The inquisitors did their best to save or stabilize Karnaka, but they weren’t priests so they couldn’t manifest their healing powers. So, in the end, the only thing Karnaka could do was choke and drown in his own blood, never even getting to leave the chair he was tied to.

“Curses!”

Nerissa muttered a quiet curse through grit teeth as she looked at the slumped Karnaka. Their witnesses kept dying on them, be it through suicide, safety measures put in place by the ringleader, or other outside forces. Sure, they were likely to be executed in the end, but their deaths were to be declared by an official court of law after their crimes were publicly announced.

The remaining inquisitors wisely chose to remain silent as Nerissa muttered her curses, it was exceedingly rare for an investigation led by the Head Inquisitor to go so well yet also so wrong. They found all the evidence they needed, they could pinpoint all the bad deeds. But there was no one for them to bring to court, there was no criminal they could punish publicly.

“Ha~h… Ha~h… Alright. You two, deal with the body and bring everyone below to the headquarters, we’ll need to question them to see if any of them were involved in this. The rest of you, follow me.”

Nerissa spat out the orders after taking a few quick yet deep breaths, her expression settling back into its usual cold calmness. She gave the order, but part of her felt that it was unlikely for anyone below to know anything about this case. Part of it was because they weren’t really mentioned much in any of the documents she had found, and part of it was because they were still alive.

“As you order.”

The inquisitors naturally followed her command and moved out to fulfill their respective tasks. The rest left the room and made their way out of the building, Nerissa casting a sideways glance at Gabriel for a moment before she spoke with the leader of the guards that had arrived earlier.

“Earl Kane, I request that you leave some of your men here to assist with the process of protecting and bringing in the possible suspects. I must also request that you lend us some troops to apprehend Kaden Gaun Sorin while we investigate his butler.”

She phrased it as a request, but in truth there was nothing Earl Lavenus Kane could do but comply. This was the Head Inquisitor, sent out by the orders of the Emperor himself, perhaps only the dukes themselves had some level of choice in how to treat her.

“Naturally, Milady. Emperor Earhart has already passed down the order that we should prepare and listen to you so my men are ready to move out immediately.”

His armor clanked as he saluted, the emperor had probably told them to prepare by the time Nerissa sent in her first report. He had no choice but to treat the accusation seriously, and when proof first started to appear it was only natural that he would prepare for the possibility that it ended up being true.

Gabriel guessed that both Duke Sorin and the emperor were suffering from some headaches right now. This wasn’t something that could be pushed under the rug and forgotten, the crime was too serious, a suitable punishment had to be handed out. And publicly at that, otherwise the trust of the citizens would plummet horrendously.

“Good, send them to Viscount Sorin’s mansion, we will meet up with them outside and then proceed together.”

Nerissa could naturally not read Gabriel’s thoughts so she kept talking with Earl Kane, who could only keep nodding his head. Eventually, he gave the orders to some of his men while also sending a message back to the rest of his men. A handful of guards remained by the brother to assist the two inquisitors while Earl Kane and the rest joined up with Nerissa’s group as they headed for the mansion of Duke Sorin’s third son.

As this was the capital of the Sorin duchy, the Sorin ducal family naturally had numerous mansions dotted throughout the city, their main mansion serving as the central point of it all. As the rulers of this city, practically all the soldiers and guards working here were contracted by the Sorin family, the garrison led by Earl Kane was the lone imperial garrison stationed in this city.

Each of the major cities had an imperial garrison like this, they were designed to be a foreign and detached entity that could report straight to the imperial family if the ruling family were to try and skirt beneath the law. They had to bring in all their guards and workers from cities not controlled by the family in charge of their specific city so it was rather cumbersome and inconvenient.

But still, they were a vital part of the city, at least to the citizens. As long as the imperial garrison was around, the citizens could rest assured that the emperor cared about them and would never let the ruling family become tyrants. As such, their procession received a few cheers as they moved, despite it already being so early that only the odd farmer or baker should be up.

By the time they reached the iron gate that blocked off the mansion’s courtyard, the guards working for Earl Kane were already in place. They were clad in full armor and had their weapons, a tense atmosphere hanging in the air. Would Kaden Sorin come willingly, would his father send some stealthy reinforcements? They didn’t know, so they had to be prepared.

Nerissa strode past the guards and up to the sealed gates, clearing her throat for a moment as she chanted a quiet spell.

“Waraya, Hatau Ka’e Movan.” (Strength, Magnify My Voice)

Her mana flared for a short moment before it settled in her throat, her voice booming across the land.

“Viscount Kaden Gaun Sorin, this is Grand Inquisitor Nerissa Sylla of the Amber Inquisitors. I have arrived here under direct order of Emperor Arthas De Earhart to investigate the claims levied by Viscount of War Gabriel Sakra Indra. Current evidence suggests that one of your butlers is directly tied to accusations so I must request that you open your gates and allow us entry.”

Thanks to the magic, her voice could be heard all the way across the courtyard, echoing throughout the distant mansion. Had the inquisitors not used air magic to block sounds then those around Nerissa could easily have gone deaf.

For a moment, there was no response from the mansion, which didn’t even have guards posted by the gate. But after a few breaths worth of time, the iron doors slid open, the path to the mansion clear. It was a fair bit away, but they could just barely see that a fair number of people had gathered in front of the mansion.

When their group got closer, the one seated at the tip of the people gathered in front of the mansion rose to meet them. Orange hair that hung down wildly and sharp yellow eyes that seemed to be perpetually narrowed, Kaden Sorin and his sharp features seemed to be a living smoldering flame.

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“Head Inquisitor Nerissa, welcome to my mansion.”

Kaden greeted them with a slight bow as they approached, the servants gathered behind him mimicking him. His expression was calm and his voice natural, but there was something languid about him, it was as if he dragged down the air around him.

“I would welcome you in for a drink and a meal, but I’m afraid that I’m too weak-hearted to handle the inevitable rejection.”

He sat down again as he spoke, leaning back in his seat as he maintained his expression. He looked casual, but Gabriel could tell that he was annoyed. The subtle movements of his lashes, the minute trembles he could spot within the joints of his fingers, he was like a child that was trying to hide the fact that he had been caught doing something naughty.

“I shant waste your time. You have come here for Jovan, my butler, and so you shall get him. Koraias, bring him here.”

Kaden gestured to one of the servants behind him, who acknowledged his orders with a bow before entering the mansion, returning shortly after with the butler in tow. His expression was grim, and Gabriel could see Kaden’s eyes fluctuated slightly for a moment as the butler gave a grunt.

He had probably wanted to kill him, probably even tried to. But that would be dangerous. If the butler was killed then they could enter the mansion and immediately search it from top to bottom, but as long as the butler was alive they would have to interrogate him before they could start pointing fingers and accusing Kaden. It bought him time, and that alone was generally what people needed.

“Here, you can take him. He’s already confessed to the heinous deeds he committed for something as minor as a bit of money so I will not protest if you were to judge him worthy of execution. Lisandra, give Head Inquisitor Nerissa what we found after investigating Jovan.”

With another simple gesture and calm expression, Kaden dismissed the butler and placed him as the sole perpetrator. He would be a good scape-goat, and as long as all the other evidence was removed then no one would ever know the truth. But ah, what a shame it was that there was someone present who knew the truth long before it was made public, someone who had prepared for it because his Lady needed it.

“Head Inquisitor… There’s also this…”

The maid Kaden beckoned came over with the papers they were going to use to paint Jovan as the only perpetrator, but she also handed over a different stack of papers with a slightly shaky voice. Gabriel could see it, Kaden’s eyes growing dark as Lisandra handed over the second stack of papers.

She could probably feel his gaze, her shoulders shaking for a moment. But she couldn’t back down here, and certainly not now. Her mother was sick and her father was too old to work, subsequently needing his own treatments. She used practically all of her salary to care for them, but the best she could do was keep them just below stable, the treatments simply cost too much.

And then they came. They would pay for the treatment, they would ensure that her parents became healthy. They would even provide her with a new house and a new job, one that paid far better. All she had to do was fetch a few stacks of papers that were hidden inside the mansion, bringing them out when the inquisitors arrived.

She was scared. Of course, she was working for someone tied to the Sorin ducal family, a wrong move and her family would perish along with her. But if she kept things going like this then they would perish eventually anyway, and she would be forced to sit there helplessly as she prepared their coffins. A hand was extended in the dark night, and she chose to take it.

Nerissa accepted the papers, reading through both of them with an expression that revealed no emotions. In the end, she raised her gaze to look at Kaden.

“Viscount Sorin, I must ask that you too follow us back to the imperial capital. Would you like to come with us willingly, or do you intend to resist?”

The air immediately grew many degrees tenser as she spoke, the guards and inquisitors preparing themselves as their hands rested on their weapons. A grim expression graced Kaden’s face for a moment, but he quickly smoothed it over before standing up.

“I’ll naturally come along, only the guilty would try to resist. Alissa, take care of the mansion until I return, it would break my heart if it were in disarray when I return after this misunderstanding has been cleared up.”

He gave an order to one of the maids standing behind him, the oldest looking one, who quickly bowed and gave a verbal acknowledgment. All hope wasn’t lost yet, he was still the son of Duke Sorin so he should be able to pull some strings even if he was taken in for questioning by the Amber Inquisitors.

Naturally, both Gabriel and Nerissa knew that he would be trying to pull something like that, you’d have to be a fool to not see it. Well, he would be free to try as much as he wanted, his fate was set in stone the moment Gabriel made his choice.

The inquisitors surrounded Kaden and the butler, Nerissa already sending a report back to the emperor. The servants of the mansion naturally had to return to their duties, happily whispering amongst themselves about the situation. Thanks to them being preoccupied with their own gossiping, none of them managed to spot the maid, Lisandra, getting swallowed by a spot of darkness lurking in the hallway after they closed the door.

Gabriel had given her his word so he naturally had to keep it, Nergal would spit her out a bit away from the mansion, and one of his associates would take things from there.

But well, he could think about that later, there was something else he had to keep in mind now. Naturally, the butler and Kaden were brought back to the imperial capital at full speed, Gabriel still mingling with the inquisitors as he joined them back to the capital. They had left the investiture, which had naturally concluded properly while they traveled. Most of the guests would thus naturally leave and return to their own estates.

But with the accusations levied, Gabriel would have to stay in the capital a bit longer, at least until everything was solved. The first of his accusations and clues had proven true so the second one would naturally also have to be investigated the moment they finished with Kaden. As the one who made the accusations and dug out the plot, he would probably be rewarded once it was all over, assuming the investigation didn’t suddenly uncover clues that he was involved. Naturally, as he was unrelated, he knew that this was extremely unlikely. And yet, not entirely impossible.

When he came back to the capital, he was given leave and allowed to return to the lodgings that the Vritara family had prepared for him and Alice before the investiture. Well, they said that he was given leave, but he could guess that they would stick a few people on his tail so that they could keep an eye on him. But it didn’t matter.

He returned to the mansion, which was quiet, all the servants seemingly dismissed. He could feel her. Her scent lingered in the air. He followed the scent, the sensation to its origin, ending up in front of his room.

When he pushed open the door, there she was. She was sitting at the edge of his bed, several lit candles illuminating the room, their light dancing across her as the flames flickered. The young girl that Teresa had come back with was sleeping on the bed, her head resting in Alice’s lap while she clutched her dress like she was having a nightmare. Alice pat her on the head, slowly stroking her hair while looking straight at Gabriel.

She was still dressed from the investiture. Crimson irises accentuated by purple eyeshadow, violet hair that had been straightened and tied into a long ponytail decorated by two black pins carved to resemble serpentine dragons. A deep red ball gown, its skirt adorned by frills that had black lace roses rung along their entire length. Her shoulders were still bare, revealing her collarbone and nape, black lace gloves running all the way up to her elbows. And on her chest, a bouquet of three lace roses, a black, a violet, a white-silver.

Red and black, the colors he first chose when she in the past asked him what sort of dress she should wear. She had remembered it all these years, and then taken it a step further by adorning it with his violet and whitish-silver.

“You know, I’ve been waiting for this day for quite a few years already. I honestly wasn’t sure if it would ever come to pass when we made that promise.”

She spoke softly, quietly, not waking the child in her lap. She looked straight at Gabriel, crimson eyes locking with violet ones, a familiar smile adorning her lips.

A promise, one made long ago. Gabriel would never lie to her, but there were things he couldn’t tell her. So he made her a promise, a deal. Accomplish these things and I will honestly answer a question. And now she had accomplished some of those things, now she was entitled to her questions, her answer.

“Gabriel, who are you really?”