Day 12 - Daytime - Morning
3rd Third autumn, 1152
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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.
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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".
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
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.
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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.