"Huh? She came in person? And so early too! I thought we'd have to wait a few more days," Lynn said, rubbing his chin.
Although Klein's intuition wasn't as sharp as Lynn's, he wasn't oblivious to the situation. His attention was soon drawn to a figure outside the crowd.
It was a tall woman with black hair, dressed in a pale yellow gown adorned with eye-like patterns. She wore a veil, and around her waist was an ornament resembling an astrolabe. This gave her a mysterious air without being overly conspicuous, like a noble lady with a penchant for the esoteric, visiting the Five Seas for a holiday.
Klein's gaze lingered on the astrolabe for a few seconds, almost immediately recognizing it as something connected to the item that had established a link between him and Little Sun Derrick.
An object tinged with the aura of the Gray Fog.
In that moment, The Fool had his suspicions confirmed. He knew that if he wished, he could summon her into the Gray Fog using that astrolabe, just like he had done with Miss Justice, The Hanged Man, and Little Sun in the past.
At the same time, Klein naturally deduced her identity—the woman was none other than Cattleya, the student of Bernadette, the captain of the Future.
Like Lynn, Klein was somewhat surprised that Admiral of Stars, Cattleya, had come personally to fetch them, rather than sending one of her subordinates.
But after the initial surprise, Klein recalled something else—first, the Future's first mate, Frank Lee, seemed to have some unusual familiarity with him. Second, Cattleya possessed an item connected to the Gray Fog.
These two facts together led Klein to form a guess. Just as he was thinking, he heard Lynn whisper beside him, "Yes, you're right. She's also a member of the Tarot Club, and we share the same pathway."
At this point, Lynn's tone turned a bit frustrated, as if he was annoyed by this coincidence.
The Fool gave Lynn a glance and quickly understood why he was upset—the 22 seats of the Tarot Club seemingly corresponded to the 22 Sequences. Since both Lynn and Cattleya were on the Hermit Pathway, it made sense that they would clash in their roles.
Though Klein himself didn't particularly mind, it seemed Lynn was a bit vexed by the situation.
"Alright, fine. I admit it. I'm the imposter here," Lynn muttered under his breath. "After all, in the original timeline, I wasn't even supposed to exist. Cattleya should've been the Hermit in the Tarot Club."
Lynn's words had a touch of resignation, clearly upset by the fact that he was an accidental addition. He was somewhat irked by the thought of being redundant—he wanted to feel special, not like a side character. After all, sometimes, Lynn's psychological age was really just three and a half, making him a bit childish at times.
'Sigh, if only my main account had been on the Savant Pathway...' Lynn silently complained to himself.
Seeing Lynn's sudden childish behavior, Klein could only shake his head in exasperation. After thinking for a moment, he lowered his voice and said, "But you're still the Pope of The Fool, right? Cattleya wouldn't have chosen the Pope card, would she?"
"Of course not. She's the Hermit, and obviously, The Hermit corresponds to the Hermit Pathway," Lynn grumbled, but his mood visibly brightened.
That's right, even though they shared the same pathway, Lynn was still the one and only Pope of The Fool in the Tarot Club!
Satisfied with this thought, Lynn felt a lot better.
Klein, noticing how easily pacified Lynn was, silently sighed at how accustomed he had become to handling this man-child. With Lynn and the accessory named Danitz in tow, they pushed though the crowd and approached Cattleya.
"Good morning, ma'am. You must be the one that Bebe sent to receive us?" Lynn cheerfully greeted Cattleya, clearly in high spirits now that his mood had improved. When facing allies, Lynn always maintained a warm and jovial demeanor.
Cattleya, having just confirmed their identities through appearance, was momentarily taken aback by Lynn's words. Her smile froze for a second as she subconsciously re-evaluated the youthful man standing a mere few meters away, who looked no older than his early twenties, yet likely had the psychological age of a child.
It wasn't entirely her fault. After all, Cattleya had always viewed Bernadette as a mother figure. It was hard to imagine someone addressing the mysterious Queen Bernadette with a nickname like "Bebe."
'No, this wasn't so surprising. After all, Miss Bernadette's letter had mentioned that these two were special senior to her...' Cattleya took a deep breath, calming her thoughts as she readied herself to respond, only for Lynn to continue, "So, you're little Cat, right? Bebe told me about you. She really loves you as her daughter, but she's a bit shy about saying it. I'm just telling you in secret, so don't snitch, okay?"
Cattleya was stunned. Her first reaction was a mixture of shock and joy—her long-hidden emotions towards Bernadette had been exposed. She did indeed regard Bernadette as a mother, even though they had never openly acknowledged it.
Then came a rush of delight.
'Miss Bernadette loves me? She also sees me as a daughter… No, Cattleya, stay calm. This is just his claim. She may not think that, but…'
To hell with calm!
He said Miss Bernadette loves her as a daughter!
With the strings of rationality snapping under the weight of emotions, Cattleya looked at Lynn and bit her lip before finally giving in to the urge to ask, "What did she told about me… Is she doing well?"
If anyone else had said this, Cattleya, the Admiral of Stars, would never have believed them so easily, let alone allow her emotions to override her logic. But this was Lynn—the same Lynn who could sway even the Lord of Storms with just a few words.
Moreover, Lynn was Bernadette's designated senior, and this added a filter that naturally made Cattleya more inclined to believe him.
"She's doing fine. She recently reunited with her long-lost father and even gave him a well-deserved beating, which helped her resolve some long-standing issues. She's currently preparing for her advancement to Sage..." Lynn explained nonchalantly, knowing Cattleya's loyalty to Bernadette would never waver.
"As for what she said about you," Lynn added, "she proudly told her father that she has a very capable daughter."
Lynn was simply telling the truth. When Bernadette spoke about Cattleya to Roselle, her tone had been filled with pride and admiration, though perhaps not in such straightforward words. Still, the meaning was clear.
Cattleya's ears flushed red as the news sank in. She was visibly overwhelmed by the revelation.
A few moments later, she snapped back to reality, eyes wide in disbelief. "Miss Bernadette's father?"
'Isn't that... Emperor Roselle?!'
'She had finally found her father!'
(End of Chapter)
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