Inside the Royal Museum at that moment.
"Intruder! There's an intruder!"
Max Livermore, captain of the Machinery Hivemind squad, stared intently at the oddly shaped Sealed Artifact assembled from building blocks atop the glass display case, trying to use it to pinpoint the intruder's location.
A certain "unscrupulous" detective's use of higher-level power had clearly alerted the Machinery Hivemind members guarding the museum. Unfortunately, with the gray fog serving as his cheat, the security Sealed Artifact the Church of Steam and Machinery took such pride in had failed to do its job.
Just then, a squad member came running over from the lifestyle exhibition hall, panting for breath.
"What happened? Did you find the intruder?" Max asked urgently.
"No, Captain, we haven't found any trace of an intruder! But..." The squad member gulped down a breath, then continued in a tone of utter disbelief, "But-we suddenly discovered that the-that Golden Toilet in the display case is gone-"
"What? The toilet's gone?"
"Who would steal something like that?!"
Meanwhile, the conversation between Bernadette and Lorne had fallen into deathly silence.
Because Lorne had a point. Bernadette knew she could not refute him. Even though she had never intended to hurt him, the "kindness" she had forced on him had indeed caused him tremendous trouble and left him at a disadvantage.
In his position, she would also have felt betrayed-and by someone she had saved from the brink of death, no less. Anger and disappointment were only natural.
But whatever the case, Bernadette still hoped to explain herself. After all, the responsibility lay chiefly with her, not Cattleya. The last thing she wanted was for this to drive a wedge between Cattleya and Monkey Brando.
Just as she was weighing her words and preparing to speak-
Rapid footsteps approached from the