Layton couldn't back down. The others looked at him in dismay. Celian? But he wouldn't hurt a fly!
"-Professor, what the hell are you talking about?
-Patience, kid, I'm sure he'll explain it all to us."
Victoria, on the other hand, remained silent. After all, it was the first time she'd ever seen Hershel Layton's famous hunch in action. So she preferred to be as attentive as possible.
Celian, he felt attacked.
"-At first I thought it was just coincidence...
-What are you babbling about now?"
The archaeologist started pacing, his hand covering his mouth, a sign of intense reflection. Everyone continued to pay attention, as if hypnotized.
"-Celian, I'm not going to beat about the bush. You work for TARGENT, don't you?"
Victoria, Descole, Luke opened their eyes wide. No... It was impossible. Not Celian, though?
"-Professor, are you kidding? I mean..." Victoria cried out.
"-Navre, but I never joke at times like this."
Celian looked at the man who accused him with fury.
"-I really don't know what you're talking about.
-You'll soon find out."
He stopped.
"-You knew TARGENT was here as soon as we met you. And yet no one in the town talked about it and we have not seen any soldiers.
-So what? Were they maybe at the camp?
-If I may say so. It was impossible.
-How do you know that, ma'am Vic"
Vic had a backward motion, as if he'd been hit. Layton replied for her :
"-The organization's camp is actually on the way to the Crystal Cave of Truth, the one where Victoria's been hiding out waiting for us.
-And so? Wait...!"
Layton smiled.
"-You seem to understand. There was no camp when we started the treasure hunt.
-But Professor, they could very well have changed their base location, couldn't they?
-This isn't their style, Luke." The young woman replied in a monotonous voice.
Celian laughed.
"-Is that all you've got ?
-I noticed something else, too.
-Well, what's gonna come out of your hat this time?
-Every time we've dealt with TARGENT, you've always been around.
-Simple coincidence.
-It's as if..." Songea Descole.
"-You understood too. Indeed Celian was pointing out all our actions to his accomplices.
-Oh, damn it! By chance, I tell you!
-Then how did TARGENT know that the mirror was in the castle? How did the organization know we were going there?
-That's right, Professor, nobody knew about it except Mrs Agnes!
-And yet it can't be her.
-How can you know?
-Everything in its own time, please. - "
He readjusted his top hat.
"-Luke, do you remember this morning when we saw Victoria?"
She almost jumped out of her skin, shocked:
"-I was talking to...!
-With Celian yes, that's what you told us. "
She lost her temper.
"-Celian, you too knew about this, since I told you about it! How could you...!?
-I take it that Celian went to see TARGENT after your little talk.
-I... -I...
-Mrs Vic..."
Celian had calmed down. What's the point of struggling any longer? That professor had figured it out.
"-You won.
-So you work for TARGENT."
He sighed and scratched the back of his head.
"-No longer.
-What do you mean "no longer"?" Asked Luke.
"-I ran away from the organisation a few years ago.
-You... ran away?" Victoria added.
"-I admit I joined of my own free will, for reasons... Personal. But I opened my eyes and saw with horror the methods used, so I ran away.
-And TARGENT found you by chance?
-Yep. That damn Swallow has the eye. And they used my escape as leverage.
-Hmm...
-Look, if I had a choice, I'd have turned you in, okay? Yeah... Anyway, they don't need me anymore."
He paused:
"- Anyway, professor, you're brilliant, and just because you're wearing a top hat doesn't mean you're not brilliant!
-Oh...Brilliant, yes." Victoria murmured as she looked at the archaeologist, looking darkly.
She felt betrayed by Celian. She had trusted him. She had a feeling of deja vu.
"-From now on I'll do my best to help you with your mirror. You have my word.
-After all, everyone deserves a second chance. " He's smiling at him.
They separated and returned to the village. Victoria dragged her feet, head down. Descole wouldn't take his eyes off her. Ever since the events at the castle, she seemed strange. And then Layton had exposed Celian, and that hadn't helped.
"-Luke, it's imperative that I speak to Celian tonight.
-Why is that, Professor?
-There's something I'd like to know about TARGENT. Please keep it to yourself."
His apprentice nodded silently.
"-Professor, I've been finding Victoria strange for the past few hours.
-That's what I think too, Luke. "
When they got back to the hotel, the night had just dawned. They locked themselves in their respective rooms. Late at night, Layton and Luke snuck out of the hotel to join Celian, who they had given a rendezvous point.
Jean Descole was pacing around in his room, still not sleeping. Today had been a day full of twists and turns, and that titillated him. First, TARGENT had disembarked, thank God his brother had managed to trick them.
Then came Celian: He had suspected Victoria so much, that he hadn't thought at all about the possibility that he might be "the" mole. He had hidden his game well, but obviously not well enough since Layton had managed to unmask him in broad daylight.
And in the end, Victoria. She had been acting strangely. He couldn't explain it, but his gut feeling was convinced something was up. He finally thought it must have been because of Celian. Or TARGENT? Hmm... Impossible. It's true, after all, she only got to know the organization a few days ago, didn't she?
He sat in his usual chair. tried to recall the discussion he'd had with his butler early this morning. It soothed him for a while, then he finally fell asleep with a smile on his face...
As for Victoria, she was lost. Betrayed by Celian... yet another betrayal. She couldn't accept it. She had only known him for a short time, but he seemed so kind...
She sat down on an oak desk and then folded her arms to bury her head in it. Who would be the next person to disappoint her?
Descole? Luke? Layton?
Ah. Layton. So she wasn't wrong about him. He was brilliant. He could be a formidable opponent. Nothing seems to escape him. Not a single detail. But she'd been aware of it all along. She knew she'd taken a very big risk. But luck had smiled upon her, at least until now.
She straightened up and clapped her hands against her cheeks, a sign that she was pulling herself together. She had work to do. She took out her thick logbook and something else to examine very carefully.
It was going to be a very long night.
Layton, Luke, and Celian had arranged to meet near the Crystal Cave of Truth, a place that Layton himself had chosen.
"-So you wanted me to tell you about TARGENT?
-You said you ran away from the organisation, but were you the only one?
He pretended to think.
"-No, there were several of us. There weren't many of us, I'd say from memory, more men than women.
-No soldiers were chasing you?
-Yes, of course there were! Some of us died trying to escape. The boss had sent his right-hand man on top of that.
-Swallow ?
-No, she wasn't even there yet, I don't think. It was someone else."
Luke had a sudden thought.
"-Professor...!
-Yes, Luke, we thought of the same person.
-Have you ever dealt with him before?
-Yeah, a few months ago.
-So you know what kind of guy he is."
Clearly, Celian was a great help. Yet the archaeologist still had a lot of questions. The villager scratched his beard, as if he'd remembered something:
"-That was weird, by the way.
-Weird ?
-Yep. Usually he didn't get involved in this kind of thing, it was the assassins who did it.
-Do you have any idea what he was doing at the time?
-I'd often seen him hanging around a girl.
-And this young woman was one of the escapees?
-I could tell you, but if he was there, she must have been.
-Hmm..."
Layton smiled a little smile. If that's what he was thinking, then he knew what he had to do. But he decided to change the subject.
"-Thank you for this information, Celian.
-Hey, a promise is a promise."
The professor folded his arms and looked at his apprentice for a moment. He was highly concentrated and had written down the entire conversation in his notebook.
"-So what about your mirror?
-Well, the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to come together.
-That's a good thing.
-Celian, I'd still like to ask you a few more questions...Crucial questions.
-Go ahead.
-You know the Hohenharts, don't you?
-...Everyone here knows them."
He seemed hesitant.
"-But Agnes knows better than I do. You know she was there at the time of the "tragedy".
-You're talking about the alleged murder of this Cornelia, I suppose.
-Yep, but I never believed her nonsense. Rosenwald would never do that.
-We heard about a message she left.
-I don't know, Agnes knows. I'm telling you. I'm young, this story happened 30 years ago.
-Thirty years? But your friends told us it was 60 years ago."
Celian looked up at the sky.
"-Meh, are they stupid or what? I assure you it was thirty and not sixty, you have to tell them everything tss... Even Agnes will be able to tell you.
-You seem to be close to Agnes, Celian.
-Yes, I am! It's a cream, lady!
-So she hasn't told you anything from 30 years ago?
-At that time I was barely born. A few months had passed between my birth and this story.
-Hm. I see. One more thing...
-Yeah?
-I didn't choose this meeting place at random, you know?
-You want to know about the Crystals of Truth, don't you?
-That's right.
Celian let out a smirk, amused.
"-It's all in their name. That's all I can tell you, but you'll get the answer, I can feel it. In fact, I have a feeling you're going to get to the bottom of this whole thing.
-You're a perceptive man, Celian. "
With those words, Celian thanked them and walked away with a lighter heart.
"-Professor...
-Luke, the truth will come out tomorrow."
Luke took a step back, surprised and readjusted his gavroche.
"-From...Tomorrow!? Professor, but how... I didn't understand any of that.
-You'll understand everything tomorrow. You'll have to be patient, son."
And that's how they went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be another day full of twists and turns, and this one would be decisive for Rosenberg.
By the way, he had an important meeting to make that very next day...