"Guess?"
Zane smiled faintly as he looked at Belle.
"Guess? I don't want to guess. Just tell me already…"
Belle pouted and pleaded. Every time Zane made her guess something, she never got it right. Eventually, she gave up and tried to coax an answer out of him instead.
It was better to get straight to the point than keep suffering through endless guesswork. After all, anything involving Zane was always strange and unpredictable—how could she possibly guess right?
"Uh… you could say we met through a fight. Oh, and you've fought them before too..."
Zane shrugged lightly, speaking in a soft tone.
"We? Fought them?"
Belle raised an eyebrow in surprise. She noticed Zane had said "you" instead of "you," which meant it had been a team battle.
But those two were just delicate girls—how could there have been any fighting? And "no fight, no friendship"? The only person who could make friends that way was Zane...
Belle crossed one arm, rubbed her chin with her other hand, and frowned in thought. Still, she couldn't figure it out.
Fighting… two girls…
Huh?
She looked back at Zane, her eyes silently asking for an answer.
"Think about it. Who have you fought these past two days?"
Zane smiled and said.
"Fought? We haven't fought anyone. I was with Victoria Housekeeping, and you came along too. Our opponents were all…"
"Ethereals?!!!"
Belle's muttering suddenly jumped into a sharp exclamation. Her eyes darted toward the inner hall of the tanuki house, pupils widening.
Among the recent battles with Victoria Housekeeping, there was one opponent she remembered vividly…
The Twin Marionettes?!!!
"No way—Zane, are you saying those two girls are the Twin Marionettes??? Alive???"
Those terrifying monsters… had turned into two sweet, soft girls?
It was almost too unbelievable.
But thinking of Zane's precedent, Belle realized it wasn't impossible either.
Before they entered the Twin Hollow to rescue the hacker Rain, she had read up a bit on the Ballet Tower and had some guesses about the truth behind the Twin Marionettes.
Zane gave her a helpless look and said,
"Have you ever seen them dead?"
"Uh… well…"
Belle almost wanted to say, "Doesn't a severed Ethereal head count?" But since the Marionettes were right here, she bit her tongue.
"No, Zane, how did they turn back into humans?"
"Could it be… like you?"
Belle's eyes widened. She stared at him, momentarily lost for words. If that were true, didn't it mean both of them were extremely powerful too? Capable of absorbing Hollows?
That would mean they now had three top-tier fighters on their side.
That was amazing!
Excitement lit up her eyes, but Zane immediately saw through her thoughts. He glanced toward the inner hall, then back at Belle, his voice gentle.
"It's not the same. For now, I've only temporarily restored them to normal. It won't last long, Belle…"
Zane lowered his gaze slightly, stroking the little white cat in his arms as he said softly,
"In less than three days, they'll be gone…"
"Gone?"
Belle asked, confused. Then suddenly her eyes widened in disbelief.
"You mean the kind of 'gone' I'm thinking of?"
"Yes."
"A fleeting beauty."
Zane nodded faintly, his expression calm. Seeing that, Belle's mood sank.
She thought back to her encounter with Augetta and Augilia earlier—two kind, lovely girls…
"There's no other way?"
"Nothing is absolute, but right now, it's close to it…"
Zane shook his head. He wanted to keep Augetta and Augilia too, but there was nothing he could do.
"…Alright."
Belle let out a small sigh. From the inner hall came faint rustling sounds—probably one of the twins finishing up.
Just as Zane expected, two minutes later, Augilia opened the door and stepped out. Zane looked up at her and gave a nod.
"How does it feel?"
"Mr. Zane, it feels very good."
Augilia smiled softly, nodding. It was both an answer to his question about her washing up and about her return to human form.
"You… hello…"
Belle quickly raised a hand in greeting. Augilia lifted her hand as well, giving a small wave.
"Belle, I know you. Mr. Zane mentioned you when he spoke with you on the phone."
Though she had become human again and lost her Ethereal power, it seemed that thanks to Zane, she still retained her memories of the time Belle and the others fought the Twin Marionettes.
Through Zane's explanation, she also knew Belle was the one who had controlled that adorable Bangboo—and now the Bangboo was right by her side.
"Yeah, nice to meet you."
Belle felt more at ease in the face of Augilia's friendliness. As Augilia came closer, Belle suddenly caught a faint fragrance.
Blinking, her eyes flicked to Zane. Right—he often carried the same scent. Must have been from some bath product…
As Belle's thoughts drifted, Zane was already speaking with Augilia about what came next.
"Mr. Zane, so we'll still need to set out from here to find Grandfather, and then…"
"Right. Your grandfather isn't often in the Janus District these days. Actually, we should have exchanged contact information earlier—it would've made things easier."
"It's fine, Mr. Zane. It's better this way—we don't need to rush into meeting him. We can quietly check on his situation first."
Augilia smiled. Her cool expression softened, her sharp features touched with warmth.
In truth, she still hesitated about meeting Grandfather. She had just discussed it with Augetta and hadn't decided yet.
This way, they'd have more time to prepare.
"Alright. Once your sister's done, we'll leave right away."
Zane nodded. Just as he was about to say more, the tanuki house's internal phone suddenly rang. He raised an eyebrow, curious about who it could be.
Standing, Zane walked over and picked up the receiver. Belle, regaining her composure, quietly sat back down on the sofa.
Augilia blinked, then sat beside Belle. The two exchanged a look, and Belle leaned closer to whisper something. Soon, the two were chatting softly.
Meanwhile, Zane spoke first into the phone.
"Who is this…"