《Murderer In Front》 Prologue Prologue Day 1 - Daytime - Noon 22nd Second autumn, 1152 The wide sky opens. Everything below is the city of Keris, belongs to a small kingdom named Warsaw - which is located in the north center of Human Continent, the kingdom is surrounded by isolation. Surrounded by a wide land full of snow on the north and the east, which is simply a dead zone where no one ever passes. The west side is out of the Continent, which is the land of the elves and the beastmen. Not too friendly but also not too hostile to humans. The zone is simple just the woods with nature. A path to trade, nothing else between the two Continents. The south itself is nothing but another dead end. Warsaw had a history when it was at its prime, when its territory was the biggest in the Continent, but it''s the past now. At the current time, the south is full of Attenta Kingdom and its vassal states - the enemies of Warsaw. Nothing this kingdom can do but to become a humble, spineless in order to survive. But this history lesson is another story here... Back to Keris. As said, it''s the capital city of Warsaw Kingdom. That''s all to know, nothing special. From far away, the streets are busy with people on their way. Everyone minding their business, opposite to the direction where a small carriage is heading to. The wagon appears to be quiet. Only footsteps of the horses can be heard, the carriage keeps having its wheels rolled to a destination. After a few minutes, the wagon stops in the mid of the road to drop the customers. Two figures step out of the wagon, followed is the sounds of the carriage being turned around to leave the place. "Alright...". - An adult woman with a brown cap sighs, she turns around. "Hurry up, Hannah", - she calls a young girl next to her. "don''t make people wait, we have to hurry up". - She picks up one of the two big backpacks on the ground, then puts it on her back The two women appear to be a couple. One is adult while the other one is younger, both are blonde. Both of them wear the same clothing, brown coats with brown gloves and brown caps to cover their heads. It isn''t winter yet. However, the weather of Warsaw is quite extreme when it comes to the cold season. It''s already colder than other countries in the autumn. These two women have been living here long enough to understand, they just do what the locals do. The women slowly approach the road ahead while carrying the backpacks on their backs. Before both of them is a wide and huge ground, having a huge building-like a white palace from the distance. The gate covering the ground and the palace from the inside is kept by two huge-looking guards with iron armors. Their hands hold a spear while their belts hold a sword, fully armed to the teeth. The guards turn their eyes to the two women approaching them as they saw them. They don''t react, they wait for those two to come close enough before they continue. When the adult woman reaches to a guard, one intends to speak up but he notices a small opened envelope with a letter inside drawn towards him by that same woman. "Hmmmm...", - The guard checking the content of the letter. "this way". - He steps aside and his co-worker does the same, one man leads the two women inside the gate "Who are they?". - The guard who stays to guard asks "Special guests". - His co-worker replies and soon returns to his duty The three of them stop as they were about to get inside the palace. The guard uses hand signals to tell the women to wait, he walks in the palace later on. All of a sudden, the girl named Hannah pulls the back of the adult woman. "Mom, do you know why are we here?". - Hannah speaks with some nervousness "It might be like what we always do", - The woman replies. "don''t worry...". - She pats the girl''s head "The letter said we would live here from now on", - The daughter says. "it''s good when they allowed us a week to pack up everything". - That girl keeps talking, she soon stays quiet as she saw something ahead The mother turns her eyes to the entrance of the palace as she heard footsteps coming out from that area. Before her now appears to be a tall man in his mid-30s, with brown ponytail hair and a beard. The bearded man wears a brown fur armor, fully covered by arm and leg protection plates. He glances at the two women in silence, his hand tells the earlier guard to leave. "Are you two really Jeanne and Hannah?". - The man asks Both of the women nod. "I know the letter does not lie...", - The man looks at the two women. "never mind. I just... thought the known ones in the town would be men in disguise, not this". - He gives the letter back to the young "Welcome to Keris. I''m Dunkel - the bodyguard of His Highness", - The bearded man introduces himself. "you two have already been informed about the reason of your arrival, now follow my lead". Jeanne and Hannah stay quiet. They follow Dunkel inside the palace. Since the women focus on following the man, they don''t have time to look around the scenery. Everyone stops by a white door after a while. The two later walk in. Jeanne - the adult woman notices there is a maid standing in a corner of the room, she suddenly comes out as the women entered. "Stay here, wait till I come back", - Dunkel speaks to the two women. "I''m calling His Highness, do not go anywhere". - The man closes the door as he finished Being left in the room which appears to be a living room, the two women take a seat. The maid approaches the table with a wooden tray holding cups of tea and several bowls holding cookies. Putting down all on the table following with a slight smile towards the two guests, she returns to her position and stays quiet. The two women remain on the couch, they sit still. Unlike Jeanne who is staying quiet and patiently waiting, Hannah is curious a lot. This appears to be the first time this woman''s daughter has ever entered somewhere this big and special, she is curious about everything around. After grabbing some cookies, Hannah chews them quietly, trying to stay quiet. "So this is how the rich live". - Hannah speaks up while chewing some cookies. "We can get a good reputation through this, mom". - She sips some tea. "I''m tired of wandering from place to place, we need a place like this. To live in". Jeanne doesn''t respond. Instead, she waits patiently with her hands on her lap, she also looks around. The woman notices the room which looks like a living room is a bit odd to her. Only a maid is inside, serving tea and dessert, no one else is seen but only her. This is not the first time this woman has ever been in a palace. She once used to be inside a place similar to this. A room like this is supposed to have at least one to two guardsmen standing at the door to guard and sometimes to protect their ruler. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The mother doesn''t mind seeing that oddness. Her only thing to worry about is the aristocratic customs when she presents before her client - a prince, Jeanne knows very little about the customs. This single mother - Jeanne, is a private investigator. She was born as a peasant, she knows very little about the world of the aristocrats. She does know how it works but she doesn''t care about broadening that knowledge. The woman is currently 44, has been working in this job for 28 years straight. Her daughter - Hannah, is also an investigator like her mother. However, she appears to be an apprentice. Hannah is 24 years old at the moment, still pretty young in a world where is full of seenable and unseenable colors. The reason why Hannah spoke up to her mother when she was chewing the cookies is because, they don''t stay in somewhere for too long. It''s her mother''s habit. After living in somewhere for a while, they move away. It''s not Hannah''s idea but her mother''s. While living in a location, they would still do their investigator jobs as they always do. Their income is enough to live, not too poor or rich. Jeanne and Hannah moved to Keris - Capital city of Warsaw Kingdom three months ago. When they were about to leave, the mother got a letter, asking for their arrival so that they delayed leaving to come here. The letter was sent a week ago, asking them to help, telling them to move in the palace. That''s how everything ends up right here. Jeanne suddenly looks up when she heard the door opening with two figures stepping in. It appears to be Dunkel and another man next to him, he seems young, average and seems to be in his late 20s. The man doesn''t look like a scholar or a soldier. His face is a little nervous, for some reason, he wears military-like-uniform blue clothes. Presenting before the women with bright blue eyes. He looks like a scholar, but his face is a bit stout. Knowing the status of the person before her, Jeanne gets up immediately. Hannah did the same, standing firmly as her mother. "It''s a great honor for us to have a chance to meet you, Your Highness". - Jeanne speaks in a polite and respectful tone, she lowers her head. The daughter does the same, staying silent "I don''t want you two to be so formal, please sit". - The man appears to be the prince asks the two women to relax and sit down. "Let me introduce myself", - He puts his right hand on his chest. "my name is Koenig Sonne, the Crown Prince of Warsaw Kingdom. There''s a reason why I called you here, I need your help", - The prince swiftly takes a seat, his bodyguard immediately guards behind him. "Be comfortable, please". Jeanne sits still, nodding. Her daughter swallows the cookies and makes a proper serious sitting pose, doing her best to be serious. Prince Koenig keeps looking at the two women. He slightly raises his index and middle fingers up to call for the maid to approach him. "Prime Minister would like to speak to you now, Your Highness". - Dunkel speaks to the prince when he was standing guard "Now is not the time", - Koenig replies The maid soon makes a cup of tea for the prince. He smiles at the girl when she slowly steps backward. Koenig sips the cup, his face appears to show to the people that he is thinking. The man seems a bit confused, as if he doesn''t how to open the story for the investigators. "Selena, stay here", - Suddenly, Koenig calls the maid girl when she was about to leave the living room as his bodyguard''s hand signals ordered her to leave. "please sit with me". - He sweetly asks the maid to stay by his side The prince immediately holds the maid''s hand as she took a seat right next to him. He appears to be very relaxed and comfortable when the girl is nearby, he holds her hand tightly, he is afraid of something. "I don''t think it''s a good idea". - Dunkel comments "Everyone here knows what is happening", - Koenig says back. "It''s alright. As long as both of them don''t reveal anything to the public". - Done saying, the prince glances at the mother and daughter "I really wanted to ask you something before this but...", - Koenig speaks to Jeanne and Hannah. "maybe in another time. I''m going to say it straight here". "We have a case here, we need you both to solve it. As soon as possible, as I said in the letter, we need you to move in here and live until everything is solved completely, do not leak it outside". - Koenig immediately gets straight to the point "Understood. We don''t know what we can do, but we''ll try our best". - Jeanne replies, she sips the cup before continuing. "All we need is information so that we can start". "It''s a very long story, but I''d brief it to you", - The prince continues. "Everything started from half a year ago, many people here have gone missing. The missings were still there, but for some reason, we faced another thing, the burglars", - The prince sips a bit. "They killed some people when they broke in. Really I don''t know what they intended to do, it looks like they were stealing but I still feel it strange when I think about it". "What happened to the security level of this place, Your Highness?", - Jeanne is a bit surprised, but she continues. "what''s about the burglars? Are they still in jail?". "No, the royal guards killed them as they got spotted", - Koenig replies. "They might''ve broken in by using the backyard of the palace, it doesn''t have a guard there. But no one knows how to get in here that way unless there''s someone working here had led them inside". "So you wanted to tell us that the people missing and the instructions have a connection?". - Hannah speaks up after a while of listening "That''s correct", - Koenig replies. "We are concerned that there''s a connection. We want you to find out who is behind all of this, we need you to find the missing people too, they''re important to me". A silence starts. Jeanne puts her hands on her lap, she lowers her head a little bit, thinking about the ways to approach this new case. The prince waits for the answer of the two of them. A weak light suddenly sparks in Jeanne''s mind. "Wh-". "Ummm... it smells bad". - Suddenly, Hannah speaks up with an annoying tone. She is holding a cup of tea "What''s wrong, miss?". - Koenig asks "Sir, it smells strange", - Hannah gives him the cup. "you see? Everything was alright earlier, but now the taste... sucks". The maid Selena picks up the cup as she was ordered to. She sniffs a little bit, then puts the cup down. "I''m sorry, miss". - Selena says. "Yes, the smell is a bit intense... maybe I picked the wrong ingredients", - Selena takes a sip. "It still tastes good. Don''t worry, sometimes I''m confused which one is salt and which one is sugar". - The maid gives the cup back to Hannah "If you say so...". - After a while of glancing at the cup, Hannah finally sips a bit because she''s thirsty. "Still sucks". - She murmurs "Your Highness", - Jeanne immediately asks the prince. "Please give us more information". "That''s all we hav-", - However, Koenig stops a bit. "Wait, not yet. There''s still one more. From a month ago or so, it just... stopped". - He takes another sip. "We don''t know why no more people missing, there''s also no more outsiders too. Maybe it''s because we put more guards on patrol. However, the culprit is out there, everything seems to be back to normal but some people are still concerned". "I''m sure that we are not the first people to get involved in the case". - Jeanne looks at the prince''s eyes "Before you two, we hired two other investigators. However, both of them just suddenly disappeared". - Koenig explains "When did you last see them?". - Jeanne takes another sip "From all I know, they returned to their room after a day investigating as usual. And they vanished right in the next day all of a sudden". "Were they working together?". - Again, Jeanne asks "We hired only one of a time... When someone went missing, we hired another after a discussion". "I get it. You want everything to be as limited as possible, to prevent the information from being leaked". - Jeanne replies "Did they run away?". - Hannah speaks up "I don''t think so. - Koenig replies. "Yes, their belongings did disappear but... why did they leave if they really did that? For what reason?". - He sighs a bit. "We''re going through a hard time, I really need your help to find the missings". - He tightens his grip on the maid''s hand "When did those men disappear?". - Jeanne asks the prince as she stood up "About two months ago". - The prince replies "I hope you won''t mind if we start our work right away, Your Highness", - Jeanne grabs her backpack. "But first, give us a document of those who went missing, we need information". "Hannah...?". - Jeanne stops as she saw her daughter "Please let me know where is the restroom...". - Hannah is trembling, she keeps holding her stomach, sometimes she holds her chest The maid also starts behaving the same way. The female investigator starts sensing something boiling in her stomach, as if a growing fire is going to burn up all of her organs. Sweat starts coming out all over her face. Jeanne knows there''s something wrong, her eyes immediately glance at an empty cup on the table seriously. "What''s happening with everyone?". - Koenig gets confused, he holds the maid girl. "You''ll be alright", - The prince puts his hand on the maid''s forehead to check if she is still fine enough. "Dunkel! Immediately get the healers!". The prince''s bodyguard doesn''t leave the living room. He heads out of the door, yelling at guards and servants nearby to ask for help. "The tea...". - Hannah weakly opens her words, her hand holding the couch, she''s about to fall Prince Koenig keeps holding his maid, he wonders what is happening. He knows there''s something wrong with the tea. However, he drank it, but he didn''t feel anything wrong. "Ah!". - The maid gets surprised as she saw the prince suddenly fall on the floor as he abruptly held his chest for some reason Jeanne feels something bursting from her heart. She holds her chest, trying to reach her dear daughter. However, she collapsed. ... ... ... C01: Scattered Clues Day 1 - Nighttime - Night 22nd Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... In a corner of a private room, Jeanne is sitting at a table, checking on the files of the case. These files were stuffed in the documents, kept carefully in prince Koenig''s room. These files are the progress of the case recorded by the two previous investigators. It was said to have more, but the other records got lost with those missing men as well. The documents were given to the prince by the 2nd investigator days before he disappeared. Despite the lack of the necessary information, the female investigator still focuses on it to solve the case. This is the only source. Otherwise, the investigation must restart from zero, she can only depend on it. It''s night already, Jeanne and her daughter just experienced a terrible thing right on their first day at work. Hours earlier, they first arrived and met prince Koenig Sonne - their client, to take information before getting to work. Everything ended up into something bizarre when the people who drank tea collapsed. Jeanne, her daughter Hannah, the prince and his maid were the victims of the incident. Everything was later assumed to be an attempted murder as someone had intentionally put poison in the tea cups for the people to drink. Currently, the maid Selena is temporarily kept in the basement due to the incident. She is investigated to make it clear whether or not she was the culprit who planted the poison. Jeanne and Hannah after their recovery, had been escorted to a private room, which would be used as their living place. It''s at night, mostly everyone is sleeping or keeping themselves in their rooms. Jeanne and her daughter are not the exception. But unlike Hannah, Jeanne works instead of sleeping. The female investigator''s mind keeps thinking about the actual poison in the cups. As she collected up to now, the royal investigators haven''t figured out what was that type of poison yet. But it appeared to be a non-lethal poison, can only cause diarrhea, a heart attack, only used for weakening the victim. Women are more sensitive to this poison, but they can only sense the presence of this thing by smell when it is injected in something for a while. The investigator brushes off her thoughts about that poison after a few seconds. She counts on the investigators in the palace, since it''s not her duty to investigate it. Back to work, Jeanne closes the fur documents and puts them aside as she recollects everything she found in this case. She would like to see her client to speak with him. - Everything started half a year ago, in the Second spring, 1152. The incident suddenly went downhill a month ago as if it is over. However, people were poisoned earlier, this could possibly have a connection - 16 missing people reported, including 14 women and 2 men. The main wife of the prince, 9 concubines, 4 maids and 2 male investigators - The victims suddenly disappeared. The belongings weren''t in their rooms at the time they were considered missing. However, according to some reports, some rooms looked likely to have been ransacked and cleaned up in a rush - No one saw missing people leave the palace. Some missings even showed that they left with letters, but some farewell letters didn''t match their handwritings, the cause of leaving was also unknown - Most letters were either dumped or disappeared with the two investigators. Belongings in their rooms weren''t there anymore, their disappearance was unreasonable - In the past 3 months, 3 burglaries in the palace reported. Four people were murdered during the break-in. Victims were women, all maids, murdered while sleeping - The burglars were killed by the royal guards, so basically can''t collect clues by using them - No files about suspects found. They could have never been recorded or have disappeared with the two investigators in case the culprit did it to erase evidence The female investigator gently closes the documents. She looks aside, focusing on another file. That contains a list of suspects Jeanne made herself. But the information still lacking, she documented it by grabbing things around her with basic information. But right now, that document isn''t in her sight. Jeanne looks at the door, wondering if prince Koenig is free at the moment. When about to get up, she gently holds her stomach. The aches from the previous incident are still there despite her fast recovery. "Mom...", - A voice calls for Jeanne, it turned out to be her daughter - Hannah. "are you leaving...?". "I''m thinking so". - Her mother replies. "Are you still hurt?". - Jeanne holds her daughter and checks on her Hannah replies with a nod. The girl appears to be very exhausted, as if she just wants to rest completely. She leans to her mother, starts closing her eyes. She needs someone close to embrace her. "You''re not a kid anymore, stop it". - Jeanne puts her hands away from Hannah, but still patting her head. "Good night, sweetie...". Jeanne silently leaves the bed and leaves the room with the documents. Outside is very quiet, every hallway, every room, every side of the wall has a torch hung on them as the lights to show the way. One to two guards can be seen standing next to every room for the night shift. They are like statues, not moving, just looking around, very careful in their job. "Hi", - Jeanne greets a royal guard. "may you tell me where''s His Highness'' room?". If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "We''re not allowed to speak during work, madame". - One guy replies. "This way", - He points to the right. "Next time, ask the maids". Jeanne bows slightly to thank the guardsmen, she immediately goes to the left. Not so long after following the route through instruction, she finally finds Dunkel. The man is the prince''s bodyguard, he is standing outside of a room, guarding with his back covering the door and his eyes staying still. "Sir", - Jeanne calls for the man. "I''d like to speak to His Highness, is it the right time?". The bodyguard stays still for a few seconds, he later nods and opens the door. Jeanne steps in, following her is the sound of the door closing, the bodyguard comes in as well. "Oh... I thought I explained it to you already", - Prince Koenig is a bit surprised when he saw Jeanne. "go to rest, madame. You can start the work tomorrow". "I know, Your Highness", - Jeanne replies while she puts the documents down on the table. "however, I''d like to let you know about what we''re going to face". - She takes a seat opposes his Jeanne takes every file out of the documents. While doing the job, she notices the mess on the desk of the prince, it''s full of books and papers, scattered all over the place. "Don''t mind it, please. It''s just what Prime Minister wants me to do". - Koenig explains Jeanne nods. "How are you now? Good enough?". "You don''t need to care about us, Your Highness". - Jeanne replies when the prince asked her if she was still hurt by the tea incident "What would you like to discuss?". - The prince wonders "So... we have a good news and a bad news...". - Jeanne speaks up, her hands stay still on her lap. "What would you like to hear first?". "The good one?". - Koenig replies "I''m quite positive that we have been able to circle the suspects. Well, I mean... the suspects who caused the missings and murders of the past six months". "That fast? You have not yet started the investigation". - Koenig is quite surprised about the news "For now, everything is just my initial conclusion. The results may be a bit different when we step in, but I''ll make sure to catch the culprit as soon as possible". - Jeanne assures the prince to make him relieved "So... what''s the bad news?". - Koenig starts closing his eyes, he lowers his face as if he doesn''t want to hear the true answer "I''m afraid the missing people are not in this world anymore...". - Jeanne answers. "I know you won''t believe me, I''m gonna show you what I have to prove it". "I... I used to think that way...". - Koenig starts holding his head, he keeps lowering his face. "That''s not real at all... I can''t believe it", - He looks up. "how can I explain this to the fathers and mothers of those girls? How can I accept it when they disappeared all of a sudden when everything is normal". - The prince cowers a little, he lowers his face once again "I''m very sorry but it''s the truth, Your Highness". - Jeanne pulls out a profile, a fur paper full of words. "I''ll make sure to catch the culprit as soon as possible. They won''t be able to do anything like this again". "Let me explain...", - Jeanne says. "the people who went missing were all last seen at night, when they were in their rooms or someone witnessed them walking outside. No one ever saw them leaving the palace", - The investigator shows the profiles of the missing people. "to get out of the palace, a person must go through the front yard or the backyard. Guards are full in the front yard, when someone leaves by foot or by wagon, they would check before approving to leave". - Jeanne puts her index finger on the map, the side of the backyard. "The backyard exit leads to a market, no one guards there. However, we need a key to open the gate for the exit, and only royal people have access to them". "So you mean... we got involved in this thing?". - Koenig is a bit irritated when Jeanne assumed the royal people are involved in the case, to him, his family wouldn''t do that "That''s a possibility, but I''m unsure why would someone do this. Unless a key was stolen and the culprit used it", - Jeanne says. "however, from what I heard from the people, the backyard exit wasn''t used for a long time and the keys were all kept carefully". "Hmmmm...". - Jeanne idles a bit. "Who in this place have access to the keys, Your Highness?". "My father and mother, and I...". - The prince replies. "Prime Minister too, but he has no right to keep it and he can only use the key if he has my father''s approval ". "Where do you keep yours now?". - Jeanne asks "Dunkel''s holding it. The key is not a necessary thing to me anyway". "Sir, are you holding it now?". - Jeanne turns her direction to the prince''s bodyguard Dunkel shakes his head. "Where is it?". - The investigator continues her question "My room. It''s locked in a box". - Dunkel replies "Did you ever give it to someone?". "No. Only if His Highness allows". "Hmmm... did you ever give it to your servants...? Your maid?". - Jeanne asks the prince "No". "King, Queen and the Prince...". - Jeanne murmurs, she lowers her face a little "Hey, about the backyard...", - Prince Koenig suddenly opens his words. "I remember it wasn''t used for nearly 10 years and I don''t think any keys were stolen at all". "You''re wrong, Your Highness". - Jeanne speaks up. "You didn''t use it, but someone else did... the burglars went in by that way". "If you don''t mind, I''d like you to check on all the keys to make sure not a single one is lost", - The female investigator slowly pulls more files out of the documents. "the victims were either murdered and left somewhere in this palace. Or they were dragged out of the backyard exit, their bodies were buried somewhere". - She looks up. "However, I don''t think the murderer got access to the key from the beginning. It was a later story". "So...", - Jeanne puts down a file. "There''s a small possibility, some victim bodies could be left somewhere INSIDE THE PALACE". - She sharpens her tone in the last three words. "the new missing people might have been disposed outside, but I''m pretty sure the first ones are still here somewhere". "Do you know how intense is the smell of the dead, madame...?". - All of a sudden, Dunkel makes a question "Yes, I have been experiencing it for 28 years already". - Jeanne replies. "Sir, are you saying that I''m wrong?". "Of course you are. No way the dead would not get smell, how could someone bury a body here and no one knows about it at all? At least we can sense something unusual if it happened". "Well, it did happen, Sir. I think you all know about a story, there''s a case I involved in the past, 24 years ago, the murderer got rid of the smell real good, very excellent". - Done speaking, Jeanne lowers her face slightly "I don''t know what kind of story you wanted to say here but...", - Koenig replies, his eyes full of dullness. "you said that you managed to find some suspects. Can you tell me who are they, what made them do all of these terrible things?". - The prince seems very anxious, he wants to find out "I must keep those individuals hidden for a while. I know you''re my client but... sometimes, information needs to be covered for safety". - Jeanne says. "I''m gonna check the rooms of those who went missing right tomorrow. Your Highness, I need all rooms to be intact, no one is allowed to go in but just us". "How could you find anything in there, madame?". - The bodyguard speaks up in curiosity "If I can find out how the victims were murdered, I might be able to figure out where they were buried", - Jeanne answers. "I''ll search for the blood stains just in case they were murdered in their rooms". The prince and his bodyguard get bewildered by what they heard from the investigator. Both of them, don''t know what she really meant. "I don''t get it". - Koenig speaks up "Yeah, the rooms are very clean". - Dunkel explains. "A murderer wouldn''t keep the scene like that, everything would be cleaned up". "It may be unbelievable to you, Your Highness", - Jeanne explains. "but... no matter how careful you are in erasing the blood, it''s still there right in where you rubbed it". "Explain more further, please". - Koenig is eager to know the explanation "I''ll make the blood visible...". - Jeanne suddenly puts all the files in the documents. "now please if you will excuse me, Your Highness". - The investigator leaves her seat, starts moving outside. "I''ll show what I said to you tomorrow". "Uh, wait", - Jeanne stops walking. "I hope you allow me to borrow some mages, Your Highness". "What do you need from them?". - Koenig is curious "To help my investigation. Mages with fire magic, that''s all I need". "We can give you two men but that''s all we can do, madame". - Dunkel replies "Just one more thing, please...", - Jeanne decides to stay for a while. "I hope you''ll allow me to use the basement, or at least a small room. Just for experiments". Dunkel feels a bit irritated with Jeanne''s demands, she asked for too much. Prince Koenig nods to approve although he doesn''t say anything else to the woman. Jeanne bows as she heard the answer she needed. The investigator leaves the room at that moment, her mind is full of thoughts. Right after stepping outside, she sighs a few times. Jeanne intends to go back to her room and have a nice sleep with her daughter to get everything prepared well. A figure shows up before the investigator as she walked past it. That''s Selena - the maid who was arrested due to the tea incident that happened previously. The girl appears to have been released, maybe she was ruled out because the culprit put the poison in the tea, using that incident to blame her. The maid can be seen surrounded by the people who appear to be her co-workers. All of them seem to be comforting her, the girl is crying, her clothes and hair are clumsy. The distance is too far away, the female investigator can''t eavesdrop on anything. She decides to watch the maid while walking backward. A while later. The investigator is now standing before her room. Opening the door, she heads in and gently closes it. She puts the documents on her desk, she opens a document nearby and scatters some files on the desk surface. They''re files about the people who got listed as suspects: 1. Selena Breima - Prince Koenig Sonne''s private maid, one of the prince''s concubines 2. Braun Frieden - A royal guard 3. Reila Foss - A princess of Attenta Kingdom, one of the prince''s concubines 4. Saeko Ashura - One of the Ashurian King''s daughters, one of the prince''s concubines ... ... ... C02: Two Peoples Job Day 2 - Daytime - Noon 23rd Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... As the new day started, Jeanne and Hannah got into the investigation after they had a light breakfast. Everything didn''t go as well as they expected to be. Too many nosy people watching them work, evidence was a mess since they couldn''t find anything valuable. Following the regulations, both of the investigators searched for clues by searching every room of those who went missing. They got nothing in return, they started tracking the blood stains as they finished the full search in a room. However, they couldn''t track even a blood stain. It took them a lot of time to leave a searched room. Everything went disadvantageous till this moment. Up to now, the investigative couple has managed to finish searching to the 4th room. They got nothing. Here''s the 5th room already, both of them decided to track the blood stains after they failed to find anything valuable from the room''s furniture. Jeanne is one of the two people crouching in the room. Both she and her daughter before entering the room had ordered the guardsmen to watch outside. They''re wearing gloves, staying in one position, limiting their movements and being careful where they step on. Jeanne wasn''t supposed to be with her daughter. She was doing something else, but decided to come to Hannah for assistance. The daughter gets up and watches as her mother opens a bottle and carefully sprinkles the liquid down on the floor. She is waiting for her mom''s instructions, a bit impatient. "They''re looking at us, mom". - Hannah speaks to her mother, she feels a bit embarrassed when the nosy people are watching them "As long as no one enters, please be patient, sweetie". - Jeanne replies, she rubs the floor gently by using a cloth "It''s the 5th room already", - Hannah says, as if she wants it to end fast. "why haven''t you changed your conclusion yet?". - She holds the curtain, still waiting for the order "Follow the regulations", - Jeanne replies. "that''s what we always do. There''s still a small possibility that we can find blood, all we need is patience". - The mother sprinkles the liquid a little bit on the floor, she rubs it carefully Hannah is still waiting. She suddenly hears the footsteps of someone, she looks up and sees the prince and his bodyguard. They''re both entering the room, seem very curious. Being irritated, Hannah approaches them, holding back her tone before she speaks. "Your Highness, do not go in". - Hannah speaks to prince Koenig Dunkel steps forward as he heard the tone of Hannah, appeared to be a bit misbehaving towards his ruler. However, prince Koenig taps the back of his bodyguard, asking him not to do anything. He keeps a certain distance from the girl. "I saw people gathering here so...", - Koenig replies. "I just wanted to see if everything was going well". "Thanks for your care, but there''s nothing yet". - Jeanne speaks up. "Please do not touch anything, just stand right there, Your Highness". "Luminol''s ready, Hannah". - All of a sudden, Jeanne calls her daughter Hannah rushes to the curtain and pulls it down. The room is now covered by a little of darkness. Both investigators look at each other, nodding. The prince and his bodyguard are a bit confused. Hannah raises both hands forward, opening her palms. A second later, a small source of blue fireball appears and floats on her palms. Hannah keeps her hands steady, she lowers them to the floor, aiming at the side where the liquid named "luminol" was sprinkled on. Jeanne and Hannah broaden their eyes, both of them focus on the floor as if waiting for something. However, nothing shows up. Seconds later, the daughter stops casting magic. The fireball vanishes as she lowered her hands. "Still nothing". - Hannah murmurs, her tone is mixed with frustration and disappointment Jeanne stands still, her eyes keep locking on the floor. The female investigator just stays there in silence, her eyes are still there. Prince Koenig and his bodyguard don''t exactly understand what these investigators are doing. However, by looking at their behaviors, they learn that those two are having struggles. "Was that the last spot in the room?". - Jeanne asks her daughter "I guess so". - Hannah replies. "Unless the luminol has a problem. We haven''t used it for months". "No, they''re very well kept so it''s impossible...". - Jeanne replies "Do we still have to follow the regulations from the beginning to the last, mom?". - Hannah asks "Hmmmm...". - Jeanne thinks a bit. "All rooms still need to be checked, it''s not good if we leave out something". - The investigator scratches her head a little "I have to go back to work", - Jeanne says. "You''re now allowed to check rooms however you want. If you spot blood, call me immediately". "Alright, mom". - Hannah later starts stuffing the tools back inside her handbag "Get the room locked and move to another one, don''t be careless". - Jeanne reminds Hannah as she walks outside "I know, mom! I''m not a kid!". - Hannah shouts Jeanne leaves and soon returns to the living room. Many people can be seen inside the room, chatting and lining up for some reason. Everyone goes back to their line as Jeanne returned. All of them appear to be maids and guards. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "Oh, Your Highness?". - Jeanne is surprised as she notices prince Koenig keeps following her "What were you doing earlier?". "I tried to make the blood visible, but it didn''t work". "What''s that luminol thing? I''ve never heard of that, madame". - Dunkel also joins the discussion "To say simply, it''s a liquid that reflects blood if you put it on where the blood was. I mean, the blood even when it''s cleaned up, it''s still there at where it dropped", - Jeanne tries to explain. "but our eyes can''t see it, but luminol can". "I heard that you are strange in the way you investigate. So it''s not a groundless rumor as I thought". - The prince comments. "I''d like to tell you that we''ve rechecked all the keys, not even a single one is lost". "Thanks for the information, Your Highness. But please, let me return to work now, I''ll see you tonight". The woman passes the crowd and reaches a table. Around the table has two maids standing around it. The table itself has many blank paper sheets placed on it, very neat and stable. Two closed ink boxes can also be seen near the papers. "Thank you very much for the help, you can return to your line now". - Jeanne speaks to the maid, she returns to her position The investigator opens a box next to a paper sheet. Inside the box contains many other paper sheets, all of which have black ink marked on the surfaces with writings. Everything, for some reason, doesn''t go well with Jeanne, her face is a bit sad. Most of the papers placed in the box seem to be very messy, carelessly placed. "Still good... still good... at least they''re not smudged". - Jeanne speaks to herself when she was checking on the messy papers "Everyone, thank you for coming over". - The female investigator greets the people who are lining up. "Like I said earlier, it only takes you a couple of minutes. When it''s done, you can go back to work", - She opens two boxes. "it''s simple, you dip your fingers in this box then mark them on one of these papers, choose the blank sheets and mark. It''s finished, you go back to work". - She puts two blank paper sheets in front of everybody, she also grabs a pen nearby. "Like what you saw from the nobles, what they did earlier was simple, just similar to what you''re going to do here". "What''s that for?", - A guard asks. "you ask us to dirty our hands but what for? I need an explanation". "My ink can identify who is the culprit that caused the terrible acts in this place. If you''re innocent, you''re not going through anything". - Jeanne changes her tone, becoming a bit playful. "But if you''re guilty, you''ll be paralyzed. That''s the magical thing about this ink. So everyone, don''t be scared but step forward, y''all innocent, only the culprit runs away". - Finished talking, the investigator laughs in her mind, thinking everyone wouldn''t believe that ridiculous story Jeanne soon notices the fussing of the people. Everyone seems surprised, they''re also very curious. The room is filled with lots of fussing but soon stays in order because everyone steps forward to do the check. "Yes, that''s how it works". - Jeanne guides a maid on how to dip her fingers in the ink box and print on the blank paper sheet properly Two maids who came up first, now are printing their fingers covered with ink on the paper. A deep mark was printed on, that''s a fingerprint. Jeanne looks up and down, from the right to the left. She wants to make sure the fingerprints are printed well on the paper and visible with the best quality. "Hmmm... what''s your name?". - Jeanne puts her pen down on the blank side of the paper, next to a fingerprint "Martha". - An elder maid says "Relva". - The young maid on the other side says Jeanne carefully jots down the names "Maid Martha" and "Maid Relva" on the blank side of the paper to remember them. When everything is done, she puts the paper aside, leaving it there carefully to dry the ink completely. "Congratulations, you two are innocents". - Jeanne speaks up. "You can go back to work now". "Everyone! Just a couple of minutes, wouldn''t it be a nice day if the culprit is arrested today?". - The female investigator encourages people behind the line to come up "I hate regulations...". - Jeanne sighs a little with a smile, her eyes secretly glance at the suspects who are available in the room ... ... ... Daytime - Dusk After going back to work, Jeanne stayed for 5 hours straight to collect fingerprints. The time now has already passed, Jeanne managed to collect more than 1,000 fingerprint samples. Everything seems overworking for her and her daughter since there are only two investigators working on the case. Prince Koenig did provide them with help, two mages and a room for experiment. However, their help isn''t valuable at the current moment. The female investigator is currently rechecking the papers. She wants to make sure nothing is left out or lost, especially the fingerprints. Although the fingerprint samples appear to be worthless at the moment, she hopes they''ll be useful in the later time. Prince Koenig and his bodyguard Dunkel are also at Jeanne''s place to help her. The maid Selena is supposed to follow the prince most of the time, but Koenig had ordered her to wait for him in his room. Everything about the case doesn''t seem to progress. Lack of clues, no eyewitnesses, lack of information, it''s just like the entire case is being restarted completely to zero. However, Jeanne knows there are no miracles for her to solve a case just by overnight. She is still patient, she knows everything takes time. "Thanks, Your Highness". - Jeanne stores the information box inside her room with the prince''s help "I thought you were supposed to be studying right now. Everyone says you are the heir of the kingdom". - Jeanne speaks while her eyes focus on the box, she wonders if she should make a full copy for backup investigators in case something unexpected happens The prince doesn''t reply. He sighs, doesn''t mind going back to his room because he only feels tired. "Are you going to finish your work like this, madame?". - Dunkel asks "It''s about to get dark. Nothing can be done just overnight, Sir". - Jeanne replies "I''m interested in the way you investigate, it''s very bizarre". - Koenig speaks up. "To be honest, I wonder where did you get it". "Someone... taught it to me...". - Jeanne seems to be hesitant about that topic Jeanne decides to leave the box in her room since it was put in its rightful place. Now she waits for her daughter Hannah, she hopes her daughter has finished her job. "I wasn''t aware of you two in the first place...". - All of a sudden, prince Koenig speaks up to Jeanne. "I chose the best investigators for this case, I chose both of you through my servant''s suggestion", - He continues. "your history said you came from Leafspear...". "Does it have anything special?". - Jeanne replies, she feels a bit annoyed for some reason "Of course. You came from a dead kingdom, it was ruined by a coup". - Koenig answers. "It''s rare to see a Leafspearian here, it was said that the people ran all the way they could find when it went anarchy". "From what I found about you, you seem to be very known b-". "Please stop". - Jeanne grunts a bit, she looks away The prince notices the investigator is not in a bright mood. He stops talking, he thinks about changing the topic to ease the woman. "I want to know more about what you''ve learned so far. Is there a way to search for missing people like the way the thing called "luminol" shows blood where it touches?". "Did you see the blood...?". - Jeanne snaps back to reality, she starts to wonder if Hannah did something "Yeah. I saw the blue things glowing on the floor when your daughter put the fire near it". Jeanne starts to wonder where is Hannah now. This mother gets concerned when she realizes her daughter is now alone by herself. She wonders if what happened to the two previous investigators would also happen to her and her daughter. "Where''s Hannah?". - Jeanne asks All of a sudden, a shadow passes Jeanne and everyone. It appears to be Hannah, who just walked in. That girl immediately jumps on the bed with her hands filling cookies in her mouth. Only the goddess knows where she got them. "Hannah?". - Jeanne calls for her. "What are you doing?". "My job''s done, mom". - Hannah keeps chewing those cookies. "Well... I did find some blood, but do you see how I look right now?". "I''ll make a report later". ... ... ... C03: The Palace Killer Day 2 - Nighttime - Night 23rd Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... It''s night already. It appears to be peaceful although it''s really not. The investigation did not progress much as the investigators expected it to be. But at least, their efforts on the first day were well paid with new information. Jeanne managed to collect more than 1,000 samples of fingerprints all by herself. The samples of 1,000 people were carefully collected. Right now, the fingerprint has little value in the case, but it can be useful someday. Hannah had also managed to check on all the rooms of the missing people. The clues she collected appear to be more useful, it can be somewhat promising. That''s why these two investigators are in the room. They sit firmly and quietly at the table, documents and files are scattered on both sides. This is the time for a discussion, to share each other information. "So Hannah...", - Jeanne speaks up. "what did you find so far?". Hannah doesn''t respond. The daughter instead, gives Jeanne a paper sheet with full of writings. That''s about the brief report of what she discovered in investigating the rooms of the missing people. Since her mother demanded a report, she had to make it quick and detailed enough. "If I have to start", - Hannah stops a little, she thinks about what to say. "I checked all the rooms as you ordered, I followed regulations... I did skip some. But, I did try to keep the scene as intact as possible". - The girl stops again, thinking about the important parts. "I only used luminol when I found nothing left. So I... found nothing, I skipped and got in the maid room to check to make sure luminol wasn''t broken". "You wrote all of it in the report, sweetie". - Jeanne speaks up. "Alright, so... you found lots of blood in the maid room". "Yes. It''s said that they got stabbed when they were sleeping, the blood remained there. It''s very clear". "So it confirmed that our luminol is still fine. But that''s not what I want to know about, I need to know about those who went missing, if there''s anything suspicious found in their rooms". - Her mother speaks up again in a serious tone. "The next part isn''t in the report". "I did find some blood in there too, mom". - The daughter explains. "But the blood stains did not look like they were stabbed, attacked or anything like that. Just a small amount on the bedsheets...". Jeanne keeps her eyes away from the report. The female investigator starts thinking about another scenario, she then sighs a little bit. Her eyes accidentally glance at the box which contains papers with fingerprint samples. "Maybe that''s the blood we always get in the hurt days". - Jeanne says. "Did you find any fingerprints?". "I don''t think so, mom. They''ve gone missing for months, those marks could have been worn out. Even when they are still visible, it''s difficult to see". - Hannah explains "Any bloody fingerprints?". - Jeanne asks again Hannah shakes her head. Jeanne puts the report paper down on the table. She sighs once again. The investigation doesn''t seem to progress, the fingerprint samples are becoming useless since they can''t be used to solve the case. Constant missings in one location for six months, no eyewitnesses, suspicious farewell letters, evidence lost, no necessary evidence found in the rooms, etc. It drives the investigator to another crazy scenario. "We''ll tell the guards to lock those rooms tight in case we return there in the future". - Jeanne comments "Alright, mom". - Hannah nods "This murderer... is much more organized than I thought. It means they lure the victims to another location, murder them, break into their rooms and erase all the evidence". - Jeanne tries to put herself in the killer''s perspective. "The bodies are just around here, maybe they are beneath us, who knows...". - She keeps her right hand on her chin "What if you were wrong?". - Hannah speaks up. "They have the key, they can drag those bodies outside at night and dump them somewhere, maybe in the woods". - The daughter later puts a geography map of the Warsaw Kingdom on the table. "You see? Outside the capital city is just full of woods, the bodies can be dumped there and devoured by animals, no one will know". "You''re right at some point". - Jeanne comments. "However, there''s no way the killer can have the key so easily in the first place. Alright. If you tell me the killer possessed the key in the beginning, explain to me why not keep that killing method but change to use the burglars?". - She questions. "That method is too perfect that we couldn''t predict how the victims were killed and where are their bodies. Then why change it?". "Uhhh... they made a fake one?". - Hannah answers with an unsure face "No way. Who do you think has the right to touch the key and even bring it away without trouble?". "The burglars... maybe didn''t have any connections. They... saw the killer coming in and out a place so many times, so they followed. Maybe they somehow learned about this place, so they broke in". "Then why did they have to break in once every month? Why broke in the maid room while there were other rooms? Why why and why?". - Jeanne keeps saying. "They worked with an organized pattern". "Let''s calm down, sweetie". - Finally, the mother tries to relax a little. "Let''s say your theory was real, it means it''s beyond our capability to solve this case. Now we only have a few clues to depend on, too far imagination is worthless if we have nothing to prove it to be true". - Ending her speech, the investigator sips some tea "What do you think about this killer, mom?". - Hannah asks "Give yourself the right to imagine, don''t depend on me". "You know I''m still inexperienced, this is my first time solving something this big". - Hannah frowns a little, she also sips tea Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "Well...". - Jeanne puts down the cup, she looks at an empty space. "Woman... intelligent... very meticulous and organized. However, she makes me feel a bit awkward, the burglar case is a headache. I don''t understand what she thought about doing that". "The killer is a woman? And why are you so headache, mom?". "Well... her killings were going very smooth and clean. And suddenly, she put the burglars in to mess up". - Jeanne explains. "That''s the reason why the guards have been extended to patrol around the palace, I don''t know what was she thinking, as if that wasn''t her". "Hmmmm... do you think she changed the way she murdered to seek more attention?". - Hannah gives an idea to her mother "Hmmm... it sounds reasonable". - Jeanne comments. "However, that''s still odd of her, unless she was really looking for attention". "But we can''t take our imagination too far". - Jeanne looks at Hannah. "Hannah, listen to me. I''m afraid we''re facing a dangerous serial killer, but... not just her". "Mom, explain". - Hannah is still very confused "She''s not working alone. Living in the palace and killing at the same time is not an easy thing at all. Unless she has backups. The disappearance of the prince''s wife and concubines is proof for that". "The reason I put his concubines on the suspect list... I think you understand what I mean here". "Hmmm... I think I understood". - Hannah replies. "By the way, mom. Let''s call this serial killer the "Palace Killer" for now, since we need a name". Jeanne nods. She opens a smile in her mind, she really doesn''t care much about naming killers like her daughter, she is not interested. "Well... how do we start our investigation tomorrow?". - Hannah suddenly brings up a question "I''m thinking about it too". "Should we try to investigate the missing investigators?". - Hannah gives an idea to her mother "But we have no clues to lead us to find them. I will consider your idea if we find a clue leads to yours". "I have some questions about the suspects...". - Hannah asks again. "I know this sounds dumb, I know I''m more educated than you but I don''t have enough experience and maybe... I don''t have talents for this job at all", - She complains a little. "I read many books, I studied in the school about this subject. They said we should arrest and lock up the suspects, torture them until they give up and confess guilty". "Maybe that''s my fault when I didn''t teach you and let you learn it yourself...", - Jeanne sighs a bit. "but you never do anything till the end anyway". - She murmurs "Well, technically we can''t do that to our suspects. They''re nobles, you don''t need me to explain, nobles always have more rights". "About the torture, I''ll tell you my experience. Back when I was 16, I was a militia who guards the post and an investigator, very very poor. Got this job just about three weeks, my first case was a homicide". - Jeanne feels very proud and happy when she is telling her past to her daughter, this mother tends to be very quiet, now she sees an opportunity to brag "That husband was suspected to be the one who murdered his wife. He was a drunk man, jobless, beat his wife a lot. His woman was a courtesan, she sold her kids to pay for rent, he was arrested as I explained, his tavern wasn''t far from the murder scene". - Jeanne wants to tell the story much longer, but she thinks about shortening it. "In short, the scene was next to my inn a few blocks. I wasn''t at the post, a guy was hired, he tortured the man, that guy couldn''t take it, so he yelled out loud he was guilty". "But when I came, I found many unreasonable clues". "However, according to the laws... someone when confesses guilty means he is guilty, no change even when his alibis are REASONABLE". "So do you understand y-". All of a sudden, the room door has knocking sounds on it. Jeanne and Hannah are a little bit confused. "Who''s there?". - Jeanne asks "Madame, what took you so long?". - Prince Koenig voices in "Oh, Your Highness". - Jeanne immediately approaches the door. "I was discussing with my daughter, we were busy with the case. I''m very sorry to make you wait". "Can we get in?". The female investigator doesn''t respond but opens the door widely right away. Koenig and his bodyguard guard enter the room. The prince nods a little as the way to greet the women. "I hope you don''t feel disturbed". "Of course not, Your Highness". - Jeanne bows a little "May I join?". - Koenig asks "Yeah". - Hannah replies "I want to ask you something, Your Highness. Are there any places in the palace considered secret?". - Jeanne suddenly asks the prince "I don''t get it". "I mean... the places people rarely visit, deserted". "Hmmmm... I see. If you mean it, we have a small basement to keep prisoners, we left it for a while", - The prince replies. "another place is the basement in the king''s room. But outsiders are not allowed". "We think we can find something by searching there. Please allow us". - Jeanne asks for permission "Well... I think you have no problem with the jail basement but the other one is... you''ll never get in". "Just one is enough, thank you". - Jeanne replies. "But how long has it been neglected, Your Highness?". "I don''t know exactly, maybe not too long but no one uses it now. Even the jail keeper isn''t there, sometimes they open it up just for cleaning". - The prince replies The investigator approaches her daughter after that. Hannah notices her mother is before her, but she soon returns to drink tea. The atmosphere in the room is a little complicated. Hannah has no problem with it, but Jeanne prefers everything to be as quiet as possible since she wants to focus full force on this ongoing case. "Where''s your maid?". - Jeanne accidentally asks the prince "I asked her to rest now". Jeanne returns to glance at her daughter as she heard the news given by the prince. In her plans, she wants to approach the suspects as quietly as possible. Once she gets along with the suspects for a while without their noticing, she will find the right moment to arrest them. The first suspect would be Selena - the prince''s private maid. Jeanne only knows a little about the girl, only knows she is 17 at the time. With Hannah''s approach, everything would be much easier for Jeanne. Hannah is 24, older than Selena a little, Jeanne can use her daughter to trap the suspect. However, her mother instinct collapsed that idea. Jeanne doesn''t want to put her daughter in danger. Especially when she saw what happened to Hannah in the tea incident, she can''t see anything but a child before her. She doesn''t want to put her child at risk, she would rather return to her "previous self". "Hannah". "Yeah, mom?". - Hannah replies as she heard her mother call her "I need you to come to the jail basement tomorrow. It''s just a small possibility, but you might be able to find blood or... I mean, the victims could be over there". "If you say so". - Hannah replies. "What''s about you, mom?". "I''ll get along with a suspect". - Jeanne whispers to Hannah''s ears The investigator puts her attention to the prince as she finished the little discussion. Jeanne notices that Koenig is gazing at the documents with lots of curiosity. She immediately raises her right hand towards those files to block them from being picked up. "I''m very sorry, Your Highness", - Jeanne pulls the files away a little. "you''re my client, but I''m sorry when I can''t share you everything. Some information cannot be revealed and even if I do that, I want you to memorize it only and not telling it to anyone". Dunkel, the bodyguard who stands behind the prince, doesn''t seem to have a mood. The way he saw Jeanne saying his ruler wasn''t allowed to read all the files, has made him consider it as something blasphemy came from a peasant. But this bodyguard still stands to guard, he knows the prince wouldn''t mind it anyway. "Well... I''m sorry if I was too curious". - The prince speaks up. "I''m waiting for something positive. As long as their bodies haven''t been found, there''s still a chance that they''re still alive. I''m right, right?". - He seems to be very desperate, he wants to cling to the scenario that his wives are still alive "I hope so, Your Highness". - Jeanne replies. This investigator is thinking about whether or not should she wait for the right moment to report. "I found no blood in the rooms of your wives. So it may be positive, they''re still alive to this moment". - She gives the prince some white lies, she can''t think of anything but some lies to ease this person "If you need it right now, mom can give you a report of today''s investigation". - Hannah speaks up "No please. I know you both are doing well with it, report back to me maybe in the next week". - Koenig replies, he doesn''t want to take more information, he''s scared Jeanne nods to take the order of the prince. "Your Highness, may I ask for something?". - Jeanne asks "What is it?". "Could you give your maid a day off tomorrow?". "You mean Selena?", - Koenig asks. "I''m sorry, I have many maids but I guess you were talking about her. Well, that''s alright. But why?". "I just want to make sure all of your wives are safe. The case will be long, so I... maybe want to make some friends while I live here". "Alright, I get it. I''ll make sure to put more guards, the place is still unsafe and I don''t want anything bad to happen again". Jeanne nods. ... ... ... C04: First Suspect (1) Day 3 - Daytime - Morning 24th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Two figures are standing next to each other. One is watering the flowers on the ground while the other one is watching and chatting. Around them are the other maids who are also doing the same thing, watering flowers. The atmosphere over there appears to be peaceful and beautiful, everyone is focusing on their job with utmost attention. The wide area where those maids are standing at is the backyard of the palace. It''s wide and very big. However, the scenery around the area seems bland. Only a wide flowerfield located deep in the corner is the most special thing. Without it, the backyard is just nothing but an empty area, bland, vast but boring. The two figures are still there, taking care of the flowers. From afar, another figure can be seen glancing at the yard. However, that figure focuses on the two figures instead of the flowerfield. That''s Jeanne - the female investigator. She''s secretly following suspect Selena Breima. Last night, Jeanne was supposed to pick her daughter Hannah to be the one to follow Selena. However, she turned back her choice and decided to be the person to do it. Her daughter is either currently searching in the jail basement or resting until she has the mood to do the duty. That girl is a bit lazy. Jeanne took a light breakfast much earlier than the others in order to start her day sooner. She has been watching the suspect in secret for two hours now, the only problem is that she finds nothing suspicious. Selena was ordered to take a day off from last night. But that maid still works today, at least she seems to be doing daily duties. Cooked breakfast for the prince, cleaned up the dishes, now is taking care of flowers. Everything about this woman is completely normal, there''s nothing suspicious. But according to the information Jeanne found. Selena is one of many prince Koenig''s concubines. She is his maid, can be around him all the time have access to most information. She was suspected to be the culprit of the tea incident, but was soon released since there was no evidence against her. Jeanne always tries not to put her personal bias on the suspect to fasten the case. She always does her best to investigate, the culprit, to Jeanne, can be anyone she sees every day, so it''s unpredictable. The investigator approaches the suspect as she saw her leaving the flowerfield. Jeanne always wants her investigation to happen as quietly and naturally as possible. That''s why she is now about to face the suspect. When she gets along with the suspect, she will find a way to arrest them when she finds enough evidence for that. Not so long later, the two meet each other. But they don''t face. Selena and Jeanne just passed each other because each one of them was focusing on something else. Jeanne was gazing at Selena while the suspect was too busy chatting with her friend. "Hi". - Jeanne suddenly speaks up, she comes towards Selena Selena and her friend stop chatting, they focus on Jeanne. "Lady Selena?". - Jeanne thinks of the right words to address a young girl. "Well... His Highness told me he wanted to know if you were alright in case I met you". "Oh, thank you. I''m doing good". - Selena talks back, she opens a smile "Are you new here?". - Selena''s friend who appears to be a royal guard asks Jeanne "Yeah, you can say so. I''m an investigator, working under the prince to solve the missing case". The female guard puts her right hand on her chest. She bows a little towards the investigator, standing firmly with her face being serious. "It''s an honor to see you, madame. I''m Braun Frieden, a royal guard, from the Frieden family which has a long history of knighthood". "It''s an honor to see you too, Miss. But please don''t be too formal, both of us will surely become friends sooner or later". - Jeanne greets Braun - the 2nd suspect "May I ask you how is the investigation going, madame?". - Braun asks in a formal way "We''re doing the best we could with everything we have". "If you''re looking for someone to help you, please come see me if you have a need. I thought everything would be back to normal but the recent incident broke it", - Braun looks at Jeanne with her willingful eyes. "I''m here to keep everything stable, come to see this knight, I won''t disappoint you". - Braun bows slightly towards Jeanne before she gets her face up The investigator is focusing on Selena, but she tries not to let the suspect know. Jeanne wants to make up a scenario where she and the suspect would be together, so that she could concentrate better. However, she''s still thinking of the way to launch it. "I guess I''ll go back to my room. Would you be free later, Brau...?". - All of a sudden, Selena speaks up "I''m afraid I can''t, sorry". - Braun replies. "I was chosen to join a hunt, it''s Prime Minister''s order". "It''s bad then...". - Selena sighs. "Well, bye. Have a nice day". - She walks away, waving at the knight Braun doesn''t do the same but she nods to reply. From the two behaviors, Jeanne assumes these two girls are close friends. Jeanne follows Selena as she sees the opportunity for her and the suspect to be together. They both walk in the same direction, no one says to each other, just walks. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Selena seems to notice Jeanne following her. But she ignores it and keeps going until she reaches her room, it does not bother her. When Selena is at her room, she turns around to face Jeanne. "May I ask you why you keep following me, madame?". "I can''t find the prince, so maybe I can see him by following you". - That''s just a lie Jeanne made to approach the suspect, but it''s still true because prince Koenig now is not in the palace "His Highness has joined a hunt with His Majesty. This happens once or twice every month". Jeanne nods. "Is it something important?". - Selena asks "We don''t have enough men for the investigation, I wanted to see him to ask for more". - Jeanne wants to do something to get closer "I''m a bit free right now. Are you?". - Jeanne asks Selena nods. "I guess you''re looking for friends here, being alone for too long is not so good". - Selena talks to Jeanne. "Wanna go inside, madame?". Jeanne nods. The two women later enter the room, Selena closes the door. "We haven''t introduced ourselves yet, have we? I''m Selena, call me Selena, no need to be so formal". - Selena approaches a tea pot. "Would you like some tea?". "Call me Jeanne. I''m sorry but I''d like to refuse". - Jeanne replies, she is in cautious mode while she keeps herself looking normal "I''m going to get changed, please wait for me a bit". - Done speaking, Selena enters another room which appears to be her bedroom Jeanne stands still. The investigator glances around the room, looking carefully at everything in her sight for clues. She walks silently and approaches a desk. The drawers have been opened in silence, but nothing unusual is found so they''re closed. Not much time for Jeanne, she takes a seat and behaves as if she is intrigued by the beautiful scenery of the room. With Selena as the suspect, Jeanne wants to wait for the right opportunity until she and Hannah can get in this woman''s room to make a full search. However, getting a search warrant isn''t in Jeanne''s plan. It''s about quietness in the investigation. A while later, a figure comes out of the other room. That is Selena. Now, she is not in her maid outfit but a blue dress. She smiles at the investigator as if to greet again. Unlike the girl in the maid outfit, Selena now appears to be a very gorgeous girl. Her long blonde hair is very tidy, her dress is luxurious. Her blue eyes are very bright, she keeps that smile very well. "It took me a while, I''m sorry". - Selena apologizes She fills the tea in a cup and sips a little bit. Then, the young girl slowly sits on the couch at the position opposite to the investigator. Everything seems fine, the atmosphere only lacks one thing, the chattings of the two people. "I don''t think His Highness would hire a lazy. Weren''t you supposed to be working instead of being here?". - Selena comments as she was drinking tea "Sometimes I''m working but people don''t think I am". - Jeanne replies Selena doesn''t respond. She keeps drinking tea while her eyes look at the investigator for a few seconds. "I like your room. It''s very well decorated... I don''t think a servant would be able to get this life". "I''m not a peasant, I actually am an aristocrat". - Selena answers. "Saying I''m a noble but... my family isn''t wealthy at all". - Selena giggles a little as if trying to forget what she just said. "Ridiculous, isn''t it? Being a noble but a poor noble". "I grew up as a peasant, so I understand what you mean". "Tell me about what you just said". - Selena is a little curious "We all want to be rich". "Well... but we don''t eat at the same table, even if it has the same color". - Selena giggles a little Jeanne doesn''t want to provoke the suspect at the moment. She wants the investigation to be as quiet and preserved as possible, so Selena won''t notice she is being watched. Earlier, the investigator spent most of her time observing Selena''s behaviors. She is old enough to understand that this girl''s smiles are just a formal and polite way when she is before people. It''s just all fake. "I''m currently having something... very very matters. I can''t work well, I can''t sleep well because of that". - All of a sudden, Jeanne opens her words with an anxious tone. "Would you listen to me? I need someone to help me through this". "If you need a friend, I don''t mind doing that". - Selena smiles lightly, she puts the cup on the table "I''m a mother... I''ve been living alone for a long time, I raised my child and now she has grown up. I''ve been alone the whole time and somehow... that man makes my heart pound". - Jeanne pretends to make herself look like an old, desperate woman who is in love. "You understand that, right...? Everything about him... he cares about me. He told me to rest when I got into work right on the first day although I was supposed to rest". - Making her breaths heavy and unstable, Jeanne holds her face and her chest. "He''s very sweet... his words may be lying, but he truly does his best to make me feel better... I wonder how long I can hold myself until I lose my mind...". - Jeanne bites her lips, she makes herself look like she is touching herself mentally. "Do you know how hurt it feels when he isn''t with me...? He makes me feel good". Jeanne is disguising herself to be an old mother. Now she looks like an old and desperate mother who feels love and rejuvenation by having attention of a young man. The investigator is expecting some attention from Selena. She wants everything to work well although this plan was made accidentally, it doesn''t have a second door. "Hmmmm...". - Selena closes her eyes, she fills another tea cup. "What should I say...? I''m not getting old so I don''t understand what you''re feeling at your age. But... I understand your feelings when you love someone". - She sips a little then puts the cup down "But... who were you mentioning?". - Selena leaves her seat, she decides to sit next to Jeanne Jeanne only smiles. "Hmmm. I have something to say". - Selena gets up, she puts her hands together. "I''m also in love with a man, I become crazy because of him... he''s everything". "Whenever I''m with him... it makes my heart melt. He''s very caring, always does his best to make me feel good, even if he can''t do anything, he is... a living god". - Selena closes her eyes. "But he is too weak... he''s pathetic... he always gets distracted easily. Whenever there''s something important to decide, he hesitates because... he doesn''t think for himself, he''s scared of disappointing people around him". - All of a sudden, she shifts her tone into something harsh and extreme "That''s not how a king should live... if he doesn''t adapt, he dies one day, no one will care about him". - Selena begins to open both of her eyes. "Sorry. It''s very blatant and insulting when I call my love like that, isn''t it? But I''m just saying the truth, I won''t do it in front of him". "So... you''re in love with the king?". - Jeanne asks "No. That''s someone else... I''m saying he''ll have to adapt or his wife will be taken by another man. Not just his wife... his world, his life, everything will be taken too". "If that person makes you tired that much, why don''t you just leave him alone and find another?". "Doing it isn''t easy like what you''re saying. Yes, I''m tired of him, I get annoyed sometimes, but he always strikes, he just can''t change because someone controls him". - Selena sits down, she sips a little. "To say everything honestly, it''s because he has money and power. That''s a strong wall for my children, but I try not to use him, love... is for both, give and take, take and give". - She looks up at the ceiling. "I''m scared of losing him... maybe I''ll change someday, but I''ll try not to ruin his life because of my mood. I''ll train him to be a king, he needs ME to control him. When he''s strong enough... maybe I''ll give him all the way to be the one in control". - The girl looks down, starts looking at Jeanne straightly in her eyes "Doing it isn''t easy like what you''re saying". - Jeanne mimics the quote Selena told her earlier "Yeah...". - Selena smiles, she closes her eyes "Well... if the person you''re in love with is the same man I''m following, I''m afraid you need to leave". - Selena puts her hands on Jeanne''s shoulders, she lowers her body a little and looks straight at her The investigator doesn''t respond. Instead, she smiles. The two women stare at each other, the entire room is filled with silence. "Oh, sorry. Too much tension". - Selena apologizes, following it is a small giggle. "It''s very boring here, why don''t we go out and do something fun? What do you say?". "I was thinking the same". - Jeanne replies ... ... ... C05: First Suspect (2) Day 3 - Daytime - Afternoon 24th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Jeanne opens her eyes. She can feel very well the heaviness, the unconscious of her body and mind. Her eyes are a bit tired, but her ears are still sharp enough to understand she is drinking and inside a tavern. Next to her, it''s Selena Breima - the suspect. The investigator tries to remember what happened. She recollects that she followed Selena as this girl suggested both of them go out. For some reason, both women ended up in a tavern. Jeanne has lost the time how many hours have gone since she started drinking. Jeanne was supposed to be following and collecting information for the case. But now, she is too drunk to do anything. That''s maybe due to over-excitement and new feelings that kept this old lady away from working. Jeanne is drinking again, she hasn''t done it for two decades after she gave birth to Hannah. At first, Jeanne was still considering whether or not she should follow Selena. In the end, the investigator did it anyway, Jeanne was confident enough. Because in her perspective, Selena would find a way to get rid of her and her daughter if that young girl was the Palace Killer. But also in Jeanne''s thoughts, Selena wouldn''t be an uncalculated murderer. Murdering this old lady would be useless because people saw Selena and Jeanne leaving the palace by wagon. Her missing would surely provoke her daughter. So, the best way to eliminate this woman and her daughter, would be to get rid of both of them at the same time. Of course, be quiet enough, be careful enough, unlike doing things in this noisy place. "You''re awake...". - All of a sudden, a voice comes to Jeanne''s ears She immediately realizes that was Selena''s voice. Right next to her. The girl appears to be drunk as well, but she still looks sober compared to Jeanne. The investigator shoves her cup towards Selena''s, cheering in silence and drinks once again. "You''re very outgoing, aren''t you?! Not that preserved as I thought!". - Jeanne shouts a little, she can''t control herself fully because she is drunk anyway "Well, I become outgoing when no one sees me". - Selena replies. "Two more cups of ale!". - The girl orders two more cups for the drink "But you just became like that when I see you". "Ehehe... you''re funny". - Selena giggles. "You see, I know the boundaries of things which are allowed and which aren''t for us. Being polite and serious in the way you talk and dress up doesn''t mean you don''t have a hidden side". - Done talking, Selena grabs a new delivered cup on the table, she drinks again Jeanne is trying to get herself sober again. She wants to make sure she won''t get distracted from her mission and makes it become a small party between two women. "You drink very bad, madame". - Selena comments "Do you?". - Jeanne stops drinking for a while, she tries to get herself sober and not look away from her cup of ale. "I''m old anyway and I''ve stopped drinking for years. That''s normal when I start again!". "I pick things that can''t make me get drunk", - Selena replies gently. "I''m feeling very hot right now... no wonder if those glances think we are mother and daughter. Men just can''t resist coming here if I allow them to do so... it''s... annoying". - She drinks a bit more "This is how I make friends", - Selena says. "you''re my friend now, we have no distance...". - The girl taps Jeanne''s back a few times "So... you make friends by drinking with them?". - The investigator, as always, tries to be sober "Not really. I''d be fine if that''s a girl, I usually have dinner with people in case I want to make friends". - Selena sips a bit. "With men, it''s another story, it''s more interesting. Drinking with them...? Well, I don''t mind sleeping with multiple of them at the same time... it sounds thrilling and fun, but I don''t want that". - Selena stretches her cheek a little. "Never mind. I mean, if I make friends with someone, I''d go to drink and eat with girls, I used to drink with men back then but now I only eat and set up boundaries". "Why choose this place? It''s dirty and very noisy, you like it here?!". - Jeanne shouts again "I don''t really drink much, mostly eat at cleaner places or restaurants. But sometimes... changing location makes it fresh". - Selena sips a bit, her eyes get lost a bit since they''re glancing at two muscular men behind her "You''re a very bad girl". "As long as I have him with me, I''m not going the wrong way". - Selena sips a little more. "Are you doubting me...? I''m still virgin if you ask, but I''m experienced already". Jeanne, as always, still tries to keep herself sober. She realizes she just unlocked something. However, she wants to do something to open Selena''s mouth. "I wouldn''t teach my daughter to live like you". - Jeanne hugs Selena. "So friend... let''s become more open to each other". "Hmmmm... alright". - Selena hugs Jeanne tightly. "You seem to be a caring mother, I wish she was you". - Selena snuggles in Jeanne''s breasts, behaving like a baby who wants to be patted "Thanks, sweetie". - Jeanne pats Selena''s head, she grins a little The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Not because she is making the suspect come to her. It''s a personal thing, Jeanne feels her ego boosted, she feels proud when she is praised for being a good mother. Meanwhile, her daughter is given the duty to search the hell out of the jail basement. But she is here, chilling, drinking with this girl. "So... let''s know more about each other, shall we?". - Selena still snuggles up in Jeanne''s breasts, she asks for another topic "Sure...". - Jeanne replies "You said you''ve stopped drinking for a long time". "More than 20 years. But I''m back". - Jeanne sips some ale, she wants to make her cup empty so that she won''t have to drink anymore "When did you start drinking?". - This time, Jeanne asks Selena. "Me? Maybe when I was 13 or 14". "I don''t remember well... 4, maybe". - Selena puts her hands on her lap, away from the ale. "Not much to say, it all started from my mom. Just... I did by watching what she did, it tasted very bad when I first drank it". - The girl doesn''t seem to be comfortable telling that story, but her smile has covered it all "His Highness says a lot about you. Every time he sees something odd from you, he''ll tell me when I come to serve him". - Selena comments. "Where did you come from?". Jeanne doesn''t feel comfortable with this question. She has a deep history about where she was born, full of things she wants to forget. But the investigator knows she must give in. Making friends with the suspect is the way she would do in order to solve the case. "Leafspear". - Jeanne replies "Where''s that? Is it a town?". "A kingdom". "Oh, I guess I''ll have a nightmare. No, a wonderful dream". - Selena sips some ale. "Your hometown is something, madame. There''s an urban legend about your place". "The Princess of Moon and the Prince of Shadow?". - Jeanne asks a question to make a test "Oh, you know about it". - Selena''s eyes sparkled as she heard that Jeanne swallows her saliva... her ears also perk up. "I used to be scared of it when I was little", - Selena holds her hands, she seems to be high with bliss. "but when I grew up, I see that''s not just a horror story. It''s a love story. Wonderful... just wonderful... but it has a sad ending". - She lowers her face, her breath is full of disappointment "That''s a real story, not something legend. It''s not a love story either, just a morbid tale of two people". - Jeanne seems to be anxious about it, she wonders if it has something to do with Selena. "I don''t know who romanticized it, but that person definitely has a problem". "Hmmmm... I respect your perspective, madame". - Selena puts her cup aside, she wants to stop drinking, she''s taken enough. "Hmmmm... this place is poor...". - After watching what people around her were eating, she sighs a little. "Can you read them?". - She taps on Jeanne''s shoulder while she points to a list of wooden bars with writings hung on the wall "You can''t see far?". "I''m illiterate". - Selena replies. "Nevermind. Hey, you there! Bring me the most expensive dish...". - She raises her hand and orders the tavern keeper who just recently passed by Selena later waits patiently, she waves from the right to the left, following the music played by a group of 4 musicians in the tavern. "You just wasted your money". - Jeanne comments "Don''t worry. I spend very little, and I just got my salary a few days ago. Only spend hard when I think it''s necessary, you know". Selena says. "I''m a noble anyway, our money is bigger than the peasants'' ". "The story, where did we stop?". - All of a sudden, Selena asks "Let''s change the topic". "Oh, if you say so". - Selena nods. "What do you think about this kingdom?". "Hmmm...". - Jeanne stops a little. "In general, it''s far better than where I was born". "About what?". - Selena gets curious "Women in my place did not have much freedom like this. But here, they have some rights, they can go to drink freely, won''t get criticized much, everything seems better. About my place... it''s bad if I drink, so I had to put on my guard armor all the time when I went to drink. People won''t criticize if someone looks like a guard comes for wine". - Jeanne tries to remember the old days of hers. "Women could get more jobs but they never got paid well though they worked as much as men, we were... backups". "Leafspear was small and strong, but it always faced wars. Our king put women in the workforce to replace men who died in battles". - Jeanne tries to remember what she experienced. "Many became prostitutes, which is illegal here. Many murders the victims were women, cases were mostly neglected. The only good thing I found in my homeland is that... education spread to everyone, as long as they have enough money. Well, I was lucky to get educated in the church". "What''s about this place?". - Selena asks "You''ve been living here long enough to answer, Miss". - Jeanne replies. "The bad thing? Only nobles get access to education". "Every kingdom has its strong and weak, I see". Not so long later, the most expensive dish is brought before Selena''s seat. The girl starts using her dish, although she isn''t hungry. "Would you like to eat with me?". - Selena asks "I guess I''ll refuse". "So bad...". - Selena sighs a little when she has to eat alone The two women keep silent and mind their own business. The tavern now only has the noises of other people, Selena is busy eating and the investigator is busy too. "This is... a shrimp, isn''t it?". - Selena pokes her wooden spoon into a tiny creature in her dish, she raises it to watch "What''s so special about it?". - Jeanne asks "I mean... my family makes businesses in medicines and food. But I never saw a shrimp until I got to the palace". - Selena says. "Sometimes His Highness will eat these, he loves them". - Done saying, she chews the shrimp "Shrimps come from the sea, Warsaw doesn''t have sea so it''s obvious when you don''t see them". - Jeanne comments "So your homeland had it?". "The west side. But it''s odd to me, only the poor eat these tinies". "Hmmm... but now, they''re a sign of wealthiness". - Selena takes another bite All of a sudden, Selena notices her hand is holding something. That''s a tiny fur paper with writings on it. It says: I''ll order a dish like yours. I''m not bringing money, treat me. "Did you give it to me?". - Selena gives the paper back to Jeanne "Do you agree?". "Agree what? I can''t read". "Do you need more ale?". "No, I''m too drunk. Do it again when we have another occasion". - Selena smiles, she returns to enjoy her meal The investigator scrolls the paper until it''s inside her hand. She wonders if Selena was pretending to be an illiterate or if she truly can''t read as she explained earlier. Everything doesn''t go well, the test didn''t work as planned. But Jeanne still has one more card to play. "You love cutting those shrimps very much, don''t you?". - Jeanne comments when she saw Selena cutting the tiny shrimps by using a wooden knife "It''s a satisfaction moment. Cutting them makes them ugly, but that''s how I can taste them longer". - Selena replies. "Just like the way you make a dish when you''re free, it''s nice to hear every perfect chop". "You cut a long of things?". - Jeanne suddenly asks a question Selena doesn''t respond. She keeps cutting those tiny shrimps into pieces, then starts tasting them. "Yeah...". - Selena responds. "That''s the requirement for a maid... we serve the best dishes for our rulers, it takes a lot of training". - She keeps eating "What was the biggest thing you had ever cut?". - Again, another question made by Jeanne Selena goes silent once again. "Hmmmm... a boar''s head, maybe". "I''d like to see what you cook when you''re alone. May I see you cook and eat your dishes someday?". - Jeanne asks "Yeah... sure...". - A big smile appears on Selena''s face The investigator also smiles back at the girl. She picks up her cup of ale and drinks till the last drops. ... ... ... C06: Second Suspect (1) Day 3 - Daytime - Afternoon 24th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Meanwhile Investigator Hannah, Jeanne''s daughter, now is walking around the palace. She''s looking for mom. Unfortunately, her mother left without leaving a note, the girl just doesn''t know about this. Hours earlier, Hannah came to the jail room basement and searched for new clues. For some reason, nothing was found there too. Everything about the case starts becoming much more distant from her reach. No eyewitnesses, no bodies, no crime scenes on the side of missing people. The case is bizarre. Not knowing if her mom had ever experienced something similar, the daughter is just new to something like this. Hannah wants to operate the investigation without her mother, but she doesn''t know if that would be a worth-to-try experience. Hannah snaps back to reality when she heard chatting sounds on the left side. She turns her eyes in that direction, it shows her a scene where a group of maids are sitting together at a stoned waterfall. The area over there seems to be a small garden, full of bushes, plants and trees. A stoned waterfall is set in the middle, now is being sat on. The maids, for some reason, seem cheerful and relaxed. Every one of them is holding a small round cake. "Hi". - Hannah approaches the maids with her right hand waving The maids wave back although they don''t speak. For some reason, two maids ran away, followed by laughter of sisters behind them. "What''s so funny?". - Hannah asks "Well, they were in their shifts but dropped to be here". - A maid replies, she later swallows the tiny round cake thing "Welcome, welcome. Please sit". - Some maids invite Hannah to join. "Here, have some bite too". - One of them gives her the cake thing Hannah is a bit empty in her stomach at the moment. She remembers what her mom told her. She remembers every word, such as do not leave the palace with strangers or do not eat things strangers give her. Importantly, her mom also asked her to be aware of her surroundings for safety. Mom told her that the Palace Killer doesn''t work alone. Although her reminders weren''t said in detail, Hannah is intelligent enough to know what kind of people she should avoid when she lives here. With the suspects on the list, Hannah senses the maids might have some involvement in the murders and missings. However, she still takes the cake as a polite way to show before people. "Were you looking for mom?". - One maid asks Hannah "You can say so". "She''s with Selena now. They may be in some tavern at the time, will surely go crazy when they return". - Some maids laugh together when their co-worker finished "She''s always normal until she gets drunk". - One maid speaks up Hannah looks away. She is a bit frustrated since her mother left. Hannah wants to get drunk at least once to understand what drinking feels like. But she puts her frustration aside, she wants to leave without causing trouble. "Thanks for the cake, I''m going". - Hannah waves as she leaves the garden area "Eat fast before His Majesty comes back, everyone!". - As she is leaving, she heard a voice ordering the maids ... ... ... Hannah ate the cake anyway because she wanted to fill her grumbling stomach. Everything appears to be alright after that. Now she''s inside a bathroom, washing her hands. She knows nowhere else is more right enough than this place to wash herself. By casting a small waterball floating in the air, putting her hands in there and rubbing. Everything''s done just like that, all she needs to do the rest is cast a fireball to dry and warm up her soaked hands. "Excuse me. You may be using the wrong room, miss". - All of a sudden, someone''s voice comes to Hannah''s right side ear The girl freaks out a little. She turns around to look at the person and realizes that''s a real person. However, for some reason, Hannah didn''t realize this. She remembers entering the bathroom and saw herself alone, she didn''t even hear any footsteps coming to her when she was washing her hands. The earlier moment was a chilling experience. But Hannah decides to brush it off and returns to normal. "I''m sorry, I don''t know. I just... picked it in a hurry". "This bathroom is used for the nobles, you aren''t allowed to use it. I''m sorry if I''m too serious but please remember this, a bathroom for servants is here not so far, that''s where you can use". - The woman bows slightly as she finished for some reason Hannah hates being reminded. However, she understands the woman before her. She is just doing her duty, nothing more. A while later both of them walk out of the bathroom. Hannah notices the woman she is walking together with is somewhat very familiar. "That''s her". The words come across her mind when she was walking with the woman. That''s the suspect Braun Frieden. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Hey, miss", - For some reason, the female guard opens her words. "I guess I know your mother. Are you two the investigators sent by His Highness to solve the case?". "You can say so, yeah". "I''m sorry when I can''t introduce myself to you in the proper way right now. I am Braun Frieden, from the Frieden family, I''m a guard". - Braun still tries her best to give Hannah a proper introduction. "There''ll be me whenever you need my presence. If you need me to help you with the case, I''m willing to join although I don''t know much about what I can do, but I''ll try". "I appreciate that, thank you". - Hannah looks away. "She''s more extreme than her, talks too much". - She murmurs "Please call me Hannah, I''m just an apprentice who''s with my mom". All of a sudden, Hannah realizes the woman named Braun isn''t with her anymore. She soon notices the woman is rushing towards a maid who is carrying a small infant. "Oh, thank you. You can leave now, thanks again". - Braun takes the baby, the maid then leaves "Oh, you here again. I''m sorry for not saying goodbye, very sorry". - The woman apologizes as she was carrying the baby "Is that your child?". - Hannah starts being confused "Yes, she''s my child". - Braun slowly raises the baby towards Hannah. "Reimi, c''mon. Say sister, she''ll be your friendly sister, say hi to her". "Mama... Papa...". - The baby utters some cute simple words "She''s your sister. Sister, you know. Sister, sister, follow what I tell you". - Braun holds the baby in front of her, trying to ask her to follow her mouth movement. "My apologies, I guess my baby needs to learn more, she loves seeing people". - Braun smiles at her baby "May I hold her?". "Ummm... yeah". "Wait, I need to catch a breath". - Hannah wants to prepare herself "Take your time, miss". - Braun gently pats her daughter''s head. "By the way, don''t you have anything to do right now?". "I guess so... my mom isn''t here and I''ve finished my things". "I hope there''s nothing serious if you take some breaks". All of a sudden, Braun gives her baby to Hannah. The girl holds the baby gently, feeling a bit nervous. She doesn''t want this little angle to fall because of her mistakes for being careless. Hannah follows the female guard as she noticed the mother started walking away. "Hello, big girl". - Hannah gets her face closer to the baby, expecting her to stretch her cheeks "Would you like to come over my place, miss? I hate being alone". - Braun suggests "Me too. I''m free anyway, so yeah". "How old is she?". - Hannah pats the baby''s head "Ummm... she''s about to get 2... one year and 8 months old". Hannah notices she has arrived at the woman''s room. Braun unlocks the door and enters, Hannah follows while carrying the baby. Braun closes the door, her hands reach for her baby. Hannah slowly gets on the bed and sits there. She breathes out with relief. She loves the softness and warmness of the bed, which she rarely feels since she always moves away. Hannah and her mother never stay in a place forever. Being able to feel this comfort makes her want to enjoy it more and make it last. "Stay here, mom will come to you soon". - Braun puts her daughter in a green crib located beside the bed. "Miss, please look after my baby for me. I''ll be back". - Done saying, Braun rushes inside her bedroom. "Oh, sorry sorry sorry". - She rushes back, filling a tea cup and giving it to Hannah Hannah holds the cup, she remembers her mom''s reminders. But she shrugs. She glances at the baby and waves a little, but she soon focuses on Braun''s bedroom. Hannah takes a sip, she drinks up the tea. Her mind wondering why her mom would put a woman like Braun on the suspect list. According to the profile, Braun Frieden is 24 years old. This mother is the same age as Hannah. However, Hannah still looks much younger than Braun. The woman now has a husband, before that she used to be the prince''s concubine. The Frieden family, according to the profile, is an aristocratic family which has a long history of knights and serving the rulers. Hannah is a bit confused. Because in the files that her mother researched, there''s no record of Braun Frieden having a child. Something like this confuses the young investigator. She decides to conclude this could be a mistake due to the lack of information. Now back to Hannah. She keeps wondering why her mother would put Braun on the suspect list. Theories start to pop up, she thinks this could be because most of the missings are involved with the prince''s concubines so that''s why her mom listed it. Otherwise, something else could possibly be about revenge for not being able to be with the prince, she assumes. "I''m sorry, I''m back". Hannah notices Braun has come to her when she was getting lost in her thoughts. The mother comes to her baby and picks her up gently. Hannah looks at the scene, she only sees a growing family. "Hmmmm... where''s her dad?". "He''s with His Majesty. He''s... a very busy man, not always here". - Braun pats her head while she approaches Hannah Hannah now focuses on Braun Frieden. She notices Braun is wearing a brown leather armor, unlike the iron armor this mother wore previously in the bathroom. Braun appears to be a woman in short brown hair, her hair is tidied but a bit messy. Just like Hannah''s mother, but she''s blonde. Hannah looks carefully at the brown eyes of Hannah, knowing she is a caring mother. "Let me do it". - Braun puts her baby down as she saw Hannah coming to the teapot to fill her empty cup "No, I''m fine". Filling up the cup, Hannah returns to the bed. "Her overprotective is really beyond my imagination". Hannah murmurs. She sips some tea while she looks at Braun. "Mom will get along with you very fast. You two have similarities". "I don''t know if I should take it as a compliment or something else...". - Braun smiles a little. "Oh, sorry". - For some reason, she returns to hold the baby and keeps a serious face "Why are you wearing the armor?". "I''m a knight, miss. I got dismissed from the hunt so I returned early. Otherwise, I''d need the maids to keep Reimi for a while more". "I mean... why are you still wearing?". "It''s because I''m a Royal guard. When it comes to my shift, I have to hand my child to the maids, it happens at any time". - Braun holds her baby with her gentle hands. "Well... I got dismissed so I don''t know the next order I would take for my duty. I have to wait until His Majesty and everyone return". "I heard that too, what are you hunting exactly?". "Boars, deers... sometimes bears. His Majesty would sometimes hire the adventurers to guide us in dungeons, to hunt goblins or orcs". "It sounds fun". "It''s the way we nobles enjoy our lives when there''s something boring. But it''s also tiring". "I can take care of your baby if you need me". "Really?". "Yeah... money money". - Hannah raises her hand, grinning a little "I understand money is important. Alright, I''ll make sure to let you take care of my daughter". "I thought people like you would give birth much sooner". "Oh... well... it''s complicated". "I heard you used to be a wife of His Highness". "It happened three years ago or so. It was just a random choosing, women who were brought in here to become his wives would be a great honor". - Braun explaining. "Your family can live here when you''re chosen. It''s very convenient, I was lucky to be chosen, that''s all". "But how did you end up with someone else?". "His Highness is a nice man, he''s not some kind of possessive guy. As long as we give him loyalty, he gives us freedom". - Reimi keeps patting her daughter''s head. "There''s another reason... I''m not worthy to be with him. That''s someone else, and I owe her too". "Who?". "My best friend". - All of a sudden, Braun stops talking for no reason. "It''s her birthday tomorrow, right?". - She talks to herself "Oh, sorry. Please wait for me a bit. I think I forgot something". - Braun holds her daughter and gets up, she heads inside the bedroom Hannah later comfortably lies on the bed, she feels very soothed after drinking the tea. All of a sudden... something unusual gets detected. A strange intense scent catches Hannah''s nose. For some reason, that smell is very near her position. As if it comes under the bed... That smell... is familiar... Hannah knows what it is... But, Hannah has been focusing too much on the soothing feelings the tea brought to her. She wants to have some wonderful sleep... Just like that... she closes her eyes, holding tightly, snuggling her face to a warm pillow. ... ... ... C07: Second Suspect (2) Day 3 - Nighttime - Night 24th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Hannah opens her eyes. The scene before her is filled with darkness. For some reason, all she can hear is just a long silence. The girl can see a bit in the dark, but without something like a torch or a lantern, she can''t see anything properly. No lights, no torches, no candles, no lanterns, no people... Hannah can only feel her presence in the room... There''s a window on the right side of the wall. It''s closed but through the vision of the glass, a night sky is shown before the young girl. Hannah is confused, it was probably dusk when she came inside this room. There''s a bit of light showing from the window, despite being a weak light, it''s still helpful. It means Hannah had overslept. The only question in Hannah''s mind right now is that... where are Braun and her baby? Hannah feels a bit afraid when there''s only her in the room. Everything is dark, only the window shows some light from outside. Hannah stares at the window, wondering how many hours have really passed. The window shuts off as a shadow showed up with a sharp hiss, the curtain has now covered the window, the only light source in the room has gone. A cold shock runs down the spine of Hannah, her eyes wide open because she''s panicked. Someone just showed up and pulled down the curtain, the room is now completely filled with darkness. She''s not alone... Hannah immediately opens her right palm and catches a magical spell, a small fire shows up and floats on her palm. It shows her the way, but the fire is too weak. Without another choice, Hannah drains more of her power to build up a larger fire. As a result, the light has become much brighter. But the shadow that showed up earlier isn''t in her sight... Hannah immediately gazes at the bedroom before her. The person who showed up as a dark figure earlier is probably inside that room. Was that Braun? Hannah can''t answer, her mind has been frozen so much, it''s freezing her inside. The girl minds her step, walking carefully and quietly to make sure she won''t be heard. The front door is close to her, she easily reaches the door but doesn''t dare to open it, she''s still scared to do so. What if someone is outside waiting for her to come out? Hannah keeps wondering if she should grab something to save herself. Surrounded by fear, her mental state is also affected. Without a bright mind, Hannah is struggling. Sweats keep coming out from her face since it''s hot in the room, she wants to bet on the decision of opening the door. The girl grabs the door handle, she inhales, deciding to open it when she counts to 3. All of a sudden, Hannah''s mind becomes heavy. The fire on her palm gets smaller significantly. That''s a warning sign of her draining out of power, she would pass out if she runs out of magical power in this situation. Hannah looks up as she heard some footsteps. In the bedroom, a dark figure can be seen standing at the door frame, hiding its presence. That figure keeps hiding by covering in the corner. Hannah looks closely at the dark figure and sees a tiny sharp sparkling thing reflecting the fire on her palm. It looks like a knife... Fighting her fear, Hannah opens the door and jumps out with the position as if she is shoving someone. Nothing is outside at all. Her forehead touches the ground, the strong landing impact also affects her jaw. Hannah feels some blood dripping out of her teeth. "Help me!!! Help me!!!". - Terrified by what she just experienced, Hannah immediately gets up and runs as fast as she can to get out of the area Hannah runs in the long hallway, sometimes she looks behind to check if someone is following her. She keeps running, she hopes she finds someone. But she sees no one on her way, she''s freaked out. "Someone, help me!!!". - Hannah screams once again, this time is much louder But no one shows up. Her mind is still in fear. Hannah immediately hides behind a tall knight statue, watching the scene. The path before her is the hallway she just ran past. Braun''s room can be seen clearly from this angle. All of a sudden, a person steps out of that room. The girl can''t really tell if that is a man or a woman. Clothing is also unknown due to the darkness, distance and lack of torches on the walls. The person looks from left to right, then runs away, turning to the left hallway. "Ahhhh!". - Hannah screams and grabs the thing that just touched her back, it is a man''s large hand Two Royal guards are before Hannah, both of them appear to just have arrived. They''re confused. Hannah soon notices more and more guards coming to her place. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "Miss, is there anything wrong...?". - A guard asks "I saw someone holding a knife, just ran through there!", - Hannah, still terrified, she tries to explain. "They came out from that room and ran away!". Four guards later draw their swords and run towards that room in a vertical formation. The first one with a torch steps inside, following are men armed with short swords. A guard of the team guards at the door, not joining the others. Meanwhile, another group starts chasing by following the road the figure went. Hannah joins the men. She runs to the room and peeks inside to see what''s happening. "No one''s here!". - The guards in the room shout, every one of them leaves the room in silence Hannah starts following the guard group that is going after the shadow figure. She is exhausted, but still tries her best to keep up. "Did you see someone running through here?!". - A guard approaches two maids who were chatting near there "Over there". - She points her finger in the direction that leads to the backyard "Men, follow me!!!". - A guard appears to be a commander roars, he charges forward The other guardsmen also follow their commander. Everyone soon arrives at the area where the shadow figure was last seen. Hannah looks around, wondering where is the man. She only knows to follow the guardsmen. "Keep searching, he must be around here!". - A guard yells The backyard is wide. The guards come to the flowerfield and look around, all of them are cautious. Some of them point their torches to the dense field, some even step on the flowers. They wonder if someone is hiding, lying below the flowers to hide from their search. A light pops up in Hannah''s mind, she immediately rushes to the backyard gate. It''s still locked. There''s no way someone would vanish in the air, Hannah doesn''t want to believe it. She looks up at the top of the gate, it appears to have metal long spikes, all of which are placed next to each other, spreading to four sides. Apparently, it''s very difficult for one to climb up. It even leaves scratches and blood if someone climbs up there carelessly. But... what if...? ... ... ... Nighttime - Late night One hour has passed since the previous incident. Jeanne got back to the palace about 30 minutes after the incident, it was too late. She wanted that incident to get silenced in order to keep up her silent investigation. But everything didn''t go well as planned, the security level in the palace will soon be increased from now on. This means the culprit would be more cautious... Back to the couple investigators, they''ve locked themselves up in their room. It''s supposed to be a meeting, but now it''s a discussion. This could be lucky and unlucky at the same time, both have managed to collect information from two different suspects. At the moment, they want to know how would they change their investigation. Jeanne is drunk. She still decides to stay at her desk to fill up the new files, she wants everything she collected today to be filled all. Generally, she would keep in mind what she collected. But right now, the investigator is drunk, she knows she would forget all tomorrow so she decided to write out so that the clues will be saved. "Mom". - All of a sudden, Hannah calls her mother "I''m a bit headache, sweetie, say immediately". "I have a new theory. The burglars didn''t get inside by using the key. They climbed in". "I thought about it too but it''s very difficult. The gate itself is 5 meters (16 feet) tall, they can go in by helping each other to climb in". - Jeanne grazes her hair, her eyes feel very heavy and her hair is very messy. "But the top of the gate is full of spikes to prevent climbing. It''s difficult. Even if they could, those spikes would bleed them". "How could you conclude that when you haven''t tried?". "Ask His Highness yourself, he can give you some men. I''ve checked the top side with luminol, no blood". - Jeanne stops jotting down, she tries to remember what she did with Selena in the tavern. "About the fingerprints, let''s say they did try to get in that way. But I found nothing, those samples get worn out in that environment fast". "Your theory is interesting, but we have nothing to prove it". "So... you said you smelt blood in Braun Frieden''s room?". "I''m not so sure. But I guess so, that''s some intense smell, it comes from something under the bed". Jeanne stops writing. "Did you check on it?". "No". "I guess we must need a warrant to make a full search in her room tomorrow. It''s very important". - Jeanne returns to write "I know it''s rush but... we should ask Braun to see us. I see something unusual about her case, an interrogation is needed". - Jeanne comments as she read some parts of Hannah''s today report "I guess I''ll go see His Highness". "You stay here and rest, I''ll go". - Jeanne extremely protests her daughter from going outside "Hmmmm...". - For some reason, Jeanne stays silent and scratches her messy hair while keeps writing. "I''m glad you''re still safe. You should have listened to me, you should have been more caref-...". - All of a sudden, she stops "Do we... still have luminol?". Hearing her mom''s question, Hannah checks the two backpacks to make sure. "Well... two bottles left". "You go to the room the prince set up for us. Guide those mages the way to create luminol and the blacklight, we really need it". - Jeanne picks up a cup of water and sips a bit. "You''re the only one who can use magic here. Without you, it''s difficult for me to go this far". "Right in tomorrow?". "Hmmm... just take your time". - Jeanne keeps filling the files Writing for a few more seconds, Jeanne stops. She has too many thoughts in mind, she needs an explanation, she can''t answer all. "Sweetie". - Jeanne calls Hannah "You said you were sleepy when you got in Braun''s room?". "Well... I''d say I drank two cups of tea and then I fell asleep". "Hmmm... was there anything else?". "Earlier, I ate a cake given by a maid. But they were all eating together so no way that cake would get poisoned". - Hannah believes that Braun was the culprit who drugged her "I can''t tell which one caused you to sleep, it could be one or another. I''m a bit confused... someone could be blaming her". - Jeanne comments. "It''s rare to see a criminal who would be bold and risky enough to make themselves in trouble and act like victims". "You were then chased by someone holding a knife?". - Jeanne focuses on the report written by Hannah. "That person ran away when the guards chased them. Then they disappeared when they were followed to the backyard?". "Was there anything else...?". - Jeanne asks her daughter, she sips some water "A couple of maids told us the direction that person was going". "Did you remember their faces?". "I guess I''ll remember if I see them again". - Hannah replies "Hmmmm... do you remember the person who ran away? I know it''s difficult but... what color of their clothing? How tall they were?". "Mom. I''m a human being... I can''t remember it all". "Alright, I''m sorry. Too busy with work... just... write all you could remember into a paper, that''s all". - Jeanne stops writing abruptly. "Please take your time, do it later... have a good sleep, sweetie". The room is filled with silence when the mother and daughter don''t talk to each other. Jeanne sighs, she keeps filling the files. Hannah is lying on the bed, covering herself with the bedsheets. She hasn''t slept yet. "I''m very sorry, sweetie...". Still... Jeanne hears no response from her daughter... ... ... ... C08: Choice Day 4 - Daytime - Morning 25th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... The investigation was pushed faster due to the incident that happened to Hannah. A warrant was given to the couple investigators at late night, they used the time when everyone was sleeping to make a full search. Everything went very fast and Braun Frieden was ordered to see both of them. The information about Braun is now unpublished for safety, to keep everything quiet. It''s morning already. Braun Frieden - the suspect, is now sitting in a room, waiting to be interrogated. Right at the moment, this woman was supposed to have a shift to escort a carriage. But she is now here, locked up while another guard has taken her place for the duty. This female guard''s disappearance has been silenced for safety. Braun sits in the room. This room was given to Jeanne and Hannah by prince Koenig, it was supposed to be a room used for experiment. However, due to lack of space, the room is now used as an interrogation room. The room itself is small, cramped, most windows have been shut down, curtains are covering the scene inside. Braun has been locked up in this room for two hours. She was kept in here when it was at dawn. Everything about time seems lost to the woman. She appears to be very concerned about her daughter, she is also worried about her friend because today is her birthday. Despite having cookies and water provided on the table, it never soothes Braun. The woman seems impatient, she wants to get out. All of a sudden, the female guard hears the sound of the front door opening quietly. They''ve arrived. That''s Jeanne and Hannah, they have come. The door is now and both investigators approach Braun. "How are you?". - Jeanne asks "Please let me out, madame...". - Braun holds her hands together, she lowers her face, feeling tired Jeanne takes a seat opposite to Braun''s position. Meanwhile, Jeanne''s daughter - Hannah, sits close to her mother and keeps a certain distance from the woman. The girl is still afraid. But she soon backs herself up and pulls out a paper sheet, she dips her pen in an ink box, she would do the report. Jeanne stays quiet. She observes Braun carefully, thinking about the way to conduct the interrogation. A while later, Jeanne taps twice on her daughter''s shoulder, telling her to prepare for the report. "Lady Frieden, thank you for coming here. We''ll make sure to get everything done as soon as possible, you won''t have to worry". "Have you used the restroom?". - Jeanne asks "Yes, I did". "I need your patience, it''ll be quick. When we end this, you can go freely and again, we apologize for taking your time". "Is Reimi alright? I hope my absence won''t cause trouble. Selena too, today''s her birthday but I can''t visit her at all". - Braun yawns a little, she doesn''t feel well "I assure you that your daughter is safe and in good care. You don''t need to be worried about your friend". - Jeanne wonders what to say next. "As long as you''re cooperative and honest, we can end this interrogation fast. Is that alright?". "Yes, I will". Jeanne later pulls out a file from the documents. She puts it on the table, she flips some pages. "I know we''ve met each other and have known each other as well. However, please let us reintroduce ourselves before we start". "I''m Jeanne, and here''s my daughter Hannah. We''re investigators who arrive here by taking the order of His Highness to solve a case in the palace". "So, Lady Frieden. Before we start the interrogation, I have something to explain to you, about why you are here, why you can''t go out". - Jeanne looks straight at Braun in the eyes, showing her seriousness "Lady Braun Frieden, you have been accused of assaulting my daughter last night. We don''t really know if you did it or not, but I believe in you, I believe you''re a good woman". - Jeanne reads the content of the paper sheet, she also comforts the suspect. "All we need now is your honesty and your cooperation. Everything about you being here, absent from your duty has been unpublished. You don''t need to worry, everyone still believes you''re not guilty, you''re still at work". "I understand why you have to do this thing. But, madame... I''m not doing anything, please let me go". - Reimi moves closer to the table, she wants the interrogation to end "I understand your concern but please, we need you to be patient. You''re innocent, you''re good, I believe in you". - Jeanne replies. "However, we don''t have proof that shows you''re innocent. Please understand that we''re here to prove you''re not guilty, we don''t put you here and make you guilty". "So... this interrogation is needed. Especially when this is a sensitive time, Lady Frieden. If you can''t prove you''re innocent, people will say about you, people will think you''re the culprit who was causing terrors to people who live here". After hearing Jeanne''s explanation, Braun stays quiet. She nods twice, then looks up with willful eyes. "Understood. I''m sorry for my impatient, I''m very sorry...". Jeanne gently slides a bowl that contains cookies and puts a cup of water in front of Braun. "Ease your mind. You need a bright mind in this situation". Braun sips some water. "I''m ready". Jeanne glances at Hannah''s side and gets a nod as the response. Then, the investigator looks down to see the content of the paper. "Here''s the report: Yesterday, at dusk, my daughter Hannah met you, you invited her to follow you. My daughter stayed in your room and drank two cups of tea, she later fell asleep". - Jeanne tries to explain the story shortly but in detail. "She then woke up in your room, everything was dark and she saw a figure holding a knife. Hannah then ran away, the guards chased the figure and it disappeared all of a sudden". You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. "I''m very sorry to hear what happened to your daughter". "Lady Frieden, we''re here to prove you''re innocent. May I know why my daughter woke up and saw the room dark? Where were you?". "I was holding Reimi, I got in my bedroom to find a dress. My friend''s birthday would be on the next day, so I thought about sewing the dress, I later fed my baby". - Reimi is worried, she wants to go out as soon as possible. "I saw miss Hannah sleeping on the bed out there, but I didn''t want to bother her, I put my Reimi back in the crib. I stayed to sew the dress and later got a call, it was my duty time". - Reimi looks at Hannah for a while, then looks at Jeanne. "I did call her but she didn''t wake up, so I asked a maid near there to look after her. Then I gave my baby to a maid also near there, I came back and that girl said she would look after Hannah for me so I... went to duty". "Hmmm... do you remember that maid''s face?". - Jeanne asks "No... I don''t think I remember. That was quick, I was rushing for work". Jeanne lowers her face. She wonders what to ask next. "Could you explain to me why Hannah fell asleep after she drank the tea? And why did you make tea for her although she didn''t ask?". - Jeanne looks up, counting on the answers from Braun''s side "I don''t know why did she sleep after she drank it. But... about why I made the tea, I think it''s a polite way to welcome guests whenever they come to my place". "Even if they don''t ask for it?". "I was busy... so I didn''t ask". Jeanne picks up a cup of water and sips some. The investigator sees Braun as a very special suspect. Instead of making excuses, she answered the questions clearly as if she was innocent. Jeanne doesn''t see suspicious in Braun. However, Jeanne never wants her personal thoughts to have a position in her work. Everything must follow regulations, nothing will be left out, even a small detail. "Why there''s a bed in the living room? I don''t see your daughter Reimi in your profile''s history...". - All of a sudden, Hannah speaks up although she is supposed to record the interrogation Jeanne feels a spark of explosion in her mind. She smiles a little in secret, feeling proud of her daughter, she didn''t expect that. "Greg... I mean my husband. He and I have been having arguments recently, so I placed a bed there, to stop it". - Braun holds her hands. "I think that''s the way to avoid argues, because we won''t sleep together. About Reimi... I have to say she isn''t our daughter. She''s adopted". "Tell me further about it". - Jeanne demands "I don''t know if that''s because of me or Greg. We just... can''t have kids, and she was brought to us". - Braun looks up. "His Highness'' brother found her in an orphanage, we have our daughter just like that. But my parents and in-laws don''t accept having a child who doesn''t have noble blood, so we argue". Jeanne looks straight at Braun in the eyes. The female guard seems to be completely honest with what she is saying till this moment. However, Jeanne wants to make sure nothing is left behind. "His Highness has a brother?". "Yes. But he''s not always in the country". "Back to the incident. Could you tell me what was your shift last night?". "I was ordered to guard in the throne room, there was a meeting last night". "Alright... we''ll ask His Highness to verify if that information is true". - Jeanne says Braun takes a cup of water and takes a sip. "Please let me out". "We''re doing all the way we can, Lady Frieden. Please be patient". - Jeanne replies Jeanne starts thinking about the maids in the case. If Hannah wasn''t drugged by Braun, it''s a possibility she was drugged by the maids. Before seeing Braun, Hannah had eaten a cookie given to her by a group of maids. It could be a poison with slow advances. Jeanne also links the maid that Braun asked to look after Hannah, could be in that group. The couple of maids who witnessed the knife holder running to the backyard could also be in that group as well. However... when there are still no clues, it only stops at theories. "Lady Frieden". - Jeanne calls Braun looks up to see Jeanne. "According to my daughter''s description, the figure holding the knife wore black clothing, about 1,6 meters tall (5'' 2"). This suits a woman because no men in the palace are lower than 1,7 (5'' 6")". "You''re 1,65 meters (5'' 4"), a bit higher than the suspect. We also found no black clothing in your room... so I believe in you". "Thank you, madame". - Braun''s eyes open widely, as if she is looking for a bright answer "But... it''s only measured by my daughter''s eyesight. The two other witnesses haven''t said anything. Taking statements of one person can''t prove everything, so we still need time for it". "I understand...". - Braun feels a bit disappointed, she lies her face on the table, as if very exhausted "But I believe in you". - Jeanne taps Braun''s shoulder, encouraging her Jeanne then turns her eyes to her daughter''s position. She nods. Hannah responds the same way, she drops off writing the report and leaves the chair. Hannah crouches down, she slowly pulls out a wide large red chest under the table, both of her hands are full of gloves "Lady Frieden, we''re almost done. Just a little more". - Jeanne says Braun looks up, she smiles a little while trying to get her body up. "We''ve searched your room, nothing suspicious". - Jeanne sips some water, she looks straight. "But we found some samples of fingerprints. Some are yours, some are Hannah''s, but there are also some... we can''t identify fully". Jeanne puts her hands on her lap. The investigator knows most people in this world know nothing about fingerprint analysis like her and her daughter. She indeed found some odd samples during the search, but the marks weren''t full, not full fingerprints, just half. Despite holding fingerprint samples of 1,000 people in the palace, Jeanne can''t use them. Her eyesight isn''t as good as herself in the past, Hannah is at her peak. However, without a tool to extend the view range, both Jeanne and Hannah can''t track down the person. Basically, fingerprint samples are collected and kept, neglected to wait for the right time. Jeanne wants to collect more samples by focusing on the maids... but it''s worthless unless there''s a way to compare the samples she collected and the samples found at the scenes. "Lady Frieden, can you let me know why something like this is found in your room?". - Jeanne speaks up A big slam touches the surface of the table. Hannah opens the chest. An intense smell flies up, the stench is terrible. Inside the chest, there is nothing but... a beach of blood, dried blood on weapons. A dagger, two swords, a hammer, all pulled out by Hannah. She drops those bloody things on the table. "Hannah said she smelt blood on your room. What is this...?". - Jeanne asks Braun looks at those bloody weapons. She later looks up to see Jeanne and Hannah, her eyes and her face show deep nervousness. "Please believe me, these weapons have nothing to do. Please don''t tell my husband about this, please...". - Braun holds Jeanne''s hands, begging Hannah seems cautious. However, Jeanne doesn''t resist, she looks at Braun''s eyes, trying to understand. "I just need honesty, Lady Frieden. What are these things?". "I have... interests in using different weapons on animals. Please believe me, I went hunting yesterday and I just used them". "Hmmm... then why did you keep these things?". "Sometimes I would bring them back to my room and... I just... feel like to do it. I... don''t know why". - Braun holds Jeanne''s hands tighter, as if she''s begging more "Please don''t tell my husband, I''m weird sometimes... I really don''t mean to do this...". Jeanne stays quiet. She stares at Braun in the eyes, keeping her cold face, she keeps her look like that. "Even if you''re telling us the truth, we can''t do anything to prove what you said is true". "You can ask my husband and the others about me during the hunt. They saw me using these things". "It''s not about proving the truth, Lady Frieden. It''s about your reputation and the trust people have in you, think about it". - Jeanne holds her breath, ready for a speech. "Think about your child... think about your husband... think about your parents, your marriage". "If we show this report to His Highness, it''ll soon come to everyone. No matter how honest you are... these are enough to make everybody suspect you, some may also think you''re the murderer". "Think about the murderer who has been causing terror to the innocent people here. Everyone will think you are that murderer, Lady Frieden". "I''m not doing anything wrong, I swear to the Goddess, I''m not killing anyone. Please believe me". "I explained it to you earlier...". - "There''s only one way. You follow us to find the killer... that''s the only thing we can do to show everyone that you''re innocent". - Jeanne stands up, she looks at Braun straight in the eyes "The Goddess creates this world. She gives us choices to mold it". "Choose carefully, Lady Frieden. You don''t follow us, you''ll be alone and everyone will go against you. You follow us, you have our support, you show yourself clean". Braun looks up. She looks straight at Jeanne, she trembles a little. Surrounded by fear, the female guard closes her eyes, she carefully opens her mouth. ... ... ... C09: Bystander Day 4 - Daytime - Morning 25th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Jeanne and Hannah are walking together in a hallway. Both of them have done with the interrogation. It''s about to get noon. These two investigators are thinking about what they should do next. Hannah is going along with her mother like usual. But the girl seems to be frustrated, she doesn''t feel comfortable with the outcome. At the end of the interrogation, Braun had decided to follow Jeanne and Hannah. From now on, these two will have a new ally. It is an advantage to Jeanne, but not her daughter... "Mom". - Hannah speaks up with an annoyed tone "What is it, sweetie?". "Is that a right decision? You just let her join us without considering". "I did, you just didn''t see it". "What if she did something to us?". Jeanne doesn''t respond. She looks around to find prince Koenig''s room, she wants to check on him. However, she notices the prince''s room doesn''t have a guard. It means Koenig isn''t in the room. "Hey, where''s the prince?". - Hannah suddenly asks a maid who was sweeping the floor in a corner of the hallway "His Highness is now joining a meeting, miss. He''s over there". - That maid points to the right, a room at the end of a hallway Jeanne nods to thank and she moves forward. Hannah waves at the maid to say goodbye and leaves, both of them are curious. "You haven''t answered my question, mom". "Braun seems to be an honest woman, her behaviors during the interrogation were pure anxiety. Maybe I''m wrong, but I think even if she thought about harming us, it would take her a long time". - Jeanne explains, she walks a bit faster. "The Palace Killer does not work alone, sweetie. Their activities are organized so it takes time". "So you''re saying she''s not guilty and the person I faced in that room was someone else?". "I don''t say that. We just don''t have enough proof to say she is the killer, she just... has potential". "We found those bloody things in her room, mom". "That''s still not enough. I mean we haven''t verified that information, maybe she was telling the truth. Even if the truth was real, we have no evidence to say she is the killer and the missing victims were murdered by those weapons". "I''m more interested in the maids, you know". - Jeanne reveals. "Think... I found so many coincidences in the night you faced that mysterious figure. You ate a cake they gave you first before you came to Braun''s room and drank her tea, it could be a slow pill". - Jeanne tries to share her thoughts with her daughter. "That female then asked a maid to take care of you, you woke up after sleeping and you faced that dark figure. Then what? That person ran away and the guards chased them". - Jeanne sees that the way to the room is near, she wants to end fast. "Two maids you met on your way said they ran to the backyard". "You see? Maids maids and maids". "Hmmm... so you said it was all a set up?". "Not really. I feel like it was an act of opportunistic, just a warning. Maybe they tried to drug you but failed, then they saw the opportunity from Braun''s trust". "You reminded me this, mom. Daggers are small, they can be concealed easily". - Hannah says. "No surprise if that one hid the knife and ran out with someone from her side to join as witnesses. The maid uniforms are black too". "So that''s why you ordered Braun to spy on Selena?". "Yeah. They''re best friends anyway. Since Selena is a maid, I''m not surprised if she is the killer who has companions who are her co-workers". - Jeanne explains. "The only thing that aches my mind is... where can they hide the bodies just by in this palace?". "You''re not afraid? Everything can be exposed". "I just asked Braun to...". - Jeanne notices she and her daughter have reached the room, she walks to a knight statue and stands there. "Listen, I just asked her to give reports of her conversations with her friends. No stalking, no sneaking, she just needs to write about what she knows so far about Selena, everything else is normal". "That sucks". - Hannah comments. "Why need so limited information?". "I only extend what I need when I have a need. We can''t depend too much on our providers, sweetie. Our deductions, our minds are the most precious things". "I have a theory Braun is a killer". - Hannah continues "Of course I don''t phase her out. She can be a helper, that''s why I listed the alive wives of His Highness as the suspects". "How much do you trust her, mom?". - Hannah looks at her mother straight in the eyes Jeanne only smiles. "Well, there''s a story. A husband and a wife live apart, they can''t even letter each other so they can dream about each other, that''s it". - Jeanne doesn''t want to waste her time, but she really enjoys chatting with her daughter. "How could both of them trust and make sure their spouse is only faithful to them? That''s impossible. We can only keep that hope in our hearts". "Great, a woman who never married tells me about trust". - Hannah says "Meanwhile there''s is a kid who never had a boyfriend corrects me about marriage". - Jeanne replies The mother and her daughter stare at each other. One of them smirks. "Enough joking, let''s go back to work". - Jeanne taps on Hannah''s left shoulder, both of them soon go out together Two investigators come to the door, thinking about going inside. "Halt. You''re not allowed to get in". - However, a guard orders them to stop as they came close All of a sudden, a guard who stands next to that man whispers something into his ears. "I''m very sorry for my disrespect. Please forgive me. This way". - Finally, for some reason, both of those guards open the door Hannah steps inside with a smirk while her mother is a bit confused. "What was that?". "Mom, relax. Well, one time I followed the prince here and a guard stopped me, he said I wasn''t allowed and the prince came". - Hannah sits down on a couch placed at the end of the wall. "That''s how it went. I''m his friend, now I can go wherever I want". "I didn''t teach you to use your intelligence for this". - Jeanne takes a seat next to her daughter Hannah doesn''t seem to listen to her mother''s words. Instead, she picks up a cup from a tray placed on a small table next to her seat. She fills up the tea, then slowly enjoys the taste along with the cookies she grabbed from the tray. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Jeanne sighs. She decides to let her daughter have some free time. The investigator starts looking for prince Koenig. She immediately looks in the direction where there are a lot of voices coming out. That appears to be a discussion scene before Jeanne. Now she notices herself and her daughter standing out of the discussion by taking the most distant seats. That''s an obvious thing because their presence here is to solve a missing-murder case. Meanwhile, the people who sit over there are discussing the country''s affairs. Jeanne sees prince Koenig sitting among those people. The prince''s bodyguard - Dunkel can be seen standing guard behind his seat. Meanwhile, Selena is seen standing in a dark corner. She stands beside two other maids, seems to be in the waiting position. Jeanne looks closely at the prince due to curiosity. She sees two women sitting with him, Koenig is sitting between those women. They''re the suspects the investigator hasn''t talked to. Jeanne knows that based on the description of the suspects'' appearance in her report. The two suspects who sit with the prince are two royal people, both are princesses. The girl on the left is Reila Foss - the Crown Princess of Attenta Kingdom. She is a concubine. Reila seems different. Unlike other women, she looks quite muscular, her hand muscles exposed. Meanwhile, this girl''s red dress may have covered up the rest of her muscular parts. Her short red hair is dense, her blue eyes are sharp, it makes her look like a human-lion. The girl on the right is Saeko Ashura - a princess of Ashura Kingdom, somewhere Jeanne doesn''t know. As said in the report, Ashura Kingdom is located in the far northeast, out of the Continent. The girl herself is also a concubine of the prince. The girl appears to be very timid, she just sits near the prince and mostly closes her eyes, she opens them sometimes. Saeko is completely different from all women here. She has dark hair, long dark hair, her eyes are black. The girl seems quiet. She wears an odd white long dress, which is called "kimono" in her kingdom. This girl''s sitting pose is also strange as well. She closes her eyes while making a sitting pose called "seiza" in her country. "Hannah". "?". - Hannah perks her ears as she heard her mom calling her "From now on, I''ll investigate Selena and Reila. You do the same thing with Braun and Saeko, the girl on the right side, see it?". - Jeanne points her hand to Saeko''s seat "Alright, mom". - Hannah returns to bite some cookies Both investigators stay quiet and sit firmly, trying not to disturb the room''s atmosphere. Jeanne is not interested in politics, but this investigator is interested in hearing people talk, she wants to listen. Meanwhile, Hannah only sees the discussion before her as something to entertain. This girl wants to have more time to relax. "Hmmm... who''s the king, mom?". - Hannah sips some tea "The person with a crown on his head...". - Now Jeanne remembers. "I mean... that golden thing on his head, he''s the King". "I know. I see his bodyguard". - Hannah looks at the bodyguard. "Braun surely has a handsome man, he''s so big". - A while later, she finally looks at the king "You said that''s the king, mom...? He looks old. I bet he can''t even stand, look at his trembling hands". - Hannah grabs a cookie. "Unlike the bearded man right next to him... their ages don''t look so different but the crown guy is too old". "Can you shut up?". - Jeanne grunts a little Hannah stays silent. She sips some more tea, she keeps her back laid comfortably while sitting. Everything now shifts from the couple investigators to Prince Koenig''s position. He is sitting between two of his wives, he seems anxious for some reason. Opposes to the prince''s seat is his father - the King, and the Prime minister, discussing with him about the national affairs. "Father", - Koenig speaks up, his voice seems a little preserved. "have you read the suggestions I sent to you last week?". The King nods weakly. He doesn''t seem to have enough strength to reply, he keeps sitting on his couch. The person in a wide brown tunic who has brown hair, sits next to the King, pulls out a fur document from a box placed on the table. "It''s right here, Your Highness". - The Prime Minister shows the document by raising it above. "Your Highness, you shouldn''t disturb your old father. To be honest, it''s a new idea that no one has thought of before, you made the first step for this new change". - The Prime Minister immediately drops the document. "However... you need to be wiser, this idea is interesting but... it''s just futile". "I spent two years writing this thing and you just dropped it without a second thought?!". - Koenig seems very mad, he manages to sit tight on his couch because his women are holding him back "I did take your idea seriously but it''s impossible to make. Doing that is risky, it''s about life and death". - Prime Minister sits firmly on his couch. "I know better than you do. Our kingdom faces misfortunes, we have small territories and very few lands suitable for agriculture. That''s why we have to depend on food imports, Attenta and its vassal states are our only sources". "You''re saying we have to stay under them. Those misfortunes are your faults! Ten years ago weren''t like this, your presence changed everything! They just keep coming over and over! They never stop!". "I''m afraid you''re having some issues, Your Highness. The old always know what they''re doing". - Prime Minister sips some tea. "Everything has its time, we can''t change the fact that Warsaw is ruined apart. That''s not my fault. Our lords turned against us, our people turned against us, all of them voluntarily followed Attenta". "And it only happened when you got to this position". - Koenig replies. "We need to take back the lands that used to be ours. To do that, we need a new plant that can survive even in intense environments. Otherwise, we''ll deal with a famine if Attenta and its allies cut off our food support". "May you give me permission to speak my thoughts, Toten - dono?". - All of a sudden, Saeko - one of the prince''s concubines, raises her hand "Go on". - Prime Minister allows "I''m honestly not saying who is brighter than who. But His Highness really has a good idea. We''re talking about potato, a plant comes from the land of the elves". - Saeko sits tight, she speaks every word firmly. "It grows fast, it adapts to the environment it lives. My homeland Ashura is just an island on the sea, the north side is covered in snow most of the time. But we face no starvations, because we have that plant, it keeps us to this day". "Yet, the elves don''t demand much. They only ask us to withdraw soldiers and lumbermen from their lands, that''s the only condition they will consider to trade with us". "You don''t understand, Lady Saeko. It''s rare to see a human kingdom trading with the elves... we also don''t know about their true nature". - All of a sudden, the wife on the left, Reila, speaks up. "Once they get us to satisfy them, they demand more in the next time, that''s a more dangerous thing". "You''re literally saying what your homeland is doing to other kingdoms, Reila - dono". "We keep them under control. That''s how a country should work, everything needs to be unified under one monarch". - Reia riles up. "What do we give to those kingdoms? Protection, unification, power sharing, many things else. Only the ignorants refuse, they don''t precious their opportunity". "Who needs those opportunities when they don''t get treated like the real citizens? Who needs that when their cultures, their history, their traditions get crushed and replaced by what their new ruler wants?". - Saeko replies "Shut the fuck up!!! You two shut the fuck up!!!". - Koenig howls, he holds his ears and stands up. "Minister Alt, I don''t care about what you think! I''ve done my best to change my homeland, I''m your ruler so you have to listen to me!!!". - He points his index finger at the Prime Minister, cursing him "Your Highness... the one who we need to listen here is His Majesty". - The Prime Minister later turns to face the King. "What are your thoughts on this, Your Majesty?". "I... I believe in you... I gave you... all the rights... Alt...". - The King speaks up weakly "Did you hear that, Your Highness? This is what I know better. You have the potential to become a ruler but you have a weak mind". - Prime Minister stands up, he approaches Koenig. "It''s not because I don''t agree with you. Look around you, imagine if you made that change... you never thought about consequences?". - He puts his face closer to the prince''s "I''ll be the new King, everyone will listen to me". - Koenig replies "A King is worthless without his followers... you will understand when no one stands for you. People will hate you, people will feel disgusted, all of them are worried about what is beyond the Continent. Even just a single plant". The prince lowers his face, he doesn''t want to look up. His tears are flooding his eyes, but he holds back, he wants to cry when he is alone, when no one laughs at him. "Just do what you have to do...". - Koenig utters with his cracked voice, he wants to cry, he wants to drown himself in something warm and comfortable "I''m glad when you understand, Your Highness. Don''t be like your brother, he never cares about his homeland, he is good at running away, that''s how a loser is". The prince nods. Jeanne and Hannah are still sitting from the distance, they''re still watching the scene. The female investigator looks at something else, she observes maid Selena. The maid doesn''t seem to have any strange behaviors, she still stands like her co-workers. However, her face appears to be a bit angry. "Did you see things like this often, mom? I mean, back in Leafspear". - Hannah suddenly asks Jeanne "No...". - Jeanne sips some tea. "Everything I know is just about a princess, you know that women can''t become heirs. Her parents scheduled an arranged marriage, for a person she didn''t love, that was her situation". "How did she end up?". "She stole my boyfriend". - Jeanne replies, she puts the cup down "So my father did that to you. Hmmm... who did he end up with?". "Well, as you''re seeing". - Jeanne pats her daughter''s head "Where is she?". - Jeanne looks at the area people are discussing "Who?". "Reila Foss". "I saw her leaving. What''s wrong?". Jeanne doesn''t respond. The investigator doesn''t want to leave out any suspects, even if that suspect appears to be innocent. She wants to make sure all suspects she listed have to see her and talk to her. She wants to see suspect Reila as soon as possible. However, Jeanne is very worried about her daughter if she leaves her alone. She cares about her daughter''s safety like every mother. Jeanne wants to make sure Hannah won''t face trouble, so that she can comfortably step into her job with full force concentration. "Hannah, remember to stay with His Highness. It''s about to get noon, eat with him, stay with him, you just need to rest all day now". "Are you going somewhere, mom?". - Hannah wonders "Maybe a few minutes later. Just remember what I told you earlier". Jeanne stays quiet. She holds her daughter''s hand, pretending to continue to watch the discussion. C10: Three Factions Day 4 - Nighttime - Night 25th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Another night comes. The room of the two investigators is locked as always, one of them is working. Hannah is sitting on the bed, tasting a small cake. It was part of a birthday cake she took in the palace''s living room previously. Today is Selena''s birthday. Despite facing difficulties in holding a small birthday, prince Koenig still managed to make it happen. The girl is trying to feel every bite, nice and slow. She is a bit disappointed when she can''t attend the birthday party due to her work. But still, she is happy when she can at least have a cake. Hannah wants to enjoy every moment she is going through, a rare moment for her. Unlike Hannah, her mother Jeanne is not playing around. She is sitting at her wooden desk, reading the report sent by Braun Frieden. Somehow, the investigator finds the case she was investigating is becoming odd. Her eyes still focus on the report, she keeps reading. "Hannah". - Jeanne calls her daughter. "Hannah...". - Again, no one responds to her. "Hannah...!". - She makes her voice a bit louder "Yeah, mom?". - Hannah gets a bit surprised, she lowers the spoon "Did you approach the 4th suspect?". "No, mom. She stayed with the prince at that time, I couldn''t ask her and she refused to answer". "How''s about you?". "Same. Reila did not allow me to see her, but she scheduled a meeting with me tomorrow". - Jeanne then stays silent. "When you would finish it, sweetie?". "It won''t take long". - Hannah replies, but she also stops eating. "Would you like to have some, mom?". Jeanne shakes her head. Hannah feels disappointed as she heard her mom''s answer. The girl looks at her mom who is sitting at the desk with her back before her. Just silence, now there''s no mood, no fun for the girl to enjoy the birthday cake anymore. "I''m coming". - Hannah puts the cake bowl on a small table, she then approaches her mother "I want to let you know that I watched Selena quite many times in the meeting. Don''t know what to say, she seemed to get mad easily when someone said bad about the prince, but she soon calmed down". "That''s quite the opposite of her. She was very calm and even meticulous when I was drinking with her". - Jeanne comments, she has stopped reading the report but still stays to read important parts. "I understand her feelings. Just a girl who is at her growing age, always gets emotional if something happens to her love". "I''ve watched Saeko as well. She seems very quiet, only talks when necessary, very very preserved". "Hmmmm... did you see anything suspicious of her?". "No. At least not... not this time". - Hannah replies. "I saw Selena comforting the prince because he was crying after the discussion, the guy just later slept on her lap. Nothing about Saeko is suspicious, I didn''t see any behaviors of her were... mean to harm". Jeanne nods. She still stays silent. "What are you reading, mom?". "Just a report Braun wrote for us". - Jeanne later puts the report down and turns to her daughter. "I have something to announce, sweetie". "From now on, Saeko Ashura is no longer a suspect. We''ll focus on the current three suspects, I''ll add more if I see someone suspicious". "Why? We haven''t checked on her". "Sometimes we have to push faster the investigation. The more time of a case, the more expectations people will put on us, that''s when the case is not a fun thing to solve". - Jeanne explains, she scratches her messy blonde hair. "We''re here to stop another murder, not playing cat and mouse with the killer". "At first, I put the alive concubines of His Highness to be the suspects because the victims were mostly his wives. But now when the clues are clearer, it''s time to change". - Jeanne looks at a space. "I think a lot, that''s also my weakness". "I''ve read some books about Ashura Kingdom in the library. Everything is odd. The Ashurians are said to be very quiet, careful in all the ways they behave to others from the outside to the inside". - Jeanne tries to remember the contents she read. "The marriage between His Highness and Saeko is basically an arranged marriage. It''s common with the nobles, especially the royals. No love at all, it''s just a way to extend relationships to strengthen the country by getting more allies". "Based on what I read and what you described about Saeko... she doesn''t seem to have a goal". - Jeanne closes her eyes a bit, she feels a bit sleepy. "With ambitious women, this marriage is a chance. The only wife alive will live with the prince, she will become a Queen when her time comes". "So you''re saying that''s the cause of this entire case, mom?". "It could just be one of many". "But why Saeko doesn''t have a goal? It doesn''t make sense". "Sweetie, she''s a princess who comes from a kingdom we don''t know about. It''s said to be much more advanced than all kingdoms in this Continent, it''s the real thing". - Jeanne sips some water. "Why would she need something backward like this small country?". "Hmmm... but I think we should check on her at least once". "Hmmmm... let''s hope that I''m wrong. But be careful, sweetie". - Jeanne sips some more water. "Most of His Highness'' wives are poor nobles or peasants, just some are powerful. All of them can have ambitions to live a Queen''s life, but Saeko is out of that path". The investigator keeps drinking water quietly. Hannah picks up a chair and moves towards her mother, she firmly sits next to her. This young investigator behaves as if she wants to say something. "I have some new theories, m-". All of a sudden, the front door has knocking sounds. "Who''s there?". - Jeanne asks "It''s me. Braun Frieden, madame". "Why are you here this late?". - Hannah moved with her mother, both of them sneak at the door Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. "I have something to report". Jeanne unlocks the door and slowly opens half of it. As the door is opened, a scrolled paper sheet is pointed to her, the investigator immediately grabs that report. "Good job, I need you to keep working like this. No unusual behaviors, you just need to keep your conversations with Selena as normal as possible, write back everything you can remember". - Jeanne reminds Braun "Understood. I''m leaving then". - Braun bows "No, don''t do that. Keep our conversations normal, just go". - Done saying, Jeanne closes the door and locks it up Jeanne returns to her seat. She puts the scrolled paper down on the desk, she sighs three times. "Please listen to me before you sleep, mom. I have a theory". - Hannah speaks up "I''m listening". - Jeanne replies, she opens the paper and starts reading the new report "Well. I have a new theory, about the burglars who killed the maids". - Hannah sits next to her mother. "I''m thinking... maybe we''re solving two separate cases. I mean, when I take this case seriously, I see the differences between the missing people and the murdered maids". "In the beginning, people went missing constantly. Then three months later, every month there would be a group of burglars sneaking in the palace from the outside. They murdered the maids each time breaking in. Then got killed". - Hannah tries to explain. "I''ve checked on the maids to see if they had something related to the prince, but I just found it empty. Before those murders, the security in the palace wasn''t tight although there had been constant missings". - The girl tries to remember the details. "Since a month ago, everything returned to normal. Maybe that''s because the security has been increased so the killer can''t keep killing people?". "You see, mom. It looks like there are two sides working on this thing. This is something else". "So my theory is... there are two killer sides in this case, makes it look like two separated cases". - Hannah explains. "The first side kills in silence, very organized. While the second side seems careless, or that''s their intention to work that way". - The young girl stays silent for a while. "The second side knew the first side was killing people. But they knew people weren''t aware so the second side killed some maids to increase the security in the palace, so the first side would see the disadvantage and leave". "I also thought about that, sweetie". - Jeanne replies. "But the more I think of it, the more headaches I get, I don''t know the real motives". "How do you explain this, mom?". "My thoughts on this is that... in the beginning, there was only one group that murders people. However, the group later went into a conflict, they splitted sides and went against each other". "I said to you that the Palace Killer doesn''t work alone. So there''s a high possibility that the maids who got murdered... maybe not random. They could be the killer''s supporters, murdered to decrease the numbers of force". "But what are their motives?". - Hannah wonders "I''m not sure. But I can see that both sides want to eliminate each other until there''s only one left". - Jeanne sips some water. "The second side used the burglars because they don''t want their members to clean hands, huh...? Hmmmm... I''m afraid that we have to extend the perimeter of our investigation, sweetie". "It''s too much for the two of us". - Hannah nods "Neither both sides come to find us, it means they want to get rid of each other in silence. I don''t know what their real motives are, but I think His Highness has something to do with this, he''s the cause". "Are you saying that he called us here to solve the mess he made?". "No, I don''t think he knows about this at all. Back to our job, do you remember if you want to get out of the backyard, you need a key?". "Yeah. Only the royals keep the keys... wait, does that mean?". "That''s right". - Jeanne comments "But who really keeps the key?". "Right now, His Highness only has three wives left. Two of them come from the royal, one is a poor noble". - Jeanne explains. "Selena definitely has no right to keep it. Only Reila and Saeko can". "But aren''t they come from two other countries? I don''t think the outsiders even in the royal will have the right to own the key. What''s about the Queen, mom?". "That''s what makes my head ache". - Jeanne replies. "We''re not allowed to present before any royals unless we have permission. We have no information about the Queen, so we can only use our imagination for this". "Why don''t we ask the prince?". "I don''t think he''ll tell us". - Jeanne sips some water. "This is interesting". - Jeanne comments as she was reading the report Hannah doesn''t speak up, she just sits and stays quiet. The girl turns behind to see the cake, she only hopes her mother can taste it. "I''m still unsure about the motives of the killers. But I''m sure it''s all only going around His Highness". - Jeanne speaks up. "We have two killer groups, they kill each other. But now they stopped because of our presence. Both sides don''t want to be found out, they will get rid of us before killing again". "That sounds awful, mom". "That''s what really happened to the people before us. Maybe not because there are more guards so they stop the killings, they just want to get rid of us, the investigators". - Jeanne explains. "Once both sides go against each other, one will lose and one will survive, it ends well. However, once we find out who they are, both sides lose. They see us as a more dangerous threat". "It''s just a theory, sweetie. All we can do right now is finding the clues, we have a good suspect". - Jeanne grazes her messy hair, she gives Hannah the report. "Tomorrow, I''ll meet Reila and keep tracking Selena. You should hurry with the luminol, we need it". "Alright, mom". - Hannah replies. "But I have something to say, we should not rule out Saeko yet". "She doesn''t appear to have any motives, so it seems to be a small possibility. I thought about her too. That girl could have joined either one of two sides to get protection". "So... is she still a suspect?". Jeanne nods. "You just skipped the regulations and now you put everything back". - Hannah says "So you still don''t know the real motives of these killers?". "I need more information, sweetie. The only thing I know is that the cause seems to be going around His Highness. Two killer groups, both sides are against each other. Both groups have a leader and none of them work alone". Jeanne closes her eyes and lowers her face, the investigator tries to rest for a few seconds. Meanwhile, her daughter Hannah is reading the report, she seems very shocked. Hannah puts down the report not so long later. She doesn''t know how to feel, so many puzzles have been collected but none of them give her a full picture. "We have a good start with Selena". - Jeanne speaks up. "She''s interesting, we may track her to discover more mysteries". "According to Braun''s report, Selena came to the palace three years ago when she was 14. She was chosen to be a concubine, she first worked as a normal maid, later became a special maid of His Highness". - Jeanne briefs the content in the report, she wants to drink a bit but the cup is empty. "She''s said to be very friendly, she treats the maids well, a very nice-hearted woman. Maybe... if I place her as the killer, she has full potential for it". "I think the same way, mom. She has full potential for the role". - Hannah agrees as she had just finished reading the new report. "So it says this girl sometimes will come to the church. There''s always a carriage on the palace''s front yard, it belongs to her, in some occasions, she''ll send food and medicine to the church using it". "What''s wrong?". - Hannah seems confused when she saw her mother breathing a bit heavy "Nothing. I was just thinking about the past... it''s nothing matters". - Jeanne grazes her hair. "You see this woman''s potential, sweetie?". Hannah nods. "That''s right. She is possessive towards the prince, she loves him. She is loved by everyone, she treats the maids well and they can be her helpers in murders. She has a carriage, it can be used... for...". - Jeanne closes her eyes a bit, then she opens them up. "Her family makes businesses in food and medicine, it''s still unclear but I can see that she poisoned the tea". - The investigator closes her eyes a bit, she wants to think about the accuracy of her deduction "The only problem is that we don''t know where the victim bodies are when they got killed. She can easily dump them by using the carriage when she is on her way to the church, but where in the palace could she hide the bodies without getting any trouble?". "What''s about the basement in the King''s room, mom?". "If she did that, it means she has the Queen''s protection. But why would the Queen help her...?". "If that was Reila then...". - Hannah gives her mother a suggestion "It would be more reasonable if it was for Reila. If we say the Queen protects Reila by using Selena to be their butcher, so that Selena will be blamed when she''s caught". - Jeanne replies "Hmmm... what''s about Braun and Saeko, mom?". "Braun is Selena''s best friend, she may help her in the murders too. However, I see Saeko has nothing to do with this. At least I see nothing ambitious in her... unless she is forced to join the murders". "I heard people say sometimes the people who look nothing dangerous are the most dangerous". - Hannah speaks up Jeanne doesn''t respond. She later chuckles a bit and then stands up. "I''ll ask for a warrant to search Selena''s carriage. If we find blood during the search, then we will have full authority to arrest her". - Jeanne comments, she closes and opens her eyes a few times while standing because she''s exhausted "I''ll take care of the suspects, sweetie. Focus on crafting the luminol tomorrow, we have those mages, we can''t waste them". "Alright, mom". The investigator then approaches the bed. She sits on the bed, then lies there, slowly closing her eyes. Her daughter comes to sit next to her, she sighs. Hannah looks at the leftover cake on the small table nearby, she keeps staring at it. ... ... ... C11: Third Suspect (1) Day 5 - Daytime - Noon 26th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Investigator Jeanne is now standing in a corner of the palace''s front yard. She waits for Reila. Somehow, the meeting wasn''t made although Reila promised to meet with Jeanne. After knowing the woman wasn''t in the palace but was with Prince Koenig outside for some reason, the female investigator decided to wait for her return so that she could continue her mid-stopped investigation. Hannah isn''t with Jeanne at the moment, her daughter is busy with another duty. Only Jeanne standing alone in the front yard, she stays cover in the shadow of the pillars to avoid the bright sunlight of noon. The investigator still waits, her right hand is holding a brown document, appears to have files contained inside, the information files. During the waiting, Jeanne glances at some carriages parked in areas near her position. She is looking for Selena Breima''s carriage, which she would use every time she visits the church to donate food and medicine to the people there. Despite not having enough physical evidence that links Selena Breima to the missings and murders, Jeanne still suspects the girl because she has enough potential and conditions to operate it. Still nothing... Jeanne sees some wagons there but she doesn''t know which one belongs to the suspect. All she can do right now is depend on the information given by Braun Frieden. But that royal guard is also busy at the moment. Since Prince Koenig isn''t in the palace, Jeanne can''t come to him to ask for a warrant paper. Even if the investigator did own a warrant, she wouldn''t search the carriage right away, instead, she would wait. But... everything didn''t go as planned, the investigator only hopes it wouldn''t take long until her hands can touch a warrant paper. A wagon suddenly stops as Jeanne was thinking. She takes a glance and notices it is Reila''s carriage. One guard comes to open the door, a figure appears to be suspect Reila Foss slowly steps out of the small carriage. Two maids from the wagon follow their owner, but they soon notice their way is blocked. The maids start to notice their owner is staring at the woman before her. Jeanne stays quiet, she stands before Reila, her eyes looking still at the woman''s eyes. Just like that, a moment of silence occurs between the two people. Reila shows up as a woman who appears to be in her 25. Her crimson dress is outstanding compared to the others'' clothes. The woman doesn''t seem to like the way the investigator stares at her eyes. Her face grumbles a bit. "Oh... alright". - Reila lowers her face slightly, she looks away and holds her head. "I remember I promised you we would discuss that topic today... well... come in, make it quick when I''m still free". - The woman returns inside her carriage, she wants the investigator to follow her Jeanne only stays silent and slowly enters the wagon. She just saw an unusual behavior of Reila, she just returned to the palace after going somewhere, but then she decided to go back inside. "I hope you''ll excuse me if I open up my voice, Lady Reila. Why did you just return to your wagon?". - Jeanne questions "It''d waste my energy if I talked with you when I was going back to my room. Let''s solve it right here". - Reila puts her back in her seat, her tone shows that she sees the investigator''s words have no weight, she wants the conversation to end early Jeanne nods. She sits firmly and starts putting the document aside. Nothing is unusual until the investigator saw suspect Selena inside the wagon. That young girl appears to be one of the two maids sitting inside the carriage. However, Jeanne needs information first... she hides her surprise, trying to speak up. "I went to see you this morning. But you weren''t here, Lady Reila". "I got in... an urgent meeting. Everything is fine now, it was boring so I did not bother to stay". - Reila replies, her eyes focus on the document Jeanne is holding "If you bring it here to give His Highness, you should better wait until he returns. He''s still in the meeting, and I''m not going again". Jeanne nods slightly. "Lady Reila, I know doing this takes your time. But this won''t take long, I''m just going to ask you some questions about the case I''m working on, I need cooperation". - The investigator opens some files. "I''m afraid the missings in recent times have turned into murders, I want to make sure everyone is safe. I don''t know how long would it take, but I''ll catch this Palace Killer as soon as possible". Jeanne focuses on Reila and Selena''s expressions. From this investigator''s knowledge, she knows some murderers react to their nicknames in various ways, some don''t, it''s a narcissist test. However, things later show that both of them appear normal after hearing the name. The investigator is still very sure Selena could be the real killer, but she is unsure about Reila, the woman could be innocent or has some involvement. For some reason, Reila doesn''t say anything after that. The woman sips some tea, her maids sit still, another silent moment occurs. Jeanne still wonders why Selena is with Reila. She wants to make sure her investigation goes smoothly. "You don''t serve His Highness today, Selena?". - Jeanne asks the maid girl, she soon turns her attention to the document as if she was asking her friend while doing her job "Lady Reila''s servant isn''t with her today, maybe she''s sick. Well, I have to replace her, no choice left". - Selena replies, she opens a light smile as always Jeanne stays quiet for a while. Right now, she has two suspects in front of her. It could be a coincidence, but the investigator is not so sure about that scenario. "Are they working together?", she doesn''t know. "If Selena was the real killer, then could she be under control of someone for this work?", she doesn''t know about it either. Even if what Jeanne assumed was real, she couldn''t do anything because she hasn''t researched much about Reila. "Um, excuse me, Lady Reila", - Jeanne bows slightly. "she''s just a friend of mine, I just wanted to know if she was doing alright". - The investigator holds a file in her hand, while the others have been put aside "Hmmm... is it safe to speak here? It''s something private". - Jeanne speaks up once again "My servants won''t disturb". The investigator nods slightly as she heard Reila''s response. Jeanne honestly doesn''t want the information of the case being leaked to anyone, she is also cautious towards the maids. However, she has no choice but to continue in this situation. She needs information and statements, other issues can be dealt with later. "As you know, Lady Reila. Six months ago until recently, many women have been missing and four maids have been murdered". - Jeanne wonders if her plan isn''t going as well as she thought. "But I believe those who went missing are now dead, the murderer will likely target people like you. Please, I just need you here for a while, it won''t take long, with your help, I''ll be able to catch the killer". "Go straight to the point". - Reila shrugs, she sips some tea Jeanne nods firmly. She gives Reila the file that she was holding earlier. "I believe the clues for us to find the killer come from his first victim. Lady Luvita Rommosa was last seen reading books in her room at night, then she went missing and was never seen again". - Jeanne tries to brief the information in the file. "From what I heard, you''re her close friend and she visited you frequently before she disappeared. I know this happened very long ago, but could you please tell me how was she doing that night if you met her? Did she have any strange behaviors or something like that?". This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Jeanne stays quiet and observes Reila''s behaviors. The woman sips some tea and reads the file at the same time, she puts the cup down. Reila sighs a little, she later returns the file to the investigator. "You can ask her maids instead, she stayed with her all the time". "But Lady Reila, her maid is also one of three people who went missing that night too". - Jeanne sees that Reila''s feelings for her close friend look shallow, but she can''t prove anything without proof "Oh... I don''t know that". - Reila replies, she then stays quiet. "Actually, I did meet her that night. Everything was fine, but she asked me to walk her around the palace, she was new to the place anyway". - The woman picks up her cup, she notices it''s almost empty Jeanne stays quiet, she wants Reila to continue her statement. "We went around the palace, I taught her the living areas for the servants and the royals. Then we... went to... we went to see flowers". - For some reason, Reila stopped her voice twice during her speech "In the backyard or the garden?". - Jeanne asks "Garden". - Reila answers, she later picks up and sips a new cup of tea. "She liked them a lot. We later parted ways, she said she remembered the direction back to her room so I went back to mine". Jeanne nods. She starts to wonder if Reila''s statement is the truth. "But why did you have to wait for today to ask me?". - All of a sudden, Reila speaks up with annoyance. "You came here five days ago, you could have done more than this. You make me think you started investigating from today, my husband just spent his money to hire a worthless disappointment". "I understand your feelings, Lady Reila, it''s my bad. The profiles were many, it took me days to process. But I''ll make sure to solve the case as fast as possible". Jeanne wonders if intentionally showing her fake weaknesses could make the real killer less guard up or not. But she knows she can''t mask for too long, she can''t be passive at work all the time. "That''s why I told you this is something private. Most missing people in this case are high-ranked nobles, some know you, all of them like you, have been targeted". - Jeanne explains. "I''m here to prevent another murder by catching the killer, Lady Reila, you would be targeted if I can''t protect you. That''s why I need your help to find clues, please give me a chance". "What''s about the missing maids and the two people like you earlier?". - Reila asks, she puts her back deeper into her seat to relax "They can''t give me much money like you do". - The investigator forms a slight smile, she stares into Reila''s eyes for a while Reila also smiles back as she saw Jeanne smiling. The woman''s smile appears to disregard the female investigator more than to appreciate her current presence. "Alright... but I''m not giving you any coins, ask my husband". - Reila replies, she returns to sip some tea The investigator nods. "Ummm... the report said Lady Rommosa was with her maid at the time she went missing. Was she?". "Yes, her maid was with her, we never saw each other again when we parted ways". - Reila replies Again, Jeanne sees the shallow feelings towards the close friend of suspect Reila Foss. "I hope your friend is still alright, Lady Reila, although it''s a very small possibility". - Jeanne speaks as she reads the report in the file. "Do you know why she disappeared? Maybe she ran away, she''s the first one to disappear and maybe her disappearance has nothing to do with other missings". - The investigator wonders what would Reila think about it. "Maybe it''s just a coincidence, she disappeared not because she was dead, she ran away for some reason and it met right at the time people started disappearing". All of a sudden, Reila stops sipping her tea, she goes silent. "Actually... before she got picked inside the palace to become my husband''s wife, she was arranged to marry a guy. He sent letters to her all the time, saying he would harm her parents if she didn''t go back to him, she told me that". - Reila reveals a secret about her close friend''s personal life The investigator stays quiet, she wonders if this new information is real or fake. From what she knows based on the room search of the first victim Luvita Rommosa, there was nothing such as those letters. However, Jeanne doesn''t want to slip any evidence. She wants to make sure everything goes right. "Do you keep any letters like that, Lady Reila?". Reila doesn''t respond. She glances at one of her two maids, one woman later comes to a handbag nearby and pulls out a fur envelope. The investigator receives the envelope, she pulls the thing out and it appears to be a letter. "Luvita told me to keep this thing. She said if something happens to her, she''ll feel alright and when her friend is keeping this thing". Jeanne focuses on the content of the letter. Instead of focusing on this new clue, the investigator focuses more on how could Reila keep this old letter in her handbag. As if she keeps it all the time, while she could store it in her room instead because this evidence is precious, especially if it''s lost. "Do you have any more letters, Lady Reila?". - Jeanne looks up and returns to reading after a few seconds "That''s all I got". - Reila responses "Thank you... it helps me a lot. Letters are not found in her room, I hope my investigation is progressing thanks to this". Jeanne later goes silent. "The two investigators before me... did they investigate by following this letter?". "They went that way but when I asked for more news, I heard nothing from them". - Reila replies, she sips some tea Jeanne focuses on the content of the letter once again. She assumes she has found a suspicious thing. Reila said the two previous investigators used to investigate the case by following the clues of the first victim''s personal life and the death threat letter. It means they had seen and read the letter. However... for some reason, these two men did not keep the evidence for further double-checks in the investigation but handed the letter back to Reila. "Excuse me again, Lady Reila. About the man you said, did Lady Rommosa tell anything about him to you? His name or somethi-". "Why keep asking me things I can''t find the answer? Of course not. You''re hired here for the job, don''t waste my time any longer". - Reila riles up a little, she seems impatient and a little annoyed "I''m very sorry for my incapacities, Lady Reila. I''ll improve myself". - Jeanne bows deeply The investigator starts thinking about the way to approach the case carefully. The only way to dig in the first victim''s personal life for more clues is to find her parents. This will be very fast to find, her hometown profile is inside Jeanne''s room. However, Jeanne and Hannah are ordered to live in the palace until the case is over, going out is allowed but leaking the case isn''t... so it''s living in isolation. Despite not asking Prince Koenig that question, the investigator still assumes no parents of those girls have received the news. Parents of noble women can only communicate with their children by receiving letters from far away. Hiding the missings by ordering someone to continue writing the letters, mimicking their handwriting is a possible thing. The commoners are much easier to deal with. Peasants are illiterate, maids are mostly countryside girls. As long as the stream of income still comes home, those parents won''t know their children are either been missing or dead. Jeanne wonders if she should make another path of investigation to collect clues by following the letter and Reila''s statement. The investigator doesn''t trust the letter or Reila at all. It could be a trap, two previous people failed. Maybe the clues about the first victim''s boyfriend and the letter are just staged. However, she has no evidence to show that information is fake... but... she still does not believe it or Reila''s statement at all. "I guess you''ve taken too much of my time. Can you get out now?". - All of a sudden, Reila speaks up with a stern voice "Of course, Lady Reila. I''m very sorry for disturbing you... may I keep the letter, please?". Reila looks at Jeanne for a while, she nods slightly. Jeanne bows in silence and quietly leaves the wagon. Now the little interrogation is over, Jeanne did see some suspicious things about the third suspect. However, she thinks she hasn''t collected enough information about Reila Foss. This will take her more time to finish, but the investigator doesn''t want to see another murder, the case must be solved. Jeanne walks back to the front door of the palace. She intends to walk inside and return to her room. She thinks about storing the clues she found, then she would visit her daughter - Hannah to see if she is doing well with crafting luminol. Jeanne and Hannah have two mages and Braun Frieden under their command. The mages are now guided to craft and use luminol, while Braun is ordered to become a stalker, a report writer. Since there are only two investigators in a case with enormous details, Jeanne needs as many allies as possible to help her. Not much left for this female investigator to do in this situation. Prince Koenig isn''t in the palace, she has to wait until he returns to ask for some things. A warrant paper and a scope for checking fingerprint samples, the scope Jeanne brought with is now broken. She can''t follow Reila Foss either, she can''t see Braun because the woman is busy with her duties. "Hey". All of a sudden, someone''s voice just sounded up. Jeanne turns around and notices that is Selena. The maid girl just called the investigator for some reason, she then approaches the wagon. "Hey", - Selena forms a bright smile. "I know you''re very dedicated to your job so... I just asked Her Highness. She''s fine with it now, maybe you can stay a bit longer". Jeanne watches Selena in silence, her face stays neutral and wonders what the girl is up to. "Thanks". "We''re friends after all, don''t mind". - Selena replies to the investigator''s appreciative thank "You said you need to see His Highness, right? It''ll be long for sure, the meeting can last till night". - Selena expresses. "An hour later maybe, remember to gather here. Her Highness is going to see her friends, you might have some moment to talk to her". Jeanne nods. The investigator turns around after that moment, she wonders about the next scenarios. ... ... ... C12: Third Suspect (2) Day 5 - Daytime - Noon 26th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Everyone is gathering at a place that looks like a restaurant. The place itself looks very nice and luxurious, the problem is that it''s a bit quiet. Except for the restaurant owner, Lady Reila, her two maids and investigator Jeanne are the only ones that appear in this restaurant. As told by maid Selena, Reila Foss went here to see her friends. The scene appears that the woman is impatiently waiting for them to arrive, but they haven''t arrived yet. That''s why there''s a dish of steak on the table. Reila seems to be trying to push her frustration down, she bites her lips a few times. Reila is sitting between her two maids, who are now both standing and guarding. The maids aren''t allowed to sit, one of them sometimes lowers her face to watch the dish Reila was it enjoying, she seems very hungry. Unlike that maid, Selena''s attention is a bit different. She keeps looking at a glass full of water nearby, seems thirsty more than hungry. Investigator Jeanne sits opposite to Reila''s position. Her table side has no dishes, instead there is a glass of water, consumed half. Everything seems quiet, especially the investigator. She only sits there and looks at the suspect and her two maids, sometimes she glances around the restaurant. Jeanne sighs a few times, she removes her brown cap and puts it on her thighs. After scratching her hair, she returns to read some files. It''s the investigator''s real nature, she doesn''t want to bother people when they are busy. Jeanne may be old, she may not be as extreme as her young age, but that nature still remains in her veins, she has no intention of changing it. "Take your time when my friends haven''t come. Just speak up, I don''t like to get constant questions after I finish this meal, do it quick". - Reila speaks up when she saw Jeanne''s hesitation, she glances at the investigator with her uncaring eyes and then returns to eating Jeanne opens a file right away as she heard Reila''s complaint. The investigator puts it on the table. "I won''t take your time long, Your Highness. I''ll make this quick". - Jeanne bows then speaks up The investigator just addressed Reila as Her Highness. She did that by following Selena''s behavior. Since Jeanne is an outsider, she knows nothing about royalty or aristocratic things. Maybe in the time when everything was happening, Reila was appointed to be the prince''s main wife since his previous wife was missing. No one knows for sure... the investigator just wants to show full respect. Jeanne slides a letter towards Reila''s position. "After Lady Rommosa went missing, a letter was found in her room and it said she ran away because she was in trouble that she didn''t want to tell". - The investigator gazes at Reila''s eyes. "I just wonder... if the handwriting was hers. Would you verify it for me, Your Highness...? Please". Reila picks up the letter as she put down her spoon. The woman gazes at the letter for a while with a serious face, then she puts it down. "It''s really her handwriting". - Reila slides the letter back to Jeanne Jeanne nods. She puts the letter back in the file and stores it inside her handbag, she then sighs a little. "I hope Lady Rommosa is still alright... so she didn''t vanish as the way I thought. But I hope I won''t have to open another case during this one, it''s terrifying for a person to disappear and never be heard again, especially at this time when others were also missing coincidentally". "What''s about her parents, Your Highness? Do they know about it?". - Jeanne continues asking Reila puts down her spoon as she finished another bite. The woman nods, then she returns eating. "Her parents lettered my husband... he said she was ill so she couldn''t write to them. Now he said she was pregnant, he''s doing everything to make sure no one knows, it''s very hard to reveal all". - Reila tastes her meal when she was telling the story, as if she was reviewing a book. "I guess all of them don''t know, many people have gone missing and if something got leaked right, his reputation and everything would be ruined...". "I understand his concerns... everyone had done their best to find them but everything they searched for went nothing. You better put more guards on you for your safety, Your Highness". - Jeanne replies, her hand pulls out another file Reila glances at Jeanne for a second and returns eating, she shrugs, as if ignoring her request. The investigator places another file on the table. She wonders what to ask next, she sips a glass of water. Reila just lied. The investigator just didn''t want to express her feelings. The questions about the letter and the parents were just for a further phase of interrogation. The letter itself was a fake, with the handwriting made by Jeanne since she mimicked the content in the original letter which was believed to be from the first victim. Her handwriting was completely different from the original letter, but Reila still confirmed it was a real letter from the victim. The real letter is actually stored in Jeanne''s room. The investigator wonders if Reila would confirm it was the real letter if she showed her the real version of the letter. However, since the woman just confirmed the fake letter as a real one after she read a few words, makes that alternate scenario very likely to happen that same way. About the first victim''s parents, Jeanne had done a research before doing this. Last night, Jeanne came to see the prince when he was celebrating Selena''s birthday in his room. The investigator snooped as the prince wasn''t aware, she stole some letters which she saw suitable for her investigation and then left. Jeanne didn''t blame the prince for not revealing the letters for her, she didn''t ask for it and she wanted it to be a backup thing. Parents of the first victim Luvita Rommosa did letter her and got the news sent by the prince. However, the letters sent by them crazily increased on the second week of Rommosa''s missing, they knew it. Her parents knew what happened to their daughter. Rommosa had a maid who was literate, they lettered the maid as they couldn''t contact her daughter, there were no replies. The prince focused too much on Luvita and neglected the maid, so it was found out. No way Reila, a wife who is always close to Prince Koenig wouldn''t know about it. She just lied. Jeanne knows Reila is hiding something... she just doesn''t have any clues that shows Rommosa''s missing had her involvement. "The first and second missing happened on the same day. The third one also happened too". - Jeanne speaks up. "It''s crazy when three people suddenly vanished at the same time, you know...". Jeanne sips some more water while she looks at Reila. The investigator waits until the woman finished her another bite, then slides the new file to her table. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "Third victim... Vasqua, she''s a maid as I know. She disappeared at the same time like the two others". - Jeanne reveals some information "Things about the maids only the maids know. Why ask me...?". - Done saying, Reila returns eating Jeanne smiles as she hands the file to the two maids. "Excuse me, I''ll trouble you two for a while. It won''t be long". "Well... you know...". - Selena hands the file to the next maid "Oh, I''m sorry. You are illiterate". - Despite all the doubts towards Selena''s illiteracy, Jeanne behaves as if she believed it The next maid also returns the file with a shaking head. Turns out both of them are completely illiterate. "It''s simple. I just want to know if you two know about her... before she disappeared, did she behave weird or anything like that, that''s it". "I remember she worked in the kitchen back then. I don''t know much about her... some people said she always stole money". - The maid replies as Jeanne instructed "She stole money?". - Jeanne repeats, demanding an answer "Our incomes, she''d wait in our room until we go out. She did that many times, she messed our beds". The investigator stays quiet and lowers her face. She is a bit confused, especially when she heard that previous information. The killer''s motives for killing the prince''s wives and disposing of them to make it look like mass missings could be explained. But the missing of the maids makes the killer''s motives more complicated. The investigator doesn''t want to draw another theory. She just assumed the maid Vasqua could be a witness of the first murder, or a killer''s helper during that murder. That maid girl could have been murdered because she was bad at teamwork, almost made the murder fail. Maybe the maid ran away since she couldn''t take it, or she was just an unlucky witness. "I have no records of how she disappeared that night. The latest report said she returned to the maid room after cooking dinner". - Jeanne explains. "I know every maid has a gap after a shift, that girl was supposed to be waiting for the time until she could have dinner. But... she just disappeared". "I hope you remember what you were doing that time. It''s much better if you saw the maid too". - Jeanne sips some water The investigator waits for the maid''s response. "I was... I was waterin-, I mean I was having dinner at that time. That happened long ago so... I don''t remember well, but I think I was doing that". - The maid speaks up, her voice is a bit reluctant. "Everybody was outside, I guess so. It''s late anyway and we don''t usually have shifts at night, I had to eat in our shared room because servants don''t have their own dining room". "Make it short, you don''t need to tell unnecessary parts". - All of a sudden, Selena opens her voice to remind the maid girl "It''s alright, taking a long but full information is better than taking something fast but lacking". - Jeanne replies, she puts her hands on the table, willingly wanting the maid girl to continue her statement "Vasqua was in the room when I came in. I don''t know what she was really doing, maybe stealing again. But it happens all the time so everyone didn''t bother". - The maid continues, for some reason, she appears to be following Selena''s reminder by the way she speaks. "She disappeared the next day, but we didn''t notice until we saw many other missings". Jeanne stays quiet... the investigator wonders if she is taking unnecessary information from the maid. After a moment, she rethinks that the statement she just collected isn''t something bad. This could explain the disappearance of the maid girl when new clues are found. "That maid... is she really in that bad state? People don''t steal for nothing, this girl might have some hard times with her life". - Jeanne comments "I heard she had a gambling hubby". - Selena voices out Jeanne nods. "Many country girls come to cities for a good job. It''s a once-in-life competition to become a palace''s maid, do you think she did that for her parents and her kids, friend?". - Selena starts asking the investigator "But it doesn''t answer why she disappeared". - Jeanne replies "We''d beat her up and say we''d kick her out every time she got caught stealing". - The maid girl responds "It still does not answer... it happened so much that y''all didn''t bother to stop her. Then why?". - Jeanne replies "We don''t do anything but her inner fear could be the reason why she ran away. You know, we repeated it all the time, her fear just grew and at one point of life, she thought it would happen... so she ran away". - Selena puts up an explanation Jeanne nods. She wonders when every time Selena speaks up, as if she is trying to solve problems. However... the problems she solves don''t seem to help the investigator... but something else beyond the investigator''s thoughts. "Talk around, ask questions, sit and talk, sit and talk. You don''t make me see any professional in you, is that how an investigator works?". - All of a sudden, someone speaks up Jeanne turns her look in the direction of the voice. It turns out to be Reila, she''s finished her meal. The woman yawns a little, she sips some tea while her face expresses some annoyance. "Two things make me pissed off today, one is my friends who come late, second is you and your work". - Reila shakes her head in tiredness, her tone gets a bit harsh. "Just go back to the palace and investigate, don''t just come here and question". "Your Highness, I understand your feelings for being annoyed with me, but please listen". - Jeanne replies. "This case is very difficult and there''s only me and my daughter to solve it. Once we gather enough information, we''ll do our best to make sure everyone will be saved". "So what...? What would you do to catch the killer you don''t even know anything about?". "I''m working on it, Your Highness". Reila doesn''t seem to care about the investigator anymore, she instead focuses on sipping some tea to push her frustration down. "Shall we continue?". - Suddenly, Selena speaks up in a soft tone. "Maybe I can''t help much... but I can provide you some information. Only when you need it". Jeanne nods lightly. "Let me have some air first". - Jeanne replies. "I''ll be back". The investigator gets up and leaves the table. She looks around the restaurant, then enters a room. She''s looking for a restroom, she needs some silence before she returns with full concentration to her job. ... ... ... The investigator silently takes a seat after she finished solving her restroom issues. Jeanne glances at Reila, watching her having meal. This could be explained that Reila was too bored of waiting for her friends, she took another meal just to kill time. The investigator then turns her look at the document. "It took me a bit long, sorry". - Jeanne apologizes to Selena "Are we allowed to sit and have some meal, Your Highness?". - The maid beside Selena suddenly voices out to ask Reila''s permission "Hungry already...? Hmmm, you can sit anywhere but not this table. Also, pay the meals yourself, do not think you can eat free because I know this place". - Reila replies The maid bows deeply. She slowly approaches a waiter near there. Not on Jeanne''s watch, the investigator turns her glance towards Selena who is still standing behind Reila. "Finally...". - Selena whispers, she stretches a little. "Why don''t we sit over there and discuss? I have friends who are the maids, it could be helpful for your investigation". - The girl moves to another table "Thanks". Jeanne puts the document in her hand, she takes her glass of water and moves to another table. However, the investigator stops and stands behind Reila. "Your Highness". "?". - Reila notices Jeanne''s call for her, but she continues eating "I just want to tell you that what happened to your friends and other women could also happen to you one day. You better have guards following you, the best thing I can do here is to catch the killer and stop another incoming murder". Reila continues eating in silence. For some reason, the woman chuckles a little. "There''s only one person the killer can''t touch... that''s me". - Reila speaks up, she sips some water The investigator wonders if there is a meaning behind what Reila just said. But... she has no proof. Jeanne returns to approach the table where Selena is sitting at to discuss with her. The investigator puts the glass of water and the document down on the table. However, she doesn''t sit yet, she just doesn''t want to. Her attention just caught something in front. Jeanne notices that her glass of water has ices inside. When she ordered the glass, she didn''t ask the waitress to add anything else. This glass wasn''t like it before she came to the restroom. The investigator knows something isn''t right is happening in front of her. Her glass only had water when she came to the restroom. Now, she sees some ices inside, melting slowly, being drowned in the water. This could be the work of someone, someone put ices in the water when she went to the restroom, she only knows if she takes a sip, something happens. "Is the killer here?". Jeanne''s mind only rolls around with that question, she even wonders what would happen to her if she drank the glass and sat down, pretending as if nothing wrong just happened. "Am I trapped? Who in the three of them is the killer... or all of them?". Jeanne asks herself in her mind once again. She doesn''t know, and she will never know unless she was the one who put those ices in the glass, she can''t risk her life now. What awaits her after drinking the iced cold water... she never knows. "I hope His Highness has returned to the palace now. Or at least the meeting is over and he''s about to return... do you think so, Breima? Sometimes things don''t go the way we expect them to be". - Jeanne carefully grabs her document "I hope so too. Wait, you''re leaving already? What''s the matter?". - Selena notice Jeanne turning to the restaurant''s entrance "I''m busy... I just have something important to discuss with His Highness, I''ll see you tomorrow". "You are willing to return to the palace on foot? Stay, Her Highness'' friends are on their way anyway. Even if they don''t come and we decide to return, it''s much more comfortable than walking". - Selena explains, she wants Jeanne to stay "I''ve gotten used to it, thank for caring for me, bye then...". - Jeanne then starts leaving the restaurant with the document C13: Fourth Suspect (1) Day 5 - Daytime - Afternoon 26th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Meanwhile The scene opens, showing the inside of a room. Hannah is standing before a table while two blue-cloaked men are standing opposite to her, listening to her. This young investigator is crafting luminol and teaching the mages as ordered by her mother. She was supposed to start her duty after breakfast, but her laziness kept her resting, she started working one hour ago after lunch. "That''s how we create luminol. Anyway, do you think you can do it?". - Hannah speaks up, she shows three boxes of samples she created to the two mages "I think we''ve understood the way to create luminol, miss. But the blacklight, we can''t imagine anything, it''s a bit more difficult". - One of the two mages replies, he and his colleagues were practicing to craft luminol by following what they just saw "It''s alright. I don''t want things to rush anyway, luminol goes first". "Good luck then". - The young girl steps aside from the table while grabbing her leather water bag Hannah does care about the case and her duties as an investigator. But she gets bored when she is appointed to be a supporter, most missions are only about finding evidence, searching rooms, crafting things, etc, while her mother approaches the suspects. Hannah puts two more wooden boxes on the table. She starts filling magic, creating substances to create luminol, she mixes them, she wants to help the initial part, the mages take care of the rest. The young Investigator leaves the table while she turns direction to a table behind her. There, a wooden cage holding a small rabbit and a clean knife for cutting can be seen. The tiny rabbit is a live one, captured recently, the young girl wants to experiment. Everything in the room seems all set, Hannah will test the newly crafted luminol. But she doesn''t want to do the experiment now. "Is everything alright?". "We''re doing our best, miss". - The mages reply as they heard Hannah asking them if they could handle crafting luminol by themselves "I''ll be back later. Good luck". - Hannah shortly approaches the room''s door and leaves The young girl sighs a little with her back falling to the wall after leaving the room. Hannah didn''t come out for no reason, just... something is bothering her, disturbing her work. She turns her face from the left to the right to watch the long hallway very carefully. A figure, makes her eyes locked to, is now at the left side of the hallway, standing still. That''s Saeko Ashura. The 4th suspect just appeared for no reason, Hannah feels headache. This suspect appears no suspicious, but her behaviors are unexpected. Hannah didn''t notice her presence until she noticed the room''s door was slightly opened with for someone to peek inside. The young investigator did not notice her presence at first, she just did earlier. As Hannah saw, every ten minutes, Saeko would stand before the experiment room to peek, she would walk away not so long later, a minute at least. Hannah doesn''t know about the real intentions of Saeko for peeking in the room, she just knows her behaviors are unusual. She doesn''t know if Saeko is up to something, she just knows the girl is on the suspect list and what she did earlier and is doing now only raises more suspicions towards her. Taking a deep breath with both eyes open, Hannah decides to be straightforward. The young investigator follows Saeko from behind, walking in silence, she wonders where she is heading to. In the hallway, Hannah notices a maid sweeping the floor up ahead while the next hallway on the left has people talking. Saeko just walked into that hallway, the maids are still behaving normally. The young investigator knows the people in the palace, especially the maids, are not normal. Hannah and her mother share a theory of two murderer groups operating at the same time, eliminating each other. The groups prioritize disposing of all detectives who come to the palace to solve the Palace Killer case before returning to slaughter each other. One of the four current suspects, Selena Breima, has a connection to the maids. Hannah used to face a terrible encounter with the maids as well, they look innocent outside but dangerous inside, as if they have something with the killer. Hannah knows a little about the structure of the palace since she walked around it every time she went on a mission. She knows another way around to avoid the maids but can still meet Saeko. However, the young investigator knows no matter what, the unseen glances at her will notice her avoidance. She decides to face it anyway, to avoid more risks. With a slight smile and a waving hand, Hannah walks past the maids on her way. The young investigator sees Saeko standing still with her back before her, she wonders why the suspect just stopped moving. No time for hesitation, Hannah approaches Saeko right away as she began to step forward again. "Hey". A silence sparks as Saeko turned around to see Hannah. No talking, just a young girl staring at Hannah. The more Hannah looks at Saeko''s eyes, the more she wants to look away because those eyes don''t hold anything. Hannah wants to speak up, but she feels hesitant, the silence just continues. It''s not about being scared. Hannah doesn''t feel scared, she is more worried, she sees a threat in front of her, coming from a woman who only stares and gives no response. Saeko appears to be a young woman in her 20s. Her profile said she is 22, but she looks younger than everyone else in the palace. Her crimson kimono dress seems very dense. Unlike other wives of Prince Koenig, Saeko doesn''t wear any accessories, just a strange-luxurious-looking dress in the view of this Continent''s people. The girl''s long dark hair covers her eyes a little. It gives Hannah a strange sensation, making her doesn''t know if she is being looked at or not, Saeko is just a cold face. Hannah''s body shakes a little, probably she is confused about speaking up and staying quiet. "You peeked in my room... what''s your problem...?". - Hannah speaks up with a little trembling voice, she steps forward a little to face Saeko The girl doesn''t respond, she keeps her cold face. She avoids Hannah and steps forward, but soon gets blocked since the young investigator grabs her shoulder. Saeko stands still, very calm, she still doesn''t respond. Hannah keeps holding Saeko''s shoulder tight while she tries to put it down. "Miss... you''re touching a royal. That''s not allowed...". - Saeko responds in a cold tone, she does grab Hannah''s hand and tries to put it away, but it doesn''t seem like she is serious about doing that "Then answer me". - Hannah tightens her grip Saeko looks into Hannah''s eyes for a few seconds. She puts her hands down with no sign of resistance. "A little... curious... would you let me know more about... luminol?". Hannah still tightens her grip, her aggression isn''t there anymore but she still watches Saeko to check just in case. Saeko Ashura is one of the four subjects, in all of the four, she has the true cleanest profile. Even Jeanne ruled her out of the suspect list due to her apparent lack of killing motives. However, the mother''s decision doesn''t make Hannah satisfied, she hopes Saeko has something unveiled. If Saeko isn''t the real killer, she might have something, like a connection to the killer. She could be a helper, or a witness, or anything that involves the killer. That''s what Hannah is thinking about, she hopes to dig as much as information as possible. Letting Saeko join the experiment to craft luminol can be a very risky thing to do. The young investigator didn''t think of a scenario she would let a suspect watch one of many bizarre methods she and her mother would use in investigations. This situation is a chance to make friends and take information from the suspect. It is also a risky choice if the information gets leaked, the murderer knows the investigation methods and gets away with it. But to Hannah... it''s thrilling enough to keep her mood bright. "Why didn''t you tell me in the first place? C''mon, join as you like". - After opening a slight smile, Hannah pulls Saeko with her Both of them go back to the experiment room very early after the conversation. Hannah is standing with Saeko, her hand still holding the young girl''s left shoulder. "I guess this is the first time we met...". - Hannah opens half of the door, holding Saeko''s shoulder. "Well, I''m Hannah. What''s about you?". - She starts to wonder if being too friendly at first is something annoying Saeko looks at Hannah for a while, still staying quiet. She doesn''t make that cold face anymore, but her face is still indifferent to Hannah. The girl gently puts the young investigator''s hand down. "Miss... I know you''re a peasant but I have to tell you again, touching the high-born people isn''t allowed". - Saeko keeps her gaze on Hannah, she softens her voice. "And yet, I tend to address people formally. But if you want to go friendly that early... I respect your decision... let me change my tone a little". The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Saeko goes silent a little. "We met each other yesterday. There''s no need to reintroduce...". Done saying, Saeko enters the experiment room in silence with her eyes glancing at things placed on the table. The two mages immediately lower their faces to bow before the prince''s concubine as they saw her walking inside. Hannah stands at the door, she closes it quietly. She doesn''t know what is Saeko up to, but she will do anything to deal with her, to prevent this woman from interrupting and wrecking her experiment. "Everyone, it''s a bit surprising but everything is alright. Lady Saeko is just a little curious, it''s a good thing to perform our experiment now". - The young investigator speaks up to ease the serious atmosphere. "It''s to entertain our ruler and give you guys experience to help me in the future. Shall we begin?". Hannah moves quietly to the table that has the cage and the knife. She observes Saeko, knowing the girl is looking at the luminol boxes on another table. The young investigator can''t tell if this woman is curious about the experiment or not, her face looks indifferent. "I smell something...". - All of a sudden, Saeko speaks up as she opened a luminol box and sniffed it Hannah stands still and observes the suspect. She raises her both hands to tell the mages to work on crafting the luminol normally, telling them to keep working as usual without getting distracted. The young investigator keeps her eyes on Saeko again. The room is quiet, a clapping soon interrupts it. "Alright, Lady Ashura. Could you please step over here for me? We''re about to do an experiment, and it''s nice if you could be the one to see it closest". - Hannah smiles at Saeko, she puts her hands on the table, waiting for the woman "Could you tell me what this liquid is, Hannah - sensei? It just looks like water". - Saeko asks "Sensei?". - Hannah bewildered "It''s the way people in my country speak to people like you". Hannah doesn''t respond. She pretends to move her attention away from Saeko, she grabs the knife carefully while looking at the rabbit, pretending to wonder. "It looks like water but it''s not drinkable, Lady Ashura". "What it does?". - Saeko asks "So this is called luminol, a liquid that makes blood glow... I mean blood that has been cleaned up. We''ve been using it to solve cases, now we need more... this is why we craft it here". Saeko stays quiet and nods. She starts glancing at the rabbit. "Was she taken from the garden?". "Uh, yeah". - Hannah replies as she got asked "Why use the rabbit for the experiment, Hannah - sensei?". "Well... for the best result". - The young investigator doesn''t want to continue with Saeko, she wants to progress the experiment fast. "Boris, is it done?". "Of course, miss, we just crafted one but I don''t know if its effect is as good as yours". - One of the mages comes to Hannah and gives her a newly crafted luminol box, he later returns to his desk Hannah puts the luminol box on the table, she sees Saeko playing with the rabbit. She strokes her fingers to the rabbit through the gaps of the tiny wooden cage, as if to soothe the rabbit from anxiety. "Ummm... Lady Ashura". Saeko glances at Hannah as she heard her voice. "Would you like to see the test?". Saeko nods. The young investigator wonders whether or not should she perform the luminol test. In front of her is a suspect in a serial missing-murder case, a royal, a mysterious person who she hasn''t investigated much. If Saeko was the real killer or someone who had a connection to the killer, this test would need to be conducted very carefully. "Well, let''s start". - Hannah reaches her hand to the cage''s gate "Is there another way to do, miss? It''s just a pure animal". - One of the two mages, Tavoz opens his voice as he saw Hannah about to do the experiment with the rabbit Hannah keeps her hand still, not opening the cage. Her eyes focus on the cage, she feels a bit annoyed by being protested. "This is for safety, Tavoz. We need the best result, would you get up here and be the rabbit instead?". - The young investigator glances at the man''s eyes, she looks at them without blinking "I will. It will hurt me just a little". - Tavoz replies "Then I''d rather put your safety over this rabbit. You know what happens when we get cut or stabbed, we get tetanus and die because of it". - Hannah tries to explain. "This knife is clean as you can see but I can''t prove it is, there are many things we can''t see under its surface". - She raises the knife towards Tavoz, letting him see its cleanness "We can cast healing magic to heal our wounds". - Tavoz replies "Hey, I think we should do our best to listen to miss Hannah. I can use healing magic myself, I used to be a healer in the earlier war, healing your wounds doesn''t mean it heals your body completely, you know". - Boris puts down another luminol box on Hannah''s desk as he was explaining to Tavoz. "Tetanus is not a wound, it''s an illness, Tavoz. In many cases I joined back then, soldiers were healed but they died a few days later because of it. Healing magic only heals wounds, not illness. So understand her". "It''s just a slight cut to drop some blood, how can it kill people?". - Again, Tavoz is against the idea of hurting animals for the experiment "This is for our safety, Tavoz. We can''t say anything, we can still die even when this knife is clean...". - Hannah then opens the cage "What about the rabbit?". "She''ll be fine... animals take it better than us". - Hannah sighs The young investigator opens the wooden cage. She grabs the ears of the small rabbit and pulls it out. A panicked, scared moan of the little rabbit is soon covered with cutting noises. Blood starts coming out, seems to be a bit too much, wetting the desk''s surface. Hannah stands there, glancing at the scared rabbit. The knife isn''t in her hand anymore, it has been placed on the desk with its blade rooted to the desk''s surface. The young investigator keeps grabbing the rabbit''s ears, her eyes still staring at it. Hannah pants a little, a slight smile forms on her lips, but the investigator soon brushes it off. "Treat her. Make sure she is safe". - She gives the rabbit with her wounded right left to Boris, since she doesn''t wear gloves, blood keeps going down her hand "This too". - Hannah gives the mage guy the wooden cage Hannah comfortably puts her hands, now mixed with the rabbit''s blood, on the desk. She watches the amount of blood scattered in the middle of the desk, which would be used for the experiment. "What you did earlier... it makes me feel like you haven''t done it for a while, Hannah - sensei". - Saeko speaks up softly, she later gives Hannah a towel on the desk "It has been a while". - Hannah chuckles a little, she takes the towel and cleans the remaining blood on her hands The young investigator starts cleaning the bloody desk as she finished cleaning her hands. Something happens, the blood seems to be a bit too much, it''s a little difficult to clean to make the blood invisible. Hannah grumbles her face a little as if she is frustrated, she wipes the desk''s surface with the towel over again, a bit impatient but still careful. "Good... done". - The young investigator puts the towel aside, she watches the scene, where remained the blood, now has gone "So the liquid in these boxes will show the blood?". - Saeko suddenly asks as she saw Hannah reaching her hand to a luminol box "Correct Lady Ashura. I will show you how it happens right here". - Hannah replies. "Rest your hands, Tavoz. Have you done yet, Boris?". - She turns around to watch the two mages "I''m checking on the rabbit, miss. Almost done". - Boris replies "I''ll wait for you guys to come here. This is a thing you must watch". - Hannah then returns to focus on the desk, she grabs a clean towel placed beside her The lid of a luminol box is then opened, the young investigator pours some liquid out to make the towel absorb it. As the two mage guys arrive, Hannah starts rubbing the desk on the site where the blood was by using that towel. Everyone watches the girl, she rubs the wooden desk very carefully, slowly and steady. Hannah wants to watch Saeko and her behaviors but she knows she has to focus on her current job, she is not free. "Please put the curtains down for me, Tavoz". - Hannah asks The young investigator continues her job when Tavoz left the desk to close the curtains. The corner of the desk is now darker than the others, it has become a good spot. Hannah puts the towel aside as she finished cleaning the desk. She puts her hands together, opening her palms, aiming at the desk. "So... as I explained to you guys. Luminol reacts to blood, it shows blood that we can''t see, blood that was wiped out". - Hannah explains. "To see it through luminol, we need to cast a spell. Combine the elements I taught you... to create the black light, to show the blood". - Then, a tiny source of blue fireball forms on Hannah''s palms, it keeps getting brighter Hannah glances at Saeko to watch the woman. She stays quiet, watching what Hannah is doing. The young investigator doesn''t want to reveal much about her mother''s unique bizarre investigating methods. But she wanted to act like she really cares about a high-class spectator who came to watch the performance, who is blind about what she is watching and needs explanation. However... due to Hannah''s suspicions, she goes silent as well. "It''s glowing". - Boris suddenly speaks up Hannah looks at the desk as she heard Boris. In front of her is a table, where the surface, earlier used to have the stains of blood, now is glowing brightly in blue. Everyone looks at the scene with curiosity. Hannah wonders what Saeko is doing exactly, but she knows the woman is also watching in silence, just like the others. A while later, the glowing fades away all of a sudden. The entire desk now looks completely normal. "It just disappeared, why?". - Tavoz keeps looking at the desk, as if he hopes something to show up Hannah stops casting magic. She grabs the luminol box she used earlier and hands it to Tavoz. "This one is still shallow... luminol can react to blood much longer. This one is quite... short". "Understood, miss. We will take more practice to make the sample as good as you expected". - Tavoz returns to his desk with the luminol box, his eyes still sometimes glancing at Hannah''s desk, as if he still hopes something glowing to show up again Saeko suddenly picks up a luminol box on Hannah''s desk. This caught the young investigator''s attention. "How long would this luminol thing last when it reacts to blood, Hannah - sensei?". Hannah wonders what is the woman up to behind that question. "Hmmm... as long as the black light covers it. If not, it''s just invisible". - Hannah replies, she takes the bloody towels and uses them to clean her hands again, which still have blood remaining on them She just lied. "The day you went from room to room of the missings to check, I saw you rubbing the floor over and over again. You left a room, then you returned again, you rubbed the site where you had done before". - Saeko points out the wrong point in Hannah''s explanation "Oh, you mean the room that I first got in when my gloves were not with me?". "I just forgot I already checked that room. I had to check all of them in a single day, it''s obvious if I forgot some rooms that were checked". - Hannah grabs the leather water bag which is tightened to her belt, she drinks a little while looking at Saeko "But I see you remember very well you forgot to wear your gloves, Hannah - sensei". Hannah feels more annoyed when Saeko keeps pointing out the mistakes in her explanation. She starts drinking her bag slower, she wants to get rid of this suspect. However, the young investigator has no choice. She hates being with anyone who makes her annoyed, but she knows her duty is to investigate Saeko. "I smell something...". - All of a sudden, Saeko speaks up The woman appears to be sniffing the luminol box that she was holding earlier. The way she sniffs it seems to be very concentrated. Saeko just got Hannah''s attention once again. The young investigator stops drinking, she quietly puts her leather water bag back into her belt. "How does it smell like?". - Hannah asks "Hmmm... like blood... maybe?". - Saeko replies Hannah immediately picks up the luminol box and sniffs it just like Saeko did. However, the young Investigator caught no blood at all. She understands when this box has blood on it since she used to touch it when her hands still remained blood from the rabbit. But she can''t smell anything intense like blood. Luminol is a smellable liquid. However, its smell is not intense... Hannah looks up and immediately gazes at Saeko. Their eyes meet each other, there''s no conversation. Just a silence happening between both of them. Saeko keeps her cold face as she looks into Hannah''s eyes, she does not even blink. Hannah, on the other hand, keeps wondering the meaning behind that silent stare. The more she thinks about Saeko, the more she wonders about the reason behind her presence before her, as if this woman... wants to tell her something. "I smell something". Those appear-normal words were repeated twice, as if it''s intended. "It''s intense, like blood". Hannah is receiving those hidden messages. Those words keep sounding in her mind non-stop... "Well... Boris, Tavoz! I''m busy with something else now, would you take care of this place for me?". - The young investigator calls out to let the mage guys know "Understood, miss". Hannah gives Saeko a bright smile, she turns around and slowly approaches the room''s door... ... ... ... C14: Fourth Suspect (2) Day 5 - Daytime - Afternoon 26th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... The young investigator walks side by side with her suspect. Hannah is wondering what Seako meant in the earlier conversation when she talked about the luminol. She just doesn''t know what to think, she wants to approach and find out the real meaning behind those words. Saeko just walks slowly without a proper emotion on her face, it''s plain, the investigator has to keep up her walking pace despite her growing impatience. Saeko suddenly stops when she walked past the hallway. The girl looks forward, somewhere beyond Hannah''s imagination, it is unclear what Saeko is actually looking at. From what Hannah remembers, that area leads to the backyard of the palace. "Could it be a hint?", Hannah thinks in her mind, just a thought passing by and then gone. Hannah looks around and behind her in secret. It appears that no maids or guards are nearby. However, the young investigator doesn''t know if this is a good opportunity for her to pry some questions for the suspect. "You said you smelled blood from the luminol, didn''t you?", - Hannah opens the conversation playfully. "well, my gloves get bloody sometimes... because of my work, you can check this thing instead. It''s definitely not blood from the luminol, maybe... it has something to do with my gloves... so well...". - She hands over one of her leather gloves to Saeko "It''s not... either from the rabbit... or your gloves... ". - Saeko takes the glove but then returns it Hannah wonders about the real meaning behind Saeko''s words. It must have something to do with the case. "Witness?", Hannah thinks about it all of a sudden. Those short and unclear words could be some kind of meaning from Saeko, she could be using a wise way to describe it. It''s clear in Hannah''s thoughts that Saeko could be involved in this murder case, but it''s unclear which role she is in. "Witness? A victim who is looking for help? A killer''s helper who is confessing to me?", Hannah keeps thinking about it. Hannah then sees two maids coming from behind. The women appear to be cleaning the hallway with the brooms, they seem harmless but Hannah is cautious. After the incident in Braun Frieden''s room, Hannah has become a bit more cautious. Every time she sees a maid, she would look at them for a while to analyze if that person is watching her or just an innocent. This young investigator hates being in this kind of environment. She hopes her conversation won''t be eavesdropped, she will play it down like a very normal conversation. "What were you looking at, Lady Saeko?". - Hannah makes a step forward and looks in the direction where Saeko used to look at "I want... to have some air... it feels nice to touch grass". - Saeko replies "How about watching flowers?". "They look bland...". - Saeko replies once again, her facial expressions don''t seem to change, just plain Hannah wonders if the earlier words had some kind of meaning behind them. The investigator can''t focus because another conversation is going on at the time when she was thinking. Somehow, Hannah got curious after hearing it. She approaches the direction where the conversation is coming from. "Make sure to find someone looks like me the next time, Dunkel. I can''t take it, I don''t want to stay there for hours just to sit and hear people talking over and over again about a problem that never has a solution for it". - One of the two voices in the conversation comes out, appears to be a man''s. "By the way, is she here now?". - Then it appears to be Prince Koenig Sonne who is talking "Ms. Jeanne is not here at the time, Your Highness. That''s what I heard from the guards, she left the palace with your wife". - The voice which appears to be Dunkel''s, the Prince''s bodyguard, speaks up "Hmmm... I hope she doesn''t spill it out. This isn''t something funny, those missings can decide our kingdom''s fate overnight". "Hi, you two". - All of a sudden, Hannah comes out after a while of eavesdropping, following her is Saeko - who just stands and bows to Koenig from a distance "Ms. Hannah". - Koenig nods slightly to greet Hannah "I heard from my mom that you weren''t here". "Yes, I just returned. I''m not used to those meetings, it feels much better when I left". - Koenig sighs a little. "By the way, are you looking for me for something, miss?". "Yeah, I''d like to ask you something about the case", - Hannah sighs a little when she glances at Dunkel. "I mean I''d like to ask you something about it, Your Highness". - She feels annoyed every time his bodyguard uses his quick glare to demand respect from her words toward his ruler Prince Koenig turns his face to serious, listening to Hannah. Both of them walk together and soon enter the prince''s private room, Hannah and Koenig come in. Saeko also enters in silence, Hannah thinks she can ask the suspect later after she has done with the prince. Dunkel closes the door, he gets behind Koenig and makes a guard pose, beside his ruler. "Would you like me to serve you done tea, Koenig - sama?". - All of a sudden, Saeko stands up and bows deeply before Koenig "Of course, my wife". - He replies. "Thanks...". - Koenig murmurs to himself when his concubine turned around "Would you?". "Well... I''m not really into noble''s things". - Hannah giggles a little The young investigator just lied. She doesn''t want to experience another tea incident, she hates being poisoned. However, part of Hannah just wants to let loose, she''d rather solve the case by approaching dangerous things for clues instead of being careful. Hannah feels disappointed when Saeko left the room. She feels curious about this suspect and wants to pry more clues she believes would come out of her mouth. However... not everything she expected was as planned. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "She''s strange, always addresses us with odd words". "It''s the way people speak in her homeland, Ms. Hannah. Just get used to it...". - The prince sighs a bit after he spoke up "How''s the investigation going, Ms. Hannah? I know I asked you and your mother to report by the end of the week", - Koenig sighs a bit heavily. "but... it''s about my wives and my country, I don''t want to see them disappear anymore, I don''t want my country to be in danger either". "It has some progress, Your Highness ", - Hannah glances a bit at Dunkel again, hoping him to behave normally with her even if she doesn''t the prince properly. "but the documents haven''t been finished, I''ll give you a full one by the end of the week". Koenig nods slightly as if to thank Hannah. "So... what do you want... to ask me?". - Prince Koenig tries to steady his breath "First, our scope... broke. So I''d like to ask you if you could provide us with a new one". "Scope?". - Koenig feels a bit complicated to understand what Hannah said "I mean a small object... a small object used in war, generals will watch things from afar by using it". - Hannah feels frustrated a little when she forgot to bring the broken scope with her to help Koenig identify it faster "Oh, I get it". - Koenig nods twice. "I already gave it to your mother last night, she said it''ll be used to identify fingerprint samples or something, is it correct?". Hannah nods. "I don''t know what that thing can do exactly but... if you can find whoever did this, it''s a good thing when no one will go missing again". - Koenig sighs "Alright. The second one... I heard from my mom that the two investigators who came before us and then went missing. Before their arrival, you had already founded an investigative group from the time when the first missings occurred, Your Highness". "Yes, but it didn''t work well. That''s why I had to hire you people for that duty". - Koenig replies with his hands covering his face, he feels breathless "Even if the investigation on your side went with nothing, at least you must have some clues to give us, right?". - Hannah is curious about the unrevealed information "What do you want to know about?". - Koenig looks up "A list of suspects, maybe... or something you found suspicious". Prince Koenig keeps being silent despite Hannah''s question. Dunkel opens the door and Saeko enters with a tray of tea cups and teapot, she silently takes a seat. Hannah smiles at the girl and then watches the prince. The more the case progresses, the more she wants to put Koenig on the suspect list due to his behaviors and her growing frustration towards an indecisive-looking man like him, who appears limp while being a ruler. "I believe... someone powerful is standing behind it... but if it''s true... I wouldn''t want to continue the case". - Prince Koenig holds Saeko''s hand as she sat next to him. "I hope it''s someone else...", - he holds his breath, as if he is very stressed inside. "about the clues... I keep the letters of my wives who disappeared. I already found them odd, but I don''t reveal them... my country will be dead if it''s leaked out". "What''s inside them anyway? Death to your kingdom? Just because your wives are daughters of the big lords over there?". - Hannah stops after expressing a bit of her frustration, she doesn''t know and doesn''t care about politics but she understands the consequences Warsaw Kingdom would face if this case was leaked outside However, she doesn''t care. If Koenig Sonne wasn''t someone powerful and Dunkel wasn''t some kind of strong-built and intimidating-looking man, she would use force to pry any information she wants. "Hannah - sensei... Koenig - sama needs time to relax. The case... is progressing...". - Saeko suddenly speaks up Hannah just wants to understand the meaning behind Saeko''s words. She wants to keep her eyes on this girl from now on, every time she speaks up is very precious. The more unclear Saeko''s words come out, the more Hannah feels the urge to slit her throat due to her frustration. She would need to reveal everything in detail, that''s what Hannah wants from this suspect. Hannah was bored with the case from the start since it did not have much evidence to start with. To her, boring things should be neglected. But the case is now progressing, she is very excited to place the puzzles back in their places. But these new puzzles are so difficult, she just wants to tear them apart and come straight to the answer. "Yeah... sure". - Hannah smiles "Oh. You''re here, sweetie?". - All of a sudden, a voice appears to be from investigator Jeanne comes out Hannah nods to greet as she saw her mother entering the room. Jeanne quickly takes a seat next to her daughter, she slowly puts down a document on the table. "Your Highness". - Jeanne bows before Koenig. The warrant... no I mean... I was looking for you, it''s good to see you here this time". - She slowly pulls out some letters. "Here, Your Highness. I''m sorry very much when I stole these from you, I don''t want to make excuses, but these letters seem significant to progress the case". "I know. It''s my fault anyway". - Koenig takes the letters from Jeanne with a sigh. "Come find me if you need anything, madame". "What are these letters, mom?". "Letters of the victims who are missing, sweetie". - Jeanne doesn''t keep her eyes on her daughter, she just darts them towards Koenig. "Your Highness, I know this is quite sudden but I''d like to have your approval to own a warrant paper". "Warrant paper?". - The prince feels a bit breathless "It''s for the case, Your Highness". - Jeanne makes her tone a bit firm. "Hmmm... by the way, I guess this is Lady Ashura". - The investigator bows slightly before Saeko, the girl also bows to greet back "Would it be alright to discuss this without Lady Ashura''s presence, Your Highness?". - Jeanne asks "I don''t think she is the problem. Anyway... I feel safe when my wives are safe and in my sight". - Koenig holds Saeko''s hand much tighter. "Reila and Selena...". - He sighs "I met the ladies earlier, nothing bad will happen to them". - Jeanne tries to reassure the prince, she doesn''t want to see a suspect being in a discussion, but now she would be willing to deal with it "Could you say it more in detail?". - Koenig requests "I''d like to tell you to prepare yourself, Your Highness. The people who are missing could be no longer alive, their bodies have been likely to be moved away". - Jeanne gazes at Koenig''s eyes, hoping him to understand. "The killer made it very clean, their bodies could only be moved away by the gate in the backyard or something else... like the wagons. This palace has wagons parking all over the place, if the killer uses one of those to move the bodies away, evidence could be left there". "So... I hope you would approve it, Your Highness. A list of wagons and their owners, I hope I find no evidence there but it''s the only way to solve the case right now, I still need more clues for the gate". - After speaking up, Jeanne slides the document on the table to Koenig. "Here is another request. In case it''s possible... I hope you approve it as well, Your Highness". Koenig picks up the document and checks every detail, every content written inside. His eyes appear heavy, as if he just wants to experience an eternity sleep, hoping not to face harsh reality. "I''ll prepare everything as soon as possible...". - Koenig slides the document back to Jeanne, he nods and lowers his head, as if saying "understood" Hannah snatches the document right after it was handed back to her mother. The content of the document caught her eyes at the time both of them met each other. She wants to speak up the content out loud, but her mother''s constant tap on her shoulder prevents her from doing so. Hannah is deeply frustrated, it''s always her mother who stops her from being able to show herself something useful. Saeko hands the teacup to Koenig as he wanted to drink it. The tea is already cold, but the prince doesn''t care about it and immediately takes a gulp, his eyes appear very heavy, he just wants to be pampered, held by his wives who give him warmth, hoping all of them are still alive. "Koenig - sama needs some rest...". - Saeko speaks up Jeanne nods. The investigator carries the document, leaving her seat, thinking about leaving. Hannah, on the other hand, wants to stay a bit more. However, she knows she can''t pry anything else no matter how long she stays, she leaves with frustration in her mind. "There''s always a monster under your bed... be careful...". - Suddenly, Saeko speaks up whispers to the two investigators Still unable to understand the meaning behind Saeko''s words, Hannah thinks about coming back to her another day. But this next time, there will be force for it. ... ... ... C15: Broken Theory Day 5 - Nighttime - Night 26th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... It''s night already. As always, investigators Jeanne and Hannah are inside their room. Both of them are having a discussion as a result of what they have collected so far from their daily investigation. This time, both of them are not talking about the case but the content of the document. Jeanne has come up with an idea to solve the case that way. She hopes the investigation goes well when her request is applied, it''s for the case to end once and for all and it''s also for her daughter''s safety. "Mom", - Hannah speaks up after a long time thinking. "so basically... you asked the prince to put a group of royal guards outside of here, they''ll follow Selena''s wagon every time she travels with it?". "That''s right, sweetie. If she had anything suspicious, it''d be likely inside her wagon". - Jeanne reconfirms. "Not just her anyway, the group will also stalk other suspects". "Then why is Braun in that group, then?". - Hannah wonders Jeanne stays quiet. She understands why her daughter feels unpleasant about it. Braun is one of the four suspects, giving her a position in this investigative group is like giving her more advantage to commit her crimes more easily. But this mother knows it''s a risky but worthy decision. "We don''t have many choices, sweetie. Braun may be the suspect, but who knows if the members of that group are also trustworthy? We''ll end this case one way or another, so please be patient". - Jeanne pats her daughter''s shoulder twice Hannah shrugs a little. She puts the document on the desk and takes a seat. The mother and daughter are about to discuss something else. About the suspects they have been following so far. "Alright, so...", - Jeanne gently takes a seat. "I followed Reila today, no evidence shows she could be the killer or related to those missings and murders. However, she didn''t seem to cooperate, didn''t care about her friend - one of those who are missing". - She pulls out a letter. "Reila told me something interesting, about this letter, the first victim could be the key for this case. But now it''s just a letter, I need to see the victim''s parents... to verify if what she told me is true or not". "What about her, mom?". - Hannah doesn''t want to hear a long explanation, she wants to have her mother''s conclusion first "Quite suspicious...". - Her mother replies. "I went to the restroom after I talked with her a bit. When I came out, my drink was already filled and full of ice, it was empty at the time before I went to the restroom". "It didn''t look odd, maybe a waitress filled it up". "No, sweetie, it''s not". - Jeanne reconfirms. "Who would do that to a customer? I didn''t ask that. Selena was with her at the time, both of them... none are innocent to me". "Just in short... both are suspicious, I wouldn''t be surprised if they were the killers working together". Hannah nods. "I already gave you my report about Saeko. Did you read it, mom?". - Hannah asks Jeanne replies with a nod. "She seems suspicious too but... we still need information. I already asked her if she could join a private meeting tomorrow, it''s a good thing when she said yes". "Why didn''t tell me about that earlier?". - Hannah knows her mother would stay outside late every night before returning to the room, but she hates the way she would sometimes not reveal some information "I just told you...". - Jeanne chuckles. "Look, sweetie... it''s only free for us to talk whatever we want when the door is locked". - She sighs a little, then takes a sip of water from a cup beside her hand Hannah looks up at the ceiling, she wants to think about the case a little. "Mom... why do I feel like every suspect is the killer? As if they don''t try to hide it". "Hmmmm... people are suspicious at some point, sweetie. Stop overthinking". "Then it means the Palace Killer is not just one individual". - Hannah looks straight into her mother''s eyes "It''s never one individual from the beginning, sweetie". - Jeanne looks up at the ceiling, she sighs, a little too much. "Back... back then, I was involved in a case, it''s so much similar with this one. Still some differences but... I find similarities between those two more". - She scratches her hair a little, her mind rewinding. "Remember, sweetie... we''re into a case where there''s no crime scenes, no clues, no witnesses, no suspects. This crime can only be done by a group, a meticulous one, the Palace Killer is one who stands behind everything, and... she''s among us". "What about our two-killer-groups theory?". - Hannah reminds her mother "We only have a little clue to prove that theory... but it doesn''t matter anymore. Two groups or one group, all of them want to get rid of us first". "I''d like to add the prince to the list, mom". - Hannah suggests Jeanne wasn''t surprised to hear it. Instead, she wants to hear about her daughter''s explanation of her suspicion first. "Go on, sweetie". - Jeanne nods "Well... his wives and the maids went missing. He founded a group for the investigation but it went with no results, then he hired people like us to do that job". - Hannah drinks a bit of water before she can continue, she is a bit frustrated because there are no cookies or something for her to chew. "He doesn''t want us to leave, he doesn''t want the case to be revealed in public, he hides the disappearances of the victims from their parents, he is not that nice". "So, sweetie... what are you trying to say?". - Jeanne wants to take her daughter''s thoughts seriously, even if it sounds unreasonable "Too many "coincidences" about that man, mom". "So you''re saying he''s the killer?". "Yeah". - Hannah confirms "Which role exactly? I won''t reject your theory but this murder isn''t something an individual can do. Koenig doesn''t look like someone wicked enough to make a case like this. Let''s say he''s the killer, but what he is in that role? That''s the work of a big group. What are his motives anyway?". "Pleasure... maybe. You see how much he''s controlled by the Prime Minister, he wants to... release, by putting his anger on people who are inferior to him". - Hannah wants to explain her theory in detail. "Well... just something I heard from the people here, his mother supported his investigative group when it was founded. Also, you know Selena does charity work for the churches in the countryside by supporting medicine and food". - She looks at her mom. "Koenig supports her charity work through the money invested by his mother". "Interesting...", Jeanne nods. "however, it doesn''t make sense. There''s no way a killer would call us here to solve the mess he made". "Have you ever experienced something like this, mom?". - Hannah feels bored discussing over and over again a topic without finding a unified conclusion Jeanne doesn''t want to discuss with her daughter at all. From the beginning, if she knew she would attend a big case like this, she wouldn''t have brought Hannah. From her view, the more she investigates, the more she finds out about the involvement of royal people in this case. Without enough clues, the only thing she can do is create theories, the case appears to be a dead end since the suspects are too difficult for these investigators to lay their hands on. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "It couldn''t be His Highness". - Jeanne expresses her conclusion. "It''s understandable when he hid the information of people who went missing. I''m just a peasant but I know rulers tend to find small excuses for something to start a war, this is a good one for it". - She tries to remember something. "Koenig is not the killer. He''s too emotional, his crime wouldn''t last that long without being detected. Even if he was the killer, the mastermind was someone else". "Mom, my question". - Hannah is frustrated when her theory was rejected, she gets on the bed and lies there, getting some air Jeanne stays quiet. A while later, she just nods slightly to confirm. "But it''s different. An ordinary killer wouldn''t show up in front of us and ask us to solve the mess they did". - Jeanne explains. "Especially Koenig, he is not that person". Hannah sighs a little. Her tired eyes keep looking up at the ceiling. "Mom... is there a way to find out someone is a criminal? By looking, or by asking something...?". "?". - Jeanne feels a bit confused. "No... they just look like all others". - She falls silent. "...........................". "Actually... back at the time when I was your age, someone taught me how to identify someone if they have a problem in their head... through a question". - Jeanne sips some water while looking at her daughter. "That''s what I was told. I have never tested this on anyone before". "Why it''s always "someone" who taught you something, mom?". "It''s your dad, alright. Your dad". - Jeanne comes over the bed and pats Hannah''s head "So there''s a story...". - Jeanne later inhales, giving herself some space. "There''s a girl, her mother died and at her funeral, many people come. She meets a man there and falls in love with him, but she doesn''t know who he is and where he lives, she can''t do anything to contact him either". - She puts her hand away. "A week later... she murders her little sister. So the question is... what caused her to do that...?". Both investigators go silent. Hannah feels like her interest has been piqued after hearing this riddle, she just smiles up accidentally, thinking about it. Hannah already made the answer as her mother finished saying the question''s content. However, she wonders very much about what would the actual answer look like. "She wants to see him again". - Jeanne suddenly speaks up "Hmmmm... just like that?". - Hannah feels bored with what she heard after expecting something bigger "If someone answers the question that way, they may have a problem in their heads... or that''s what I was taught". - Jeanne then returns patting her daughter''s head. "Ordinary people would think the girl found out her sister and the guy were in a relationship, her jealousy drove her to murder. But there''s another answer for it, the one I just said... only those who have unstable minds can say it like that". Hannah keeps nodding. She quickly sits up and quietly leaves the bed. The girl approaches the table, she feels bored of discussing without anything to eat. "I''ll come to the kitchen then, those highborns always leave their leftovers", Hannah thinks. But she decides to wait until her mother goes to sleep, she wouldn''t dare to let her daughter be outside anyway. ... ... ... Jeanne is sitting at her desk, re-reading all the information she has collected from the investigation. She feels relieved when Hannah is sleeping deeply. The room is totally silent, she can now focus on the case without any worries. Jeanne is a bit impatient because this has been a long time since she has ever experienced a case with this much difficulty. The investigator would usually solve a case within a week, some difficult ones would take her up to a month. But this case... is completely different. One week wouldn''t be enough to solve it completely, to her, it would take at least three months, if that''s possible for her. "Alright...", Jeanne thinks. She looks up at the ceiling, she sighs and closes her eyes, working with her brain when it''s in a state of complete exhaustion for the best answer after a long time thinking. ... I must do it quick. For six months, 16 people in the palace have gone missing, most of them are the wives of Prince Koenig, some are just ordinary maids or servants of the women who are victims. During that same time, 4 people maids have been murdered. The two investigators who came before us are now also gone missing like other victims. If I was the killer, my motives for these crimes could only be because of... - Desires for power In 16 victims who are missing, 12 of them are wives of His Highness. This big number is enough to show me that there is a political conflict in this palace, 4 maids who vanished could also be his wives or former wives, but I have little information about these women, likely almost nothing. A person''s social status speaks a lot about them, those who have nothing significant tend to be forgotten, these maids too. Otherwise, those poor souls might be the unlucky witnesses. The two investigators just stood in the way of the killer, no wonder why they would vanish. A headache thing is about the maids who were murdered. This didn''t look like it was made by the same killer of the previous incident, the two-killer-groups theory was made because of this confusing detail. My daughter and I jumped to the same conclusion that in the initial phase, this murder group was just one, a unified one. As time passed, a conflict occurred and the group was splitted in two, both sides started killing each other. The maids who were murdered could be the accomplices of the other side group... that''s just a theory. Who knows if those women were just innocent souls, lives taken randomly because the killer switched the way they kill people since they were bored of being not detected...? Wait... I''m being distracted... Alright... if I have to comment, if I have to assume then... Group A would be led by... - Reila and Selena Group B would be led by... - The Queen... and Selena? In two groups, Group A uses the maids as accomplices for the murders Group B uses the outsiders outside the palace for the murders then... but if this group was led by the Queen, my assumption could be wrong. She can also use other servants like the maids and the guards. Using the outsiders could be a way for her to erase evidence. Starting with Group A, Reila and Selena appear friendly to each other despite the difference in their social status. If both of them work together, then it''s possible. Their suspicious behaviors when I was with them could be enough to tell me something was off. Reila doesn''t seem to be manipulative enough for the leader role. I''m being conflicted about who is the leader of this group, Selena is a more possible answer. She is more unpredictable... Just assumptions and theories, I need more clues... if I keep thinking without proof, I''ll just go crazy. Alright... I must get it straight. Let''s say Reila is the leader, she became the new main wife of His Highness after his current main wife went missing, it looks possible. About Selena, let''s say both of them share the objectives so that''s why they work together. Reila wants power, while Selena wants both power and love from Koenig. These two will find the way to get rid of each other when everything is done. About Group B, I have not much information about the Queen but she is a powerful woman. She has all the reasons to erase other women''s existence, no woman could take over her throne, life of nobility is always surrounded by power. Just my theory... she could the the cause of the missings of the wives and the maids in the palace. I mean... in the initial phase... she could the the leader of the killer group before it got divided. After both sides got divided... they started killing each other. The use of the outsiders could likely be the idea of Group B, maybe. The Queen is powerful, she has the right to use the key. Maybe she wants to blame Reila and Selena for the crimes then. The Queen also supported her son when he founded the investigative group to find the missing women. She has so much power, it''s easy for her to manipulate and control the entire group, which could be the cause that made the entire investigation walk in a straight dead end. Koenig did have his suspicions towards his mother, just my assumption. I doubt that he would try to approach it mentally and physically, he''s a good son... but maybe he will stand for his mom no matter what. Wait a bit... I just missed something... What is Selena''s exact role in this murder anyway? If I have to say, Selena would be the butcher of the two. They won''t let their hands dirty, just put it on someone else. This makes me feel like Selena is under their protection despite being used as their card, she''ll be dumped in the end anyway. Selena is also the suspect with the lowest social status despite being one of Prince Koenig''s wives. If the case keeps going like this, she is the only one to be arrested. Reila and the Queen are royalties anyway. They''re impossible for me to lay my hands on unless I have someone else more powerful to back me up... But the more I think about the two-killer-groups theory, the more I want to erase it. It just feels wrong, as if it''s just a mislead in the case. But it''s also very conflicting to rule it out, what if this is an important detail and I should stick with it more, huh? This theory keeps making me hooked up with it, there are many other details out of it but I haven''t checked. ... All of a sudden, Jeanne feels like she is being awakened after drowning herself in full of thoughts. Someone is knocking on the door, she slowly approaches it. "Who''s there?". - Jeanne feels very exhausted due to overthinking, she just wants to take a short nap before draining her mind again when she wakes up "It''s me, madame". Jeanne immediately understands that is Braun Frieden who is standing behind the front door. Unlocking the door, the investigator opens half of it and slowly pokes her face outside to see the situation. "I''m sorry for disturbing you at this late hour, madame". - Braun bows a little. "Selena... she''s about to leave the place with her wagon now". "Say again". - Jeanne feels like her sleepiness has been lifted after hearing what Braun said "My friend would sometimes go to the church this late. I was on my shift this morning, maybe it was at the time when the people from her house came to send supplies, I''m not sure... I wasn''t there. She''s about to visit the church, to deliver medicine and food". - Braun appears hesitant and doesn''t want to stalk her best friend, she believes she is innocent Jeanne knows going out at this late hour is very dangerous. However, she can''t let this opportunity slip, she sees everything is fine as long as it''s not about her daughter. If she stalks Selena right now, it may lead her to somewhere brighter to solve this mysterious case. As long as her daughter is safe, as long as she isn''t involved in it. "Are you free right now, Lady Frieden?". - Jeanne glances at Hannah a bit, then looks back at Braun Braun nods. She appears nervous more than eager to do what she''s about to do. "Thank you. I hope you can follow me". - Jeanne nods. "This case is going to end soon, wait for me, we''ll need to get hurry". - Jeanne walks back into the room, she starts gathering what she finds important for the stalking The mother accidentally glances at her daughter, she feels relieved when her daughter is sleeping there. She''ll lock the door when she leaves the room for the stalking to make sure her daughter is safe. As long as her daughter is safe, that''s what matters the most to this mother... ... ... ... C16: Land Of The Dead Day 5 - Nighttime - Late Night 26th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Investigator Jeanne takes another heavy breath. She tries not to tremble too much, her brown and leather coat doesn''t work too well when she is out at night this hour. Braun doesn''t seem to be in a better condition either. Both of them are experiencing the cold air on horseback, only the warmth of their bodies keeps them alive. It has been two or three hours since Jeanne and Braun started stalking Selena''s wagon. Without much preparation, this journey shows the investigator real pain, but she doesn''t mind it at all. Jeanne is just worried about Braun, she was the one being pulled into this journey. The woman said her daughter would be well cared for by the maids but as a mother, the investigator knows no mother would want to be apart from their children, this is too much for Braun. Jeanne looks around the area where she is, hoping to distract herself from the cold. She realizes she is in the middle of the woods, the road where Braun''s horse is walking on is a trail, covered by coldness. Just trees and trees on both sides of the road, just darkness and coldness covering the two women on the horse. The wagon they''re stalking is away from them not too far, just enough for the people not to detect them in the dark and enough for both of them to keep track of the wagon. At first, the investigator intended to stalk on foot, but the cold just tore that idea apart. Jeanne also asked Braun to turn off the torches during the stalking to make sure both of them wouldn''t be detected from afar, but it''s just a terrible idea. A small bright light suddenly catches Jeanne''s attention. It appears to be a fireball coming out from Braun''s palm, it''s magic. Jeanne is a no educated person, or at least she was only taught to read and write. Magic and spells are something only accessible to the nobles, it''s not a free thing to learn. Braun notices Jeanne is trembling due to the cold. She extends the size of the fireball and shares some with the investigator''s seat, both of them are feeling a little bit better. "This way leads to Veta... I know where she''s going to...". - Braun extends the fireball, she slows down the speed of her horse "Sorry...". - Jeanne trembles a little Braun doesn''t respond. Both of the women maintain their bodies on horseback, the cold is still there. Braun wants to take a break, but she knows it''s pointless to do something like this. Resting on the ground is much worse than being on horseback, losing track of the wagon is not a good idea either. "I know this road, madame... I used to go with her several times, most people wouldn''t go here, we can be relieved to follow the wheel marks". - Braun inhales and exhales, she wants to make sure her voice is loud enough for Jeanne to hear All of a sudden, Braun stops her horse as she finished the words she just said. Her face appears somewhat confused, she keeps looking at the road ahead and turning around, watching the road where she just passed by earlier. "It''s supposed to be on the left...". - Braun slaps her head gently, as if she just realized something unusual. "................................". - Just a silence, she feels like her navigation skills just lost. "Both of them look like the same but...". - Braun keeps looking forward and backward, feeling unsure "What''s the matter?". - Jeanne steadies her breath "We just turned left a few minutes ago, right?". "Hmmm... I saw you turning right". - Jeanne doesn''t remember either, just her assumption from what she tried to recollect Braun appears to be more confused after hearing what Jeanne just confirmed. She doesn''t notice she just triggered the rein. Just in a blink of an eye, Jeanne sees herself slipped off from horseback. She doesn''t fall, her hands cling tightly to Braun''s belt, almost making both of them fall. Jeanne touches her boots on the ground and keeps her distance from Braun a bit. She nods to tell the female guard that she is fine. "What happened?". - Jeanne asks, noticing the worries on Braun''s face Braun doesn''t respond, she just lightly shakes her head. Her breath keeps coming out, her lungs going up and down due to the cold. Everything appears to be something bizarre. The investigator climbs on the horse again, trying to know what Braun wants to do. "You want... to go there...?". - Jeanne gasps a little "I never told her about this road... not everyone goes here either". - Braun does her to make sure her voice is coming out loud enough. "Hang on, madame, we''ll get going". The horse suddenly speeds up after taking order from Braun. Jeanne almost fell, the female guard increased the speed before she could hold on to her. The footsteps of the horse keep echoing on the road, Braun lights up a torch to give herself a clear path, somehow the stalking has turned into something else. Jeanne wanted to ask Braun to take action carefully so that Selena and the servants in her wagon wouldn''t spot them. However, Jeanne knows that is no use now. Braun seems to have another thing for her to worry about, it seems to be more important than being caught stalking her best friend. In the blink of an eye, Jeanne realizes the horse has dropped her down somewhere. Everything is dark as always, Braun''s panting is what distracts the investigator, she is bewildered about where she is. Selena''s wagon did not show up before their eyes earlier. It might be too far ahead, beyond Jeanne''s miscalculation about the distance during the stalking. Jeanne inhales and exhales again, she feels confused when the road ahead appears to be colder than the one behind her. Something uneasy is here, just on the road ahead, the investigator just wants to have a light for a better view. Braun lights up the torch in her hand once again, it turned off earlier for no reason. She also lights up another torch and hands it to the investigator in silence. A fragile, but enough bright light comes to Jeanne''s eyes. Her eyes suddenly catch an object on the ground, just away from her a few feet ahead, it doesn''t look normal. She blinks twice to make sure she didn''t mislook. That same object appears as a skeleton, with ragged clothes, body completely lifeless. "I can''t believe she''d use this road for travel". - Braun gasps, then steps forward Jeanne also follows. The deeper both of them walk in this location, the more disturbing things show up, this road is full of dead bodies. On both sides of the road, in the middle of the road, etc. Those are the rotten bodies with only bones remaining, appear to have been staying in this area for years. The two women keep walking forward. This time, a high "mountain", deep on the left side of the road, appears before their eyes. It must be a hundred, or a thousand people there. The bodies are stacked up one by one, the scene of this place, somehow, makes it appear like a complete different world these two have stepped into. Jeanne stays quiet. She was quite shocked to see something this terrifying. Instead of being overwhelmed by that fear, she waits for Braun to open her mouth. From what the investigator sees, the bodies lying on the road are not new, all of them have been here for years. Jeanne waves the torch in her hand further, trying to understand what this place is. Only skeleton corpses before her eyes, some other objects like spears, shields and armors can be seen as well, some of these objects are even sunk on the ground and grass. "This looks like an old battlefield", Jeanne thinks to herself. The investigator looks back at Braun, she notices the female guard feeling worried. "There''s no way she''d do this...". - Braun murmurs to herself, she turns around, as if she doesn''t dare to look at Jeanne Jeanne doesn''t know what this place is exactly, but she sees it as a potential location for body disposal. Selena and her wagon just went through this road earlier. It''s possible to dispose of the bodies by dumping them here. Going out when it''s dark and dumping bodies in this dark place, to think about it further, it''s possible. However, the investigator sees there are so many bodies in this area, must be about from a hundred to a thousand. This will take a very long time to identify all of these. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Madame, I beg you, Selena has nothing to do with this". - Braun clings to Jeanne''s hand as if she doesn''t want to believe what she just saw, she wants to believe Selena. "My friend may be weird to choose this road but she has nothing to do with this. Please, I can explain". Jeanne nods. She feels bad for Braun but she wants her to spill out what she knows, she needs more information for the investigation, especially this new road. "So...", - Braun tries to steady her breath. "ten years ago, this place was a war zone between my country and Attenta Kingdom. The Attentan Army gathered the civilians here and killed them, they blamed us for the crimes...". - She puts her hands away, trying to stay calm as much as possible. "It''ll take up very much of time and money to clean up this place after the war, so it was left till this time. Just... please, madame, I don''t know why my friend chose this place to travel but she is innocent, I beg you, believe me please". "Everything is alright, Lady Frieden". - Jeanne reassures the female guard, although her mind didn''t say so. "By the way, what is this place called...?". "Land of... The Dead...". - Braun speaks up Jeanne nods. She looks around the area a bit more, looking at the bodies in her sight. The wagon is sure to be far away now, but she knows it''s also too late for her to continue chasing it. Even if she can chase it, she can''t do anything but watch because she doesn''t have a warrant paper to make a search. Fortunately, this road appears to be a potential location to solve the case, at least this journey went with some results. "Do people know this place well?". - Jeanne turns around to see Braun "I don''t think so, madame. But many people rumor this area has a haunted road... maybe they were referring to this". - Braun points her torch up, watching the bodies piled up like a mountain Jeanne stays quiet. She wonders if Selena''s earlier arrival was normal, or if she just did something here before leaving. Unable to stop her constant thoughts, the investigator looks around, waving her burning torch to everywhere she glances. "Hmmmm... if she uses this place to dump the bodies...", she keeps thinking. All of a sudden, the investigator lowers her gaze. "Lady Frieden...". "?". - Braun gets bewildered a little "Does she often go out at night like this in every charity work?". "No. She always did that in the morning, going out at night is dangerous... I''m very confused...". - Braun shakes her head slightly, she holds her sword which is tightened to her belt, her eyes looking forward and backward. "Maybe... maybe she uses this place because not many people know about it. People are scared of ghosts anyway, they won''t go where they''re scared of, especially the road where is full of bodies, she''s innocent". - Again, the woman still defends her friend Jeanne doesn''t respond. She ignores her trembling and takes a walk around the mountain of corpses to check on it carefully. Unlike other bodies that are left scattered all over the place without order, these piled-up bodies stay in one place. "Who knows among these skeletons, there''s still a body that still has some flesh on it", Jeanne thinks to herself a little bit. However, the investigator rejects what she just thought. It''s impossible to find it, every time when someone leaves the palace with a wagon, it will be checked by the royal guards before having permission to leave for travel. Then... it means if there''s a victim buried within these skeletons, the only parts that can be found are the limbs of the victims. Jeanne starts thinking further about Selena''s departure times when she goes out at night. If possible, those times could be the moments she went to dump the bodies of those poor victims. Unfortunately, there''s no way the guards who work at the entrance will have a book to make a record of it, tracking it through travel records is impossible. And yet, the investigator knows very little about the corruption of Warsaw Kingdom. Selena might be a poor noble, but she could use her beauty or the money from Koenig''s support for her charity work to bribe the guards so that they wouldn''t check on her wagon whenever she goes out. The more Jeanne thinks, the more she gets overthinking. She shakes her head twice, trying to shake off what she just thought but still carefully notes it deep in her mind. "I''m not suspecting Lady Breima, Lady Frieden. I believe the killer is someone else... but... to make sure she is not guilty, I have to make it clear through this investigation". - Jeanne reassures Braun, she points her torch toward the bodies The investigator walks in a circle, pointing her torch to every corpse she sees on the ground. Then she returns to check on the piled-up bodies to make sure they''re intact. She wants to find out if there is a physical sign of these skeleton bodies being stepped on or touched, but she can''t find any traces to prove it. It''s possible to bury a body in these corpses, but to do that, there must be some physical interactions on the skeleton bodies to prove it. Jeanne sighs. She knows her eyesight is not as good as the time when she was still a youngster. Maybe it''s because the place is too dark that the torches cannot brighten everything up. She can just mess up with the corpses to find the limbs of the victims, but it will take more time than being able to identify the position of the suspicious marks in the first place so the search will take shorter. "At least I''ve found where the bodies could possibly be hidden", Jeanne thinks to herself. But the real question which still annoys Jeanne is... if they were murdered in the castle, where their bodies were dismembered? "Madame, can we stop stalking? It''s so cold right now". - Braun weakly speaks up, she trembles. "This place just gets scarier...". - She gasps, trying to reach her horse Jeanne is too drowned in her thoughts, it''s no use for Braun to call her. The investigator has been going through hundreds of cases in her life, a big bad luck in her life was that in her initial years being an investigator, almost all the cases she involved were murders. She has many ideas of the location where the victims in this case could be dismembered after they were murdered. However, she can''t find a proper location of the palace that fits what she can think of. "Madame, you''ll catch a cold". - Braun stands before Jeanne. "Please don''t make me worried". - She keeps waving her torch around the investigator, trying to create some heat. "We''ll return, hold me". - She decides to hold the investigator and cover her while walking back to her horse, she wonders what Jeanne is thinking about when her face is only pointing to the ground A thought in Jeanne''s mind suddenly sparked up. She remembers a basement in the palace where is only accessible to royal members. That''s the only location she and her daughter - Hannah haven''t checked from the beginning. Unfortunately, Jeanne assumes being able to get in there is possible but it will need a lot of help from Prince Koenig. It''s possible to hide the dismembered bodies in a place where only a few people can enter. This also explains why the victims are not found. They were killed, dismembered and stored in the basement before being loaded up in a wagon and driven to the final disposal location, evidence erased. But if this theory was true, then Selena was just a card. The Queen would be the mastermind all along, the real killer would still walk free. ... ... ... The two women managed to return to the palace without facing anything dangerous on their way. According to Braun, Land of The Dead used to be a battlefield in the past of Warsaw Kingdom''s history. Thousands of civilians and soldiers were gathered, murdered and left there by Attentan Army. After the war, due to financial problems, the bodies were left there intact and citizens were ordered not to travel there for safety. Despite being a road that only had one bad history, the people, mostly the superstitious, rumored that the road is where spiritual entities like ghosts and demons are haunting. It''s unsure if the Land of The Dead is safe to travel or not. Braun knew about it because she used to be a soldier in that war and were the first ones to witness it. It''s reasonable to say the road is dangerous, especially at night. The outlaws like bandits can use that place to make a hideout, especially when it''s abandoned with a history of things most people wouldn''t want to travel there to see. However, if that road is safe and Selena uses it to dispose of the bodies then... Till now, to Jeanne, it''s unsure why Selena knew about that road. The only explanation she can think of is that a noble girl like Selena was born in Veta, that road is also located in her hometown anyway. Being a local there might explain why Selena knew about it. But what the investigator wants right now is to find the connection between the crime and the road, the case is not yet to end that early. Jeanne and Braun are now walking side by side together. They''re both exhausted, the female guard is even in a worse condition because she just coughed a while ago. Braun appears to be very dedicated to her duty, she wants to escort Jeanne back to her room. But she doesn''t seem to respect her health, she now has to hold the wall on the right side of the hallway when she walks, she can barely balance her body. "Just get back in your room. Thank you...". - Jeanne wants to apologize, but she knows the word "sorry" only deepens the matter because words are worthless when it doesn''t come to actions "Alright, let me". - The investigator holds Braun, she decides to drag her back into her room so that she won''t follow her anymore "I... I can walk...". - Braun gently pulls Jeanne away a little, she decides to walk back into her room after making a nod Jeanne sighs. She is worried about Braun, she hopes the woman will not fall ill. "Alright, so... rest for three days. I''ll see if I can ask His Highness to give you some days off, you don''t need to follow Selena either, just rest well until that time". - Jeanne whispers to Braun, she still decides to help the woman "Is your husband home?". - The investigator wonders "I... I hope so...", - Braun coughs a little. "Only when His Majesty goes to bed... that''s the time he ends his shift...". Jeanne makes sure to look at Braun carefully until she enters her room. The investigator then decides to return to her room to sleep, she only knows to sigh. "Hannah, what t-?!". - All of a sudden, Jeanne speaks up out loud but soon lowers her voice For some reason, Hannah is been standing in the hallway. This makes Jeanne feel like her daughter had been watching her mother from behind for a while. The mother pulls her daughter with her, both of them soon enter the room and the front door is locked as always. "How could you...?". - Jeanne wants to shout, but her tired sigh makes her realize she shouldn''t express herself that way. "Hannah, I already locked the door before leaving. Did you read what I wrot-". Jeanne realizes the fur note she placed on the table before leaving the room is nowhere there. "Let me talk, mom". - Hannah talks back Her mother then decides to give in. "Well... I don''t know what you found when you went out with Braun, but I found something". - The daughter pulls out a fur sheet of paper full of writings on it. "Hmmm... maybe... ten minutes? I mean, I just wrote all I saw in this paper, here". - She hands the paper to Jeanne. "I saw four carriages coming in ten minutes after you were with that guard. Do you know what they were...? Those wagons came from Selena''s house, I saw the emblems on those ones match those on her wagon. I don''t know why they came but a bunch of maids came and loaded some packages... then they just left". - Hannah gives a light punch to her mother''s chest, she jumps on a nearby seat and grabs some cookies placed on a plate nearby "Ah yeah, those packages were brought from that basement, mom. You believe it? That''s where we haven''t checked". - Hannah takes a bite. "I told you, that prince is something... he''s not normal". "We found it, sweetie". "Huh?". - Hannah swallows the cookies, she looks completely bewildered ... ... ... C17: A New Theory Day 6 - Daytime - Noon 27th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Two people walk out of the room where they just sat there for half an hour to discuss. That''s investigators Jeanne and Hannah. They just experienced a long discussion with Prince Koenig Sonne about the case, most of it was about the content in the document and the permission to examine the basement which is only accessible to royal members. The results appeared to be successful. At least most of them. Last night, the mother and her daughter had discussed and shared information with each other about what they saw. Somehow, this was the cause that extended the time of the earlier discussion. The prince''s answer wasn''t so much positive. However, he promised to do his best to help the investigators to solve the case. Another good news, the group that Jeanne requested was finally chosen and deployed. They would arrive at an inn in a few next hours. Ten royal guard members in the palace were chosen, that was the largest number the prince could afford to help the investigation. From now on, the group will watch the activities of the suspects whenever they go outside. There would be one member working as a messenger, sending letters to both sides whenever he is called. Braun Frieden was initially chosen to be a member of the group but Jeanne phased her out. She didn''t want to bother her any longer, at least Jeanne has shown some trust in her although she is a suspect in this case, but she is still a mother who has a child to take care of. Jeanne looks at the hallway before her eyes. She pulls out a fur paper which was stored in her handbag. It''s a warrant paper that was given by the prince in the earlier discussion. From now on, these two investigators can use this warrant to examine every wagon they want, this warrant has an expiration date up to two months. "Ahhh... finally...". - Jeanne sighs in relief, she raises the warrant paper up to see it once more before storing it inside her handbag Hannah stands next to her mother, she doesn''t feel so happy. In her thoughts, it''s extremely ridiculous for the aristocrats to set up rules and do whatever they want. Especially in this case, just a basement, both of them would go in there and do it quick. But only royal people are allowed to go there, while the peasants like her and her mother need permission. "At least we got this paper...". - The daughter murmurs to herself Hannah seems to have stopped suspecting Prince Koenig. She can''t see a killer figure in him, to her, he is too wimp and inferior to become a murderer, he is just a man who hates to face the truth. Now Hannah feels mad at herself for being too emotional to list the prince on the suspect list. Her point of view has shifted back to the conclusion the real killer could be a woman. The Queen and Selena seem suspicious enough. The Queen is a big figure, not much information about her is known by both her and her mother, but that woman appears to have a clear motive for murder. Political motives, as described by her mother, Hannah knows nothing. Selena is too clear, her possessiveness says it all, even if she can''t have Koenig for herself, she can still stay with him. These two women just share objectives, both of them will get rid of each other once it comes to an end. "But what about Reila?", Hannah asks herself. To think about it, Selena works as a butcher, killing and cleaning the mess for the Queen along with other maids. Meanwhile, the Queen is the mastermind who is always behind the curtains. She chooses her victims and Selena takes care of it. "Reila, Reila huh?", Hannah keeps thinking over and over again. Her mother told her that the two-killer-groups theory had a lot of problems in it. Hannah thinks about it again and it does have a problem. The newest victims of the case are only the maids. Unlike the previous incident where the victims went missing, they were murdered by a group of outlaws who intruded into the palace and were later killed. To bring up another conclusion, Hannah can only think of one thing... There was only one group of murderers from the start... ... Alright, maybe I will tell my mom once I finish this. I was bored last night. I had nothing else to watch after those carriages left, I went to the kitchen to grab some leftovers and somehow I ended up in a library by a mistake. Maybe... I should say I was lucky when I got there. The library was still active at that time, I remember I met a woman named... Libra? She''s the librarian who takes care of the place. I just got curious, I sat there with some books while enjoying the cookies I took. The first book was about Warsaw Kingdom''s law system. I don''t know if mom has read this book yet. Maybe not... she''s too old for that, she only solves the cases through her experience. She uses time thinking more than reading, I remember she read a lot when I was little... maybe she is now too confident so she stopped reading. The book was interesting. It gave me knowledge of how the laws in this kingdom work, this helps me solve the case slightly better. About the second book... it was a history book. I found an interesting detail, maybe it''s related to the case, it''s my assumption anyway. Well... Warsaw Kingdom and Attenta Kingdom have been at war for a very long time, they just recently stopped it. The war from ten years ago was a big change. Warsawrian King was assassinated during the war, the prince - who is now a wimp, spineless king, was abducted by Attenta side. It was an alarming incident since the king only had the prince as his heir. Koenig - the king''s nephew was there at that time. But he was considered too young and too naive to become a monarch. Somehow, the son returned to the kingdom not so long later with a man from Attenta. He was just a lowly guard, who was said to be the person who helped him to escape. After that, the war ended. The son became the new king while the man who saved him was appointed to become the Prime Minister as the way the King appreciated him. Everything changed since then. Warsaw kept losing its territory and became humble before Attenta after that war. It''s clear that this Prime Minister is manipulating the King, making him weak and dependent, so that he can control. Like father like son... no wonder why Koenig is that pathetic... The current Queen is an Attentan. She was married to the king not so long after the war. Surprisingly, Reila Sonne, who is the current main wife of Koenig, is also an Attentan, appointed by the Queen. Coincidence... isn''t it? The previous main wife of Koenig was a woman from another kingdom. From what I know, that kingdom is an ally of Attenta. Maybe she was a big figure... so Attenta and its allies could pressure the Warsaw Kingdom if this case was leaked out? Hmmm... Anyway... I think the puzzles are about to get in their right place now, I need to think a bit more. So... the Queen, Reila and Selena worked with each other? Both of them were the masterminds playing with us all along, huh? But why Selena had to do this? She''s a Warsawrian. Maybe... because by doing this, she can stay closer to the prince, is it correct? To think about the Queen and Reila, maybe Koenig is nothing but also a card on the board. Maybe he just has a use of being a prince, so that they can manipulate him easily. Maybe adding Selena to the murder group isn''t harmful. Her utmost intention is to be together with Koenig... but would Selena accept to live in that kind of environment? Selena, huh...? About the maids who were murdered, I can only think of one conclusion: - They were murdered to erase evidence of royalty''s involvement These maids appear to be less valuable than Selena. They were used to help the murder, but were discarded in the end because of it. Maybe that''s the only possible answer to why the maids were murdered that way. If these two masterminds used more people in the palace for murder, they would just add more numbers of threats. Using the outlaws to intrude, then the devoted guards who know nothing would take care of the rest. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. If that''s the case then... Braun has nothing to do with it. But what about the girl Ashura Saeko...? ... Jeanne keeps staring at her daughter, she loves to see Hannah''s cuteness. Whenever Jeanne is drowned in her thoughts, she will get frozen like a statue. Now her daughter behaves just like her, it makes the mother so happy to see it. Like mother like daughter. But deep inside, Jeanne knows once her daughter is thinking about something for too long, it means the case isn''t over yet. Jeanne decides to let her daughter have some space. The investigator glances at the room that is used as the experiment room, Ashura Saeko must be waiting in there. Jeanne needs that girl''s statement to solve the case. Once her daughter wakes up from her thoughts, Jeanne will lead her there to interrogate Saeko right away. "Uhhh...". - All of a sudden, Hannah scratches her hair, it appears that she has woken up "What were you thinking, sweetie?". - Jeanne lowers her gaze, feeling her daughter''s embarrassment The daughter doesn''t talk. She brushes it off and steps forward. The mother decides to go side by side with her daughter. Both of them are heading to the experiment room to interrogate Saeko Ashura. "Mom...". - Hannah leans to her mother, she steadies her breath. "Maybe later... I''ll tell you something". Jeanne nods. She knows her daughter is having something in her mind, it''s possibly about the case, she''s figured out something. The investigator knows her daughter has very much potential to become a great investigator, but she doesn''t like it. "My daughter should do something else better", the mother thinks to herself. This mother had a history that she didn''t want to reveal to anybody, especially her daughter. Many times in her life, Jeanne would ask herself whether or not she should hand over her daughter to someone else so that they could raise her better, but she didn''t want to see it happen in real life at all. That''s too much for her to take, especially when her memories go back to what she went through 24 years ago. "I won''t let it happen ever again, no more. Not anymore", the mother is like becoming crazy every time she thinks that way. "Mom, we came". - Hannah slaps her mother''s back gently Both of them are standing before the experiment room. It''s no use to know who is in there if the room is being looked at from outside. Lucky enough, at least these investigators know there''s a person sitting in there through the reflection of the blurred windows. "Oh hi there...". - A woman greets both of the investigators once they entered the room, but she isn''t Saeko It''s Selena Breima. "What are you doing here?". - Hannah enters with a question Jeanne just greets Selena by waving her hand. To get closer to the killer, becoming a friend of theirs is not a really terrible idea. Jeanne just needs to play smart with this girl. The two investigators sense that something isn''t right. Saeko was supposed to see them at this hour. Just Selena being in this room is already odd enough. "Where''s Lady Saeko, Breima?". - Jeanne then sits opposed to the girl "She''s busy. I mean... she asked me to go in her stead, now she''s resting, having some kind of fever". - Selena explains. "What should I do then? Maybe... you write something for her, I will bring that paper back, sounds good enough?". Jeanne gives her daughter a gaze. Hannah sighs, she pretends to look tired when she is asked by her mother to become the one to write these questions. She knows her mother is using this opportunity to approach Selena as well, it''s their good opportunity to keep her here. "By the way. We''re good friends, aren''t we? So don''t call me Breima". - Selena giggles, she waits to see Jeanne nod. "What can I help here, my investigator friend...?". "Well... this thing involves privacy, you know?". - Jeanne explains. "These questions are for Saeko, how would I know you would take a peek at it?". "I won''t be that bad to my friend. I can''t read either. If you ask me to look at what is on that paper, all I can see is the black lines portrayed in different directions". "I didn''t see you passing us in the hallway when we were coming here". - Hannah speaks up while writing the questions for Saeko, which were all set up but unused due to her absence "This palace... has more than one way to go to wherever you want". - Selena smiles. "I just met a friend earlier, I was afraid I''d go late but I didn''t know I came early". Hannah returns to write the questions while Jeanne wonders what should she do to deal with Selena. They did not expect to see her here, they wonder if her appearance has another deep meaning. Ashura appears to be a quiet woman, but if she had talked to Selena, then it means she could be a friend of hers. No way someone would do a favor for a stranger. "Haaahhh...", - Selena yawns a little. "His Highness has been sleepless for days. Maybe it''s because of you. Please give him privacy, don''t constantly come like that". - She yawns again, trying to stay conscious with her heavy eyes "He''s been like that from the start". - Jeanne replies "You''re right. But when you came, it just went worse. But... as long as I''m there for him, he can sleep as long as he pleases". - Selena sighs and smiles. "I really feel bad for him when he''s always worried about his wives, they disappeared all of a sudden. But... I can''t let those women gnaw him day to day... he needs comforted". Jeanne sits there and listens to what Selena is saying. She hopes to find at least a clue or something useful by using this conversation, it may just be about someone''s private life, but to this investigator, small details help her find the big ones, so every conversation is needed. "You said you just met a friend earlier". - Jeanne mentions the earlier story that Selena just said "Yeah, I came over to see her. She seems sick already, it must be tiring to keep up with your job and your kid at the same time, her husband is not even around". Based on what Selena just said. Needless to say, Jeanne knows who that was. "It''s much tiring to share your man with other women". - All of a sudden, Hannah steps in between the conversation The daughter gives her mother a quick glance but full of meaning. "Just get her straight to the point already, mom", Hannah wanted to say those words out loud. But she soon returns to write the questions, she wants to make a big sigh. "Other women, huh?". - Selena smirks a little after hearing what Hannah said. "Hmmmm... I''m not in that position to decide it. The choice is his, it''s his right". - She later glances at Hannah. "By the way... are you done yet? I have to go back to His Highness or else he will be lonely". "Almost...". - Hannah keeps writing the questions "I thought he had good time with his women". - Jeanne speaks up "No no. Her Highness is busy, she has to take care of the mess he made, Prime Minister is not so pleased with him". - Selena waves her hand with a reject sign. "Saeko, well... just only comes when he calls her. Unlike them, I''m with him all the time... I feed him, I bathe for him, I take care of him in bed, everything, just always together". - She puts her right hand on her chest, her face appears both pride and cheerful "Make sure he only looks at you". "Hehe... sure". - Selena smiles "I met somebody last night, they said you forced them to harm those people. You even ordered them to witness all of it". All of a sudden, Selena stops her smile and starts gazing at the investigator. Her face appears to be a bit worried, her breath is not stable, as if she is being choked. "What... what are you joking ab-". "They told me how you killed those people and how you disposed of those bodies. Everything happened in a basement". - Jeanne makes her voice firm, she turns her gaze from normal to serious Hannah stopped writing when she heard what her mother said. The paper was already filled, she just simply pretended to keep writing those questions to buy time. Hannah knows her mother is making up a story to lure this suspect. The problem is, she doesn''t know about how her mother would drive the story, she only knows to join in and behaves to pressure Selena. Hannah tilts her head to the left a little, staring straight into the suspect''s eyes without blinking. The young investigator glances at the door for a few seconds after gazing at Selena, as if telling her there''s no way out and she should give in. "Hey, what are you talking about?". - Selena seems to be worried, she backs up a little and intends to get up. "I''m not doing anything bad, don''t say it like that". "I''m trying to believe you, alright? But those people showed up and told me all of that". - Jeanne tries to reassure the suspect but also expresses her doubts "Proof, do you have proof?". - Selena appears a bit mad, she grumbles her face. "Who are they exactly? I''m not doing anything, I''m innocent, don''t joke with me". - She steadies her breath, trying to sit down in peace. "We''re friends to each other, we''re friends, you know? If I were the killer, I would''ve killed all of you as soon as possible, before you can even know". "Don''t make yourself look like a killer then, don''t "if I were the killer" if you''re innocent". - Jeanne reassures the suspect once again, she wishes she didn''t do what she did earlier "What if Selena is truly innocent? What if she is just pretending to be anxious?", Jeanne keeps asking herself. However, the investigator knows one thing that this test is just created for another future purpose. She needs to keep it going. The real aim results would be what Selena would do after experiencing it, it wouldn''t take the instant effects from this very moment. "I can''t tell you who told me this. It''s privacy between us and our clients". - Jeanne speaks up. "Friend, just listen. You''re innocent? You''re innocent, are you? Yes, I believe you''re innocent. But this information changed my mind, now I have no choice but to doubt you". Selena stays quiet. Her mouth is closed, but her eyes show that she wants to speak up, as if she''s trying to put up a proper word to explain herself she is not guilty. "I''m innocent. You don''t have any evidence to accuse me, those are just... rumors...". - Selena appears a bit angry, but she seems to have turned it down "Then why do you need evidence to prove you''re not guilty?". - Hannah starts joining the discussion, she is thinking carefully about what words should be spoken out. "We investigators find evidence to arrest criminals. If you''re innocent, you have nothing to be afraid of... is it correct?". "You''re not even sure of your answer". - Selena makes a mock talk. "I''m innocen-". "Then why do those rumors exist?". - Hannah puts her face closer to Selena''s, trying to look intimidating Selena stays quiet. She looks away from Hannah and returns looking at Jeanne. "There''s no need to be afraid. Time will tell, I''ll do my best to arrest that killer fast". - Jeanne puts her hand on Selena''s left shoulder with purpose to ease her mind. "You''re not the killer, alright? You''re innocent, you''re just too worried, friend. That killer would be very stupid if she lost her temper that fast. You''re not the killer". - She shakes the suspect gently, trying to soothe her Selena puts Jeanne''s hand away. She snatches the paper from Hannah, showing no care if it was fully written or not. "I''m sorry... I lost control". - Selena turns around, she approaches the door. "I understand your struggles". "May I go now?". - Selena clenches her teeth, feeling annoyed "Yeah". - As Jeanne finishes her words, the door was opened with a slam. "Be careful". Hannah steps out to check the outside and then closes the door. The mother and daughter look at each other with a sigh. "Mom, you should''ve discussed with me first". - Hannah grumbles her face a little, she soon cuts it off because the incident was over "We didn''t have time for that". - Jeanne then lowers her gaze, looking at the table "So... what do we do?". - Hannah covers her right hand fingers with the powder of white chalk then runs them on the table, doing some random drawing "We wait... if she feels itched by our words, she''ll take action tonight... or tomorrow". C18: Evidence Day 7 - Daytime - Morning 28th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Braun Frieden is having the same shift with a male guard next to her, guarding the gate of the palace''s backyard. This appears to be a boring job like just guarding other locations, there are not many things to do but stand and watch. This backyard, especially the gate, caught the attention of the prince. A couple of guards have been added here as a way to increase security. "This gate was used by the intruders when they entered and killed the maids. Someone ran here after chasing Ms. Hannah, they haven''t been found despite the search", Braun thinks of what she heard from the rumors spoken by her co-workers in the palace Every time she comes to the backyard, her eyes will always be locked to the gate. Not because this place is no more safe, it''s because the safety of this place has been disturbed, it used to be a place where no one would guard. Away from Braun not so far, a wide and big flower field is seen taken care of by the maids. Selena isn''t with the maids, she has gone outside to do charity work earlier. Her departure time is not stable, as Braun remembers. Her friend would sometimes go out in the morning, sometimes it would be at night. This depends on the goods loaded in her wagon every time she goes out with it. If the goods are not enough, some wagons from her house will come to deliver more. From afar, investigator Hannah is watching Braun. She is now alone in the palace, just all by herself. Last night, she stayed up late with her mother to wait for Selena to take action but nothing happened. Right in this morning, Selena suddenly departed. Jeanne and the stalking group had to follow, her daughter was left in her room with a reminder not to go outside. Hannah is now both sleepy and frustrated with herself. She forgot to tell her mother about the new details she found in the case. However, Hannah hopes her mother has figured it out without her daughter telling her. The girl really wants to go to sleep but the more she thinks of her mother being more experienced and more cases solved than her, the more she wants to solve this case all by herself to show her real capability. The young investigator then approaches Braun Frieden. She wants to talk with someone first so that it can ease her sleepiness. "Hi...". - Hannah opens up her mouth, she yawns a little while her hand waving at Braun The female guard doesn''t reply. Instead, she bows. Braun appears to be still at ill, she coughs a couple of times before going back to work. Hannah decides to be more open this time because she is not at work and her mother left the palace without giving her a mission to do. Or more simple, Hannah is just being lazy. She wouldn''t behave like this if she was allowed to join the stalking along with her mother. "Let''s think of what I have to say. My sleepy head can''t take much more", the girl thinks to herself. "You good, Lady Frieden?". "Thank you for asking, Ms. Hannah. I''m doing well". - Braun appears appreciated for the conversation but she appears to be a bit hesitant as if she wants to concentrate. "You look exhausted...". "It always happens to my mom". "But not me. I''m lazy", Hannah wants to say so but she only wants to show the good side of her Braun doesn''t seem to be talkative when she is at work. The female guard stands firmly with her palm wrapping around the pommel part of her sword, her sword is attached to the left side of her belt. Hannah stays quiet with her gaze focusing on Braun''s sword. She loves the shape, the curve, the beautiful view of the weapon. "Take care of yourself, Ms. Hannah. Maybe if you ask Lady Ashura to help you with coffee, she may give you some". - Braun doesn''t look at Hannah, she focuses on her job while doing her best to express every word but still maintaining her diligence "What is that exactly?". - Hannah glances at the guard who is guarding next to the female guard, noticing the guy is dozing off "I don''t know... it''s some kind of tea in her homeland th-", - All of a sudden, Braun coughs a little, she gently holds her throat. "it keeps you conscious after drinking, that''s what I know". Hannah nods. "The guy next to you is not even working. Just rest". "My shift is still on...". - Braun smiles a bit. "I''ll be fine. By the way, I don''t see Madame with you like usual, Ms. Hannah". - Braun now notices Jeanne is not around "She''s... at work already". - Hannah glances at Braun, noticing the female guard is still holding her throat. "Thirsty...?". Braun nods. "Water? Warm or cold?". - Hannah pulls out an empty wooden cup from her handbag, only she knows where she took it "No, I have it right here...". - Braun points down her belt, letting the young investigator know there is a leather water bag tightened to the right side of her belt "Relax... just a nice drink. No one is gonna come to check if you''re working". "Warm, please". - Braun sighs a little Hannah fills the empty until it''s full of water by using her water magic. She has also adjusted the temperature of the water, turning it into a true pure water source. "Here you go". Braun nods and starts drinking the warm water. After she has done drinking, she returns the empty cup with a light bow. "It''s about to be winter, Ms. Hannah... if you have a need for some good clothes, I can buy some for you and Madame". - Braun speaks firmly. "Your clothes are not that strong to help yourself in the cold". "Winter already? It''s supposed to be two more months until it comes". "Winter in Warsaw comes early. It starts snowing in the next three days, I think so". "But I see it''s fine. At least it''s not that cold compared to other kingdoms this season". "You don''t see it, Ms. Hannah. My homeland is that kind of season, it looks fine but will get worse when the winter comes, please don''t take it lightly". "That''s so...? Well, thank you a lot when you''re willing to buy new clothes for us". - Hannah sighs a little "But I''m not gonna pay the money. Maybe I should do something to have her buy those clothes without wasting a coin", Hannah thinks to herself. Hannah realizes if she keeps trying to make herself stay awake for more, she will surely sleep due to exhaustion. Her mother tends to stay awake for hours for a long time before giving herself a deep sleep. This only happens when she has to work on a difficult case. Hannah can''t keep up like her mother, but she doesn''t want to waste her time sleeping, she wants to stay awake with hope to find something useful. Something, maybe not related to the case, is also fine with Hannah. As long as that information can help her find new clues despite its non-relation to the case. Hannah looks around, thinking, trying to find something to ask Braun. Then she notices the flower field of the backyard. This place appears to be a wide area with dense green grass. It used to be a training ground for the royal guards of the palace, but was replaced a while ago. Without the flower field, this backyard will look very bland. At least that flower field gives the servants in the palace a location for them to work by taking care of flowers. "That flower field is nice, isn''t it? Who planted it there, Lady Frieden?". - Hannah points her finger to the flower field "My friend planted it when she came here". - Braun replies. "She''s dedicated to it". "Selena?". Braun nods. "So... three years ago?". - As Hannah remembers, Selena came to the palace from three years ago when she was 14 "Yes. Three years ago". - Braun nods "It really takes a lot of work". - Hannah looks at the flower field, watching its wideness, its beauty and strong growth. "So...". - She wonders what she has to say. "Do you know why did she plant these flowers?". Braun just shakes her head lightly. "Maybe... she wants to add something fresh to make this place less boring?". - The female guard expresses her unsure question, she soon returns to work Hannah smiles at Braun''s answer. "Hmmmm...". - Again, she keeps thinking. "Hey... do you remember when did she start doing charity work?". "It''s also from three years ago, Ms. Hannah. I didn''t know about it until His Highness came and asked her how everything was going". "What do you mean?". - Hannah is a bit surprised "That activity started from her family if I remember correctly. She just follows what her parents did even when she got in here. His Highness seems very like it. He supported her work until this time". "She really loves the kids and their well-being, huh? I''m not gonna do that though. It''s a waste of money if I was her". - Hannah expresses The young investigator realizes she may have collected something new from the information Braun gave her. Everything seems normal but Hannah senses something odd around Selena''s actions. She planted a flower field in the backyard of the palace. She also started doing charity work at that time with the prince''s support, it''s unsure whether or not if the Queen had supported Selena at that time. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. "The flower field... does it have any connections to the case?", Hannah wonders, she glances at the flower field The flower field appears normal. "16 missing victims...? Before those 16 people, were there any missing reports?", Again, Hannah''s mind keeps spinning That question could be possible. When Jeanne and Hannah came to the palace, they were informed by the prince that there were many people missing in the palace. The old stories might not exist. But who knows if before this incident, there was also a similar case that occurred in the palace? "Good day at work, Braun. I''ll get going". - Hannah walks away from Braun Hannah walks past the maids who are taking care of the flowers. Walking through them for a few seconds, she looks back. For some reason, she feels like something is missing. The more she looks at the maids taking care of the flowers, the more she feels strange about them. But Hannah stops herself from approaching the maids. She decides to come to Prince Koenig''s room, she wants to discuss something with him. ... ... ... Meanwhile Investigator Jeanne is stalking the wagon before her eyes. She has been stalking it for nearly two hours since it departed from the palace, she is waiting for the right moment to approach it to make a search. It seems that Jeanne''s calculation was still correct at some point. Selena did not take action last night but this early morning. The investigator doesn''t know what caused that interruption. But she can sense that Selena is behaving very suspiciously at the moment. According to what Jeanne knows based on Braun''s information, Selena''s charity work has an unstable time. She tends to depart in the morning, she will also depart at night but it seems very rare to happen. Braun can only give limited information to the investigator since she doesn''t know much about her friend''s charity work. About this problem, it seems to be more useful if the investigator goes to see and asks Prince Koenig. She really wants to do it, but now she is busy stalking the wagon. Selena is in that wagon too, it''s a good opportunity for the search. She can''t refuse, the warrant paper Jeanne is holding has a high reputation, it can give her work a lot more advantages. Selena started her departure this early morning, Jeanne had to follow. The guard group deployed at a nearby inn was called as well, for safety, the investigator had ordered each team to go with two people. Selena departed with her wagon and four other wagons from her house also joined on the way. Lucky enough, Jeanne''s stalking group has 10 members, in total 12 members including her and Braun. Unfortunately, Braun was phased out since Jeanne was worried about her health, she wouldn''t be available for the next two days. At the moment, Jeanne and nine members of the group are on their way stalking five wagons of Selena. One member has been kept behind for a backup situation. Everything went normally until those wagons parted ways. The teams were cut off but still ordered to finish the stalking. Jeanne and a member going alongside her kept stalking the wagon which is holding Selena inside. For some reason, this wagon still drove into the Land of The Dead area casually like the previous time. Jeanne didn''t expect this to see it happen once again. She assumed Selena might have known that she was being stalked. Jeanne doesn''t expect to find anything through the search inside Selena''s wagon. Her carriage might be used to attract attention while the four other carriages would do the real job by transferring the bodies to another location for disposal. One of those four carriages would be the real target. Selena''s carriage might be a decoy, or that''s what Jeanne assumed. Only Jeanne has a warrant paper to make a search, other members have no choice but to stalk only. The investigator can''t use this warrant paper all the way she likes. Despite being a powerful warrant paper, it''s unavoidable if its user asks for a search, the reason for the search must be done reasonably. Jeanne cannot show up suddenly before a wagon and ask for a search, especially the wagons that come from outside the palace and have been checked by the guards. That''s why she must have a reasonable reason during the search. If Jeanne was an aristocrat, she wouldn''t need this kind of reason to stop her from the investigation. Now the investigator is having a terrible headache. She needs a good reasonable excuse to search Selena''s wagon fully. However, as she assumed, this carriage could just be a decoy. But Jeanne has no choice, she cannot choose randomly one of the four other wagons for a full search. It will be a waste of time, and it depends most on luck to find the real one. At least... if Selena''s carriage was carrying the crime evidence, Jeanne would be both lucky and successful at the same time to solve this case completely once and for all. "Madame... I''m ready". - When Jeanne is thinking and still feeling headache, a male''s voice called her The brown-haired man who is next to the investigator is a royal guard named Gaston, he is one of the ten members of the stalking group. The group wasn''t able to work two days ago because it was the time when the members were newly deployed. All members of the group were supposed to be armed with a full set of metal armor like the typical royal guards in the palace. However, if the group had to work in emergency situations, the members wouldn''t be able to gear up the full set due to time to wear the entire armor. Jeanne had ordered all group members to wear leather armors, which are uniforms for Warsawrian militia men to save time. Gaston is waiting for Jeanne''s order to approach the wagon. The wagon itself is away from the two of them not so far, they can keep up with it for less than a minute. Jeanne sees this as a good opportunity to search Selena''s wagon. The wagon hasn''t really entered the Land of The Dead yet. Now, if Jeanne is lucky, she will be able to find something important against Selena. The investigator wanted to launch another better plan. After searching Selena''s wagon, she would move away and start searching other wagons followed by other members, but the plan was impossible. The communication is very inconvenient, only letters to each other. Information also comes very late, once she arrives at the location where a wagon was spotted, it has gone somewhere else already. Moreover, not enough members to work as messengers. In ten members of the group, half of them are illiterate, not all royal guards have aristocratic backgrounds. Many of them were peasants who were chosen thanks to their good physical strength from the military service. After all, Jeanne had no right to choose who she wanted to work with during the stalking. Only the prince had that right. However, he couldn''t choose the elite individuals for this mission. It''d be a waste of time and money to solve a case like this while the kingdom has other matters. Jeanne sighs a little, doing her best to consider the best choice. There''s no time left for hesitation, she needs to do it now. The investigator nods. The guardsman pushes his horse forward after hearing the order, he runs past Jeanne like a faint wind. She also starts speeding up her horse to keep up with Gaston. When Jeanne arrives, she realizes the man is already there, blocking the front way of the wagon. "Stop!". - Gaston roars, doing his best to make sure everyone in the wagon is listening to his words with full attention. "I''m from the Royal Guard. With my demand, I order you to stop the wagon". - He pulls out a yellow metal seal with a Warsaw emblem on it, which is proof to show he is a royal guard of the kingdom Jeanne approaches the backside - the wooden container of the wagon with a white curtain covering the inside. A maid lifts up the curtain, the investigator immediately shows the warrant paper without saying anything, she waits there. Jeanne watches the inside of the wooden container to see Selena. She appears to be sitting among her servants, who are the maids as well, the wagon has four people. "Alright then...". - Selena comes out to see Jeanne, she sighs as if she is annoyed. "Jeanne, I didn''t expect to see you here. What''s that paper anyway? I''m in a hurry". - Her face appears she is a bit annoyed but she is holding it back "Lady Breima, I''m standing here because of two things. Firstly, your wagon has no guards but only your maids, His Highness ordered me to escort you to safety". - Then, Jeanne gives Selena the warrant paper. "Secondly... someone just told me about you again. They saw you loading something suspicious on your carriage". "So?". - Selena frowns, still holding the warrant paper "This warrant is undeniable. I hope you''ll cooperate with us in this investigation. We have to search your wagon, of course". "Fine!". - Selena returns the warrant paper to the investigator and pushes her away. "I''m innocent! I''m not doing anything bad! We''re friends no more!". - Selena walks away, her face lowering to cover her anger ... ... ... Daytime - Dusk The search went on and as Jeanne expected, nothing suspicious was found. She even used luminol but found nothing, the wagon and the packages loaded on it were clean. Selena''s wagon was allowed to go freely after the search. Jeanne and Gaston had to follow Selena because of the content she said during the earlier conversation. Everything went normally. Selena and her wagon went through many poor residences to provide food and medicine. The person who is suspected to be the killer appears to be a generous and thoughtful woman. Jeanne doesn''t feel surprised, she has experienced many things in her life through the cases she solved. She has seen a lot of people who appeared nice outside but discovered to be a monster when the case came to an end. Selena said she used the Land of The Dead to travel because it''s safe and no one goes there. Who knows her real answer when Jeanne can''t read her mind? Selena is not an exception. She might look nice but it could just be a big facade. However, there''s no actual proof to accuse her at all. Almost all the clues of the case till this time are just vague theories made by Jeanne and Hannah. The Land of The Dead is not a good evidence either, the stalking group hasn''t searched that area. About three members will be chosen to search that area. But this request has yet to come to Prince Koenig to have his approval, it will come with the investigation report documents by the end of this week. Even if they found the limbs within those skeleton corpses and considered they were the remains of a victim, they must also find other evidence on these remains to prove it was a victim. Accessories, pieces of clothes, etc, they must find clothing or accessories on those limbs to prove it was the victim, like how they were described before going missing. "Haaahh...". - Jeanne sighs a little, she sips some water from her leather water bag Selena stopped by a church in the countryside of Veta region, a bit far away from Keris - the capital city. Jeanne and Gaston also stopped here to rest as well. This place is the end of the line. Selena seems to intend to visit her house since this is her hometown, the investigator also thinks of following her there as well with the hope of gathering any useful information. Jeanne is now inside the church, sitting on a pew chair. She seems exhausted, her eyes are heavy, she just wants to sleep. Her eyes can''t stop staring at a large statue standing at the end, in the middle and behind the podium. That statue is a figure of Goddess Katia - the one who created this world. In contrast to the large statue, the church looks old as hell, the pew chairs also look so broken. The sisters and the cleaners of the church who are either orphans or volunteers, wear ragged clothes, some better ones wear fine but old clothes. The only thing this church is good at is the Goddess statue. The statue was built in a position where the light from the sun can lit through a lot in the morning. This appears to make the Goddess look divine and hopeful with light covering her entire body, while the scratches and broken lines are hidden from the glances of people. "They have no respect towards religion...". - Jeanne speaks up in her exhaustion Jeanne wonders if the rulers of Warsaw Kingdom used religion to control people more than respecting the religion. Back at the time when she was in Leafspear, religion was well respected, people in the church might look poor, but they were well fed and educated to a certain point. Moreover, the churches were always well-built and well-repaired. The investigator realizes she just got distracted from her investigation. Jeanne starts to wonder if she is chasing a wrong suspect. Selena appears to be suspicious but she has no actual proof against her, somehow, that girl always appears with a suspicious aura. Meanwhile, Jeanne realizes how much she has neglected other potential suspects just Braun and Reila. The chance to talk to the Queen is zero, so Jeanne can''t do anything, that suspect is untouchable. Jeanne sighs once again. Her eyes heavily glancing at the Goddess statue, she just wants to have a nap, or stays awake with her job until she discovers something. Jeanne starts to remember a murder case she solved in the past. The lead to finding the victim''s identity was a dead end, the case was only solved when she visited the church after feeling too exhausted. "Is there something heavy in your heart, child?". - All of a sudden, a voice from behind calls Jeanne Jeanne turns around and sees an old priest behind her. She gets off the pew chair with a bow, she feels like she has disturbed everyone at this late hour. "Nothing, father". - Jeanne replies with her heavy tone The investigator then pulls out a bag of 100 Atta coins. Atta is not the currency of Warsaw Kingdom but Attenta, but the Atta currency has more value than the Gel coin - the currency of Warsaw Kingdom. Despite feeling very depressed about donating this much money to the church, Jeanne knows she shouldn''t be so selfish but has to be more thoughtful. Her money-hunger tendencies are of no more use at this point. "I don''t think this is enough to help everyone here, father. But I hope it''ll help". - Jeanne gives the priest that money bag "Thank you, child. Many souls have been saved and cared for by your actions". "Ummm... I guess I have to go now". - Jeanne looks outside, noticing Selena and her servants are still waiting for her "I see... you''re a friend of Lady Breima". - The old priest nods with understanding. "Give my words to Lady Breima, child. Thanks to her contribution, many children here have been well cared for... they''ve survived the winters thanks to her". "Yes, father". - Jeanne nods and gently approaches the church''s entrance "May the Goddess be with you". C19: Join The Dead Day 7 - Daytime - Dusk 28th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Jeanne opens her eyes after a while of sleeping. She couldn''t stay conscious and slept immediately when she left the church, she had to sleep on Selena''s carriage. Somehow, she found peace after she took that rest. But everything is not yet to be over, the case is still in Jeanne''s mind, she sees it a waste of time to spend her time sleeping. Right now, she is confused about where she is at. She sees herself inside in a good-looking room which appears to be a living room. She also sees herself sitting on a couch and at a table with a tray of cups and a teapot on it. She doesn''t understand what happened to her when she was sleeping. "Oh, you''re awake?". - A woman''s voice sounds out all of a sudden That person''s voice appears to be Selena Breima. She sits opposed to Jeanne and starts filling a cup. Jeanne doesn''t know what to do, she just stares at the teacup before her face. Meanwhile, the girl who is the suspect starts drinking the warm teacup she just poured. "What the matter...? Scared of being poisoned, investigator?". - Selena mocks Jeanne, she later puts down the teacup she was holding "Where''s Gaston?". "Outside... he asked for my permission to deliver a letter somewhere, I didn''t care at all". - Selena then smashes the table. "What does he think he is?! This is my house, not a Messenger Guild! Go find a damn facility out there himself! He has a horse anyway!". - Done yelling, she gently sits back on her seat and starts drinking once again Jeanne stays quiet. She wonders if she can dig more information from Selena in this very situation. "You''re quiet this time... very well. At least you''ve respected me by being quiet... or not...?". - Selena drinks a bit more until the cup is empty, she puts it down slowly. "I''m not the killer. I''m not the killer". - She gets off her couch "We''re friends, aren''t we?". - Selena speaks up, her voice is a bit mad. "Yeah, I''m not a friend of yours anymore... but do you still want us to be friends?". - She stays quiet. ".........". - She approaches the door. "Fine then. You don''t answer". Jeanne sighs heavily. Selena just left the room in frustration. The investigator also comes out of that room. She finds a bit struggle to deal with everything right now. She is at a place where she knows nothing about. She doesn''t know the way, she doesn''t know anyone. Just herself alone. The investigator walks in the hallway, avoids speaking with the people and looks for boards with writings on them to look for directions. All of a sudden, she sees Selena leaving a room, following her is an aged man. Behind Selena is a man, appears to be old and intimidating. This man walks so fast that Jeanne can''t describe fully how he looks, only being able to know that he wears a brown coat. The investigator intends to approach Selena but the man suddenly walks in front of her while on his way. "Tch... woman...". - For some reason, the man glares at Jeanne and walks away, she heard him click his tongue The man is now so far away from the investigator. For some reason, she feels terror every time she stands before him, as if he would murder her in the most brutal way if she was alone at that time. "Welcome to my house". - Selena suddenly appears, she raises her hands to both sides widely as if to welcome, she makes a strained smile with her swollen left cheek. "That''s my father". Jeanne stays silent. She wants to hear her suspect talk as much as possible to gather information. Despite being an experienced investigator, Jeanne knows she is still a woman. Women are more emotional than men, so she can''t let her emotions consume her. Killer or not, she is doing her best to make her emotions detached from the case. She can only show her emotions freely when the case ends with her discovering the killer who stands behind everything. "Where''s your mother?". "Haaahhhh... she''s with the Goddess now". - Selena sighs. "Maybe I already told you about that when we were drinking together, I don''t know". - She later holds her swollen cheek "This always happens when I come to visit home. As long as I don''t see him, I can find some peace". - Selena comments on her father, she looks away. "If you want to talk to him in peace, make sure you''re not a woman with blonde hair. Make yourself like a man instead". "May I know the way out?". - Jeanne asks "Sure... this way. I''m not going to stay here, His Highness needs me". - Selena then leads the way Jeanne and Selena walk side by side with each other. Selena appears to be a bit mad, but she doesn''t say anything mean. "We''ll part way on the way back to the palace. I''m not in a good mood, so don''t bring anything up". - Selena glares at Jeanne and walks faster The two women soon come out of the building. Jeanne sees Gaston waiting for her at the entrance. Selena immediately parts ways in silence, the investigator watches her walking away. Selena is later seen enter a wagon parked nearby, she is about to depart once again. Jeanne doesn''t approach Gaston yet, she wants to look around Selena''s house a little. The "house" appears to be an average-sized wooden building, with a decent front yard built for parking lots. Jeanne wonders if the suspect''s house has a backyard. The Breima family is known for business in food and medicine although its business expansion has nothing special. Based on known information about Selena, her family has a few facilities working only in Veta region, those facilities are near to the house. Despite being an aristocrat''s house, this place gives Jeanne a different perspective about the aristocrats. In the past, the investigator had many clients who were high-ranked aristocrats, or at least aristocrats with big buildings. Most of their living places were mansions, built in their lands, peacefully isolated. This house is different. It was built in the middle of the town alongside other buildings. The Breima family is a poor aristocratic family after all. Jeanne wonders if this house has any connection to the case. Even if it has something to do with the case, she won''t be able to do much since her manpower is a big issue. Based on what Jeanne saw in Selena''s father, he seems to be a difficult man. It''s not possible for Selena to use this house as something useful for her crimes. If that''s when she is the real killer... Jeanne has no actual evidence to prove that fact. "I''m sorry, Gaston. How are you doing?". - Jeanne decides to approach the young guardsman, now she decides to return to the palace since the investigation for today is over "It took you so long in there, madame. I''m fine... at least I had the opportunity to look at everything going on around me". - Gaston sighs in relief, he turns around to look at the streets. "It has been a long time since I could go out this freely, at least I found nice food and some girls to watch. Well... His Highness prohibited us from going outside because of the missings. It''s so good to be free". Jeanne nods and doesn''t say anything else, she slowly approaches her horse. She wonders if the other teams are still safe after doing the stalking duty. "Did the rest of the teams have any response?". - Jeanne closes her eyes a bit, she mounts on her horse "I have no idea. I guess some of them are slacking off right now. Maybe they''re enjoying freedom after being locked for months". - Gaston replies. "Also, they don''t know this location yet, I already sent a letter to the Messenger Guild and they will soon know where we are to find us, madame. Only if one of them is still at the inn, but I know not all of them are". "Yeah...". - Jeanne sighs a little The investigator is thinking about visiting the inn. The entire group will gather there once their stalking missions are finished, Jeanne will collect the reports and leave. "Hey! We''re over here!". - All of a sudden, Gaston shouts and waves his hand at someone before him Jeanne glances at Gaston and sees a man on horseback, away from that guardsman not too far, approaching him. The investigator has yet to meet all ten members of the group, she only knows about their existence through a document Prince Koenig gave her previously. The document only provided limited information about the members of the group. Their appearance wasn''t well described as well, it''s understandable since this selection was done in a hurry. "Who is this beautiful lady?". - The guy approaches Jeanne slowly. "Gaston, bitch! She looks good, what do we do? Tonight? At that inn, overnight like animals? It has been a long time without a bitch". - He laughs lightly, speaking non-stop If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "Hey, that''s our team leader". - Gaston slaps at the back of the man "Uhhh... well... sorry...". - The guy approaches Jeanne again. "Hmmm... wanna have a night, beauty?". "I appreciate that you praised me but you should pay some respect to yourself, young man. Being a royal guard is a majestic thing... so go find a girl who is worthy of that". - Jeanne replies, she doesn''t like talking to guys like this man but she still wants to be polite anyway. "Well... you just said something bad about me. Should I say something back as a fair play... c''mon?". "Ummm... no. But beauty, I can''t take much more of this, you know". "Gaston, remember to get him to a tavern later". - Jeanne feels a bit annoyed, but she ignores it "So we''re allowed to be free after this mission, madame?". "Kind of. Remember to make this guy touch men only so that he can find something new to do, that''s it". "Hey! What the hell?!". - The guy responds with confusion "I''ll touch a girl for a fair play too". - Jeanne later stays quiet. "............". - She looks at the guy. "Enough joking, I guess you are... Copter. Your information says you''re a guy who always looks for girls". "Correct, beauty". "I''m Jeanne, the team leader". - Jeanne looks into Copter''s eyes. "It''s not nice to see you". - She later approaches Gaston after talking. "Gaston, I''ll appreciate it very much if you can stay here and ask Copter if everything is going alright". "Why me, madame?". "He''ll be distracted if that was me". - Jeanne later moves her horse away a bit far away from the two guardsmen The investigator decides to stay on horseback and hear the conversation between those two. It''s been nearly a week since Jeanne and her daughter - Hannah started their investigation. The investigator knows she shouldn''t rush the investigation but the longer the case goes unsolved, the more victims can be harmed. "So, is everything alright?". - Gaston starts asking Copter "Yeah. Nothing suspicious, I guess. Everyone is having a party, it has been a while. I''ll go get some bitches, so end this quick, will ya?". "Is everything really alright?". - Gaston asks again "Yeah". - Copter sighs in tiredness. "Actually, Braun... that girl, if I remember well. She said she saw a wagon enter the palace at noon, it went away not so long after that but she lettered us to stalk it". "Wait, what?". "That wagon had no emblems, it just went in and out. I don''t know how it can enter but I guess its owner must have a paper for it". - All of a sudden, Copter points his fingers to a carriage parked in the front yard of Selena''s house. "It looks like the one right there, man. Well... same in size, but there''s no emblems on it". Jeanne''s mind starts spinning after she heard that information. It''s obvious for Braun to know about the stalking group, the female guard was initially added to the team but was then phased out. Somehow, this new information makes Jeanne feel like she can stay awake much longer. This keeps making her mind spinning. ... I just calm down. I must think straight before doing anything else. Selena''s wagon and four other wagons started departing in the early morning. My stalking group was then deployed to follow them. Based on what Copter said, it seems like no carriages we just stalked were suspicious. However, this new carriage is an exception. Braun saw it. The carriage had no emblems, it went into the palace for a short while and left the place. Copter said that carriage was the same size as those that were parked at Selena''s house. It''s normal for the wagons to have similar sizes, many of them are like that on the streets, seen every day, just various types of transport. But this carriage is an odd one. Since no one in my team followed that carriage, it''s no use to track and mark where it went. But if I have to make a theory... then that no-emblems-carriage was the real target. Selena and other wagons were just a decoy, they attracted our attention and made us loosen our guard in the end. If I have to assume where that wagon went, the only possible answer would be... - The Land of The Dead If a victim was disposed there, then the other victims would end up in the same place. In my 28 years working as an investigator, I''ve been solving and chasing many serial killers by putting them in jail. Most murderers would end up killing their victims the same way and disposing of them in the same area once their murder sprees progressed. They wouldn''t do something uncomfortable by shifting their murder methods all of a sudden, it would be a waste of time to get used to new methods. Some murderers would change their disposal location if they see it unsuitable to continue. However, who would leave a potential location with full of corpses alone? It''s just my assumption. But I have to hurry, I hope if that wagon passed there, it would leave some evidence for me to extract. ... "Oh, madame". - Gaston called Jeanne as he saw her approaching "Your mission is over now. Enjoy your day, remember to rest well". - Jeanne replies. "I''m busy right now. I need a member to deliver the reports to the palace, hand them to His Highness for me". Gaston nods. Jeanne starts feeling her eyes getting heavy again. Her earlier sleep is still not enough to help her stay conscious like she expected. The investigator tries to stay conscious, she starts heading to where is the Land of The Dead. ... ... ... Nighttime - Night It took the investigator a while to return to this road. She had to ask her group members for directions before going there all by herself. She is now all by herself with a horse, about to arrive at the Land of The Dead. Jeanne doesn''t want to bother anyone, if something bad happens, she will be the person to face it, it is for everyone''s safety. She has been thinking a lot about the Land of The Dead and its connection to the case. This location is the most potential location used for body disposal. The remains of the victims, if hidden here, are pretty difficult to be found. But she wonders if this place is the only disposal area or if there is also another location. From what Jeanne can think of, the palace''s basement accessible to only royal members is a potential location as well. However, she doesn''t think it is a disposal location like the Land of The Dead. It is more right to say that the basement is possibly used to store the goods. The dismembered bodies were stored in packages and waited to be transferred to their final destination for disposal. The investigator can''t do anything but use her deduction skills to make assumptions. She can''t make sure if those theories are right until she sees the interior of that basement herself, it''s a problem. Jeanne starts preventing herself from thinking too much. She tries to look forward, she needs more evidence to solve the entire case. The road ahead is leading her to the Land of The Dead, it''s not far from her sight anymore. If lucky, she will find something useful after doing her best searching this area. The investigator can feel her mind getting heavier. She is very sleepy. She knows it''s not good to push herself too much. But it has been her habit for 28 years of being an investigator, it happens when she has to solve very difficult cases. Unlike ordinary cases, she tends to let herself starve and forces her mind to work every time she solves a difficult case. This also happened in ordinary cases as well, but she just didn''t realize it because the cases were solved shortly and she just ate less and slept less a little. Jeanne hopes her daughter is not going to be like her in this tendency. She just wants to see Hannah safe all the time even without her presence. Jeanne realizes she just got distracted once again. She starts doing her best to make sure she stays conscious to the last moment of the investigation. The closer Jeanne is about to arrive at the Land of The Dead, the more she realizes how much alone she is in this location. The sky is already dark, she doesn''t even use a torch to show her the path to go. On both sides of the dirt trail, she can see the tree lines, cold wind passing by. Everything is so quiet although her horse''s footsteps echo firmly every time he walks. At least the investigator finds a little relief, knowing she is alone. It''s cold. Jeanne knows it, but she has gotten used to it since that night, she has adapted well. All of a sudden, the investigator feels a bit spooky. It''s not about being alone, it''s about being not alone but thought she was alone. Somehow, she heard sounds like someone was whispering to each other when her horse was stepping forward. Jeanne had to make her horse walk slower to make sure she could hear the whispers well. However... now she hears nothing. "Bandits?", Jeanne thinks to herself, knowing if something like that happens, she will be surrounded first and asked for money. If it really happens, Jeanne just has to toss some money and then run away when her opportunity comes. All of a sudden, a small spark of light catches the investigator''s attention twice. It came from the bushes on the left side of the road. She knows what that spark was. Jeanne immediately dismounts from her horse by rolling to the right side. Almost immediately, she hears her horse screaming in pain. The investigator stays cover by using her horse''s body. She heard three sounds like the wind coming out before her horse started screaming due to being shot. She wonders what those wind sounds mean. Bow? Crossbow? Unable to think any longer, Jeanne runs away immediately when her horse was about to collapse. Everything didn''t happen like what she expected. She just runs through the tree lines, running as far as she can with hope to escape safely, unable to think straight. "They''re not bandits", Jeanne thinks to herself. If those people were bandits, they would come up in a circle by surrounding her, they would also demand money or body if she wanted to survive. "Selena? Reila? The Queen?", those names suddenly came up when Jeanne was running. "Chase her, stupid! Get our money!". - All of a sudden, a voice of someone yells from behind Jeanne notices some arrows sticking on the ground when she was running. Despite the darkness, the investigator still sees it well. About two or three archers are shooting at her based on what she can assume. Their projectile weapons are likely the crossbows due to their slow reload time and the time between each shot. Jeanne notices she saw a spark of light coming out from the bushes twice before the shooting. If she has to think of it, that spark could be the metal reflection of light. However, it only happens to new and shiny weapons. "Who gave these guys those things?", Jeanne can''t stop stopping her mind from spinning All of a sudden, the investigator finds herself standing before the mountain of piled-up bodies after running too much. She falls on the ground and gaps first, she won''t have a chance to get out of here. She doesn''t know how many guys are chasing her. There may be a group behind her, but what if there is another group in front of her? Jeanne snatches a broken spear she found on the ground. This short spear is broken but still useable, its pointy tip is still useful. The spear reminds the investigator of the days when she was a militia in Leafspear Kingdom. She used to guard the city gate and solve the cases sent to the guard post. The investigator thinks carefully about what she should do next. She can''t think of anything, she knows how she will end up if those men come to her. In anger and desperation, Jeanne tosses her handbag inside those skeleton corpses. She starts pulling away some piled-up bodies, there will be a good enough space for her to crawl inside and blend in. The investigator can''t continue to run if she continues. Her legs are burning and her hands are sore, her mind can''t think well anymore. Jeanne feels breathless when she tries to get in, but she pushes herself forward. Now, she has managed to be covered by the dead, only darkness in front of her. She can''t breathe well, she is doing her best to hold the spear, she needs to stay conscious. However, she knows that above her, there are dozens of bodies crushing on her. Never once in her life she would think about throwing herself to the dead to save her life. Most people would be thrown into the dead because they were thought to be dead, but she threw herself to the dead just to escape safely. Jeanne cannot breathe, she needs some air, she tries to lift her hands but it''s impossible. If she tries to raise her hands, there will be many dead bodies pressing on them. Getting out is not a good way. However, staying within the dead is not a smart decision either. The investigator knows that at this rate, she will die even with both choices. "Uhhhhh...". - Jeanne tries to utter something, but she is too exhausted to do anything Her vision is going dark. Both of her hands are pulling out the corpses, she desperately wants to see a light, her gasp is getting ragged. Her consciousness is very unstable, she is about to pass out, her hands keep pushing forward... ... ... ... C20: Arrested Day 7 - Nighttime - Night 28th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Meanwhile Hannah is inside Prince Koenig''s private room. She is bored, not knowing what to do at the moment. Everything she did today was nothing significant. She is waiting for her mother to go back to her. Hannah is not too worried about being away from her mother. Things like that happened a lot in her childhood. Her mother would bring her anywhere all the time when she had a case to solve. Hannah was well fed, well educated but she lacked her mother''s emotional affection despite being close to her most of the time. But she doesn''t care about her mother being away, as long as she goes home safely, everything will be alright. The young investigator soon fills up a cup of tea and starts sipping some tea. She also takes some cookies from a plate, she has some bites while thinking about the case. Hannah has finally found out what she discovered from the maids taking care of the flower field in the backyard this morning. The number, some maids weren''t there. She hasn''t lived long in the palace but she has lived long enough to remember every face of the people living here. In the days doing nothing, she would also go around the palace to watch the scenery. This could be explained that these maids have different shifts. However, Hannah has discovered that she hasn''t seen at least two or three maids for four days. All of them were supposed to appear in other areas at different times, but she has never seen them again. Also, she has noticed the mood swings of the maids. Unlike the previous days when they were peaceful and cheerful, they have become more nervous recently. This could be explained that many bizarre incidents suddenly happened after a peaceful month without anything scary. It started from the incident when Jeanne and Hannah were poisoned to Hannah being chased by a shadow figure and the person vanished during the chase, leaving no traces. However, being anxious so much that most of the maids avoided facing the investigator is something Hannah never experienced. Thanks to Braun''s help, Hannah learned at least two maids had gone missing recently, they were scared that they would be arrested although they didn''t know much about the case. To Hannah, this was a pure shocking news. How insignificant those maids are, people don''t even notice their sudden disappearance. She wonders how many people will disappear from now on if she lets it happen while enjoying the tea. Hannah shifts her thoughts to another topic. She went to see Prince Koenig and Braun to ask them if there were any missing cases or murders happened in the palace three years ago when Selena first came to the place. Nothing. Nothing scary or mysterious happened in that period of time, so the information about Selena''s personal life at that time doesn''t have any value. At least Hannah has created another possible theory about this murder case. The Queen and Reila are the masterminds, Selena joined them due to the same objectives. The maids are the accomplices of the murderer - Selena. The Queen and Reila give orders for Selena to get rid of their would-be future political rivals, while Selena is rewarded by being appointed to become the prince''s private maid. Right now, the case is about to come to an end. Those who know about the case are being eliminated to erase the evidence. Selena may be one of those who are going to be getting rid of. Of course, Selena may strike back, but she may end up like other victims. Selena is the suspect with the lowest social status. If this case ends with Jeanne and Hannah successfully solving it, Selena is likely to be the only person arrested, there will be some other maids if they aren''t executed. The opportunity to arrest Reila and the Queen is almost zero. This case will be solved, but many things will remain a mystery as an aftermath. "It''s about to end". - Hannah smirks, she enjoys every drop of tea "What''s about to end?". - Prince Koenig, who is sitting on the other side, asks "Hmmm... nothing". "So you came to my room to enjoy those biscuits and tea, nothing else to do at all?". - Koenig later gets off his couch, he approaches the door and looks outside for a few seconds, as if waiting for someone "What would you like to hear, Your Highness?". - Hannah bites some cookies, she enjoys tea again "My wife and your mother haven''t returned, and you''re still here not caring about it". "They will be fine". - Hannah keeps having the cookies, she looks around the prince''s private room. "Your bed looks quite wide over there. You don''t sleep alone?". "Stop talking nonsense". - Koenig replies with a discomfort tone All of a sudden, Koenig runs outside of his room after making that yell. He later walks back to the room with his private maid - Selena, being wrapped by his both hands. The prince keeps holding the girl tightly, he can''t stop clinging to her, as if his wife is his lifeline. Hannah doesn''t understand this, and she never understands how much she tries, she just watches it. "You must be very tired, my love. Give yourself some rest". - Koenig caresses Selena''s face, he seems to hold back his outburst feelings Hannah returns to drinking her tea. For some reason, she has some jealousy towards Selena. She has never experienced an intimate relationship with a man in her life, she wonders how would it feel. Hannah looks up to see the situation, she notices that Selena has gone back to her private room. Right now, Koenig is sitting opposed to Hannah. The prince sips the tea in relief, he looks at Hannah to see how is she doing. "You''re very calm, miss. She is your mother, you should care about her more, go check on her already". - Koenig reminds Hannah Hannah does feel worried when her mother is not home. Her insecurities also increase when her mother is not home for a long time, but Hannah is quite... cold. She can sleep peacefully without any problems even if her mom is not with her for a long time. She deeply wants to see her mother here, but her worries are shallow. "She''ll be fine...". - Hannah puts down the teacup, she doesn''t have a mood to drink anymore "I heard that the reports from today''s stalking have come to you". - Hannah looks at the documents placed on the table, they''re the reports of the previous stalking "It''s odd. They said madame ordered them to hand these to me". - Koenig gasps. "She didn''t follow them, I wonder what happened to her, it''s very dangerous at night". - The prince lowers his body, he feels very worried "My mom will be alright. She tends to lick herself in the room when she returns from work, it''s her habit". "I hope so...". - Koenig holds his head, appears very anxious "Your Highness". - All of a sudden, someone knocks on the wall Hannah and Koenig glance at the doorframe, Reila Foss is standing there with a document. She approaches the prince and slowly takes a seat next to him. "I''m sorry for disturbing this late, Your Highness. But it''s important. Minister Alt would like to see your thoughts on this". - Reila hands over the document to Koenig The prince flips the pages of the document, he looks at each page and makes a big sigh. "Alright... I understand...". Hannah stays quiet. She wonders what kind of political problems this prince is facing, but she is not in a position to have her involvement. "Well... I guess... I have to leave...". - Hannah grabs two cookies and quietly leaves the room The young investigator sighs when she leaves the room. She waves at Dunkel - the prince''s bodyguard, who is guarding at the front door. The bodyguard doesn''t reply, he just nods. Dunkel guards the door firmly, he barely blinks his eyes. Hannah shrugs. She starts walking on the hallway to go back to her room, hoping to see her mother. She notices the palace is quieter than the earlier days. It could be the result of the people''s fear. Back then, many servants could be seen walking around at night and chatting with each other. Right now, that scene is already gone. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Hannah stops by a room when she was on her way. It''s Braun''s room. The young investigator wants to peek inside to check on how that woman is doing. But she doesn''t want to be considered a stalker. Knocking three times, Hannah steps aside and waits. "Oh, Ms. Hannah". - Braun opens the door, she bows to Hannah "Are you good, Braun?". - Hannah pays more attention to Braun''s child more, she wants to cuddle her "I''ve been better, thanks for asking". "Make sure to take care of Reimi. I''m going then". - Hannah walks away after a few greetings The young investigator suddenly thinks about the case. Till this time, there is no physical evidence against Selena, Reila or the Queen. Only theories are made. The theories can mislead the investigation if they are wrong. Tomorrow will be the day Jeanne and Hannah hand over the weekly reports for Koenig. The reports will contain documents about the murder case, about what has been discovered in the entire week. Together with the weekly reports, a request document will also be sent to the prince. It''s about asking for his permission for the two investigators to search the royal basement in the palace and the Land of The Dead in Veta region. Hannah also wanted to send a request herself but she cancelled at the last moment. She wanted to deploy a dog in the palace to help the investigation, but she didn''t think Koenig could allow it at all. Despite being a prince, he is still controlled by others. Hannah also didn''t hope to see the request document of her mom be allowed. To her, the answer is impossible. All of a sudden, Hannah realizes she just walked past Selena Breima''s private room. She turns around to look, then approaches it. "Oh". - Selena opens the door and feels surprised to see Hannah. "Well... I thought that was His Highness". Hannah blocks the door when Selena was about to shut it. "May I come in?". "Why?". - Selena appears to be a little frustrated "I already saw the report of my mom. She stalked you, and now she hasn''t returned". "Then does it have anything to do with me?". - Selena frowns, she crosses her arms "Hmmmm... just a little talk". Selena still frowns. She doesn''t seem to welcome Hannah at all. However, the girl still nods and steps aside. Hannah steps inside after a bow, she takes a seat at a table while Selena closes the door. "Tea?". - Selena sits opposed to Hannah, she grabs a teapot "Yeah". Selena fills the two teacups. She drinks the cup, still frustrated. "There''s no poison". - Selena puts down her teacup "Let''s not talk about that topic, shall we?". - Hannah smiles lightly, she drinks half of the teacup "Fine then...". - Selena tries her best to stop her grumbling face, she also smiles back Hannah looks around Selena''s room, she loves the way it looks simpler than other rooms in the palace. "Nice place you have here". "Yeah, it should be nice". - Selena smiles back "What about my mom? When was the last time you saw her?". "Hey, I thought we agreed not to talk about that". - Selena frowns "Why did you piss off when I asked about my mom? I ask nothing about you, just my mom, Breima". - Hannah drinks the entire teacup Hannah hopes her mother is completely alright. Despite being shallow in emotions, she still cares about her mother and her well-being, she just can''t express sadness because... she can''t feel it. She doesn''t understand her odd nature as well. She just lives with it. It has been a part of Hannah since she was born. It grew from her childhood to her grown-up self. That''s why she sometimes lives in a facade... just like what she sees from Selena here. The young investigator is feeling a rush of excitement flowing in her body and mind. If Selena, the person in front of her, is the true killer, she will be fully satisfied. "We parted ways. That''s all I know". - Selena smiles, she fills her teacup full of tea All of a sudden, Hannah notices the front door is having a gap. She can see an eye looking through there. Somehow, after looking over there for a while, that person appears to be Saeko Ashura. Hannah wants to ask but Saeko just left the door. "She is a weird girl". - Selena comments while sipping some tea Hannah sips some tea. She wonders if she is wasting her time. She should have looked for her mother, but she is now chatting with a suspect. "Hey, I''d like to ask you something". "Sure". - Selena nods lightly, she smiles "Well... there''s a girl. Her mother dies, people come to her funeral", - Hannah starts asking Selena a test question that she heard from her mother. "she meets a prince there. She falls in love with him... but she can''t find him anywhere after that funeral ends, she craves for him". - Hannah takes another filled cup from Selena. "Then... a week later, that girl kills her little sister. Why?". Selena giggles after hearing the question, she sips some tea. "Interesting...". - Selena sighs. "Well... that''s the most stupid girl I have ever heard of. She craved for his presence so much when she found out her sister was his lover". - Selena giggles more. "Stupid, stupid, she''s so stupid though. Killed her sister after a week? How...? How could she get rid of murder that way? That''s stupid". - Selena stops giggling, she looks into Hannah''s eyes seriously. "Just... follow her sister. Wait until her prince comes, stab him and follow him after he''s dead... that''s one of many possible happy endings, she''s so stupid to choose a quicker but loser way". "You''ve been too immersed in that story". - Hannah comments "Well... at least I don''t have to do that with my man. Hmmm...". - Selena giggles. "Wouldn''t you do that to the person you love as well? I mean... so much love that you can''t describe how you feel". "I don''t think I will love someone to the point that I will die for them". "So heartless...". - Selena smiles "How would you deal with that sister if you were the girl in the story?". - Hannah wonders what Selena''s answer would be "Make sure... she disappears...". - Selena looks up. "Quick and clean". "Why not torture her instead?". "It''s very messy...". - Selena sighs. "You see... we have so many similarities just by having this short conversation. We''re the same...". - She smiles. "Do you see it?". "Kind of". "Hahahahahahahaha". - Selena giggles a bit and then laughs "Hahaha... well, we can die just by laughing". "Hahahaha". - Selena can''t stop laughing "Hahahahahaha". - Hannah decides to play it down with the suspect "Hahahahahahahahahahaha". "Hahahahahahahahahahaha". "Hahahahahaha". "Hahahahahahahahaha". "Hahahahahahahah-". All of a sudden, Hannah opens her eyes and sees a figure standing behind Selena. The suspect was stabbed, possibly from behind because she''s not yelling, her eyes look very shocked with pure terror. The stabber appears to be a maid, her hand as if moving on its own, constantly stabbing Selena''s back with a bloody knife in her hand. Hannah wonders what is going on. The only thing she notices is the closet on the left side of the room. Earlier, it was closed. Right now, that closet is just widely open. Hannah gets off her chair, she kicks powerfully and the maid has her back hit on the wall. The young investigator also throws the table which she used to drink tea towards the maid who is collapsed on the floor, covering herself. Selena is also seen on the floor, blood keeps dripping out of her body, she just stays there. "He-". Hannah was yelling but she immediately collapsed. Somebody just stabbed her from behind. Everything doesn''t end. Every passing second is painful, she keeps feeling those stabs coming. One, two, three, and not just her back, her belly seems to have been stabbed as well. She can''t count how many stab wounds she is taking, she feels like her consciousness is going blank. Those stabbings keep coming... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Day 8 - Daytime - Early Morning 29th Second autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Investigator Jeanne is standing before the entrance of the palace. She wonders how she could make it out of the woods. She managed to push herself out of those corpses and ran away when she realized no one was around. Despite losing the horse and her handbag, she managed to get out of the Land of The Dead. She was stuck for hours navigating where to go after she escaped the chasers. She ran when she felt her body was ready for it, she walked when she felt she wasn''t ready to run. No food, water and yet... it was a miracle when she still found the way back to the palace. However, Jeanne has no more strength left. The guards wouldn''t let her in even if they recognized her face, she thinks to herself. Never once in her life she has seen someone who looks ragged and dirty be allowed to enter a luxurious place, never. But Jeanne still wants to get in there no matter what it costs. Hannah... she misses her daughter. She wants to make sure she slept well last night. She wants to make sure she is safe, she feels insecure when her daughter is not in her sight, especially at this moment. But she can''t get in. Her hands and legs are too sore, she can barely walk, at least she can still breathe. Jeanne looks up, trying to take the air through her ragged gasp. Somehow, she sees herself being lifted up by two royal guards, they move her inside. She realizes a woman looking at her, it''s Braun. "That''s her. Call a healer, quick". - Braun orders a guard next to her "This way, madame". - Braun leads the way, those two guards also help Jeanne to enter the palace Braun and the guards appear to be anxious, all of them are very hurry for some reason. Jeanne doesn''t understand what is going on. "She''ll rest in my room. It won''t be enough space for her with her daughter, be careful". - Braun holds Jeanne, joining the guards to move her gently while being very rushed in the hallway "My daughter...?". - Jeanne lifts up her face when she heard about her daughter, Hannah is like a spark of light to keep her life source "She''s going to be fine... shit". - Braun realizes she just said something she should never have "Huh...? What happened!!!!!!?". - Feeling panicked after hearing something negative about her daughter, the mother seems to lose her control. "Get me to her!!!!!!!!!". - Even she doesn''t realize she could howl that loud with her sore throat As if using all her strength, Jeanne keeps resisting. She is willing to scratch and bite anyone who stands in her way to find Hannah. The guards can''t take it, they have to drop her. The mother is now left alone, trying to crawl all the way she can, thinking her daughter should be safe in her room, is now sleeping like an infant. "She''s going to be fine, madame". - Braun tries to hold Jeanne "What happened to her exactly!!!!!!? Get me to her!!!!!". Braun helps to aid Jeanne in walking. The mother doesn''t want to walk, she wants to see her daughter as fast as possible. She notices she just went across Selena''s room, Prince Koenig seems to be there, holding his wife and crying. "What is happening here...?". "They were stabbed, both of them". - Unable to hold back, Braun says it out immediately Jeanne squeezes Braun''s shoulder, demanding a clearer answer. "Both of them. Selena and your daughter, someone stabbed them!". - Being patient but consumed by frustration, Braun yells out loud Jeanne can''t believe what she just heard, her mind keeps spinning, she can''t find a real answer. She just sees red, now she only sees red. "She tricked us again... she tricked us...". - Jeanne starts sobbing "Madame?!". - Braun feels very shocked when she Jeanne just snatched a dagger attached to her belt and pushed her away Jeanne holds the dagger, using all her strength to crawl towards Selena''s room. She sees Dunkel walking outside to check the hallway due to curiosity. "What happened?". - Dunkel steps forward with a question "What are you doing?!". - Koenig accidentally sees Jeanne crawling on the floor, he wants to come closer to help but appears to be scared of her angry eyes "Ahhh!". - The prince screams in pain when his right foot was stabbed, he was blocking her way "Your Highness!". All of a sudden, Jeanne feels a loud thud smashing her head. Her consciousness seems to freeze there, she can''t keep her eyes open. ... ... ... C21: Manipulator Day 12 - Daytime - Morning 3rd Third autumn, 1152 ... ... ... Investigator Hannah is resting in her bedroom. She is too tired to continue solving the murder case. Her mind is now a complete mess as an aftermath of what happened five days ago. Selena, who she thought to be the prime suspect, was stabbed right in front of her. Based on what Hannah heard till now, the culprits of that incident haven''t been caught. At least two people were involved in that stabbing incident based on what she can conclude. Hannah didn''t expect the purge to be that extreme. Now she wonders if the incident was staged by Selena, but it seems to be unlikely. There''s no way a killer would hold a stage about them being stabbed numerous of times. Selena was stabbed 9 times, 4 in her back, 3 in her belly and 2 in her chest, she was lucky to make it out alive. Hannah was stabbed 5 times, 2 in her back and 3 in her belly. The stabbers didn''t seem to have time to continue their work, they ran away before the guards came. Hannah and Selena were treated with utmost care and healed by the palace''s healers. They were healed physically, but their mental pain was still there. That''s why they had to stay in bed for a long time. It would be still painful despite being healed. It''s about to be five days since the earlier stabbing. Hannah is still in bed, not ready to step down yet. Selena and she were supposed to be dead by now if they weren''t treated in time. The healers contributed a lot, their healing spells always made instant effects. The young investigator looks up at the ceiling, thinking about her mother - Jeanne. According to what she heard, her mother was arrested after stabbing the prince, her mind was unstable at the time. She is now jailed in the jail basement. Prince Koenig hasn''t made any confirmation about when Jeanne would be released. "I''ll visit her", Hannah thinks to herself, she wants to see her mother so that she can have some motivation before preparing herself to rejoin and solve the case But this time... only her alone. Maybe she will be allowed to visit her mother to discuss but she cannot visit Jeanne for too long. Hannah raises her hand as if wanting to reach the ceiling. She sighs, hoping there will be something to motivate her to work again, she is not ready to return. There''s a tray of breakfast on a table next to her bed. Every morning, a maid would arrive at her room and prepare for her meal. "Maybe later", Hannah thinks She doesn''t have much appetite to eat at the moment. Every time she puts something in her mouth, there''s always a feeling of her stomach leaking out what she just ate, it has become an odd feeling. Hannah knows her body has no scars or stab wounds left. However, the pain from the stabbing is still in her mind. Today''s breakfast is soup, it''s much worse. She sometimes imagines those drops of soup leaking out of her body from the stab holes. So the best answer will be... skipping breakfast. ... ... ... Hannah is now inside the jail basement, she really wants to visit her mother. She''s holding a soup bowl in her hand - it''s the breakfast that she skipped for her mother. The girl looks around, immediately realizes the jail room in which her mother is being locked up. She wants to visit her mother but she wants to see the jail keeper first. Hannah looks around the jail basement. It can also be called a dungeon although its environment is not that much harsh and dark. She visited this place once in the initial phase of the investigation, no evidence was found there. This jail basement was used in the past to jail the high-ranked lords and soldiers of Attenta during the Warsaw-Attenta war 10 years ago. Right now, it was supposed to be abandoned. It has been reopened again just to jail her mother. The place is pretty dirty and dusty just by a glance. Webs are everywhere, it seems that the clean keepers of the palace haven''t cleaned the place for a long time. At least the desk of the jail keeper looks clean enough. Hannah stands there, hoping to see him. The girl then hears a whistle coming from behind. She knows who that is, so she turns around. There, a bald man in a dark tunic slowly appears. He''s Baston Stym, the jail keeper of this basement. The young man is holding a wooden tray with food on it, it''s breakfast for the prisoner. "Oh, miss". - Baston smiles and walks past Hannah. "Wait there. Just a moment, I''ll be done". Hannah decides to stand at a corner to wait for the man as he is sliding the meal through the bars to reach her mother. A few seconds later, Baston approaches the girl. "Maybe... five minutes? Take your time with your mother, miss". - Baston taps on Hannah''s shoulder twice and leaves. "Man. Why do they always call me here when I have nothing to do? It''s boring". - He sighs while sitting at his desk with his legs putting there Hannah approaches the room where her mother is locked up. Jeanne can be seen sitting in that jail room, the room looks clean compared to others. The room is quite clean but its furniture isn''t. The girl wants to hug her mother, she even wants to hold her hand to reassure her. However, the wooden bars are blocking the closeness between the mother and daughter. Jeanne appears in front of her daughter. She is sitting on the yellow straws that are scattered all over the floor. She''s not wearing her brown coat, her brown cap, brown gloves and boots like she used to. Now she just looks like a prisoner. Her hands and legs are not tied, but she is locked behind many tight wooden bars. She is wearing a brown tunic, plain and sleeveless. She doesn''t wear any shoes. Below her is a tray of food. Her meals have many but they don''t look good, only seem enough to fill her hungry stomach. "Hannah...?". - Jeanne''s eyes spark up as she saw her daughter "Mom". - Hannah calls her mother, she slides her soup bowl through the bars for her mother Her soup bowl is already cold... she hates it so much. "I''m glad to see you''re safe, sweetie...". - Jeanne picks up the soup bowl Hannah just slid to her, she starts eating while talking "Are you good?". - Hannah looks away, not knowing what to express "I''m alright. His Highness is nice... at least he gave me this much". - Jeanne points to the tray of food on the floor, it looks decent enough to fill one''s stomach. "Don''t worry... the only problem is that I can''t be with you at the moment... I''ll have to wait until he releases me". "How about you, Hannah?". - Jeanne looks at her daughter, she puts down her soup bowl "I''m alright, mom. Just don''t have any mood to go back to investigate, everything is messed up now". Hannah knows if she told her mother about her lack of appetite, she would be worried about her more than usual. It''s better to distract her with something else. Jeanne nods. The mother returns to having her breakfast, she doesn''t seem to focus on eating but thinking about the murder case. "We can''t arrest anybody if we just suspect them, sweetie. It''s more difficult for us to lay our hands on the nobles... we need to be calm". - Jeanne keeps filling her stomach with the soup, but feeling full or not, only she knows. "We need evidence, it leads us to the end". "What happened that night, mom?". - Hannah immediately asks a straightforward question In the previous days, Hannah heard some rumors about her mother being chased by strangers during her night investigation. She couldn''t hear all the stories, they were separated parts the maids told each other. The daughter wants to hear the entire story herself. She wants to know what happened. However, Jeanne just continues having breakfast. She doesn''t respond, she just stays quiet. "Sweetie, I''d like you to tell His Highness that you withdraw from the investigation. Pack up as soon as possible and leave, away from the palace as far as you can, go back to the inn where we used to live and wait there until I return". "Mom, what the hell...?!". - Hannah is both surprised and frustrated, she doesn''t understand why her mother told her to move out "Use all my money however you like, I''ll tell you where I buried a bag in the garbage site. The money there is enough to use for a year, as long as you don''t spend too much". - Jeanne quietly whispers to her daughter''s ears "Mom, I don''t understand what you''re trying to say. Now I know who the killer is, I don''t know how long will it take until you get released". - Hannah composes herself, she grabs the wooden bars. "Maybe never, and I have to solve this case as soon as possible and maybe the prince will let you out because of it. Just give me information, I''ll take care of everything from now on". Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Jeanne keeps having breakfast as if she ignored her daughter''s words, she doesn''t even look at Hannah. "Saeko just disappeared". "What?". - Hannah feels like her mind has just broken, she wanted to rest her mind before rejoining the case, but now it seems impossible. "Selena did it again?". "No, Selena is still in bed".- Jeanne replies, she returns filling her belly. "His Highness just told me about it recently, the girl is still alive". "How could you say someone missing is still alive?". "We have to ask him in detail...". - Jeanne replies. "Sweetie, you see? Just let me solve the case alone. When you''re not around, His Highness will have no way but to release me, just listen to me". "But mo-". - Hannah wants to speak up but she abruptly stops She notices Baston approaching her from afar. The time is up, she can''t keep talking to her mother. Hannah decides to nod towards her mother one last time before leaving the jail room. She sighs when she leaves the jail basement, she doesn''t want to look back at all. Not so long after leaving the jail basement, Hannah has returned to her private room. It''s more right to say that this room was owned by both her and her mother back then. Right now, it''s only her alone living in here. She slowly lies on the bed, letting her back fall freely. Hannah can''t stop gazing at the ceiling without blinking. She breathes in and out, she feels exhausted. She hasn''t had breakfast and she hasn''t bathed. She is not even ready to return to solve the case. Her memories about the case are still there, but she feels like some of them are fading away. Maybe because she just wants her mind to be released, she needs more time, she is not ready to rejoin the investigation, she wants to rest. The more she thinks about her mother, the more she loves and hates her at the same time. To her, her mother is pretty complicated. She can''t understand her mother''s feelings at all. Hannah can''t understand others'' feelings too, but her mother is on another level. Her mother rarely tells her about her past life, she also rarely tells her about her father. Hannah doesn''t know who is her father. What she knows that only Jeanne was with her when she was born, she raised her when she was a little until now. Every year, their living location was never the same, her mother never stayed in one place. Her mother always prevented her from imitating her job although they were always close to the crime scenes. Her mother always brought her to the crime scenes when she got called, she didn''t want anyone, even those she knew, but her to look after her daughter. Her mother just stayed quiet when she studied to become an investigator, Hannah got her degree when she was 16. However, her career progressed very slowly. If she has anything to say, she will blame all of it on her mother for making her career a failure. When Hannah got called because there was a case, her mother always arrived first. She solves those cases very quickly, just one day to a week, Hannah never had a chance to join to solve a full case without her mother''s presence. That''s why she always thinks her mother is stealing away a career that she used her life to study and live with. But Hannah doesn''t want to mention the old stories, she just wants to relax right now. Many times she thought about killing her mother. But those murders were never made at all. They only popped up in her mind, she never once seriously tried to bring it to reality. Just thoughts she keeps without telling anybody. Hannah keeps looking up at the ceiling, she keeps telling herself to get off her bed. She keeps urging herself, but there goes nothing. Everything seems to be beyond her reach, Hannah wonders if she should take a nap. She is not sleepy, she just feels tired, she is not ready to investigate all by herself without full preparation. Hannah wonders if she should stay in bed for a bit longer. At least she can stay here, creating new theories based on what her mother and she have discovered about the case, from the known information. It''s clear about the suspects. It also seems clear about the body disposal location despite the lack of information from the investigation. Right now, Hannah needs to find out where the victims were murdered and where they were hidden before being dismembered and dumped. The royal basement seems to be a potential crime scene, she doesn''t want to ask for the prince''s permission anymore. Instead... she wants to sneak in there alone to find evidence. Hannah is in no way like her mother, she is willing in every way, even the illegal ones to solve the case. But Hannah doesn''t think that royal basement was the crime scene where the victims were murdered. There must be somewhere else, just within the palace. That basement could just be a place to store the dismembered parts. However, Hannah needs to enter the basement to verify that information herself. Finding the first crime scene is very important to solve the entire case, because she may find some evidence there. "Flowerfield, flowerfield", those words popped up in the young investigator''s mind when she was thinking She knows it''s important to add Saeko to the investigation. But now, her mind is very heavy and seems to be broken into pieces, she wants to put that person aside for a while. Hannah remembers what Braun Frieden told her. Three years ago, Selena Breima arrived at the palace when she was 14, she started planting flowers in the palace''s backyard, she also started doing charity work at that moment. The investigator wonders if those pieces of information have a connection with each other. It''s clear about the role of her wagon in the murder. But what kind of role would that flowerfield have? Hannah can''t see anything suspicious about that flowerfield. There were many moments when she came up close to watch the flowers, but she couldn''t find anything suspicious. The investigator wonders if the flowers planted on the field have any meaning behind their existence. She does notice that the flowerfield has many types of flowers. This makes her wonder if each type of flower on that wide field means how many lives have been taken. "Nonsense...". - Hannah speaks to herself Hannah starts thinking again, trying to put her mind into a killer''s perspective. She wouldn''t use that flowerfield to show her achievements, it''s such a waste. Instead, turning it into a place to hide bodies is much better. However, Hannah can''t find anything suspicious about the flowerfield. The place is clear. Hannah then sighs. She doesn''t exactly know if she sighed because she felt relieved or exhausted. Somehow, she at least managed to motivate herself. Hannah wonders if she should re-read the information on the case to make sure she doesn''t miss any details. Those documents are about to be handed to Prince Koenig. This is a nice moment to check on it one last time to memorize everything. "Uh?". For some reason, the documents are gone. Hannah opened the cabinet to check on them but they''re gone, nowhere to be seen. The investigator opens another cabinet to check. The fingerprint samples and two backup luminol bottles also vanished as well. Hannah doesn''t feel sad, her anger just grows. In her frustration, she ransacks the entire room. Nothing... just nothing. Except for the luggage of her mother and herself, everything else is gone. The clues both of them collected from the beginning of the case till now are gone. Hannah wonders if they were stolen, or if the prince took them away without telling her. Hannah remembers that she lost consciousness for two days after the stabbing despite being healed by the healers. In those two days, it''s very possible for someone to sneak in and steal the clues. But Hannah knows she should stay calm until she knows the truth. Right now, she needs to meet the prince and ask him. ... ... ... The young investigator is holding a small fur paper. She needs it to see the prince. Whether or not her request will be approved, she doesn''t care. She will work on her own if her request is declined. Hannah leaves the room after locking the front door. She knows where the prince is. Selena was stabbed just like he, but she is his wife. Koenig could be inside her room and taking care of her, she assumes. "But... what if he isn''t there?", Hannah wonders, she changes the direction The young investigator immediately sees the bodyguard Dunkel guarding outside of the prince''s room when she glanced there. She approaches the front door. Dunkel doesn''t respond, he slowly steps aside. The door is soon opened, Hannah enters with Dunkel behind her. For some reason, the door has been closed but the bodyguard is now standing before the prince as if not to let her come closer. "Your Highness". - Hannah calls the prince Koenig Sonne gets off his couch, he slowly pushes Dunkel aside and approaches the investigator. His body looks dull, he also seems to be exhausted but he tries to form a smile to tell Hannah he is still alright. "I thought you would be in Selena''s room". "I did...". - Koenig replies with a heavy look. "Staying there does nothing. My wife was stabbed and the culprits are still out there... the other one also... ran away?". - He returns to his seat, he points to a couch nearby as if to tell Hannah to sit with him. "I don''t know... I should have done something better... I should have been able to protect my wives... all of them are gone. Maybe... maybe if I put them all on my watch in the first place, this incident wouldn''t have happened...". - He looks up to see Hannah, his eyes appear very unstable, as if doesn''t know if he should feel sad or happy after realizing what he could have done to prevent the incident "Your Highness... did you receive the documents? The reports or our investigation in the past week?". - Hannah immediately goes straight to the point Koenig shakes his head, he seems to be too exhausted to talk. "Someone broke into our room and stole all the documents". "I''m sorry for your losses...". - Koenig keeps shaking his head, he seems doesn''t dare to face Hannah''s gaze, as if he is blaming himself in silence Hannah puts the paper on Koenig''s lap. "What is this...?". "Your Highness, I need you to allow this request to be made", - Hannah speaks up. "I request your approval to arrest your wife - Selena Breima, she has been the prime suspect since the beginning of the case. Also, I need your approval for me to make a full-scale search in her private room, the royal basement and the Land of The Dead. Finally, lend me 20 more guards and 10 more mages to help the investigation". "That''s unreasonable!". - Koenig roars. "She''s innocent!!! Are you saying that my wives killing each other for power, huh?!!!! Impossible! Someone else did this!!!". "Then who''s "someone else" you said?". Koenig looks away. He doesn''t seem to know how to control his growing outburst. "The Prime Minister!". - Koenig slams the table, clenching his teeth with rage. "That''s him, only him!!! He''s been controlling this kingdom since he served my father, he wants to control everything". "What about Reila and your mother?". "They''re victims! He put them in and told them what to do, he''s playing with me. That woman... she''s not my mom, she just follows his orders. They''re victims...". - Koenig slowly collapses on his couch. "That man saw it... he knew it... he saw those women would be his future threats... he''s the killer... I know he''s the killer". "But what about Sel-". "Shut up!!!!!!". - Koenig stands up and yells at Hannah Hannah doesn''t feel insulted. She finds it fun, she has found him capable enough to entertain her. "Pathetic". "Say again!". "Pa-". Hannah feels a stinging sensation on her left cheek. She was slapped by Koenig. However, she doesn''t feel it painful. "I''m sorry, Your Highness...". - She immediately puts up a facade, she knows this will be a good opportunity for her Koenig collapses on the couch. Hannah approaches him and gives him a warm hug. She just noticed one thing. When the prince and her were arguing, Dunkel didn''t take any further actions to stop her. Instead, she saw him holding his sword''s grip as if preparing for some kind of combat situation. She wonders which side in this kingdom this bodyguard stands for, she wonders if he is a loyal servant. "It''s alright, Your Highness. Your wives are innocent... rest... you''re exhausted now". - Hannah pats Koenig''s head, hugging him tightly as if a mother hugging her child "I wonder how far I can go with this man", Hannah smirks in her mind. She learns that if she manipulates Koenig wisely enough, the case will end with the way she wants and her mother will be released. C22: Past Memories Daytime - Afternoon First Summer, 1126 Another dream again. This always happens to investigator Jeanne. Whenever she sleeps, even if it''s a good dream or a bad dream, she will always dream of her past life. Jeanne has been dreaming more than usual since she was locked up in jail. The murder case, the Palace Killer, she just wants to find a clear answer to solve this entire case. She wants to find the clues through the murder cases she used to be involved in the past. Even if they''re unsolved or solved cases, it doesn''t matter, as long as they help her to solve this current case. This leads her to dream of her past time back in Leafspear Kingdom, a very long time ago. Before her daughter was born, before she became an experienced investigator like she is at this time. The time she is dreaming about is 26 years ago. When she was 18. Back in the year 1126 when she was still a young investigator who just had two years of job experience, a very different person from her current self. ... ... ... In this period of time, Jeanne was a militia guard working at her guard post. Located in Tavezki capital city of Leafspear Kingdom. Her unit was deployed in the Commoner Zone, led by her guard chief - Commander Urven. Jeanne was at the peak of her investigator job during that period. She accidentally got herself into four big cases at the same time. Three of them were serial murders, separated from each other, committed by the three different serial killers. Meanwhile, the last case was about a cannibal network within Leafspear. In the end, in the next two years, she had solved two cases. However, the last two cases, one she considered unsolved since the killer was dead. Meanwhile, the other one was considered unsolved because the killer was never arrested, she''s still looking for him. She doesn''t hope to see him again, but she still somewhat wants to know how is he doing. That unsolved case is what she is now dreaming about... It''s Jeanne who is standing outside of the guard post. She just finished a maximum five-hour shift in the post just to receive some money. She is waiting for her boyfriend to come to pick her up. She will have a little date with her boyfriend before coming to a Messenger Guild to send a letter with money contained inside for her family. Back then, the female investigator was quite poor. She had a mother and two little sisters to take care of just all by herself when her father passed away when she was 13. This action was a common thing in her life every week when she was living in Leafspear. She lived apart from her family despite living in the city just like them, most of her income when used for family was to support her little sisters. Her mother could take care of herself properly through her home stitcher job. The most important thing was about her two little sisters'' well-being in education. Jeanne is reading, or to be more right to say, she is re-reading a letter sent by a repeat murderer. The letter itself contains many words she and her co-workers know nothing about. About Jeanne, she is pretty curious about this murderer, especially about the way he plans his murders, he murders his victims, he disposes of them. The most interesting parts of this letter are about two things. Firstly, it''s about the murderer''s explanation of the term "serial killer". At that time, in Leafspear Kingdom and all other kingdoms, this term did not exist. There was a term "repeat murderer" which appears similar to "serial killer", but both of them still had some differences. The term "serial killer" appeared to be a better explanation for the term "repeat murderer", which Jeanne considered unclear at some points. Secondly, the killer''s explanation and guides to make an investigative technique, it''s called "fingerprint analysis". Jeanne knows nothing about it, her co-workers either, they even dumped the letter after they read it. However, out of curiosity, she kept the letter and it resulted in her discovery of three other victims of the killer after following the riddles in the letter. They were all found abandoned in a dirty sewer. After re-reading the letter, Jeanne puts it back inside her handbag. This leather handbag is a gift from her boyfriend, she felt very appreciated when he gave it to her. This handbag gave her a lot of convenience in her work. Jeanne wants to check on another document in her handbag. But she decides to stand there looking around to check on her boyfriend to see if he has arrived. "He has been busy lately, I should be more understanding", she thinks to herself while looking around. The young investigator starts thinking about what she should do in case her boyfriend can''t come to pick her up. Firstly, she''d have to see him to cancel the date first. After that, the other hours of the rest of her day would be about work, study or rest. She may either come to a tavern near where she lives to do a waitress part-time job for more income, or she will visit the church in the town to study. That''s where her study grew since her childhood. She was taught to write and read there when her parents moved from her hometown - Tamuk village to the capital city. Or she just needs to return to the inn where she is living at the time when dinner is still available. Otherwise, some more coins will be wasted. During dinner, she can comfortably sit there while hearing the stories of other tenants. Sometimes she will meet the courtesans working in the inn to hear their stories, they''re her friends by the way. At that time, Jeanne was living in a cheap inn named Telina. In that area, prostitution work was legal. Telina''s Inn was one of many places in Leafspear that had a decent number of prostitute activities. Jeanne began her personal life when she was 14 by living apart from her family. Throughout those years, she had been living in that inn and making a few friends with those girls. Jeanne has been waiting for her boyfriend for a while. She doesn''t see him anywhere but still decides to wait for him a little bit longer. This time, she brings out another document. It''s about another case. She assumed this case was about human trafficking, about an underground slave market network within the Leafspear Kingdom. This also led her to assume the case has some connection to another case she used to be involved in and now is trying to solve it in silence without help. It''s a case she used to involve nearly two years ago. About a mysterious disappearance of a noblewoman, the wife of a duke. Her parents who lived apart from their daughter had requested Jeanne to investigate since they had a connection with her commander Urven who spoke highly of her. She wasn''t able to solve the case alone and had to ask for the government''s help. The case was solved but Jeanne suspected the culprit - a maid, was blamed to be the killer. She lost trust in her kingdom after that. Jeanne assumed this case was about a cannibal network within Leafspear Kingdom. Somehow, it has something to do with this mysterious case as well. All of a sudden, Jeanne sees her boyfriend coming out from an alley when she was about to re-read the case. She immediately puts it back into her handbag and runs towards him with both of her hands widening for her boyfriend. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "Alan...". - Jeanne hugs him tightly Alan, Jeanne''s boyfriend. He''s a mailman for a Messenger Guild facility in the town, they haven''t met each other for two weeks. Both Jeanne and Alan were busy with their work at that time. This is one of the few free moments for them both to spend their time together. "Ummm... sorry". - Jeanne blushes a bit, she pulls herself away a little The young girl sighs in relief when she sees not many people are on the street and it appears that no one noticed her earlier behavior. Leafspear Kingdom citizens and its tradition view women to be submissive and obedient. Jeanne''s earlier action of being intimate with her boyfriend was something considered bold and disrespectful. Jeanne knows she should be mindful but she doesn''t want to feel like she is a distant person. She is indeed a distant person at some point, but she wants to be completely genuine and honest with her loved ones. Alan is a non-native of Leafspear, so she thinks he will misunderstand her to be a cold and gold digger woman. She is truly a money-hunger but she doesn''t want to mention money when it comes to her loved ones. There are two reasons for this cautiousness of Jeanne. It was a month ago, she saw her boyfriend staring at the courtesans in her inn when he arrived there to visit her. During this time, Alan also mentioned Jeanne about bringing him home to introduce him to her mother and little sisters. However, she suspected her boyfriend having some kind of personal intention with her mother, she is at her 30. These two incidents ignited a fire of jealousy in Jeanne. She didn''t know what made her that way. Everything she knows is that she should become an ideal woman in her boyfriend''s eyes. However, Jeanne doesn''t know much about him, she is doing her best. "Hmmm... should I order a pair of stilts for myself? It''ll be extremely hard to kiss you, you know...". - Jeanne looks up to see her boyfriend, he is too tall and huge for her to reach. "Is that a yes?". - She pokes the muscular parts of Alan''s chest. "Still not so talkative". "Well... let''s have our night together in a normal tavern, what do you say, Alan? You don''t have to treat me, I''ll do it instead... I''ll be useful". ... ... ... Jeanne and Alan are now inside a tavern in the town. This is where she used to take her part-time jobs. She chose this place because she used to be an employee here, at least her to have some discount to save money. This place is also decent enough to have her personal space with her boyfriend. At the table of Jeanne and Alan, it looks like she is a guard sitting with a peasant. Alan is wearing a simple black tunic, nothing else special. Meanwhile, Jeanne is wearing her Leafspearian militia brown leather armor which is a combat uniform for her job. Jeanne is also armed with a short spear, an issue weapon for every guard, It''s now placed on the right corner of the wall and on her careful watch. Jeanne wanted to wear something cuter for her boyfriend but there weren''t many choices. She had to cease her money for new clothes to be used to support her family. Also, she would be criticized by the people if she walked into the tavern with women''s casual clothes. Putting herself on a guard''s combat uniform would help her face less intentional assault of men. Jeanne sighs a little. She smirks in her mind, knowing the goons wouldn''t come to her this time. "How have you been...?". - Alan questions "Oh, me?". - Jeanne blushes, she loves to see Alan be more talkative than a silent man. "Not so well with my job but... everything is fine. I hope everything is alright on your side too...". Alan shakes his head. "No...?". - Jeanne lowers her face. "Hey... I''m sorry to hear that. Do you need anything...? I''ll try to help". - She holds her boyfriend''s hand tighter Alan suddenly puts Jeanne''s hand away from him. She thinks it''s a common thing in life for couples to have arguments with each other. However, deep in her thoughts, a relationship that experienced an argument means there''s a problem within it that needs to be solved. "What''s the matter?". "You love me because of my money, don''t you?". "What, Alan? No!". - Jeanne was very shocked, she also didn''t realize she just heightened her tone. "Hey... I know we haven''t seen each other for a while. But you can''t just accuse me like that, I appreciate what you gave me but you gave it to me because you wanted it...", - She wants her boyfriend to stop his misunderstanding. "I didn''t ask you to give me anything, you did this. Maybe... maybe it''s because I care more about my family than you so you... but please don''t misunderstand". - She wants to hug her boyfriend but she is scared that he will push her away. "Maybe... maybe you''re too tired from work, I''m here with you. I''m right here, we can talk this through to fix our relationship". Alan just stays quiet. He stares into Jeanne''s eyes without blinking. "If you''re thinking I''m a gold digger, then you''re wrong. Alan, my chief used to ask me to drink with him, I knew what he was thinking about so I refused went back home". - Jeanne hopes her boyfriend will understand. "That was before I met you, alright? You''re my first. And also, if I''m a girl who runs for money, I wouldn''t get myself into this relationship from the beginning. You''re just a normal man, I will find the better choices". Alan still stays quiet. Jeanne knows she might have provoked the anger inside her boyfriend. However, she just wants to end the misunderstanding. She doesn''t dare to meet his gaze, she wonders if she was too blunt with her earlier honest words, she just wants to express her love genuinely. "I''m sorry...". - Jeanne apologizes. "It''s my fault... maybe... maybe I will end my job more early so that I can spend time with you more. We can work this through... please, Alan". - She tries to hold her boyfriend''s hand much tighter but she decides to withdraw Alan still stares into Jeanne''s eyes. She lowers her gaze, she wonders what she can do to make up with her boyfriend. She only knows to use her entire body to ease Alan. She''s seen a lot of women in her inn pleasing men. She is willing to do anything to fix her relationship with her boyfriend, she can''t forget the first time she met Alan Jeanne and Alan knew each other months before they got into a relationship. Alan is a mailman in the town, he mostly goes around to deliver letters, he met Jeanne several times at the guard post when he arrived to deliver letters while Jeanne guarded outside. Their relationship started nearly a month ago when Alan helped Jeanne get away from a stranger stalking her when she was walking home at night. Meanwhile, the young investigator hadn''t been in a relationship with a man until she met Alan, the one now she loves. Jeanne doesn''t dare to see her boyfriend right now. She wonders how to solve their relationship. "How cute...". - All of a sudden, Alan starts patting Jeanne''s head "That''s enough! You were teasing me earlier, weren''t you?!!!!!". - Jeanne couldn''t catch the oddness of her boyfriend''s behavior, now she has learned something A thud sounds out. Jeanne notices there is a money bag on the table. She knows that brown bag came from her boyfriend. He always expresses himself by using actions instead of words, she knows what he means by this sudden action. "Thank you, Alan...". - Jeanne takes the bag and bows towards Alan. "My mother and sisters can have a much better life thanks to you. Well... do you need anything else?". - She pokes his muscular chest, she wants to go wild but she just does it secretly when not many people in the tavern watching her "When would you introduce me to your mother and sisters?". "Uhhh... well...". - Jeanne looks from the right to the left, she doesn''t dare to see her boyfriend''s gaze. "Promise me one thing that my mom and my sisters won''t be on your watch, alright?". Alan nods. "Please... just some words". "Okay". "What''s that weird word?", Jeanne thinks to herself but she soon brushes it off "You''re the wolf... and I''m your prey only. You''re... not allowed... to do anything... with other women...". - Jeanne smiles brightly Jeanne wonders if her actions have been too bold. However, she no longer cares about the consequences at the moment. Right now, she just wants her boyfriend and herself to enjoy their date throughoutly. She loves it when she can experience these little happy moments after a long time burying herself in work. All of a sudden, Alan slides a cup of ale to Jeanne. He is also holding a cup of ale, but he doesn''t drink it. "What are you gonna do...?". - Jeanne smiles a little, she is also a bit nervous because she knows what most men and women do with each other when they get drunk to the point of no return Jeanne saw a lot of the "activities" of courtesans with their clients. However, she has never experienced a real one herself. "Would you marry me?". - Alan pulls Jeanne closer "Ohhh...". - Jeanne seems to be very shocked, she is speechless after hearing a proposal from her boyfriend After a while of silence, Jeanne nods lightly. "But... let me have time before we have kids, darling?". - Jeanne hugs Alan much much tighter, she sobs. "I don''t want our kids to experience something like my sisters. Please, I hope you understand... I''m sorry". Jeanne decides to enjoy being in her boyfriend''s arms. She loves the silence between her and him despite being in a noisy place. "Let the alcohol do the rest... we just need to enjoy...". - Alan says Jeanne blushes on more. She decides to hold her boyfriend tighter, she now feels happiness and peacefulness at the same time when there is Alan''s presence. ... ... ... C23: Wandering Case Daytime - Morning First Winter, 1126 ... ... ... Here comes another dream of investigator Jeanne. This took place three months after the previous one, the time when she was on her way tracking down the serial killer who was mentioned previously, it wasn''t an easy job. She would go out and search for a body every three months. The killer would also send letters with the same content to every guard post across Leafspear at that time. Since no one got their hands on the case, it was only Jeanne and Alan to track down the murderer. Back to her memories, Jeanne can be seen walking side by side with her boyfriend - Alan. Both of them are still in Tavezki capital city. However, they''re not in a place where many people are traveling. They''re looking for deserted areas like abandoned houses, sewers, etc, to find the body of the killer''s next victim. Jeanne picked saturday to have a day off. She''d like to spend a lot of time with her boyfriend on sunday. Alan also took a day off to make sure her girlfriend would have a protector during her investigation. Jeanne knows the street where Alan and her are standing on, it''s near where her mother and two little sisters live. She doesn''t like to see the place where her family members live being a crime scene for the murderer, but she can''t do anything if it becomes the truth. Jeanne stands at the the right corner of an alley, the path behind her leads outside. In contrast with the street which is filled with people being busy with their personal lives, the alley where Jeanne stands is just a dark, cramped quiet place. She''s looking down a sewer with hope to see Alan. Earlier during the investigation, Jeanne wanted to go inside the sewer to find more clues. Alan stopped her at the end, said it was for her safety, then got in there to look for the clues she wanted. Jeanne feels lucky. At least the sewer is big enough for her boyfriend to get in, she is very anxious while waiting for his return. It''s winter at the time. She wonders if her boyfriend is still safe in there. Jeanne wants to get in there to find her boyfriend. She decides to recheck a new letter sent by the killer first to make sure she guessed all of his riddles correctly. Three months ago, the investigator knew another murder had occurred but she couldn''t find where the killer hid the victim. There was also a letter sent to her guard post at the time, but the content was mostly about detailed guidance for the odd investigative methods. Jeanne knew nothing about it. However, she tried to learn what was written in the letter. She had learned about the fingerprint analysis from one of those letters and applied it to a later case. Despite the success of solving the case, the fingerprint analysis couldn''t work well. However thanks to the case, she learned more about how that technique works. Right now, Jeanne trying to learn everything she read from that murderer''s letters. If they can help her to solve other cases, they can also help her to solve this serial murder as well, but it takes time. All of a sudden, some loud noises from the sewer catch Jeanne''s attention. She stopped her thoughts and glanced there closely. Alan has shown up after a long time searching down there. Jeanne rushed towards the sewer, doing her best to lift her boyfriend up. "Oh, Alan...". - Jeanne notices her boyfriend''s hands are covered with dirt and water, it''s obvious since he spent his time down the sewer "Any bodies...?". Alan shakes his head. He hands to Jeanne a small wooden crate then comes back down the dark sewer. "Be careful!". - Jeanne feels disappointed in herself, thinking she should have been the one to come down this time Jeanne puts the crate down on the ground and opens it up. She knows what this thing is and what it contains inside, it''s a murder crate. In the letter, the repeat murderer mentioned it as a "kill kit". "Tch... I knew it". - Jeanne clicks her tongue in frustration, knowing she has come to the right place and the crime scene could be nearby Inside the crate is full of murder tools of the murderer. A blood-stained knife, a blood-stained wooden hammer with a half-broken head, some cloths and ropes. These items here appear to have been used for a murder. Based on what Jeanne sees, the blood stains on the murder weapons still look new, there was a murder hours ago. However, the body of the victim hasn''t been found. The investigator knows the body will get smell the next day if it is discovered late. Only one assumption is made that the body could be around the street where she is now. It could have been hidden in another sewer, but till now, everything is just a theory. Alan suddenly returns with another wooden crate. Jeanne opens it up. This time, it''s about the clothes prepared by the murderer. A green tunic, green pants, a black cloak with a hood for head cover, a pair of cheap brown leather gloves, seem to be from a weapon forger. Some of these clothes have blood stains, but most of them look pretty clean. Except for the gloves, other clothes are cheap and can be found sold around in the markets. However, no matter how Jeanne tries, there''s no way to track where those items belong to. Even the gloves, they''re only issued for the workers in the weapon shops, no shops use the same type of gloves. Despite involving in the case for two years, Jeanne can''t find a suspect to mark. "An apprentice of a weapon shop? A literate peasant? An aristocrat? An adventurer? No, no no no no", Jeanne thinks to herself in silence. Whenever a case of this murderer comes to her ears, she only knows to arrive at the crime scene to clean up the mess. Whenever a new case appears, she only knows to find out the possibility of the murderer''s other social status. With all those efforts, the case still has almost a zero result. This murderer''s murder methods appear beyond what Jeanne knows, she even wonders if the senior investigators in Leafspear have ever faced a similar one like him. "That''s all I found...". - Alan pats Jeanne''s head gently and then walks away, he stands still and watches the outside of the alley Jeanne closes the two wooden crates and backs down. She wonders if she should report this murder to the authorities and hand over these items or report it but keep these weapons for herself. This big case will be handed to a bigger organization to deal with it, she knows she has no rights to join after she reports it. However, the other guards and investigators don''t believe the theories she made about the killer and his murder methods, the investigation could get to a dead end without her. "He''s killed 7, no 9... no, 10 people". - Jeanne murmurs to herself, she puts her fingers on her chin, trying to figure it out. "No, just 9 people. The victim is near, I must find somewhere empty. He kills one person every three months... I must figure out where he goes next to prevent the worst scenario". The investigator decides to hand over the murder crates of the killer to the authorities. She wants to keep some items in where she lives so it may help if she investigates those items further. It''s not possible. Jeanne thought about using her boyfriend''s support money to buy replicas but she brushed it off, that money is needed to feed her family members, especially her sisters. "Alan, would you?". Jeanne''s boyfriend turns around and approaches her. "Well... would you... help me carry these things?". - Jeanne looks away, answering with a cold tone Jeanne really wanted to have her intimate moments with her boyfriend. However, she knows personal needs and work responsibilities should be detached because she is at work. "Thank you". - Jeanne looks away after seeing Alan carrying the two wooden crates ... ... ... Daytime - Dusk Everything didn''t go well as Jeanne and Alan thought. Their investigation didn''t make any more progress except being able to discover those two murder crates. The crates were handed over to her guard post. Other investigators now would take care of the case. Jeanne and Alan decided to try to forget what they had done earlier and went on a date. They ended up in a tavern hours later, Jeanne got drunk quicker than usual when drinking with Alan due to her frustration with the investigation. Right now, Jeanne just wants to have him around her. She doesn''t care about man and woman being close to each other anymore, she loves him anymore and she wants no boundaries in their relationship. "Alan!". - Jeanne slams the table, she sips some more cup of ale. "Do you know how unlucky I am with my job? I don''t like it at all. Just because it gives me enough money to feed myself and my family, that''s it". - She snuggles to Alan, not letting him go away. "Well... choice. If I had one, I would become a guild girl for an Adventurer''s Guild, that place pays decent enough if I have to say". - She opens and closes her eyes at the same time. "But I can''t find somewhere good enough for me to stay when I get there, it''s deep inside the capital city, you know? What changes when you come to the city? Of course, the price for literally everything just gets higher". - Jeanne drinks more ale. "I know, I know... my income increased too. But I don''t think I can handle life in the city all by myself. Other jobs there only need men, I''m willing to stay with a job, low income is alright but must make sure to keep my family well fed, but it''s impossible to find one in the city". If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "You done yet?". - All of a sudden, Alan pulls Jeanne away "Huh...? Yeah...". - Jeanne blinks her eyes a few times, she yawns. "Ummm... sorry. I didn''t mean to ask you to listen to my garbage talk, but anyway! You can do the same with me! Put all your worries out, complain whatever you want". - Jeanne shakes Sullivan "Uhhh... please... no". Her long hair got grabbed by her boyfriend, which just scared Jeanne a little. However, Alan released her hair not so long ago. Jeanne''s boyfriend appears to be a guy who is somewhat both a predator and also a snake with harmless looks. She knows Alan is nothing similar to her late father, but she just feels drawn to him, she doesn''t know the cause of it. "Oh... you don''t want me to drink anymore, Alan?". - Jeanne feels a bit surprised when her boyfriend took away her cup of ale Alan nods. Jeanne just knows to blush and look away in silence. "Ugh...". - Jeanne gets a hiccup all of a sudden, she pushes it down. "Alan... are you interested if I tell you about my investigator job?". - Now she just wants to distract herself, she just doesn''t want to ignore her job although she took a day off today Alan nods. Jeanne only knows a little that her boyfriend used to serve in the military somewhere and used to be on the battlefield. During his service, there were some mysterious murders in his military so he also got interested in solving murder stories. Despite having that kind of odd interest, she respects her boyfriend as long as he does nothing against the laws of the Leafspear Kingdom. "Well, my job... what should I say? It''s just about coming to clean up the mess and find out who made it. My father used to be an investigator, I just got into the job because I thought it would get me more money". - Jeanne grabs a cup of ale but Alan stops her, she smiles and snuggles up to him. "Just worse. At least I found some decent money, but it only happens when I find a wealthy client who is willing to pay high for my job". "How many cases have you solved so far?". - Alan asks "Uhhh...". - Jeanne tries to remember by counting her fingers. "What does "cases solved" mean to you, Alan? By successfully finding the killer? Or by the suspect being confirmed guilty in his trial?". "Do you think cases are solved by the people you arrested? Without evidence... who will be the killer...? And why the murders though...?". - Alan tilts his head "I''m unlucky by the way. In my two years of work until now, in 15 cases I have been involved, 14 of them are about murders or possible murders... it could be all of them". "Let''s see... I don''t know... Leafspear, especially the capital city is pretty safe. You live here long enough, you only see robberies whenever you go outside. But I don''t know, people just die wherever I go". - Jeanne shakes her head a little, she forms up a smile. "Maybe there''s a grim reaper next to me, you better be aware of my presence whenever you try to lay your hands on another girl, Alan". - Jeanne pokes her boyfriend''s chest "Four... if I have to say. I just solved four cases, there are two other ones but I don''t count, they still look unsolved to me". "Let''s go... somewhere else...". - All of a sudden, Alan grabs Jeanne''s hand tightly "What''s wrong with his mood swings?", Jeanne thinks to herself "Well... darling. You must know that we can''t have kids at this moment". - Jeanne whispers to her boyfriend''s ears, she loves to have moments with him again but she is also a bit afraid. "But ummm... make sure you take responsibility, if our plans don''t go well, hehe...". - She sniffs his scents ... ... ... Nighttime - Night Jeanne looks up at the ceiling. Earlier, she was having sex with her boyfriend in an inn, where they are both staying now. She sees it odd when she just felt emptiness after her intimate moments with Alan. In the previous time, her first time, the ecstasy flooded her mind so much that she passed out while doing it. But this time, she just felt emptiness making love with Alan. Not because she feels dissatisfied, she felt good when doing it with her boyfriend. Jeanne starts wondering if her investigator job and the case she is following are the cause of her feeling of emptiness despite the pleasure she felt with her Alan. There have been two new victims of the killer. Jeanne hates it when she can''t find those two poor souls. The inn is near the area where the kill kits were found. She wonders how was the victim being stalked before being murdered by the killer. It''s just her assumption. Jeanne can''t find the answer, she thinks the killer just kills whoever he sees randomly at that good moment. "Why would he have to kill somebody by stalking while there''s a thing there he buried for months before he comes again? Choose a good time and pick someone randomly and everything is done", Jeanne thinks to herself This murderer doesn''t have a specific victim, this annoys the investigator a lot. She needs to know where those kill kits are buried so that she can go there before they''re used, then set up an ambush to arrest the murderer. However, Jeanne knows her plan is not gonna work. Some murders of this killer occurred outside of the capital city, in the countryside. Jeanne tries to close her eyes after thinking too much. She looks at Alan, craving for closeness again. When it comes to her love and her family members, she just wants to give all to them. All of a sudden, Jeanne hears someone knocking on the front door of her room. Alan gets up first and starts wearing his clothes. Meanwhile, Jeanne also goes to wear her clothes properly but she cares about the knocking sounds more, as if it''s something important and needs her answer. "Excuse me, who''s there?". "I''m the receptionist of the inn, miss. Someone just reported a problem in your room, would you please open the door?". "Hold on... I''ll be there". Alan opens the door when Jeanne nodded to tell him that she has finished wearing her clothes. "I''m sorry for getting in here at the wrong moment, but I hope you two understand". - The receptionist girl looks around the room when she walked in as if she was checking on something suspicious "Is there something wrong?". - Jeanne is very bewildered "I don''t get it myself. A new customer who came here a few minutes ago and said he saw something wrong in his room". "Can you please be more specific?". "I''m sorry, miss. Madame didn''t tell me why, she told me to come up here to check and... I guess she''s come to that man''s room to see if there''s anything wrong with it". - The girl looks around, feeling confused as well. "He said your room has something to do with it but I don''t see anything wrong". "Something wrong up here...?". - Jeanne flushes all of a sudden when she thinks of Alan "Did we make it too loud earlier?", Jeanne silently thinks to herself. "But wait, then it makes no sense. People come to places like this and do it all the time. It''s something else, I should be serious again". "Is there something wrong, mister?". - The receptionist gets bewildered when she saw Alan staring at something under the bed Jeanne has her eyes wide open after seeing that. She feels like she has to vomit due to her anxiety. This is something else to Jeanne, she never expected something like that to happen to her. It''s rare to have someone to look down under their bed, but when it comes to that scenario, she just wants to believe it''s not a real thing. The bed both of them used to have sex together... now has become something scary in Jeanne''s eyes. Jeanne breathes a bit heavily, she glances under the bed to check on it with Alan. Very soon, a body that looks like a man appears before her, it is completely lifeless. The position of the body looks similar to other dead bodies when discovered. The head is exposed while the rest of the body is covered under the bed by darkness. The full body hasn''t been discovered as the dark has covered the body. The investigator can''t tell the real condition of the body but the man looks completely dead. "Ahhhhhhh!". - The receptionist girl screams when she realized what that thing was "Miss, immediately go to the nearest guard post and announce this to them!". - Jeanne speaks up to the receptionist ... ... ... It has been a while since that terrifying incident. Jeanne and Alan have left the inn to go back to where they live after joining the guards and the other investigators to give testimonies of the incident. The case is now waiting to be solved, it will be posted on every guard post of the Commoner Zone this morning. When Jeanne goes to work, she may use her tree time during break moments to solve it. Jeanne is now waking next to Alan, she feels safe when her boyfriend isn''t scared of seeing dead bodies. Seeing dead bodies is part of the job she is following. She isn''t scared of it either, she just loses appetite and other moods for things when she sees a dead body. Jeanne is a bit confused at this moment. Not because she discovered a dead body but because she discovered the strange death of the man. "He died about 8 hours ago? Maybe, the killer broke into his room and killed him. His room''s near the ground, someone strong enough can get in and commit a murder". - Jeanne murmurs to herself. "What motives anyway? No, no no no". - She shakes her head. "The killer brought that body up to that room. It wasn''t hired until we came and when we got there, it was already a body there. He dragged it in there, gave a pose and left the place". "Firstly, the victim was strangled to death? Maybe. I found some choke marks on his neck anyway, that''s why the room wasn''t messy, huh?". - Jeanne continues her assumption about the body. "The killer then moved the bed away, he put the victim there, stabbed his chest three times and turned him around. Then he put the bed back where it belongs, so that the body was covered, it wouldn''t get smell until the next day, I understand...". - She continues to analyze the body. "Then the blood dripped down from my room. But hold on a second". "Why I couldn''t sense that smell...? It''s so confusing". - Jeanne scratches her hair, very confused "Do you think it has something to do with that killer...?". - Alan asks Jeanne stays quiet. She doesn''t know how to answer her boyfriend. There was an unsolved case in the past that she used to involve, the victim was dead in his room but his death was staged as a suicide. Jeanne assumes she has known the murder methods of this mysterious serial killer. He tosses his "kill kits" everywhere he goes, then chooses a good time every three months to return there and murder whoever he sees suitable. That conclusion seems reasonable enough for Jeanne. However, the young investigator still feels confused sometimes when she remembers how the victims died. Some died in a brutal way, some died with their bodies not so messy but not intact. She also notices one thing that the killer has started concealing the bodies recently. Back then, he would murder and walk away, leaving the bodies a mess on the crime scene. Currently, he would conceal the bodies after murdering those poor victims. It doesn''t look like a way to make himself not being caught. From the beginning, no one knows who he is and no one can find a suspect. Those actions make Jeanne wonder if this serial killer is enjoying some creativity in every of his murder. Those victims were murdered and disposed as if for entertainment, it''s very confusing. Jeanne sighs, trying to forget what just happened earlier. Tomorrow, she will have to go to work and if lucky, the murder case will be solved very early by someone else. Otherwise, the case will remain unsolved like the others posted on her guard post. "We''ll be busy tomorrow, Alan. I wish we had more time together so that we...". - Jeanne stops, she glances at her boyfriend For some reason, Alan is now standing before an inn. He keeps glancing there. Jeanne realizes her boyfriend is looking at the inn where her mother and two little sisters live. She realizes it has been a while since she returned to her family. "Two years already? I wonder if their conditions have been better. I always send money back home, Petra and Misha... those two must be 12 and 8 now", Jeanne thinks to herself, wondering if her mother and little sisters are living well. This place is where Jeanne''s family lives. That''s just the past. Leafspear is no more. In the current time when she is with her daughter, this place... once used to be home for her to come back... "You said your family lives here?". - Alan asks, he holds Jeanne''s hand "C''mon, Alan. I don''t think you should see my family right now, we just went through many things today, and now we... uhhhh". - Jeanne sighs a little. "Maybe it''s also a good time to introduce you to my family. But only me, don''t think of someone else, especially my mom and... my sisters". - Jeanne squeezes her boyfriend''s hands a bit, she lowers her face "Who would come to see their family at night? Shouldn''t it be happier to see them in the morning...?", Jeanne thinks to herself, she later brushes it off Both of them soon enter the inn. A while later, Jeanne and Alan come upstairs quietly to search for her family''s room. Jeanne later approaches a room, behind the door is her family. Her family has to live in a cramped place, the room next to it once used to be Jeanne''s room before she started living apart from her family. Jeanne smiles at her boyfriend. She gently knocks on the front door twice and backs up, waiting as the door is slowly opened. "Mom... I''m home...". - Jeanne holds Alan''s hand tightly, holding back her tears