x
Now the clock hands are turned back in the right direction, at the speed of light. Cake's lips have been babbling for almost an hour, revealing all the scenarios he had created. Ren's lips and eyes are raised and wide open. Ren's eyes turned to the two bound individuals, whom she still considered her friends. Ren, who wanted to approach the two, was stopped by Cake. Cake knew that Ren was still somewhat skeptical of her explanation.
"Don't you understand yet!? This plan was made to save you!? And you still don't believe it!?" Cake exclaimed impatiently.
No one is lying down or even sitting. Everyone is standing, the tense atmosphere is still present. Furthermore, Countess Madelaine is slightly doubtful because Cake has not widened her smile.
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"T-this is all just a m-misunderstanding!" Ren replied, and then continued walking towards her two tightly bound friends. Ren glanced briefly at everyone in turn, especially Lady De Polcester, whose face looked very different from yesterday. One by one, Cake's explanations began to make sense. Ren's eyes became teary, reflecting like a mirror, staring at Lady De Polcester.
"Don't you find it strange about that necklace? You yourself said that Sistine mentioned the necklace as a protection against evil spirits while you hadn't told her about that part? You found it strange, so you chose an alternative because some parts of it were made of silver, which is generally believed to repel ghosts. But you haven't confirmed whether it's silver or not, right?" Cake exclaimed, once again convincing Ren to turn back.
Ren turned around spontaneously. "Not silver?"
"I-it's white gold, dear. The previous plans, including the secret room, the kimono fabric near the hallway to the dining room, and that necklace, were your father's estimations," Lady De Polcester said, trying to reassure her.
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"I'm sure there is still time to regain trust, Mademoiselle Ren," Cake said.
Cake's last words made the whole room emotional. Lady De Polcester was now ready to reach out her hands to Ren. Thankfully, Ren slowly approached Lady De Polcester, with a look of sorrow and longing. Cake was certainly relieved, but there was a small pebble in his mind that bothered him. He tried to find that pebble, to figure out what made him feel uneasy. But just as his head was about to lower and get lost in his thoughts, Cake caught a glimpse of another hand reaching out. When he saw that, he found the pebble, but now his mind was filled with overwhelming panic.
"WATCH OUT!" Cake warned firmly.
#Bang!
A revolver bullet successfully launched, hitting someone. Cake knew very well that the gun was aimed at Ren's waist. However, Lady De Polcester jumped and grabbed her body, falling to the side, between the gaps of the coffee table. It missed Ren's waist but caused heavy bleeding on Lady De Polcester's thigh.
The hand remained in a threatening position, then pulled the trigger again, hitting the heads of the two tightly bound individuals. Everyone lay down and looked for an opportunity to counterattack. But...
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#Bzzp!
A silenced pistol bullet was launched, hitting Aunt Mildsven's hand, causing her to drop the revolver. Agnes aimed at her from the stairs.
"Tch! Damn it!" Aunt Mildsven cursed and fled through the front door. No one expected that she still had a gun in her pocket. Even though her hand was injured by Agnes' bullet, she didn't flinch and kept pointing the gun.
One...
Two...
Three... until many bullets were fired to slow down the movements of Constable Irving, Tucker, and Paulin. She managed to escape and headed towards the backwoods.
"Chase her!" Countess Madelaine exclaimed.
Footsteps began to fill the room, moving in pursuit. However, they had to take cover against the wall, as Aunt Mildsven continued to shower them with the semi-automatic pistol.
Cake, assisted by Countess Madelaine, carried the severely weakened Lady De Polcester. Ren became doubtful and extremely worried. Without moving her lips, her tears and facial expressions conveyed her every word. Now they were on the terrace, and three black vans were parked there.
Cake and Countess Madelaine headed towards the van that was furthest away from the garage.
"Mademoiselle Flemming, please open the door!" Cake exclaimed, panicked, repeating it twice without pause.
The rear door of the black van opened. A thick patient bed, IV drips, and two workers were prepared inside. Cake entered the van first, carefully placing Lady De Polcester inside without bumping the van's body.
"Shot by a revolver bullet in the left thigh. Do your best!" Cake said to the two individuals who appeared to be medical personnel.
The woman with red velvet hair immediately put on a mask and rubber gloves. Then, using tweezers, she probed the source of the wound, causing Lady De Polcester to scream.
"Can't you leave any scars, Cake?" the woman asked, moving her tweezers. "Orla, fetch the 70% alcohol, bandages, and needles!"
"Yeah, babe, one moment!" Orla, the woman who had been pounding something, now completely let go and fetched what was needed.
Dr. Rachel Flemming and her colleague, Dr. Orla Haughtman, were the two individuals Cake trusted the most in critical situations like this. Their hands were rarely seen at rest. Rather, their movements followed the instructions in their minds. Whatever it was, they were efficient, effective, and highly conclusive.
Ren was restless and tried to warn Dr. Rachel Flemming, but Cake stopped her. Cake understood that Dr. Rachel Flemming's methods were somewhat rough, but it was precisely because of that her treatment was fast. Eventually, her tweezers successfully extracted the bullet.
"Phew... luckily..." Rachel sighed. She glanced at Cake. "I hope it was only one bullet..."
Cake bit his right thumb in frustration. "Yeah, just one, narrowly missing her waist, hitting her kidney or liver."
"Oh... well, then we're still lucky!" the bespectacled woman with the mask said, somewhat surprised.
"Not at all, Mademoiselle Haughtman. I didn't anticipate this happening. How foolish of me!"
"Don't blame yourself. No one could have predicted this," Countess Madelaine said softly, holding Ren's shoulder.
The minor operation went smoothly, without the need to take Lady De Polcester to the hospital. Her wound was stitched, and the 9mm revolver bullet casing was removed. It was a little relieving considering the loud sound of the gunshot. Cake was only worried if it was a Magnum bullet. It turned out to be a pistol.
Nevertheless, Rachel and Orla still recommended that Lady De Polcester undergo further examination with X-rays at the hospital.
The minor operation took about 45 minutes. After taking ibuprofen, Lady De Polcester felt slightly calmer. Her breathing rhythm returned to normal, and her fever had subsided. Now, Ren and Lady De Polcester were able to embrace each other without any disturbances.
However, about 15 minutes earlier, they heard a rumbling sound like a jet. Except for Cake, who thought it was the sound of an anti-material sniper bullet being launched.
***
Three hours after the incident, the villa was emptied. Ren hurriedly gathered all their belongings and those of her mother, Lady De Polcester. Two bodies became three, with one in the middle of the forest. The flat tire on the car had been replaced. Agnes drove Lady De Polcester's SUV, carrying Ren. Meanwhile Cake, and Countess Madelaine in his borrowed car, the black classy german-made sedan car. Rachel and Orla were accompanied by Tucker and Irving, taking care of Lady De Polcester. Meanwhile, two black vans led the way, with the van at the rear carrying the body.
Before leaving, Lady De Polcester made a promise, a piece of information that caught Cake's attention.
Route54B...
Who knew that Cake would encounter one of her former colleagues...
The wooden box that Lady De Polcester had been holding all this time finally opened with Ren's necklace. Inside was a paper containing Ren's birth certificate. 12-04-XXXX, the same number as the special room that had a dark little path connecting to other rooms. There was also a twin necklace similar to Ren's, but with a ruby gemstone. Just as Lady De Polcester had confirmed, she was corroborating what she had said. The rest were four glass test tubes containing liquid and a small 20ml vial of thick red liquid, which Cake took.
"By the way, I noticed you were somewhat dissatisfied earlier, and it turns out there was some truth to it. How did you become suspicious?" Countess Madelaine asked, while driving the car.
"Well..." Cake extended her hand, giving her four glass test tubes and the small 20ml vial in a small suitcase.
"Oh, thank you. You did a great job," Madelaine replied proudly.
"From the beginning, I had doubts about that elderly woman. She admitted herself that she prevented the rebellion in Africa. The problem is, she's a bit naive. She thought I had no ties to Interpol?" Cake turned to Madelaine, breathing a sigh of relief.
"And... Interpol never informed us about the unrest in Africa, did they?"
"Oui. Plus, Lady De Polcester never entrusted her with even the smallest matters. She preferred Agnes." Cake reclined the passenger seat almost 180 degrees. Now, he leaned his head back comfortably.
"That's because Agnes is an old friend of hers. If you had asked from the beginning, I would have given you some information," Madelaine replied.
"Perhaps. But when Agnes mentioned that she was a bit unhappy, I became more doubtful. Her face explicitly revealed..."
"You can read Agnes's robot face?" Madelaine asked in return.
"Maybe...?"
"Huh?"
Cake turned to the side before closing his eyes. "Perhaps from the beginning, I suspected her. An ordinary person would never have been able to receive that letter directly from the small consortium. Moreover... she received the letter alone. Taking on the role of carrying wood from the forest so she could communicate further... That's how it went, roughly."
"But they managed to escape. Well, even though one of them took a PGM Hecate II bullet straight to the head," Madelaine turned to Cake and smiled faintly.
"Yeah, don't catch my other ace card."
THE END
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