The scene shifted back to Merka who was still staying in the Malleian couple's house.
"Don't rush, take your time," Dunkirk said, watching Merka hastily packing up to go home, shrugging helplessly.
"So, what happened?" Dunkirk inquired.
"Lord Dunkirk," the lady from Yorkshire rose from the piano chair, approaching Dunkirk who was sitting at the table with cautious steps.
"Nothing much, just a little private matter of Merka's," Dunkirk replied casually.
"Oh, by the way, Yorkshire, I have something to tell you too," Dunkirk added.
Leaning against the table with one hand, one foot resting on the chair where Merka had just sat, and the other foot's tip touching the ground, Dunkirk looked effortlessly stylish.
"Um, is it about Mesha Bar?" Yorkshire's face showed a hint of seriousness as she lowered her forehead, casting shadows over her face.
She had also been to Mesha Bar for consumption, not frequently but had some contact with it nevertheless. Recently, the entire Mesha Bar had vanished, along with many nobles who had visited, causing quite a stir in the noble circle.
Moreover, with the impending war preparations, the stress and anxiety among Montecristo's nobles were already high. For a moment, anxiety spread across all nobles of Polis, big and small.
"Ah...you mean that," Dunkirk's expression twitched slightly, looking somewhat unnatural.
"I sympathize deeply with your uncle and cousin's disappearance from Mesha Bar," Dunkirk said, but quickly steered the conversation elsewhere.
Yorkshire frowned slightly, but deep down, she wasn't too bothered. Despite being the honorary third princess, she didn't feel much connection to the Montecristo family.
"Ah, I see... So, what did you want to tell me?" Yorkshire asked, puzzled.
"I wanted to talk about Turing," Dunkirk continued, mentioning the recent heated state of war preparations.
"Turing is currently under intense public scrutiny..." Dunkirk hesitated, scratching her head, struggling to find the right words.
"I suggest you drop all that business with the bands," Dunkirk finally blurted out.
"Turing's blood test results have come out, indicating that the blood found at Theresa's death scene indeed belongs to Turing."
"In a while, Lady Maria is likely to announce putting Turing under house arrest for her crimes."
"When that happens, Oedipus might get aggressive upon hearing the news."
"We need to protect Turing properly."
"You wouldn't want your sister Turing to fall into the wrong hands, would you?" Dunkirk added, touching her mouth with her fingers, looking at Yorkshire calmly, her gaze steady.
"How did you... How did you know that we were forming a band?"
Yorkshire's pupils dilated as she looked incredulously at Dunkirk.
Unable to contain a smirk, Dunkirk chuckled at Yorkshire's innocence.
Being such a high-profile figure like Turing, there was no way Maria could truly be left unguarded. They had long deployed many skilled magic users for surveillance, taking shifts monitoring Turing secretly in 48 different time slots a day.
Forget about forming a band, they could even track how many times Turing used the toilet in a day.
Even though as an angel, Turing didn't need to use the restroom.
"It's not that serious..."
"Regardless, we just wanted to put on a show, it shouldn't take up much time. Surely, it's not necessary to protect to that extent, right?"
Yorkshire nervously fidgeted with her skirt, feeling somewhat reluctant as she questioned.
Finally, she had a reason not to perform on stage. It should have been a relief for her.
But she didn't expect her heart to be so uneasy and pounding.
"I'll leave it at that."
"I can't speak for Merka and Turing, after all, those two are not the kind of people I can handle at my level."
"But I hope you understand the stakes involved here."
"A little play is enough, isn't it?"
"Isn't that how other nobles have come this far?"
Dunkirk laughed again, patted Yorkshire's shoulder reassuringly, then turned and left.
Not long after that, Merka, who had received the small stone, also followed Dunkirk's footsteps and left.
Even the organ training scheduled for that day was neglected as Merka hurriedly bid farewell to Yorkshire and the Mariani family, mounted a motorcycle parked outside, and swiftly rode back to the lake near her home.
"Shadow... Are you there?"
Staring at the calm lake surface, Merka asked the small stone.
