CHAPTER FIFTEEN — DEVESTO SLIPS
The safe room had gone quiet.
Too quiet.
Everyone was still processing what Devesto had admitted—
or claimed to admit.
But then…
Something shifted.
The way he sat changed—
from tense and anxious
to loose.
Relaxed.
Almost… self-satisfied.
Cornball noticed first.
“…Why are you smiling like that?”
Devesto froze, then quickly covered it with a fake worried expression.
“Oh—sorry. Fear response. I smile when I’m… terrified.”
Mewo squinted.
“No you don’t. I’ve seen you scared. You stare like an owl.”
Curator crossed their arms.
“And you said you ‘didn’t know how to talk to people’ but suddenly you’re expressive and articulate now?”
Devesto’s eye twitched.
“I—I can be expressive… sometimes.”
Norther pointed.
“You’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?” Devesto snapped.
“That thing where you pretend to have trauma when we question you,” Norther said bluntly.
“I’ve seen real trauma. You’re faking.”
Devesto’s face went blank.
Shira leaned close to Corpse.Bride.
“He’s bad at lying, isn’t he?”
“The worst,” Corpse.Bride whispered.
Yoshi stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.
“Alright, out with it. What exactly are you lying about?”
Devesto looked around the room too fast—
eyes darting, fingers tapping, foot bouncing.
Too performative.
Too forced.
