Black thunderclouds roiled overhead, threatening to unleash a storm. I let out a sigh, waiting for the coachman to announce our arrival. But as I sat there, a nagging doubt crept in – was all this effort really worth it for someone I barely knew?

Not to mention … a ghost, of all things?

No matter how I look at it, solving Erinna's death won't benefit me, nor will it change anything.

She's gone. House Evaristo's favorite daughter is dead, and even if she appeared before me and begged for help, the only outcome of my pursuit of justice for Erinna's death would be Aldrich's downfall.

But for some reason, I wanted to get involved. Maybe this was the only way I could contribute to this family, to thank them for taking me in, even if we never truly became family.

"My lady, we have arrived at Rouriella Street," the coachman announced, opening the carriage door and extending a hand to help me out.

I knocked on the door of what they called Denver's workshop, and a man with brown hair opened it. His gold-framed glasses were both elegant and classic. His gaze was cold, and he finally broke the silence.

"You must be Roxana Evaristo, the lady who sent a messenger and handed me Erinna's journal," he said, showing me the journal and closing his eyes with a sigh. "Have a seat."

The room was a workshop crammed with antiques, clocks, and tools—clearly, he was someone who sold and repaired them. The scent of century-old history lingered in the air, creating a nostalgic ambiance.

"I'm pleased to meet you. Can I ask how I should address you?"

"Just call me Denver. Unlike you, I'm not part of high society. I'm just a scholar whose life revolves around reading and research, and as you can see, I'm also a clockmaker and an antique collector."

Denver sat across from me, pushing the frame of his glasses as he opened Erinna's journal.

"To be honest, this journal made my blood boil," he said. "All these years I thought Erinna was doing well. I was quite disappointed when she stopped sending me letters. But when I read this, I finally understood why."

"Erinna must have been someone important to you," I commented. "I don't know her personally, but as I mentioned in the letter, I saw Erinna's spirit when I read the writings on the first page of the journal. The words glowed, and she appeared before me, saying that a spell was cast on this journal, and whoever reads it aloud will summon her."

"That itself is written here," Denver said, nodding. "Before I tell you the journal's contents, care to tell me who you are first? What made the Evaristos adopt you?"

He's straight to the point, but it makes sense. Everything in that journal must be confidential.

"Count Evaristo adopted me because His Highness the Second Prince offered to pay all of the Count's debts in exchange for adopting me. I needed to be a noble for our engagement to be considered valid. All I had to do was stay in their manor for a while. As soon as the wedding arrangements were complete, there would be no need for me to act as the Count's daughter. I have no interest in replacing Erinna in the first place," I explained.

An amused grin spread across Denver's lips. "Hmm, it sounds like there's some sort of agreement between you and the second prince. How intriguing," he commented. "Of course, that's no longer my business. That means you'll be an imperial princess or a duchess soon. With you gaining power after marriage, this journal—the solid evidence of Erinna's suffering—can guarantee Aldrich Louvremont's demise, right?"

“Yes.”

"Then why did you bother helping Erinna? You'll gain nothing from this," Denver remarked. His comment made me feel like he was reading my mind, for I'd been thinking the same thing before arriving here.

"My reason is simple," I clarified. "I witnessed the madness in the house. The family went off the rails because of Erinna's death. I can't blame them. It's undeniably traumatic to witness someone hanged in her room. Her father—Count Evaristo—was mad enough to exhume Erinna's corpse from her grave. Her body is currently in her room, rotting. Only the Count can enter the room. I happened to find out because Riaveric told me about his father's strange actions." I paused, trying to recall the conversation I had with Aldrich.

"Besides," I continued, "I despise Aldrich. I had conflicts with him mainly because he saw me as a threat who would claim the family's wealth."

"I see the picture now," Denver said, his eyes scanning through the journal. "I read the journal cover to cover. Erinna learned how to read and write in the ancient language because I taught her, 'for fun,' you know? Imagine my shock when she used her skill to show me something as dreadful as this. But at the same time, I appreciate it when she wrote that I'm one of the friends she values. One of the things she mentioned here is, if in case I'm reading this, it means that she's dead and that she wants me to see this because only I can understand it."

From his words, I could tell that Denver didn't see Erinna as just a friend. He certainly loved her more than that. Did Erinna know about his feelings and choose to ignore them?

"This journal includes all the details of how Aldrich treated Erinna behind her parents' backs," Denver said. "She was blindly in love with him at first, mainly because of his looks and kindness. But it turns out, he only tried to win her over because he was aiming for the family's wealth. Aldrich is using a fake surname. He demanded her to focus on him alone and stopped her from sending letters to her friends because he didn't want her to tell others about how he was treating her. He also threw away the letters she received before she even read them. She was abused emotionally, verbally, and sexually. I don't even want to go through the details. It makes me want to kill that scum myself. Erinna described how she handled the trauma in detail, her fear of what he would do next when she met him again, her panic attacks whenever she's inside her room, and how she wanted to scream but nothing came out. She also mentioned how much she hated him for making a fake image to win over her parents. But she couldn't do anything because she was afraid of him."

"Those are serious crimes. A death sentence would be guaranteed for him. You should tell the Count about this and bring this to the court. And–"

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Earlier I told you that your power as a future imperial princess will guarantee Aldrich's demise, correct? You answered yes. But you must've forgotten that verdicts are different for humans like me and Izavenes like you."

I felt a lump in my throat as I realized what he was implying. "What verdict?" I asked.

"Humans, especially commoners, aren't likely to have public trials and executions unless they have a title, or if they're someone who is known to the public. Izavenes have this terrible interest that they are only willing to watch trials of someone of high status, and nobody will give attention to commoners. To put it simply, I want Aldrich's trial and execution to be public for everyone to see. Aldrich isn't from a noble family anymore, more so an Izavene. The imperial palace usually won't care enough about crimes that aren't related to their race. He will be executed right away if the court sees this journal."

"Wait, what do you mean 'anymore?' Does that mean Aldrich was a noble?" I asked, confused.

"He was from a second son of the late baron from the Phirean kingdom. According to Erinna's journal, his real name is Aldrich de Como. The De Como family is known for their illegal activities in the black market. When the Phirean king found out, the family was executed in public—but only he and his sister managed to escape. His older brother, the De Como's heir, died with his parents."

How tragic. Erinna's journal isn't just about herself, but she also reveals Aldrich's dark secrets. His situation adds up to why he's aiming for the Evaristo family wealth—he had to gain everything because he lost everything. But why did Erinna write everything in the ancient language? Without someone like Denver, nobody could have known about what the journal contains.

Besides, is Aldrich still with his sister? Is she hiding somewhere and not disclosing their relationship? If that's true, his sister certainly won't be quiet if Aldrich gets executed for his crimes.

"Here, this is the translated version of Erinna's journal. It's the last favor I can do for her as her friend. You can show this to the Count. I've already included my stamp, so it'll be recognized as valid evidence that I translated it since I'm one of the few people in this empire who can understand the ancient language."

His eyes were fixed on Erinna's journal, and sadness lingered in them. If I were in his shoes and had a friend who experienced something horrendous, I would probably feel the same way, especially because he wasn't able to do anything to protect her.

Denver said that he wanted to kill Aldrich, but he took it back. Rather, he wants this case to be brought to the court and have a proper trial—even if it's guaranteed that death will be his punishment.

"If a trial will be granted, do tell me. I'll be there to explain things further. Although frankly, I doubt that's possible," Denver said, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Because the Count Evaristo I know…gets easily affected when there's something that has to do with his beloved daughter. My theory is, that the Count might punish Aldrich himself," he added.

──•~❉᯽❉~•──

I left Denver's workshop with a heavy heart. The gloom mirrored the weather, with thick layers of cloud smothering the sky, blocking out any ray of light. From the carriage window, dark clouds loomed, hinting at an impending downpour.

Once I bring this up, the entire family will be in shock. I can imagine the overflowing rage they'll unleash the next time they see Aldrich. They might not know or trust me, but there's no way they won't believe Erinna.

The carriage rolled to a stop at the entrance of the Evaristo Manor, and a servant assisted me as I stepped out. "May I ask where the Count is?" I inquired. The servant nodded and escorted me to the Count's study.

"Milord, Lady Roxana is here," the servant announced. The Count, who looked gloomy as always, opened the door.

"What brings you here?" he inquired.

"I have something to discuss with you, regarding Erinna," I said. The Count narrowed his eyes and opened the door to let me in.

"I didn't mean to intrude, but Riaveric asked me a favor to take a look at Erinna's journal," I continued, handing the journal to him. The Count traced the cover of her journal with his fingers. "It is written in an ancient language, and this is the document that translated the entire journal, prepared by Denver Adams, Erinna's friend. I found out that–"

Long before I could continue my explanations, the Count remained silent, his eyes scanning through the pages of the journal. He... can understand it?

The silence was shattered the moment he shouted and smashed a flower vase to the ground.

"THAT UNGRATEFUL BASTARD, I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" he roared, storming out of the room, completely ignoring my presence.

I had expected him to doubt and question me about the matter, but his mind was consumed by anger. Nothing else mattered but to find Aldrich and interrogate him. I left the room and witnessed him yelling at the servants, demanding they search for Aldrich.

"Search every corner of the house, and bring Aldrich to me!" The Count roared, his voice echoing through the manor. The servants scattered, rushing in different directions, sensing the urgency in his tone.

"Milord, I apologize about getting myself involved with this family matter," I said softly, as the Count sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Don't worry about it. You did the right thing. You said Riaveric asked you to have it translated. Thus, you did it because you wanted to help her. But why did you bother? You could've ignored Riaveric's request. She's just a girl."

"That's because–"

"Milord, sir Aldrich is here!" a servant interrupted, and Aldrich was dragged in by two men. The men made him kneel before the Count.

"I can't believe that you dared to stay in my home after everything you've done," the Count said, his voice cold and menacing. Aldrich avoided his gaze, his body trembling.

"I-I... I don't know what happened, milord. But may I know what's going on so that I can prove my innocence?"

Innocence? How can Aldrich even think about innocence at a time like this? He should've known that no secret will remain a secret forever, and he will pay for all these one day—and that day is now.

"Hah, I can't believe that all these years, I treated you as a future son-in-law and loved you as a father would. Then now I'll find out that you abused my daughter? Is how you'll pay me after everything I've done for you? You ruined my daughter's life! Her death is all your fault!" the Count roared; his face contorted with rage.

"Milord, that's not true! Whoever said those things is lying and only aims to destroy our relationship. Please believe me!" Aldrich pleaded, his voice cracking with desperation.

The Count punched Aldrich's face, the force of the blow sending him reeling. From the corner of his eye, he threw a daggered glare at me, his gaze burning with a silent accusation, acknowledging my role in bringing this shocking revelation to light.

"You–" The Count kicked Aldrich's stomach, silencing his protest before it could even form.

"Save it. It's all thanks to her that my daughter will receive justice for her death. Bring this bastard to Erinna's room." The Count's voice was cold and hard, devoid of any emotion except for seething rage.

"As you wish, milord." The servants grabbed Aldrich by the arm, and he struggled against their hold, desperate to resist the Count's orders. Could he possibly be aware that Erinna's exhumed body is there?

"You know, you're making this hard," I said, placing a hand on Aldrich's shoulder and using my lightning power to send a slight jolt through his body. Exhausted, he could no longer resist, and the servants dragged him away with ease.

The stench of Erinna's decaying body hit me the moment the door to her room swung open. This time, I couldn't bring myself to enter. As Aldrich was forced to kneel beside Erinna's bed, I knew my work here was done.

"What a wonderful sight," a strange voice chuckled, sending a shiver down my spine. I spun around, searching for the source of the sound, but the hallway was empty. "I can finally rest in peace. Thank you, Roxana Evaristo, for granting my wishes. Until we meet again." The voice faded, leaving behind a chilling silence.