“I didn’t think we’d be heading there again so soon…” Andrei mumbled.

They sat in the back of a large wagon, speeding down the trade routes towards the city of Bluewater.

It has only been two days since Lilian’s burial, and they’ve already set off to solve this mystery.

Through accounts from various members at the ball, they’ve come to the conclusion that Schulz was under the control of a powerful telepath.

Yelena was absolutely certain that Schulz handled the firearm better than most trained soldiers, and despite him having no magical powers, she was sure telekinesis held her still in the line of fire.

“Yeah…” replied Idris.

Most of the others were napping away besides them, with Saya, once again, resting her head on his shoulder. Bruno sat up front holding the horses, while Thomas was in the back corner of the wagon, studying his notes and drawings, scratching himself on the chin with the back end of his pen, trying to figure out a little more from the accounts.

Their current theory is that a skilled mage somehow infiltrated the mansion, took control of Schulz using telepathy, then took him on his mad killing spree. The perpetrator likely also has significant telekinesis capabilities, enough to momentarily overwhelm even a senior. However, it could just as well be two or more people working together, possibly even one of the guards.

But despite their best efforts, there still remained a gaping hole in their theory.

Security of the mansion grounds on the day was established well before sundown. A dozen watchmen total surrounded every direction of the compound, three on each side. Not to mention Julius and the various logistics parties, who were all keeping watch over the compound from a distance.

Throughout the entire night, not a single intruder was visually spotted, felt through distortions in free mana, or detected via clairvoyance.

The perpetrator either has to be so skilled at infiltration that they manage to evade detection from the most elite assassin clan in the world, or they simply had another way to get into the mansion, and that first option didn’t seem very plausible.

But either way, they would only know if they investigated the scene themselves.

The rain was really beginning to pour now, turning the paths to mud and slowing their travel. It had been raining since they set off, quickly growing from a little drizzle into a proper shower. Cold drops of rain blew in through the little gaps in the tarp, wetting Idris’ hair and tickling his cheeks.

Suddenly, Thomas leapt to his feet, punching his legs to beat some life back into them.

“What’s up?” Idris asked quietly as to not wake the others.

“Not much.”

“Any new ideas?”

“Only theories, we’ll only know for sure once we get there,” said Thomas as he shoved his notebook into his daypack. “I’ll go swap with Bruno, he’s been there for a while now.”

“Can we come up to the front for a bit?”

“Sure.”

Idris slapped the top of Saya’s head gently, clasping a hand over her mouth so her yelp wouldn’t annoy the others.

“Guh..!” Saya mumbled through his hand as she was rudely woken from her nap. “What wash hat?”

“Shhhh…” Whispered Idris. “Want to sit at the front for a bit?”

She looked around at the wagon as she collected her thoughts. “Oh… sure. Is Andrei coming along?”

“Yeah,” Andrei answered, getting to his feet.

Together they headed to the front, lifting open the flap of fabric to see Thomas trying to convince Bruno to take a rest.

“You’ve been driving for a long time. Get some rest,” Thomas told Bruno.

But Bruno simply slid to the side a little, patted the wooden bench, beckoning for Thomas to sit down with him.

“Fine,” Thomas sighed with a smile as he sat down next to Bruno.

Idris and his friends stepped onto the side of the bench, leaning out over the front of the wagon, holding onto the wooden supports of the roof. Like the pirates of legends, leaning out over the bow of their ship, their captain in the middle, as they speared through the rough seas and violent storms.

The wind felt cold on his face, and the raindrops stung a little as they smacked into his forehead, but it still felt more refreshing than miserable.

“It’s been a gloomy few days…” Bruno mumbled. “Even the weather is unhappy.”

“Yeah…”

For the past few days everyone seemed to have a metaphorical raincloud over their heads. Meal times were less noisy, less filled with laughter, and only quiet whispers echoed through the now slightly emptier dining hall. Even the newcomers, who barely even knew Lilian, seemed to be somewhat distraught.

“How have you three been?” Bruno asked Idris and his friends. “You fine with missing the contracts?”

“It’s our duty to avenge and protect our family!” Answered Saya, throwing a fist into the air.

Bruno chuckled. “You three sound like elders.”

“What!?”

“I’m just kidding.”

“How are the newcomers?” Thomas asked. “They seemed a little down the past day or two.”

“They’re fine, just a little frightened, I guess…” Bruno paused. “You? How are you feeling?”

“I’ll be fine. I’m an assassin. These things happen…”

There was the sound of ruffling as Nina pushed herself between Andrei and the side of the wagon, having heard the conversation up front.

“Oh… hi there,” Andrei muttered, trying to awkwardly slide over to allow some space for Nina, crushing Idris and Saya in the process.

“Oi… hey Andrei…” Idris tried to say. “Could you stop…”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“No no this is fine, keep going,” Saya spoke over Idris.

“Have I missed anything?” Asked Nina. “I heard some talking going on.”

“Not really, just making some smalltalk,” Thomas answered.

Raina and Kana came up to the front as well, having been roused from their sleep. Kana was carrying some bread and cheese, which she distributed to everyone.

“How far are we?” Raina asked, nibbling on a little piece of cheese. “We’ve been traveling for a while.”

“We’re close. Over this hill and we should see the city in front of us.”

“Well, not in this fog we won’t.”

“Let’s just hope it clears up soon.”

“Hey, Thomas, your mood seems a lot better now,” Kana commented, handing him another piece of bread.

“Well…” he muttered, taking the bread and shoving it into his mouth. “I can’t dwell on it forever. Plus, now’s my chance to get some closure.”

Idris noticed that the rain had stopped falling, the icy drops of water no longer smacking against his face. He looked up, and saw that the grey rainclouds which had filled the skies for days beginning to clear up.

The landscape ahead revealed itself as they ascended to the top of the shallow hill, the sun was out again, casting down its golden rays, blotting the land in patches of gold.

“There it is!” Saya shouted excitedly, pointing at the grand city before them. “We’re so close!”

“Yeah…”

They’ve been there once just days prior, but this time is different. This time, they aren’t assassin of Rose, out to hunt down their target. This time they’re warriors, out to avenge their fallen comrade, to hunt down those who did them wrong.

*****

At nightfall they once again arrived at Schulz’s mansion, this time abandoned, devoid of any life. The tall gates were chained closed, but it shouldn’t pose much of an obstacle for them.

One by one they climbed over the fence, Bruno and Thomas helping the others up with their telekinesis.

Through the empty yard and up to the broken down doors of the front entrance, Kana and Andrei leading the way with their light magic, they were once again greeted with the grizzly scene of the murder.

The body of Schulz and the fallen guards have already been removed, the broken glass and splinters of wood cleared away. All that remained were the blood stains on the carpet and walls, blackened and dried. The room, built like a theater to reverberate and disperse sound, echoed the hollow, whispery noise of the wind outside.

Beams of moonlight once again casted through the large crystal windows, several of which are shattered and broken, as a result of the fighting. Thomas bit his lip, the scene of the night is still fresh in his memory.

A massive marble staircase led up to the living areas of the mansion, the one which Schulz had descended from on the night of their contract.

“Let’s head up there,” said Thomas as they made their way through the spacious ballroom.

The perpetrator, if their theories are correct, was likely controlling Schulz through telepathy from above the staircase, just out of view from the ballroom. Saya and Idris, who were relatively close to the staircase when Schulz entered were the first to detect the flow of magic, which further lends weight to this theory.

Andrei perked his head up as they made their way up the stairway, trying to sense any remaining disturbance in the free mana or any traces of magic being used. Thomas, being another tracking specialist, was doing the same.

They stopped for a moment at the top of the stairs, Thomas and Andrei moving around in an attempt to find anything that can be tracked, though to no avail.

“Anything?” Asked Kana.

Thomas shook his head. “Magic was indeed being used. But the trace is too faint to gather much more. Whoever this person is, they knew what they were doing.”

“Thomas, we should split up to explore the different floors,” Bruno suggested. “It’ll be faster that way.”

“No,” Thomas replied. “We stay together. The perpetrator might be waiting for us to come back, I’m not going to risk anything. Plus, there are only two locations of real interest, Schulz’s office and the underground level.”

“Fine.”

Together they climbed further up the stairs, Andrei’s light illuminating the dark interior of the mansion, the marble flooring just beginning to be covered in a thin layer of dust, the lavish interior and fine upholstery no longer glistening in the moonlight. A few windows were left open, leaving wet stains on the carpet and walls where the rainstorm came through.

After the death of Schulz, the maids and servants all left the estate, leaving it abandoned. Having no close friends or family, an inheritor of the property has yet to be found.

“This is his office,” said Thomas as they arrived before a large door on the third floor.

Gently he turned the doorknob and entered the room, the dust particles in the air swirling in the ghostly moonlight. He walked to the mahogany desk at the back, lit up the oil lantern sitting on it, and slowly looked around at the rest of the room.

Cabinets lined the walls on either side, filled with old scrolls, checks, and lots of books.

“There’s a lot of books here…” Kana whispered, peering into one. “I wonder if I can take…”

“Don’t touch,” said Bruno as he slapped down Kana’s outstretched hand.

“I’m sorry.”

Idris headed over to Schulz’s desk, covered in various papers and books, messy from many months of neglect. The feather pen was still resting in a little bottle of ink, now almost completely dried up in the stale air.

“Saya, Andrei, come here,” he said to the two.

His friends walked over next to him, looking at the messy desk.

“This desk is… particularly messy…” Andrei muttered. “I thought a person like Schulz would be quite organized.”

“Right? Look at these shelves,” said Idris, pointing at the many rows of neatly stacked books inside. “Unless his servants tidies his books for him, I find it weird that his desk is so messy.”

“You’re right…”

Thomas walked over after hearing their conversation, and began carefully looking through the papers scattered across the desk. Most of them were mundane stuff like tax statements and letters, but a single booklet caught his eye.

“He keeps a diary?” Thomas mumbled to himself.

He quickly flipped through the pages, and in the flickering yellow glow of the lantern, Idris could see his eyes go wide. He gently set the diary down on the desk before carefully scanning the papers on the desk. After a moment or two of searching, he snatched a few up from the desk, picked up the diary again, and began quickly looking between the two of them.

“Thomas?”

He didn’t respond, seemingly too deep in thought to hear him.

“Everyone,” said Thomas. “Come here, now. I might have figured it out.”

They converged behind the desk, looking at the diary in Thomas’ hand. The writings were of nothing too significant, just general documentations of Schulz’s daily activities, as expected of a diary.

“What is it?” Bruno asked.

“Idris and Andrei pointed something out earlier,” Thomas began. “Look at this desk. It’s terribly messy, like someone has been piling stuff on it for weeks. It’s completely different from these well-organized bookshelves. And unless Schulz lets other people tidy his own books and checks, which I doubt, this is a big contrast,” he laid down the diary on the desk, quickly flipping through to the latest entry. “Look at this diary. The last entry is on the sixth of March. After that... nothing. Schulz hasn’t missed a single day in all of the past entries here, which dates back almost a year.”

“So…”

“It’s like a different person was staying here, not Schulz.”

“What exactly are you getting at?” Asked Bruno.

“I think the perpetrator was here the whole time, living the world through Schulz. That’d explain how they got through our surveillance,” Thomas paused for a moment.

“Wait… is that… is that even possible?” Saya asked.

“It is…” Kana mumbled, rubbing her chin in thought. “I’m fairly certain I’ve read about some kinds of telepathy which allows one to control another for extended periods of time… 'Persistent control', I think it was called.”

“Exactly...” Thomas continued. “Did we keep a record of how many actually lived here?”

Saya quickly fumbled out her notebook and began rippling through the pages. “Seven. Two cooks, four servants, and Schulz himself.”

“Search the mansion. If I'm right, there should be eight.”