his cheeks. He didn't even ask what it was about, nor did he wait for Bertrand to speak, before nodding in agreement.

Seeing that he agreed so quickly, a glint flashed in Bertrand's eyes. He snorted and said, "As long as you're obedient enough, I won't lay a hand on the people you care about. What do you think?"

Behrfinger pursed his lips and nodded in agreement, "Okay..."

Bertrand chuckled softly, looking up at him, but his reflection seemed not to appear in his eyes.

He raised his hand to wipe away the tears on Behringer's face, gently wrapped his arms around his neck, and softened his voice as he whispered in his ear, "Behringer, you know I care about you a lot, so... you have to listen to me..."

Behringer choked back a sob, tears welling up again. She reached out and hugged Bertrand, burying her face in his shoulder and sobbing, seemingly mumbling "I'm sorry" or something similar.

Bertrand patted him on the back to comfort him, a smile playing on his lips, but his eyes were deep and unfathomable, revealing no trace of joy.

Everyone: "..."

Upon seeing this, they felt a tightness in their chest, as if they couldn't breathe.

From Bechfenger's perspective, one can fully feel his despair and helplessness.

He couldn't bear to part with Bertrand, but he also couldn't abandon his good friend on the other side.

He seems to have many friends, but in reality, he only has himself.

Matsuda Jinpei and the others sighed, feeling increasingly depressed as they read on.

The person who caused all of this is still asleep.

Uh... the victim is still asleep.

...

Inside the safe house in Bertrandshire.

A person stood inside a glass case as tall as a person; it was a woman with black hair and a red dress.

Her eyes were open, and upon closer inspection, they appeared to be cat pupils, clear but unfocused.

Bertrand sat on a high stool, propping his chin up with one hand as he admired his first meticulously crafted masterpiece, a happy smile on his face. "Just one last step and it'll be finished!"

He jumped down from the high stool, approached the glass case to examine the dolls inside closely, and waited for Behringer to arrive.

"Kashi-chan~! I'm in!"

Before Behringer arrived, his voice preceded his arrival, and then he appeared behind Bertrand in a flash, opening his arms and excitedly running over to hug him.

Bertrand dodged quickly, causing Behringer to slam against the glass with a thud.

Behrfinger: "..."

Feeling wronged.JPG

Bertrand laughed out loud and waved her hand, "Alright, alright, hurry up and get on with the work!"

"Oh." Behringer still pouted, looking aggrieved, and took out her wand, tapping it on the doll through the glass.

A dark blue fluorescent light entered the doll's forehead. The next moment, the doll's eyes flickered and then slowly blinked.

Her eyes shifted slightly, glancing at Behringer standing in front of her before settling on Bertrand behind him, her gaze softening.

Behrfinger: "?"

Bertrand smiled and gave the doll a name, then opened the glass to let her out, took her hand and said he would take her to play.

Behrfinger opened his eyes wide and pointed at himself expectantly.

Bertrand winked at him, smiled, and said, "Betty, you can go back now~"

The non-existent ears on Behringer's head drooped instantly.

"..."

So this is the inside story of Afra's creation.

It's said that Behrfinger is always involved in this, so are the two of them tied together...?

Glancing at the two still fast asleep, a sense of helplessness welled up inside me.

[...]

The next scene, judging from the timeline, is... after Behffinger's death.

"..."

【Inside Chino's house.

The silver-haired boy held a perfectly realistic, fluffy cat doll in his arms, and a figure was reflected in his pupils.

Sitting opposite him was Qianzhu.

He pursed his lips, lowered his eyelashes, and his voice sounded sullen, "His death...has it affected you?"

Upon hearing this, Qianzhu smiled slightly and asked softly, "What do you think?"

Bertrand's eyes reddened, and she looked at Qianzhu with a wronged expression. She squeezed the doll in her hand a little tighter, and her voice choked with emotion, "Are you blaming me?"

Qianzhu had a cloth spread on her legs and was using a pet comb to groom the black cat, seemingly not caring much about it.

"Why should I blame you? We're on different sides anyway, so why should I blame you?"

He smiled slightly, seemingly always treating people with such gentleness.

Tears welled in Bertrand's eyes as he looked sadly at Qianzhu. He wanted to explain, so he spoke in a trembling voice, his tone filled with obvious grievance.

"But I didn't intend to kill him!"

He lowered his head, wiping away tears as he sobbed, "I didn't mean to kill him. I just wanted to scare him. The chip I implanted in him won't explode while he still has vital signs..."

Qianzhu's smile faded slightly, but a faint smile remained. "But he still died, didn't he?"

Bertrand raised her head, her eyes red-rimmed. "Chi-chan, don't you believe me?"

Qianzhu paused, shook her head slightly, and smiled, "No, I believe you."

Bertrand blinked blankly, tears welling up in his eyes as he did so.

Qianzhu lowered her head, collected the fallen cat hairs and threw them away, gently stroking the black cat's head.

He smiled slightly, seemingly with a hint of self-mockery.

"Even without other factors forcing him, he would..."

Bertrand looked at him blankly, letting her tears fall freely.

Qianzhu sighed softly, moved the black cat to a different spot, got up and sat down next to Bertrand. For the first time since leaving the orphanage, she reached out and hugged him, wiping away the tears on his face and gently patting his back.

Before Bertrand heard him say:

"I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this."

"Although we have been trying to avoid..."

Bertrand slowly closed his eyes, fell asleep as he smelled the familiar scent, and felt very at ease.

When he woke up again, he was back in the safe house, and he didn't know how he got back.

The silver-haired boy sat dazedly on the bed, blankly recalling the few words he had heard before losing consciousness.

What's the meaning?

He thought blankly.