Chapter 53 - I Will Never Doubt You

Stein continued reading, with the captain just waiting by his side until he finished. 

[The trap is set, the mole has been caught and it is leading us into its hill, its hideout. I hope the Conservadors are satisfied.

But though the Rebeldes will get what is coming for them... Father, mother, I have something to request of you.

I do not want Andres to be involved.]

Stein's eyes widened. He remembered the scene that flashed in his mind last night, the one where Franklin is pulling and begging for Andres to stay, revealing how he had already known his identity is a farce.

[Let them capture his 'familia', the Toros. I do not care for them, I do not know them. They would have gained armory and rations through my inheritance money. Let them think that this is their time of triumph, only to be shot down like Icarus flying too close to the sun.

Let the Rebeldes be captured, but one. I want to keep the very thread that brought them to us.

Spare Andres.      ]

"Er... I don't really understand most of these parts, but..... I suppose Andres' family is bad?" Captain Clerval guessed.

Stein closed his eyes, disbelieving that he have to teach politics to this self-proclaimed explorer now. "His family is not blood-related, most likely. They are rebels, an insurgence group against the current government in Colombia. They're using Andres as some sort of spy here in Berlin by making him study in the academy, and getting funds for their activities through Franklin's money."

"Oh..... I see. And the Storitz family are aware of this, setting them up since the beginning." Captain Clerval nodded. "But, er.... Your master seems to be attached to this spy now based on his words. He is not angry with Andres even after such an act of betrayal. He is even asking his parents to spare him."

This caused the frost giant to be even frostier, his aura that of a blizzard. Stein looked at his gloved right arm, with that bull tattoo.

Bull, Toro. This tattoo must be the one that gave away Andres' real identity, and he had not been too careful to hide it.

Well, he can't truly reprimand him without being a hypocrite, as he himself was also caught through the same arm.

He gave this captain another glare, who only scratched his head saying, "What? What did I do again?"

Stein scoffed, and continued reading his creator's secret letter to his parents.

[I can convince him to be on our side, to leave behind this 'familia' of his. Father, he shows great promise, he is not just some ignorant who joined the academy for no reason. Mother, he has a lovely demeanor, and I can feel that he can grow to be a true gentleman if not for his roots.

I can convince him to stay before the 'Cleaning' happens. My inheritance will be returned either way, and there is no need for me to lose a friend. Yes, he had lost his way, but I will have him return to me.

I could not bear it in my heart if I shall lose him. Please consider this well. — Franklin.]

The letter ended in a formal yet also desperate note. Stein could feel the emotions from the paper that was lit under the candle itself, touching its hardened texture and soot-like writing. He can feel....

That Franklin's tears must have fallen on this very same paper while he was writing it, years ago.

The captain spoke. "Back in the library, I saw a page on the yearbook dedicated to Andres Cervantez. Everyone signed their names on it as some kind of farewell or whatever sentimental thing it must mean. It seems his whole class liked him a lot."

"But get this.... I compared all the signatures to their owner, and there is one missing. One of them didn't sign a farewell..." He crossed his arms and placed a hand over his chin. "Curiously enough, it was your master."

Stein knows what he is implying. Both of them are confused as to what really caused Andres' death, whether he was caught in this 'Cleaning' or it was something else. After all, his identity is not revealed, and his reputation remained intact.

Franklin holds him dear to his heart, yet he did not sign on his epitaph. Franklin wanted to keep him, to have him stay.... But since it ended like this, he must not be successful. Or was he? Was his death unrelated to this whole ploy, then?

"He had lied to Andres, who to be fair, was also lying to him. Could he had also lied about his affections to him as well?" The captain suddenly offered. "Could he and his parents have already arranged for this journal to be read by Andres, so he will trust Franklin more before he strikes?"

Stein was shocked by these words, anger boiling down his throat as he said. "How can you insinuate such a thing!? This page was made through invisible ink that could only be read through putting it under a fire! This page would have been blank to him!"

"But it's not impossible, right?" Captain Clerval said. "Andres is also studying science, how can he not know about that little science trick? I too would wonder why a certain page in my journal with my research buddy is blank. What more would a spy who must take caution in everything?"

Stein was struck by these words, but the captain did not stop running off his vicious mouth, bringing more and more doubts on Franklin's innocence.

"That would explain why your Master Spectacles never signed. He never really thought of this Andres as anything but a mouse to catch in his trap. Maybe it is his way of feeling like he had outmaneuvered Andres, by playing an even better trick than him. And once it is done— Whack! There goes the mole, lost forever."

It all makes sense in theory, but Stein still wants to deny it.

".....We do not even know whether he managed to convince Andres to stay or not. There is still more possibilities, we do not know the cause of his death either. I will not..." Stein steeled his resolve as he breathed deeply. "I will not suspect my master of anything unless I have seen it with my own eyes."

"Ah, how blind can you be!? You are a servant, not a slave! You can still think on your own and not rely on your master's words as the single truth of this world! No matter how loyal you are to him, surely, you also have a conscience!?"

"It's not loyalty..... I just do not want to make baseless assumptions. I need more evidence." Stein said.

The captain went quiet, observing Stein for a while. This caused the frost giant to look away from the intensity of the stare. After a while, he finally spoke.

"Then.... How about we look for it ourselves? The evidence you need."

Stein blinked. "How?"

"The police station. They must have a record of the cause of death, and if not, then that further implicates your master. " Captain Clerval said.

Stein considered this, but going outside.... And with this brute, no less.... Without permission from Franklin.....

His indecision was stopped when he heard a voice call out in the living room adjacent to the music room. "Stein! Captain! I have prepared breakfast for the three of us, come join me and eat!"

Stein immediately opened the lid of the piano and put the journal there. He closed it, and gave a look to Captain Clerval, then proceeded to walk briskly toward the living room.

Captain Clerval followed right after though he was 'not good at hiding his nervousness'. But Daoist Panda is just good at emulating this emotion that he can pretend like a nervous guy pretending to be calm.

"Oh, I did not expect you two to be together. What are you two up to in the music room?" 'Franklin' asked with a kind smile, that also appeared fake.

But deep inside, Zhe Chouhen is genuinely happy about what's going on. So he is also pretending to be an angry, jealous guy pretending to be calm.

Stein was immediately rattled by his master's contorted smile, as Franklin had never been mad at him before. He immediately stepped far away from the captain like he had just caught the plague, and went over to Franklin's side.

"We weren't together, Franklin. I was outside looking for you, and on my way back I passed by the music room only to see Mr. Clerval there." He easily excused, and tapped 'Franklin's' hand in reassurance.

"Oh, is that so? I see." 'Franklin' looked unconvinced, his eyes narrowed. "Well, I was actually upstairs tending to my mother's garden and talking to the flowers a bit. They are lovely to chat with. When you're feeling lonely it's good to chat with something..... or someone."

"I see.... Master." Stein lowered his head, feeling perplexed.

He can really feel how jealous Franklin was with how tightly he's holding on to his hand, and the look he's giving to the captain. It worries him but at the same time.... It felt nice to see Franklin jealous for the first time.

"Now, come along, you two. I have harvested some vegetables to make some salad, as well as nice stew I have learned from my grandparents. It's a family recipe, definitely something you wouldn't find in England." He said proudly, and brought along his 'servant' to the kitchen.

That look didn't actually mean jealousy.

(You're pretty good at acting, Panda-laoshi.)

[..... You're not so bad yourself. Now don't talk to me or the skull mask might notice.]

(But you have powers to block them off anyway, right? I like talking to you, and I can only do so in my head.)

[It's just.... I don't like peering into your thoughts sometimes, you think about so many weird shit!]

(Like what?)

[..... Do I have to remind you of why I broke the vase in the first place?]

(I was only thinking about how charming I am to even make the second male lead so flustered, why are you so affected by that?)

[Because it's not true!]

(Heh, it is.)

[Is not!]

(It is. Look, even now you're flustered. So it's true.)

[I'm flustered by your shamelessness, I'm not charmed at all! Your ego is off the roof, it's as high as Mount Everest itself!]

They went on with this banter while having breakfast and pretending to have their focus on the MC, who they both really don't care about. Stein was torn by the stares of the two, as he had always been thin-skinned despite his real skin being thicker than a normal human.

He instead concentrated on how to gain time to go to the police station with the pesky captain without Franklin noticing. But he seems to be lucky because.....

"Oh, by the way, I would have to leave again today, Stein." 'Franklin' said as he finished his own stew. "That thing we're looking for, it's not going to find itself. I have to keep searching because of the limited time we have."

The captain and the giant artificial man gave each other a look. This is their chance, they were lucky this time.

Not knowing that the master of the house had long heard of their plan, and is merely giving them this 'chance'.