"Ahem..."
Just as Charlotte presented her evidence, Lofan feigned regaining consciousness, slowly opening his eyes.
"Teacher!" Navia's heart leaped with relief as she watched Lofan prop himself up from the ground. The weight on her chest finally lifted.
Charlotte, Lyney, and Lynette, however, remained on high alert, their eyes fixed on Lofan's every move. Among the crowd, only they knew the true extent of his madness.
"Monsieur Grett!" The crowd erupted in cheers, relieved to see Lofan unharmed.
"Teacher, are you alright?"
When Navia asked about his condition, Lofan replied calmly, "Just a minor injury. Nothing serious."
He then addressed the crowd, "Everyone, please return home. It seems Miss Charlotte, Mr. Lyney, Miss Lynette, and I have had a slight misunderstanding. Rest assured, I'm confident it will be resolved quickly."
Turning to Monsieur Grett, he asked, "Miss Charlotte mentioned explosives buried underground earlier. Is that true?"
"Of course not," Lofan dismissed the idea without hesitation. "Even the most audacious nobles wouldn't dare attempt such a reckless act. They're not insane."
"Imagine the catastrophic consequences if such a plot were exposed. Given the recent casualties among the nobility, and with such a clear cautionary tale, why would they repeat such a grave mistake?"
"So, please rest assured," Lofan said, "there must be some misunderstanding. Go quickly and help our poisoned comrades. I'll handle things here and explain everything to them."
Lofan's words brought a collective sigh of relief from the crowd, while Lyney smirked coldly.
Trusting Lofan implicitly, the people dispersed without even glancing at Charlotte's evidence, convinced it was all a misunderstanding. Monsieur Grett would never betray us! they thought.
The trio watched helplessly as the crowd returned to the dangerous area, daring not intervene for fear of driving Lofan to irrational extremes. Ever since their original plan had been disrupted, they had been forced to compromise with him at every turn.
They hadn't intended to act so openly, but when they saw Lofan preparing to attack Navia, they had no choice but to intervene prematurely to save her.
This premature exposure had alerted their target, plunging them into far greater danger.
"Those nobles would never do something so insane, but you, you lunatic, would."
After everyone had left, Lyney, determined to prevent Navia from remaining deluded, resolved to expose Lofan's true nature.
Hearing Lyney's words, Lofan simply sighed softly and replied, "It seems the 'misunderstanding' between Mr. Lyney and myself runs deeper than I thought."
"There's no misunderstanding at all! You're a murderer!" Charlotte snapped, her voice trembling with fury. The memory of the countless lives Lofan had taken, the young boy he had betrayed, and the pain he was inflicting on Navia overwhelmed her.
"Stop deceiving Miss Navia! She's barely recovered from her father's death!"
"Do you have any idea how much harm you're causing her? You've been her teacher for so long—do you have no conscience at all?!"
Meanwhile, Navia examined the so-called evidence Charlotte had presented with a mixture of disbelief and dawning suspicion.
Before examining the evidence, Navia had firmly believed it impossible for her teacher to collude with the nobles. But when she saw the photos of the "Gretts," an expression of utter disbelief washed over her face.
The photos in her hand suddenly felt as heavy as lead, and her hand trembled uncontrollably.
"How could you be so heartless?" Charlotte demanded.
"Navia is my most prized student," Lofan replied, his voice cold. "I spared no effort in teaching her everything I knew."
"Miss Charlotte, don't be deceived by these dubious characters."
Sometime during their exchange, Lofan's expression had grown cold and impassive, his gaze causing the temperature in the room to plummet several degrees.
But to hasten Navia's realization of the truth, Charlotte had to press on. Only she, as someone Navia trusted, could play this crucial role.
"We've already found your laboratory. Lyney, Lynette, and I entered it together. I saw everything with my own eyes, and I took these photos myself."
"Even now, do you still want to deny it?"
"Just a few bodies? At worst, you can accuse me of conducting unethical experiments."
"What do you have to say now that you've seen this?!"
Lynette held up the clown mask they had found earlier. When Navia saw it, she recoiled again.
There was no mistaking it. Navia would never forget that mask. The image of dozens of bloodied corpses remained seared into her memory.
Lyney, observing Navia's reaction, realized she was beginning to suspect Lofan. He nodded to Lynette to keep a close eye on her, then stepped forward, his voice cold.
"Monsieur Grett, you're truly a master of deception. To be honest, before finding this mask in your laboratory, I never imagined that the founder and actual leader of the Fleuve Cendre was the same person orchestrating the serial suicide case!"
"You hid everything well, but ultimately, you revealed a fatal flaw."
"Initially, I assumed you were both from the same mysterious organization. After all, no one would expect someone to wield two Elemental Powers simultaneously."
"Think about it carefully," Lyney said. "You and the masked man have never been seen together."
"Whenever he was causing trouble, you conveniently vanished."
"I believe Miss Navia understands this better than I do."
Lyney glanced back at Navia before continuing. "Moreover, Miss Navia, you recently fought the masked man. Surely you remember something about your opponent."
"Think back—wasn't his build similar to Monsieur Grett's?"
Hearing Lyney's words, Navia felt a surge of terror as the truth began to dawn on her. Yet, instinctively, her mind compared Lofan's physique to that of the masked man she had battled. A cold sweat broke out across her brow.
A heavy thud echoed through the air. Navia's face drained of color, her strength abandoning her as the claymore slipped from her numb fingers and clattered to the ground.