"If that's the case," Rhodes said thoughtfully, "then it proves Lucy's innocence. It only means Taurus and Cancer have changed masters, that's why their appearances differ."
Princess Hisui nodded slowly. "That explanation… does make sense."
But Lucy shook her head, thinking it through honestly. "Besides Gemini, the only Celestial Spirit I know who can change appearance is Virgo."
Yukino didn't add anything. Her Pisces could switch between human and fish forms, but that was because they were naturally dual-formed twins.
Rhodes turned to her. "Yukino, did you fight those two last night?"
"Yes," she replied firmly. "Thanks to Her Highness's trust, my post was right beside the princess's chambers."
Princess Hisui added with a soft smile, "I owe my safety to her. Yukino was even injured protecting me."
"That's just my duty," Yukino said politely, bowing her head.
Rhodes nodded. "What I really want to ask is, during the fight, did you summon your own Spirits? Libra or Pisces?"
"Yes," Yukino answered. "They were powerful enemies, so I summoned both."
"Then why didn't the two, or three, of them realize those weren't Taurus and Cancer?" Rhodes asked.
Yukino looked a little embarrassed. "The situation was chaotic. We were focused on protecting Her Highness. After the fight, Libra and Pisces returned immediately. It was only after confirming everyone's safety that we analyzed the battle and compared the attackers' magic and appearance. That's when we concluded they matched Taurus and Cancer…"
Rhodes sighed. "And that's when Lucy was arrested this morning."
It was a hasty judgment, but considering how close those assassins' behavior and quirks were to the real Spirits, he couldn't blame them completely.
"Then why not just call Libra or Pisces back and ask them?" he suggested.
"That's… impossible right now," Yukino said with a troubled expression. "Libra's on her day off, and Pisces said he had urgent business in the Celestial Spirit Realm. It might take about a week."
"A week…" Rhodes muttered. Then it hit him. Gemini had told him just yesterday, the Celestial Spirit King was summoning all twelve Zodiacs to discuss the situation with the abandoned constellations.
So of course none of Lucy's Spirits could be summoned either.
Troublesome.
"I've got it!" Lucy suddenly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "That Taurus might be a Taurus Star Spirit, but not Taurus himself!"
"What do you mean?" Yukino asked. "There's only one Zodiac Taurus. The Zodiac Spirits shouldn't have duplicates."
Lucy grinned triumphantly. "Not official duplicates, but historically, there was another constellation called Taurus Poniatovii!"
Yukino and Hisui both blinked, puzzled. Their astronomy knowledge barely covered the eighty-eight modern constellations, nothing more.
Rhode's expression, however, sharpened. "An abandoned constellation?"
Lucy nodded. "Exactly! It's a Celestial Spirit that was discarded centuries ago. Its astronomical position doesn't overlap with Taurus's, but since it shares the same name, their powers, and likely their appearances, are similar!"
Rhodes crossed his arms, intrigued. "Then the one resembling Cancer could also be another kind of crab constellation?"
"Yes!" Lucy said excitedly. "I think it's Crab, a minor constellation abandoned around three hundred years ago! Its star map looks almost like a giant lobster."
"Then that explains why his catchphrase was 'shrimp,'" Rhodes said, amused.
Lucy nodded eagerly. "Exactly! The ancient map of Cancer actually resembled a lobster, too. The form evolved later into what it is now. That's where Cancer 'shrimp' quirk originated!"
"Ohh," Rhodes said, getting drawn into her enthusiasm, "then what about—@#%X—"
And just like that, the two of them plunged into a rapid-fire discussion about ancient constellations, tossing around terms like Gemini 68, Gemini 74, Libra 67, Dark Star, Bright Star, faster than anyone else in the room could follow.
To Natsu, it all sounded like a stream of incomprehensible code.
His pupils slowly dilated; his face went blank. Finally, he clutched his head in frustration. "What are you two talking about?! Speak proper common language!"
His outburst perfectly echoed what both Princess Hisui and Yukino were thinking.
Although both of them practiced Star Spirit Magic, one lacked proper training while the other lacked knowledge to study it deeply. As a result, neither knew much about the so-called Abandoned Star Spirits.
Lucy had no choice but to patiently explain everything, the link between constellations and Star Spirits, the evolution of the Celestial Spirit Realm from ancient times to the present, its influence on astronomical observations in the Human World, and the recent disturbances caused by the abandoned spirits.
Hisui and Yukino listened in astonishment. Their eyes gradually filled with admiration for Lucy, as expected of Layla Heartfilia's daughter, and as expected of the Celestial Spirit Mage who held ten Zodiac keys.
Only Natsu's eyes remained as clueless as ever.
Resting his chin in his palm, he furrowed his brow in thought… then suddenly slapped his hand in realization.
"I get it now! They're a bunch of bad Star Spirits, right?"
"They're abandoned Star Spirits," Lucy corrected gently. She never liked using the word bad to describe them, even if some of them had caused her plenty of trouble.
Lucy always wanted to believe there was a reason they became that way, that it hadn't truly been their will.
Once they were all returned to the Celestial Spirit Realm, and once the Old Man with the Beard came up with a solution, she was sure the Star Spirits' kindness could be restored.
After thinking over Lucy's words, Princess Hisui finally exhaled in relief.
"If that's really the truth, then I'm glad," she said softly.
She didn't want to harm Layla's daughter, not emotionally, and certainly not politically. The last thing she wanted was to turn Fairy Tail into an enemy of the Fiore royal family.
Hisui smiled. "Then, Miss Lucy, may I ask for a little time? I'll need to persuade my father, and also gather enough evidence to confirm this. But until then, I'll have to ask you to remain here for a while. Of course, aside from limiting your movements for now, you'll be treated as a guest."
"I'll help too," Yukino said at once. "We'll finish the investigation as soon as we can."
Lucy nodded without hesitation. "Of course. No problem at all. If there's anything I can do, please let me know."
Hisui smiled again, though she didn't reply, she knew Lucy couldn't possibly provide the kind of proof they needed herself.
Her gaze then shifted to Natsu.
"Our capture attempt was our mistake first," she said carefully, "but Mr. Natsu, your attack on the royal knights did cause multiple injuries. That was… a little excessive."
Natsu froze, scratching his cheek awkwardly, guilt flickering across his face.