Holy Crap, Doxxed!

"I arrested a dealer who sells L㏒s, and the evidence has been taken for testing. I'm here waiting for the results." Perhaps because he already has someone he loves, Xingsu didn't use aimbot this time.

"Clorinde, for our sake, could you please put in a good word for me and let me leave this place? You know I always do good deeds anonymously."

"... Mr Xingsu, strictly speaking, if we include this time, we've only met three times, and I'm not in charge of the work here."

"Oh right, aren't you a duel agent? What are you doing working in the Maison Gardiennage?"

"Palais Mermonia recently received a list of people who are all wealthy and powerful figures in high society. The higher their position, the more cowardly they are, and some even have their own private armed forces. Therefore, it will be necessary to use some tough measures to try these people."

"Tsk, they even have private armed forces? Is Fontaine really that chaotic?"

"At least on the surface, it's not a private armed force, but a shooting club spontaneously formed by nobles, which is fully in compliance with Fontaine's laws and regulations."

"..."

Seeing Xingsu's strange expression, Clorinde slowly explained, "They dared to exploit legal loopholes like this before because justice in Fontaine hadn't truly reached them yet."

"It's quite ridiculous, really. When I went to make the arrest, not a single one of the so-called 'friends' in that nobleman's shooting club dared to stand up for him."

Finally, the usually arrogant and domineering nobleman could only crouch on the ground, trembling and covering his head with his hands... exactly like the man he was now."Clorinde's gaze swept over the man huddled in the corner, his head in his hands.

"It's just that he doesn't have as many bumps on his head."

The vendor squatting on the ground heard this and wanted to say something in his defense. But as soon as his eyes met Xingsu's calm and unwavering gaze, he could only sullenly bury his head again and shrink even tighter.

"Hello, sir... Oh? It's you."

The door was gently pushed open, and a Melusine stepped in. She was halfway through her sentence when her eyes widened slightly as she recognized Xingsu.

Xingsu looked up and saw it was Melusine, the same woman who had come to his rescue when he went to the Maison Gardiennage to report the L㏒s dealers.

Regardless of whose predicament they were helping, the two had at least met before.

"Ahem." Melusine spoke again, very formally, "The ingredients in the handkerchief have been tested and confirmed to be the prohibited substance, L㏒s. He will now be handed over to the Maison Gardiennage for questioning. Thank you to this helpful citizen for providing information... the suspect."

"Okay, officer, but you probably won't get much out of him. His whole family is under the surveillance of those nobles. It's quite pitiful, really; he has a three-year-old daughter."

The man who had been clutching his head in the corner suddenly turned around, his eyes wide open, staring at Xingsu with disbelief.

"How... how do you know all this...?"

"Hmm? I know more than that." Xingsu's tone was calm, as if he were simply stating something ordinary. "I also know that your daughter's Sophia, your wife makes a living by weaving in the Fleuve Cendre, and your elderly mother is seriously ill and bedridden, constantly needing money to buy medicine."

I'm so excited!

The man trembled violently, shaking his head frantically, his voice trembling with tears. "No, please stop, please stop..."

"Should I just reveal the name of the nobleman who supplies you with L㏒s?"

No! Please don't!

The man's legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud, his forehead almost touching the cold floor, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

"Please stop! Please... my family... my family is really going to die... I was wrong, I was so wrong!"

Xingsu grabbed the kneeling man by the collar and lifted him up, forcing him to look up and meet Xingsu's cold gaze.

"Why didn't you think about these things when you were selling L㏒s?" Xingsu looked down at him, her voice not loud, but carrying a heavy weight. "Did you ever think about how many families were destroyed and how many innocent people were killed by the L㏒s that flowed through your hands?"

The man's eyes were red-rimmed, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, his lips quivering repeatedly. "I... I was forced... If I didn't do it, they would harm my wife and daughters, I really had no other choice..."

Melusine stood to the side with a complicated expression, unsure whether to stop Xingsu or help the suspect. Clorinde crossed her arms, her purple eyes deep as she watched the scene before her.

Xingsu stared at his trembling face, and finally let go of his collar.

The man collapsed heavily to the ground, panting heavily, looking utterly dejected.

"Take him away," Xingsu said calmly.

After saying that, he stopped looking at the man on the ground, didn't argue anymore, and left.

"You're back just in time." Seeing Xingsu push the door open and enter, Arlecchino put down the file she was reading and looked up at Xingsu who had returned.

"While you were away, I finalized a cooperation agreement with the Fontaine government." Arlecchino tapped the table lightly with her fingertips. "It's specifically designed to deal with those parasites that are feeding on Fontaine's land."

Xingsu nodded. "I ran into that duel agent, Clorinde, today. I guessed it when she mentioned someone had provided a list."

Arlecchino nodded slightly, about to continue speaking, when Xingsu Su interrupted her.

"Clervie is still alive."

silence

The room fell silent for a moment, the lingering sound of turning pages dissipating into the air.

"Clervie is still alive," Xingsu repeated.

Xingsu stared intently at Arlecchino, trying to discern something, but she simply sat quietly behind the table, falling into a long silence.

The candlelight flickered, casting her shadow on the wall. No one knew whether what surged in her heart at that moment was regret, surprise, or some other heavy emotion.

"Do you... know that she's still alive?"

Sensing the subtle silence in the room, Xingsu suddenly remembered her silence when she had just met with Arlecchino and questioned Clervie about her.

The candlelight in the study flickered suddenly again. Arlecchino looked up at him, her scarlet eyes concealing complex and unfathomable emotions.

Don't worry about those key points.

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, Xingsu suppressed the surging emotions in her heart and asked, "When did this happen? When did you realize she was still alive?"

"I unexpectedly tasted this familiar flavor at the Hotel Debord."

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Xingsu stared intently at her, his eyes full of confusion. "You clearly had a guess all along, yet you didn't say a word about it from beginning to end."

"At the time, it was just a Nihility guess." Arlecchino lowered her eyes, her fingertips lightly touching the cold edge of the table. "I didn't have any solid evidence, and I couldn't be sure it was her. More importantly... if it really was her, I wasn't sure whether uncovering everything would be salvation or destroying her peaceful life now."

After all... you didn't tell her, right?