"Aaaaaaah! Sister, you actually killed Sparkle!"
"This... This can't be! How could death exist within Penacony's Dream?"
"Garden of Recollection! What exactly have you done?!"
Sampo's expression shifted from confusion to shock, then to fury. He pointed a trembling finger at Black Swan's head, his voice trembling slightly.
"You did this, didn't you?"
"In Penacony's Dream, only the power of memories could accomplish such a thing!"
"Did you plan this from the beginning? Just because she teased you and played a few harmless jokes, you resorted to murder to silence her?!"
"Sparkle... She was just a child!"
Sampo's voice trembled with emotion, tinged with a hint of sobbing as he seized the moral high ground, relentlessly condemning Black Swan's actions.
"Hiss... I never imagined... Black Swan, how could you lay your poisonous hands on such a lively, adorable, and beloved child?!"
Watching from the sidelines, Lumina's mouth formed a small "O" shape, her hands dramatically covering her lips as she feigned utter shock and disbelief.
Then, standing alongside "Sampo" on the moral high ground, they relentlessly condemned Black Swan's "immoral," "heartless," and "vicious" actions.
Hearing this, Black Swan rolled her eyes inwardly. She couldn't believe that Lumina, with her keen perception, couldn't see through Sparkle's true condition.
Ignoring Lumina's gaze and words, Black Swan turned her gaze to Sparkle and calmly stated, "Death doesn't exist in Penacony's dreamscape. This is a promise made by the Family and the protection bestowed by Harmony upon Penacony. Even Memosnatchers cannot breach this barrier."
Observing Black Swan's elegant composure, her effortless poise, and her air of absolute control, Lumina's lips curled into a sly smile. She leaned forward again, retrieved the Image Stone she had prepared long ago, and presented it to Black Swan. Once more, she delivered her classic line:
"Miss Black Swan, you wouldn't want a video of you cruelly poisoning a child to spread across the cosmos, would you?"
"I didn't resort to poison, and Sparkle isn't dead," Black Swan said, her expression remaining completely unchanged, as if she had anticipated Lumina's threat all along.
"There's no death in Penacony's Dream. Even if you release this Image Stone, the ones who should be worried are the Family, not me."
With that, Black Swan wore an expression of absolute confidence, as if she had everything under control.
Death being nonexistent in Penacony's Dream was a promise made by the Family themselves. If the Image Stone in Lumina's possession were truly released, the Family would undoubtedly find themselves at the center of a massive public relations crisis.
"You're right," Lumina nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Black Swan's smile widened, a hint of smugness creeping into her expression, as if she were pleased that Lumina's threats had no effect on her.
"However..." Lumina's tone shifted, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Do you know how clickbait accounts edit videos?"
"?"
"Don't understand? No problem! Let me demonstrate~" Lumina chuckled softly as she began maliciously editing the Image Stone's contents. She ruthlessly cut out all references to Penacony, leaving only the footage of Black Swan bullying Sparkle and ultimately "beating her to death."
"See? This is how marketing accounts edit videos. Got it?" Lumina handed the newly edited Image Stone to Black Swan, patted her shoulder, and continued, "Now then, Miss Black Swan, you wouldn't want the Garden of Recollection behind you to be caught in a media firestorm, would you?"
Black Swan: ...
Watching the maliciously edited video on the Image Stone, Black Swan fell silent.
She wasn't thinking about how to escape this predicament, nor about what the future held for her now that Lumina held three damning pieces of evidence against her...
Instead, she was thinking that the moment she left Penacony, she would track down whoever had spread the rumors about Lumina's gentle and holy nature and give them a thorough beating.
This is the so-called pure and immaculate Saintess you people rave about?
More like a cunning and treacherous Witch!
"No need for such elaborate theatrics. If you merely sought confirmation, I've already given you the answer, my dear Miss Sparkle."
Forced into an utterly unfair contract with Lumina, Black Swan turned her gaze to Sampo, ready to vent all the resentment she had accumulated from Lumina on him.
Hmph, if I can't outwit Lumina, surely I can outwit you, right?
"Miss Sparkle? You're not talking to a ghost, are you?" Sampo feigned terror, his face contorting into a comically frightened expression upon hearing Black Swan's cryptic words.
"Not at all. I'm speaking to you, Miss Sparkle."
"The persona Sparkle disguised herself as... that would be you, Mr. Sampo."
Black Swan covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her words piercing through Sparkle's disguise.
"Hiss... You can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want," Sampo protested. "If you're going to accuse me of being Sparkle, you need to provide evidence."
"Heh, the hint in that final question was a little too obvious, wasn't it?" Black Swan smiled, slowly unraveling her reasoning.
"/**/--¥¥#%%@"
As Black Swan was explaining her deduction to Sampo, a white-furred rat strutted boldly toward "Sparkle's corpse."
"Sparkie~ Sparkie~ Little Sparkle~"
Crouching down, Lumina gazed at Sparkle's serene expression. She carefully wiped the dust from Sparkle's thigh.
Hmm... I'm really just wiping off the dust. No ulterior motives whatsoever.
But wiping dust properly requires diligence. Otherwise, it's no better than doing nothing at all. So Lumina wiped Sparkle's thigh repeatedly, polishing it to a gleaming sheen before reluctantly... no, before completely satisfied withdrawing her hand.
Hmm... That doesn't quite sound right either.
Ignoring this minor detail, Lumina turned her attention to Sparkle's slightly disheveled clothes and meticulously straightened them.
Hmm... I'm truly just adjusting her clothes. No ulterior motives whatsoever.
But while adjusting the clothes, one inevitably ends up brushing against something unexpectedly. It's unavoidable, after all—Lumina isn't a professional.
Perfectly normal, perfectly normal.
Having tidied Sparkle's clothes, Lumina's gaze fell upon her tangled, dust-covered hair. The suppressed radiance within Lumina could no longer be contained, and she slowly extended her wicked hand toward Sparkle's strands...
And so, after Lumina's meticulous tidying, Lumina achieved... no, after Lumina's meticulous tidying, Lady Sparkle's corpse was now perfectly neat and spotless.