Back into her room, Velvet waited for breakfast to be served before doing anything.

“That guy just used some mind control, right? Derivative from the lust paradigm?” She asked Hyde to pass the time.

“Not really. Lust deals with the subconscious desires, twisting or transforming them. That was a direct type of control. You have a basic knowledge already, try to uncover the truth.”

“Alright. The way he did it was by giving an order. Orders are a symbol of power. Power is control. It didn’t work on Nathaniel, but it worked on me and the rest.”

“Go on.”

“I did want to keep going to Wishbell, but Nathaniel didn’t. That means the effect is stronger the more you want to follow the order, or agree with it. The effect doesn’t increase by threatening someone, offering them something or making them not care.”

“That takes some paradigms out. I’m between pride or envy. Mostly envy, since he needs people to subconsciously agree with what he says. Or the middle ground between those two.”

“Still, I do think he is not that strong. I mean, Nathaniel is a human, and he escaped the order. Of course, if he is the one that got my paper figurine, maybe he is keeping his true strength hidden, and showing that he can order people around was a warning.”

“As in ‘Heeeey, see how I ordered someone to kill this suspicious guy? I can do it to you once I find you.’ What if he targeted the detective because he thought it was him using the paper figurines?” She thought for a moment, telling Hyde her worries “No, whoever attacked me did it after the detective was murdered.”

Someone knocked on her door. Her breakfast, probably. Well, the person carrying her breakfast, since breakfasts didn’t have hands. Unless you liked your meat alive and running.

Velvet went to the door, not before putting her nine paper figurines close to it.

“Yes?” She called, not opening the door yet.

“Breakfast is ready, miss,” a young and tired feminine voice answered.

“How do I know you’re not the murderer?”

“Um… I am not? I bring eggs, bread and bacon, but I can take them away if you don’t want them…”

Opening the door after being threatened with no food, Velvet grabbed the tray “No veggies or fruit?”

“I can get you an apple… The previous room didn’t want it.” The young girl looked around the cart, giving a green apple to Velvet, who gave her thanks and a bit of tip, before going back inside.

Sitting on her bed to start eating, a white envelope fell from the tray to the floor. Velvet stared at it in silence.

“Pick it up Hyde, it is for you.”

“No it's not. Pick it up yourself.”

“I have to do everything in this household.” Bending down to pick it up, she didn’t notice any stamp on it, even when the paper quality was kinda high.

Opening and pulling out a letter, two lines written in exquisite calligraphy greeted her.

Don't make us go looking for you.>

“Us?” Velvet started eating, setting the letter aside.

It’s not like she could not go. Running away from the train would make her a prime suspect for the murder, putting her in a wanted list and ruining her chances to board an airship.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

So at least she would go with her stomach full.

…

Waiting for the corridor to be empty of personnel, Velvet went to the detective’s room, which was open. Two people were inside. Luckily for them, Iren Doyle did pay for a room bigger than Velvet’s, so they weren’t cramped.

“Ugh…” Covering her nose, Velvet grimaced at the smell.

Effectively, one of the persons was the rich man from before, the other was a woman wearing a secretary gray checkered uniform, with black hair collected in a bun and purple eyes.

“I told you she would come,” the woman said, smiling at her.

I had no other choice, don't be smug.

“Well, the letter you sent me was so eloquent, I just couldn’t find it in me to ignore it.”

Clearing his throat, he seemed to like doing that a lot, the man called their attention “The paper mage, I presume.”

“What do you mean?” Velvet played dumb.

“The owner of this thing,” he pulled her lost paper figurine out. Still, Velvet didn’t seem to recognize it.

Laughing nervously, she took a step back. “Sorry, I reeeally don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I followed the paper figurine you sent to my room.” The woman in checkered clothes said, making Velvet’s fake nervous smile become real.

“I am really, really sorry.” She lied.

She wasn’t sorry for what she did, she was sorry for getting caught by two mages.

The woman laughed politely “It’s normal for baby magicians to desire trying everything they learn. I do encourage it.”

The corner of Velvet’s lips twitched, but she managed to keep her smile “So everything is alright and forgotten, right? I can go get the hand you made me skin alive treated without being suspected of murder?”

“There’s no need for that.” The man said, while the woman pulled out a small container and gave it to Velvet “As a proof of our goodwill.”

Goodwill, sure.

Accepting it, she returned their ‘goodwill’ “Velvet’s my name, now, if you are so kind as to introduce yourselves.”

“Cornelius Graham, Viscount of Garunt, owner of Graham Textiles.”

Dammit, Velvet did like that company’s hats.

“Siberina Ropertti, Sir Graham’s secretary and lawyer.”

“And part time magician, might I add?” Velvet said.

“Indeed.”

Before an uncomfortable silence could take root, Cornelius started talking again, walking around the room without stepping on the blood “Now, Velvet, what do you think of the murder?” He stopped in front of the corpse, as if expecting her to come closer.

“If you are asking what my paper figurines ‘saw’, they saw nothing.”

“I am asking from mage to mage. My paradigm is not focused on knowledge.”

So they know even that…

Velvet got closer, crouching down in front of Iren’s corpse “It was brutal, that’s for sure, but…” She pointed to the ribs “You need to use something very hard and be very strong to cut the bones like this,” getting up, she looked at him “Do you think there’s another mage in the train?”

Velvet didn’t think they were the murderers. As in, the ones doing the stabbing. Maybe Cornelius ordered someone to do it, but, if his powers needed some level of agreement, the murderer should have hated detective Iren Doyle way too much.

Of course, that didn’t clear Siberina from doubt.

Cornelius didn’t say anything, just nodded at Siberina’s direction. The secretary knelt next to Velvet, and, with gloved hands, took off the dead detective’s gloves. There, an eye looked at the distance.

Iren Doyle was a mage too? His Esca is just a bit more open than mine.

“There’s five mages on this train? Isn’t this too many?”

Aren’t magicians supposed to be rare? Are we cabbages now?

“That seems to be the case.” The secretary answered her, watching with a polite smile how Velvet left her and went to check Iren Doyle’s personal belongings “Being a mage means dealing with the unordinary. It’s no wonder the unordinary occurs to us.”

“Expect the unexpected.” Iren’s suitcase had some clothes, a notebook, a revolver, three bullets…

“He had a gun. If he didn’t even try to grab it, that means he knew or trusted the other person.” Velvet started reading the notebook, almost finishing it in a minute. Not because Velvet read fast, which she did, but because it was almost empty, just some reminders “Or that person did say that they knew something about Sonia’s Springfell whereabouts.”

Iren Doyle also was of the knowledge paradigm. Velvet was sure of that after seeing his notebook. Still, she put it back as if it was nothing.

Getting killed so easily… Is our paradigm so bad at combat?