Day 5 - Daytime - Afternoon
26th Second autumn, 1152
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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".
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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...
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