The Mechanic Sends Her Regards

The three ended up facing Horace’s back as he dusted the trinkets lining up his shelf, and the newcomer couldn’t help but survey the rest of the office cramped with familiar, shining gadgets.

“These are all… Penelope’s inventions…” Dorothy quickly cupped her mouth, utterly forgetting her mask in the way.

Horace glanced over his shoulders. “Oh? Dorothy? You’re here too?”

Dorothy timidly stepped forward and curtsied. “Uhm… g-good evening, F-Father…”

Horace pursed his lips. “Right, erm, good evening, Dorothy.” He faked a cough and stretched a comforting smile. “I already received a message of your arrival here at the capital a few days ago, but I’d still like to hear it from you. How have you been? Is everything alright in the mansion? How was your stay in the capital?”

“Oh, it’s been fun! And everything is perfectly normal back home! Right, brother?”

Clover looked away. “Right,” he murmured. “What she said.”

Horace raised a brow and glanced at Ren, who merely stretched a playful, incomprehensible smirk. He remained briefly silent before changing the subject with a nod. “I’m glad to hear that then,” he said. “So, what brings you here?”

“I…” She paused, now realizing that she hadn’t prepared a valid excuse. “Erm… I-I just wanted to… to see you…”

Clover and Ren glanced down at Dorothy, who began to shrink away. Ren cleared his throat. “She got sick of staying in the mansion for so long that she begged me to have her tag along!” he said.

Dorothy stared at him in silent surprise.

Horace raised a brow. “Really now?” he asked. “I understand if she grew bored staying in that mansion, but you do realize I summoned Clover for a private meeting?”

Ren grinned. “I still see no problem tagging her along. She’s an outsider, so she’s definitely not a suspect, and her strength might actually be helpful!”

“Huh? I can help?” Dorothy pointed at herself.

“What do you mean by ‘suspect'?’” Clover asked.

Horace pondered for a minute, rubbing his chin as he observed the uninvited guest. “I suppose that’s true. Four heads are better than three, as one may say,” he murmured. “But Dorothy, are you willing to help me with my predicament?”

“What? Me?” Dorothy pointed at herself.

“As a guest, you’re not obligated to help. I can let you go if you’d like.”

“N-No! I want to help!” she said, grabbing Clover’s sleeve. “I much prefer to stay with my brother!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure!”

“Very well.” He chuckled and turned to face the full group. “Before I explain anything, I want to make this clear,” he said. “What we will discuss will be strictly confidential, where not even the other authorities among the Chevolaires will hear about this. Make sure this discussion is kept between the four of us and no one else—not even with the other executives. Do you all understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Clover and Ren replied.

“Yes, Father,” said Dorothy.

Horace returned to his seat and gestured the guests toward the couches before him. “Splendid. Please sit and make yourselves comfortable.”

As instructed, the three sat and listened to Horace’s situation. By the time they learned of the recent events, Clover spoke up first.

“Why won’t you bring in the other executives?” he asked. “Isn’t this organization too big for the four of us to find the traitor?”

“Believe it or not, I do not trust the others as deeply as I trust all of you,” said Horace rather bluntly. “I know—with absolute certainty—that all of you are innocent, unlike the others.”

“You’re telling me the other executives might have a motive to kill you?”

“Not precisely. It’s just that I do not know them on a personal level to trust them enough with this task.”

“What about Ortrone?” asked Ren. “I trust him, and I remember he frequently visits the main hall to hang out. Maybe he might’ve seen some suspects.”

Horace rubbed his chin. “Perhaps we can ask him if we fail to find the traitor. I’d hate to bother any more of our guests on our affairs.”

“Fair enough.”

“Indeed. I apologize for having you all shoulder this burden with me. I’m afraid I can’t quite handle this on my own.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Ren. “Not even I can handle my duties on my own these days.”

“What do you even do outside of this organization?” asked Clover, squinting his eyes.

“That’s a secret,” he said with a wink.

Clover ignored him immediately and faced back toward Horace. “You don’t have to apologize, Horace. You’ve helped us plenty enough—it’s about time we pay you back.”

Dorothy timidly nodded along, delicately touching her hairpins.

For a moment, Horace narrowed his dulled eyes that finally gleamed, albeit briefly. “I appreciate it,” he murmured.

Clover nodded and crossed his arms. “Back to the issue at hand—how exactly can we find the traitor? All the information you’ve told us hardly narrows down the suspects. Did you piss anyone off recently?”

“If I did, no one spoke up about it.”

“More like no one dared to,” said Ren, coughing.

Horace frowned. “Do I look that intimidating?”

“Buddy, you’re doing the evil scheming pose right now.”

Horace looked down at his intertwined fingers resting over his mouth. “Oh. What should be my posture then?”

“Well…”

“Now’s not the time for trivial matters,” said Clover, glaring at the two.

Horace chuckled and shrugged. “Nevertheless, whether the motive is for revenge, justice, or simply a job, it won’t help narrow down the massive list of suspects.”

Ren scratched his head. “Yeah, it’s hard to keep track of hundreds of employees who all happen to have their hands dirty.”

Horace trailed his eyes toward the Vamier siblings, analyzing them curiously. He stood up and approached a shelf, where four bronze figurines of familiar figures rested. “Say, Dorothy, do you remember these inventions?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, I remember,” she said. “Penelope made them for display with special features hidden in each of them.”

“Incredible, aren’t they?” Horace chuckled as he lifted a figurine of Dorothy herself. “It’s a shame I had to ask her to stop making more of them. My room is unfortunately running out of space to keep all of her works here.”

She twitched her fingers. “So, that’s why? You’ve… kept every single one this whole time?” She looked around. Indeed, every shelf and drawer was jam-packed with familiar inventions, including Horace’s desk. “You… didn’t throw any of them away?”

“Goodness gracious, no. God forbid I’d sell them too. It’d be incredibly disrespectful to get rid of such gifts made for me.”

Dorothy gripped on her skirt as the truth dawned on her. “Hor—F-Father, isn’t it too dangerous for you to stay here? The three of us can handle this on our own.”

“That’s certainly an option, but I will decline. What good of a leader am I if I were to run away from danger?”

“But you might get yourself hurt!”

He smiled. “And that’s where I rely on you three to prevent that, yes? You all are quite persistent in keeping me alive, after all.”

“And that is pretty damn true! If you die, then we’ll be left with mountains of trouble!” said Ren.

Horace nodded with gratitude. “Genuinely, I appreciate all of you. Rest assured, I will be a part of this plan as well.”

“Oh? Do you have an idea?”

“Haha, perhaps I did while waiting for you to return. Though, now with Dorothy’s help, I’ve made a few changes.” Horace picked up Theodore’s figurine and placed it on his desk. He pulled out a golden pin shaped like a feather and reached for another figurine resembling Dorothy.

“I never thought I would see the day Penelope’s gifts will be of tremendous use,” he said, approaching Dorothy and offering her the items. “I will make sure all of us will play an important role, but the question is, will you trust me?”

“If you trust us, then we trust you,” said Clover. Dorothy nodded and accepted the figurine and badge, trailing her fingers around the designs.

“Good. With that said…” His smile transitioned to a dark sneer. “Let us create some chaos, shall we?”