52. LOST LEGACIES (2)

Friday, San Myshuno

In the morning, I went for a run to think about what really connected me and Gavin. Our little project had brought us closer, but I still knew so little about him. And the Envoy was suspicious too, I just couldn’t figure her out.

Of course, my thoughts were interrupted by the Envoy.

Taken by surprise, I admitted to her that we already had three keys.

Envoy: Good work. You’re not completely useless after all. That only leaves Cordelia Thebe’s treasure. But this requires a good strategist. I’ll tell you more if you prove you can think logically and beat me at chess.

Online, I only found information saying that Princess Cordelia loved paintings, and that she had actually obtained her treasure through theft. Quite a character. There wasn’t much information at all. I needed Gavin. I had a feeling he might know more.

And I really wanted to see him again.

Gavin: So you weren’t joking about the running outfit.

Penny: I thought we could use some exercise. And then you can teach me how to play chess.

Gavin: How did you know I could play chess?

Penny: A hunch.

Gavin: Not sure if I can teach you chess so fast, but I can tell you something about Princess Cordelia. She lived a double life as a pirate. She learned to hide her treasures the way pirates do.

Penny: Hey, how did you just win??

Gavin: Because you can’t fool a good chess player, Penny. But maybe we can fool the Envoy.

Gavin: She’s already here. Ready?

Penny: I think so. I really want to solve this mystery, and if she has a piece of the puzzle, then I have to beat her at this infernal chess game.

Envoy: So you’re not giving up. Very well then, let’s begin.

...

Penny: Checkmate.

Envoy: That’s impossible. How are you always one step ahead of me? This is frustrating... Ugh... I’ll contact you later. I’ll tell you what I know.

Saturday, San Myshuno

The Envoy didn’t contact us yesterday. Or today. Instead, during the news on TV, there was a report saying that new paintings from the Thebe family were being exhibited at the museum. That could be important information.

So I decided to call the Envoy myself. But she was clearly brushing me off. When I asked about the museum, all she said was:

"Yes, yes, you can go there. That’ll be time well spent."

Penny: She’s up to something, don’t you think?

Gavin: Yeah, but it’s still worth going to the museum and checking out the paintings. We don’t exactly have better leads.

Looking at the paintings got us nowhere, but Gavin found a sculpture of Princess Cordelia herself in the museum! Cleverly hidden at the base of the statue was a code. And another old key.

This could have been the breakthrough we needed!

I called the envoy about the code, but she just laughed and told me we were too late. She said the code had already been used at "the bench."

Why does that woman always have to speak in riddles? The bench? Which bench? There are benches everywhere!

Gavin and I searched every bench on the museum grounds. It was already getting dark when I finally found a code-locked box attached beneath one of them. The code we’d found earlier worked...

But the box was empty.

I don’t care about the treasure itself, but I’m definitely not going to let someone make a fool out of me. Now it’s a matter of honor to find out what the Envoy is planning.

And I, Penny Pizzazz, will expose her in front of my followers, and the whole world.

Sunday, Willow Creek

Penny: We have to find her.

Gavin: Maybe someone here has seen her. Let’s split up and ask around.

Penny: Excuse me, have you perhaps seen the Royal Envoy? She looks like...

Girl: Yes, I saw her. She was laughing and saying something about a luxury house she’d finally be able to buy.

Shocked, I called the Envoy, but she wasn’t answering. Instead, I heard what sounded like a ringing phone coming from a nearby dumpster. And sure enough, it was the Envoy’s phone.

On it, I discovered a protected file titled: "My Brilliant Retirement Plan."

Unbelievable!

Sunday, San Myshuno

Penny: We have to open this file and send it to the authorities! We can’t just leave it like this.

Gavin: Give me the phone. I’m no hacker, but maybe I can do something.

Penny: She was acting strange from the very beginning. I should’ve looked into her. Maybe she isn’t even an Envoy!

Penny: Wait, what if you try that code from the statue?

Gavin: It worked! The whole plan is here! She intended to take all the treasures for herself and sell them to get rich. We got her! This is undeniable proof.

Penny: Let’s go back to Willow Creek. Someone said she was heading to a nearby club.

Penny: Excuse me, have you happened to see the Royal Envoy here recently?

Bartender: Have I seen her? She drank quite a bit here, celebrating what she called her voyage toward a new life of wealth and luxury.

Gavin: Do you know where she went afterward?

Bartender: You might still catch her. She said she was taking the ferry across the lake. Good luck, kids.

Gavin: There she is!

Envoy: What are you doing here??

Penny: We know everything now. We know your whole brilliant plan. You’re not getting away with this!

Envoy: It’s not what you think! Can you really blame me? Those families were driving me insane. I just want happiness in a big house with a hot tub!

Envoy: Maybe we can make a deal? If you let me go, I promise to give the treasures back. Better that than lose my reputation.

Penny: I think it’s a little too late for that! Besides, we already notified the proper authorities. Abandoning your phone was pretty foolish.

Envoy: You’ll pay for this! You’ll see!

Gavin: Are you okay?

Penny: Yeees... she just got on my nerves.

Gavin: When she walked away, I saw something fall out of her pocket. Somewhere around here... Ah, here it is! The fifth key!

Penny: Oh my Watcher, Gavin, you’re amazing!

Penny: Uh... Did I do something wrong?

Gavin: No, of course not. You just surprised me. To be honest, I’d wanted to kiss you myself for a long time. You’re the amazing one, Penny.

Penny: Wait... but that means we have five keys now, because I never gave her the others back. I thought the statue code was the solution, but maybe...

Penny: Maybe these keys are actually leading to... where could they even lead? Do you think we should hand them over to the police?

Gavin: If they’re important, someone will come looking for them. For now, let’s keep them as a souvenir from this strange adventure. We don’t even know what they unlock.

One year later...

"Local police deny reports that the royal family treasure is missing. However, our source claims part of the collection disappeared over a year ago. The prime suspect, Marina Corsair, former royal envoy, refuses to cooperate, saying she knows nothing."

Penny: GAVIN!!! MY WATER BROKE!!!

Added Note

"We never found the missing royal treasure or learned what the five keys unlocked. Your father left this world too soon, and I no longer had the strength to play detective while raising three children.

I pass them to you, my daughter, hoping perhaps you'll solve this mystery someday."

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Daughter... So Penny passed the diary to Great-Grandma Anna. Huh, I wonder if Grandma actually read it. Great-Grandpa Filip was always into adventures... Did they ever want to follow the mystery and track down the missing treasures. Wait... are those treasures even still missing??

Let’s check.

Unfortunately, after a burglar stole her laptop, Ollie had to use her mom’s computer whenever she needed something. Let’s see... missing treasure, Darong family, Capp family, Thebe family... Hm... Looks like nobody ever solved the mystery!

Okay then, it is way overdue for someone to solve it! Yes!

She’ll find the treasure, return it to its rightful owners, and everyone will completely forget all the scandals she got caught up in. She’ll be a hero!

Maybe they’ll even make her some kind of... I dunno... Lady Olimpia or something????

First though, she just had to write a statement about the whole ball incident. With an apology, obviously. Maybe that would at least soften people’s opinion of her a little. Yeah. Solid plan.

Everything was definitely going to work out perfectly.

She also wrote a letter explaining her sudden leaving. One for Mom. And one for Wren. Maybe someday they’d forgive her this no real goodbye. Hopefully they’d understand that some things she just had to do on her own. They’d probably start looking for her. But by then, she’d already be far away.