Mystery: Lucky One

The Mechanical Heart is looking for it? What's going on... Hey, wait a minute!
Alice habitually thought about it for a while, and then found that Arrodes had left.

Although she felt sorry that she couldn't continue chatting with Arrodes, Alice didn't dwell on it too much. After all, she had already asked everything she wanted to ask.

That’s about it… So what exactly is the “Mechanical Heart” going to do?
It wasn't Alice's style to suppress her curiosity, so she blinked, lay down on the bed, and went to peek.

The members of the Mechanical Heart obviously had not thought about isolating themselves from the gaze of such a high-ranking being. Alice saw three people, a man who was obviously in a leadership position and his team members, and an acquaintance - Winfred.

The piece of paper with eyes drawn on it and the name written on it by Alice was placed generously on the table in the middle of the room. Alice saw the man put the body of Arrodes on the table and then greeted Winfred.

From the way they addressed each other, Alice learned that this man was Ikonser Bernard, the butler of the Mechanical Heart.

Have not heard.

Alice stroked her chin, watched him stroke the silver mirror three times, and asked:

"Dear Arrodes, my question is, who left this piece of paper?"

Alice blinked, and understood why the Mechanical Heart only assigned deacon-level members to investigate an incident that might involve a high-sequence event.

Apparently, the only reason for the existence of the Vanguard is to use Arrodes.

Alice felt that she understood everything. She looked at the surface of the silver mirror, somewhat curious about how Arrodes would deal with this problem.

The surface of Arrodes rippled twice like water waves, and a "Wheel of Fortune" tarot card emerged in the mirror.

This... doesn't seem to be a problem...

Alice was lost in thought.

In the interval when no one was talking, Arrodes hid the image of the tarot cards and new words appeared:

“According to the principle of reciprocity, it is my turn to ask questions.

"If you answer incorrectly, or lie, you will be punished."

I always feel that the font it displays is scarier than mine... Alice thought about it and blinked to look at Arrodes's normal questions:

"The man who made you give everything to please him but ended up being abandoned by him, has someone else appeared around him?"

Not very…wait, man?

Alice looked at Ikanser Bernard with some hesitation.

His expression did not show embarrassment, but rather he responded slightly bitterly, as if he had remembered something bad:

"There have always been other people around him." Note ①

Pitiful.

Alice sighed with a sense of gloating. She looked at Ikanser Bernard, who turned back as if he was listless, and said:
"I still have two questions... Where is the person who left the note, and who does this honorific name belong to? Who of you will come?"

Winfred and the member of the "Mechanical Heart" team who did not want to reveal his name looked at each other, and then the member took the initiative to stand up:
"Let me do it."

"Be careful." The socially doomed Ikanser Bernard nodded, gave a warning and made way.

The member of the "Mechanical Heart" team who did not want to reveal his name asked:
"Dear Arrodes, my question is, where is the person who left this paper now?" Alice looked at Arrodes with interest again.

Arrodes never disappoints. Its mirror surface turns into a bottomless black, and a line of bloody words emerges above the darkness:

“He is here.”

…It seems to be okay.

Alice felt a little surprised. Even though she was not really here and she was just looking at them from a distance, this statement seemed to be correct.

These words startled everyone present. In addition to Winfred's confused look, Ikanser Bernard and the member of the "Mechanical Heart" who did not want to reveal his name looked around vigilantly.

Of course they found nothing.

This member of the "Mechanical Heart" team, who did not want to reveal his name, was trembling with fear. However, what really made him sweat was yet to come.

——Arrodes hasn’t asked the question yet.

The bloody words seemed like some kind of ominous omen, revealing the darkest corner of his heart:
"Do you look forward to your wife having sex with other men more than you do with yourself?"

...?
Alice looked at the man in shock. His face instantly turned red and he couldn't say a word. After an unknown amount of time, Alice finally heard his calm voice:
"Yes."

Alice looked at Ikanser Bernard, and then at this member of the "Mechanical Heart" team who did not want to reveal his name, and she deeply understood what a talented organization this was.

Perhaps he should have been born in Intis... Alice, who had read Roselle's diary, sighed silently.

In any case, the member of the "Mechanical Heart" team who did not want to reveal his name did not want to continue asking, and the pressure fell on Winfred Grigori.

Ikanser Bernard, who no longer cared about his reputation, stood up and said bravely:
"Let me do it."

"No, let me do it." There was nothing wrong with Winfred Gregory's voice, but Alice looked over almost immediately.

——She felt a familiar suppressed excitement in Winfred's tone.

Alice's guess was soon verified. Winfred rejected Ikanser Bernard's concern and walked forward to ask:

"To whom does this honorific name belong?"

Who does it belong to?
The surface of the mirror rippled, and a picture spread across it like dripping ink, and Alice saw the book she was familiar with.

The book with an ocean blue cover lay quietly on the table, with silver runes faintly visible on it.

Alice looked at the mirror curiously, wondering what questions it would ask next, when the silver runes on the cover of the book suddenly changed, flashing and converging into a silver eye.

A gloved hand reached out and opened the book. They both saw the silver words that appeared on the inside of the book:
"If you are really curious about this question, why don't you try reading it?"

Yeah, why not? Just ask someone to read it to us...wait, is it talking to us?

Alice realized this problem belatedly. She looked at Arrodes in astonishment. The image in the mirror shook for a moment, and then disappeared as if there was no signal.

Alice's pupils suddenly contracted, and she remembered the last time she saw "Cassandra" in the mirror.

——The scene at that time was cut off after the eyes appeared. (End of this chapter)