Adam swept his eyes across the room, watching for unusual reactions. Unsurprisingly, he found none. Everyone present seemed intelligent enough to understand the implications of what he'd said. Now that Adam had declared his lordly intentions, this wouldn't end without someone's head rolling. And considering the grisly nature of these serial killings, they knew it could end with his death as well.

But it would end.

One way or another.

"I am going to speak with each of you individually," he told them. "One at a time – starting with you." Adam pointed at Valeria with his index finger. First order of business should be to get as many facts in order as I can. Then...

His gaze shifted towards Serena. "You're a master of communications, correct?"

The cloaked woman nodded, then spoke up in a subdued, deliberate voice, "Why does that matter, my lord?"

"Because I want you to send a message to the Puppet Mines." Adam closed his eyes, taking a moment to consider if he really wanted to go through with this. Yeah. I do. "Tell them about what's happening – and that Lord Adam of Penumbria gives them his word that he will see the culprit apprehended by the time of our arrival."

The room erupted with sound. There was a multitude of gasps, open questioning of his judgement, and utterances of plain disbelief. Adam couldn't blame, but neither would he entertain those points. Instead, he turned away and started walking to his room, covertly signaling that he expected to be followed there.

Invoking the Puppet Grandmaster's name was a slight bit of a gamble. While the Grandmaster was surely aware of these incidents, they hadn't been able to bring up the issue with anyone, as no ship sailed to the Mines in an official capacity. There was no one to lodge complaints against. By contacting the Grandmaster directly, Adam put him at their mercy should he fail to apprehend the culprit.

But it also meant that the monster had at least one reason to hesitate before killing Adam. If the Dragon Puppets learn that the Lord who sent them a message is dead, they'll raid the ship and kill the monster. If this thing has any survival instincts at all, it'll choose to simply lay low and hope I don't catch it.

Which wasn't a guarantee by any means. Even after Adam's ploy, there were a multitude of ways the culprit could escape punishment. Most of them, however, would tip the monster's hand a little. Come on, he dared. I'm making moves...just respond already.

When Adam had nearly entered his room, he heard Tenver say, in a voice quiet enough only he could hear, "Dangerous game you're playing."

Adam didn't meet the man's eyes. "Funny for you to say," he muttered. "You're playing a much more dangerous game than I am."

"Oh? Got me figured out?" Tenver said, amused. He stood with his arms crossed and back leaning against the wall, his full metal armor sparkling as if new. "Didn't think you understood me that well."

"I don't. That's why I know it's dangerous."

Tenver laughed. "You think that treating the Puppets like equals – and delivering them justice for crimes perpetrated on their territory – will make your negotiations more fruitful."

"Do you think I'm wrong?" Adam sharply asked.

"I think you're reckless. You could have just left things be and sat quietly until we arrived at the Mines. Alternatively, you could have attempted to find the culprit while not claiming responsibility for their capture. Instead, this declaration you've made sounds like the worst of both worlds. A lot to lose for only a modest gain."

"I disagree." Adam's eyes sparkled with frenzied ambition. Tonight, he was possessed by the mania and arrogance of creation, unburdened by the hatred and modesty of editing. "There is a gain to be made and nothing to lose – because I refuse to consider the possibility of losing. I'm going to win, execute the murderer, and make a good impression on the Puppet Grandmaster. That's all there is to it. Downsides don't exist if you don't lose."

It was arrogance, it was lunacy, and Adam felt himself begin to get drunk on it. If he wanted to, he could step away from the risk. No. "I need the pressure," Adam muttered. "It's the only way."

"I see," Tenver replied, in an unreadable tone. "Well, good luck then – should I send Solara in?? She was with you, so I imagine you don't suspect her."

"Yes." Adam paused. "Tenver...what were you up to at the time of the murder?"

The knight's response did not come immediately. "Adam," he said wryly, "do you trust me? Am I your friend?"

"I don't know if I can trust you." Adam sighed. "But you are my friend. And you have no idea how agonizing it is to not be able to trust the only person I've known since I..." Since I arrived in this world. "Since I can remember."

"Truthfully, Adam, I do," Tenver said, in a low voice.

"Give me something to work with, Tenver. Anything. I want to trust you."

"Anything? Well, if I say I had a sudden interest in alcohol–"

Adam grabbed the knight by the arm and pulled him closer, forcing him to gaze into his eyes. Tenver's expression colored with surprise, the emotion looking unusual on his face. For a fleeting moment he seemed younger, more innocent, almost scared.

Then he summoned back the smirk of old. "Adam, you can't–"

"Please." Adam spoke as seriously as he'd ever said anything in his life. "Give me anything."

The two held their gaze for a moment.

"Valeria, the detective – she's a childhood acquaintance, if not friend, of Ferrero the duelist," Tenver said, slowly. "Use that information as you will."

"How do you know? Wait, nevermind that, how do you even know she's a detect– Tenver!"

The knight had already started walking away to join the others, lazily stretching his arms over his head with a loud yawn, and muttering a complaint about the weight of his armor. Despite Adam's protestations, he didn't look back.

Why have you been acting so strange since I became Lord, Tenver?

--

Valeria didn't come into Adam's room so much as stalked into it. There was no pause in her movements, something about them so colorful and lifelike she seemed more alive than life itself.

She closed the door behind her with a flourish, marching forward with theatrically long steps, not stopping until she came to stand before Adam.

"At your service, my lord." Valeria's chin was raised, and her face was colored by a mischievous smirk, as if she was in on a joke nobody else knew. She swept her arm into a bow, its angle so sharp that it appeared unnatural – but not impossible, like the Gentleman ghost. Hers was merely uncanny.

Which, Adam thought, made it worse than if it had been impossible.

Valeria, unmoving from her bow, one hand behind her back and another crossed across her chest, said, "What need do you have of me?"

"You wanted me to put a stop to the murders. I failed to prevent this one." Adam stared at her with a severe gaze. "But I'll make sure it's the last. How willing are you to help me on this matter?"

"Enough to risk my life."

Adam nodded. "Your Bloody Truth – how far can you push it? Don't you injure yourself whenever it's used?"

"My lord does not inspire confidence by asking me to repeat myself in such a way," Valeria declared. Her head was low, her bow was sincere, and her voice was booming. She spoke so loudly that it sounded ill-fitting for their small room, being better-suited for a large theater.

"If the red truth fashioned from my blood serves to sharpen your blade, letting it pierce through that monster's chest, then I will bet my life freely and readily!"

"Well, if you're willing to die for the cause...then surely you're willing to tell me everything?" Adam leaned forward. "C'mon. You know more about this case than you're letting on. Why are you aboard this ship to begin with?"

"I'm willing to die," the detective said, "but not to tell you more than this."

Why can't it ever be easy? "You have to give me something to work with."

"On the contrary – I have no obligation of the sort."

Adam drew a deep breath. He didn't want to resort to this sort of thing, but he'd also learned that sometimes, putting on a show was part of acting like a lord. If he didn't want to follow through with his threats, then at the very least he had to make them convincing. "I am the Lord of Penumbria," Adam told her, in a low voice. "And you are a Dragon Puppet. Defy me, and I could have you killed."

Valeria didn't even blink. "You won't."

"And why not?"

"Because you said 'killed,' my lord." Valeria smiled, and it seemed genuine. "Most who value our life as little as you pretend to would have said 'destroyed'."

At that, Solara stepped behind her, a knife in her hands, stopping it just short of Valeria's neck. "But you know I would suffer from no such weakness."

Just as the detective opened her mouth to reply, Solara brought the knife's edge closer to her neck, drawing out a thin trail of blood. "Before you say anything else," the elf continued, "I would like you to think about whether I'd hesitate at all to burn a puppet. It'd be the fastest way to find if you really are made of wood beneath that false skin."

There was a long pause.

"Very well," Valeria conceded. "It's rare that I take a patriotic matter upon myself, but when the Grandmaster himself asks you...well, even someone like me had to consider it. He did give me a new lease on life, after all."

"So it's related to the Mines," Adam muttered. If this case has caught the eye of the Puppets' Grandmaster...solving it will help me negotiate with him. Two birds, one painting. "Why does he care?"

"His reasoning is simple." Valeria held out one finger. "We benefit from having an influx of new Puppets – people like Captain Baltsar provide an invaluable service, and he's among the few still willing to undertake such a difficult voyage." Valeria held out two fingers now. "Second..."

She paused. "Are you aware of why the Dragons first made Puppets?"

"What does that–" Solara began, but stopped when Adam raised his hand.

"Go on," he said, in a pensive tone. He'd put bits and pieces of this together before, but he wanted to hear it out loud. "Tell me, Valeria."

"The Rot!" Valeria spread her arms wide, as if welcoming an audience to the stage. The motion pressed Solara's knife further into her neck, drawing more blood out of her. She didn't seem to care. "It plagued the ancients as it plagues us. The Everdragons thought better than to try confronting the plague – why touch something that...corrupts you into something else?"

"Were there dragons corrupted by the Rot?"

"Some," Valeria admitted. "Though, look as far as you want, you will find no Stained Dragon that wasn't ridden by an elf beforehand."

Solara angled her neck to stare directly into the detective eyes, holding her knife perfectly still. "The toll for what you wish to say is too rich for your purse, puppet."

Valeria went on as if unbothered. "Dragon Puppets were made to counter the invasion of Rot. We are resistant to it – though not immune – and can detect the Rot in most. Attract them, too."

"Can you?" Adam asked sharply. "Can you really?"

Valeria nodded. "I can, Painter." Tension crescendoed in the silence that followed. "It stirs within you, does it not?"

Solara turned an inquisitive glance to Adam, who nodded slowly. Nothing changes if she knows. Solara saw the Stained Ink I used earlier...probably. Either way, the Stained Flames are no secret to her. That's what she thinks Valeria is referring to. "Does it stir in anyone else?" he asked.

The detective's hand fell to her sword hilt. "Will you allow me to demonstrate?"

Adam nodded, and Solara stepped away. The detective finally stood straight once again, massaging her neck for a brief moment. While she hadn't acknowledged the cut until now, there was a slight wince at her touch, indicating that she felt a measure of pain in there somewhere. After faking a cough for composure, Valeria drew her sword.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

It seemed like a common rapier; naked silver that sparkled brightly. Had Adam not known better, he would've assumed the blade was brand new and freshly polished. He was reminded of when a professor – unfairly, in Adam's opinion – complained that one of his drawings featured a sword that looked too bright and evenly-shaded to appear realistic.

Then Valeria's hand flickered towards her still-bleeding cut. In that moment, her throat declared war upon murder, and her sword was dyed in red.

"Dragon Puppets, of any variety, can detect Rot within an individual. Out of myself, Captain Baltsar, Ferrero, Serena, Tenver, Solara, and Adam, it is Lord Adam who currently is most touched by the Rot."

Valeria's expression tensed for a moment, as if gut-punched by an invisible brawler. She nearly fell to her knees, bracing herself by stabbing the wooden floor with her sword. The detective's grin remained, but it was now accompanied by a heavy sweat dripping from her forehead. "This Bloody Truth is absolute," Valeria declared, "and you may believe it completely. Keep in mind, however, that I am speaking in absolutes that I know for certain are true – we are all in touch with the Rot, to one degree or another."

Solara shook uneasily. "There is truth to that."

"But none as much as Lord Adam."

Adam frowned. That didn't match up with his dream. The culprit was a Stained Monster, after all – he was sure of that much. So who was the one cursed by it?

No...that's the wrong way to look at it. If the culprit was cursed, they would've been discovered easily by now. Instead, if I assume that none of them are actually cursed, but are in fact accomplices...that makes everything more reasonable. In other words, if the culprit was helping the monster...

But that would just make finding out who it was significantly harder.

"Do you believe me, my lord?" Valeria asked.

He didn't, but he believed his own Talent. It had informed him of how Bloody Truth worked, so he could trust that her words were genuine. "Did that cost you any blood?"

"Some. Not much. The detective's blade is a sharp, tricky beast to wield." She forced out a weak laugh. "Some truths, simple as they are, suddenly take upon a huge burden on my body. Others less so. They all strengthen my blade. The more well-hidden the secret I unravel, the louder my thunder, the more powerful my sword becomes – temporarily, mind you."

"The same applies to your degree of risk?" Adam asked.

"Very much so."

"And I suppose you can't just power up your blade with simple statements like 'I am alive' to prepare for a fight?"

"No. If I am being honest, the exact requirements elude me, and experimentation can be quite costly."

"How costly?"

Valeria held out her hand – the one she'd stopped Adam from touching. "This much." It was difficult to identify as a prosthetic at first glance, but the limb didn't hold up under close scrutiny, even if it seemed to be nearly as mobile as a regular limb. "I lost this arm from my elbow down while experimenting with my Talent, you see. My notes indicate it was during a similar attempt to what you ask."

"What were you doing exactly?" Adam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I do not know." Valeria shrugged. "That's when I died, you see."

Solara took a step back. She placed herself inches to the side and behind Adam, yet still thrust an arm in front of his torso, as if unsure whether to shield him or make him into her shield. "When you died? Puppet, do you mean–"

"My soul had not yet left my body." Valeria shrugged, then gestured at her hand. "It was moved to this core. Even if you cut off my head, I would not die, and it could be reattached somewhat easily. Although you'd be unable to attach a different head to me. Such is the way of Puppets."

"Is that how – you soulless abomination–"

"Solara," Adam cut her off, "that's enough. We need to be polite."

After allowing them a moment of stunned silence, Valeria smiled. "You understand, then, that you must be reasonable with your requests of my Bloody Truth."

"Yes. But I must insist upon one more." Adam leaned forward. "You swore earlier that you were not the culprit."

"But of course. It would be a cardinal sin for the detective to be the culprit!"

"If you want to know my theory," Adam stated, "it's that the culprit is feeding people from the lower decks to a Stained Monster. I want to make sure you aren't screwing with me regarding definitions – the culprit is the one feeding them to the monster, not the monster itself, correct?"

"Correct." Valeria nodded. When Adam refused to let go of his stare, she sighed, then repeated, "Correct."

That one word appeared to take an immediate toll on her body. The sword sharpened itself on her blood, becoming so sharp that she had to stop resting her weight on it, lest the blade pierce through the floor entirely.

Solara glanced at Adam. They both were thinking the same thing, most likely. If the culprit was feeding people to a Stained Monster, then whoever also had the opportunity to bring a monster on board without being noticed – and could successfully hide it without being caught – was bound to be the culprit.

That didn't narrow things down as much as he would've liked. The monster referred to the Stained Flames as its brother, Adam thought, recalling the dream. And that monster could travel through fire. If this one, the self-proclaimed Ghost of Water, can travel through liquids...bringing him and hiding him would be absurdly easy.

Except that based on what the captain had said, the number of passengers hadn't changed. Even with the Ghost's power, it couldn't have snuck through the ship's curse-protected front entrance.

Only one way to check. "Here's a list of things I want confirmed," Adam said, writing down the details. "I surmised a few things from talking with Captain Baltsar. I'm pretty sure I'm right, but I need your confirmation first."

"A list?" Valeria sounded a tad frustrated. "My lord, do you not see the difficulty in your request?"

"I do," Adam admitted. "But you are a detective – and quite a good one, if your wits match your lips." You talk a lot of shit, so you'd better be able to back it up. "Use your reasoning. If you know ahead of time whether or not what I ask you is true, then confirming it with Bloody Truth won't kill you."

"And why," Valeria began, irritation rising in her voice, "would I put myself through that?"

Adam had considered this point earlier. "Because, if we catch the killer, I'll make you a citizen of Penumbria."

Both Solara and Valeria stared at him with widened eyes.

"Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Solara cried out. "You want to make a Puppet your citizen? Adam, that's not a request any lord would—"

"—And exactly why I'm offering it," Adam said, sharply. He faced Valeria, who was still gaping at him open-mouthed. "It can't be easy to juggle so many cover stories. You're presenting as a scholar this time, correct? What about next time? The time after that? What happens when someone figures you out and isn't as gracious as we were? It all seems rather miserable, honestly. Wouldn't you like the ability to travel freely across the empire? Because I'm willing to give that to you."

Valeria quirked an eyebrow. "You're serious? Truly?"

"The Empire may issue death upon a leader, but not upon a people – even if their animosity remains." Adam gestured at Solara. "If that was the case, you wouldn't see an elf as the heiress to a major city. Sure, the Empire once attempted to annihilate your kind – but being a puppet is not, in and of itself, a crime. No more than being an elf is."

He added that last bit to keep Solara from intervening. The comparison undoubtedly hurt her, and they'd be speaking of this in private later, but this was his best bargaining chip. He couldn't discard it so readily.

Especially since it was working. Adam could already see the subdued hunger in Valeria's expression. She wanted this. For someone with a passionate desire to seek out the world, and the skills to make that dream a reality, being confined to one city – only traveling when given permission by her Grandmaster – must have been torture..

She just needed one extra push.

"I will also refrain from asking," Adam plainly stated, "why you, a detective, seem hesitant to solve this crime outright – and appear to be leaving the hard work for me."

This was enough. Valeria nodded at him with shameless excitement. "You have a deal, my lord."

--

With her aid secured, the investigation could finally move forward in earnest.

Adam thought hard, carefully considering which facts he needed to know in order to solve this case with utmost confidence. He couldn't ask Valeria to state anything that she was uncertain of. The detective would put up with some discomfort, but there was no reason for her to risk severe injury – or her life – to use the Bloody Truth on anything she hadn't already confirmed.

What could he ask?

Since she's a Puppet...she can probably be sure that the monster didn't go through the door, or she would have felt its Rot. Her room is decently close to that hallway. And she's probably investigated the number of ways to move between the 'commoner' area and the 'noble' area.

Adam asked for a piece of parchment, then jotted down a few demands for Valeria to write out.

The Absolute Truth:

— There is only one door that connects the 'noble' area to the 'commoners' area.

— There are no secret passages in the ship.

— Stained Creatures cannot go through the door.

— Due to the Curse engaged on the door, transporting someone magically to bypass the door would not work.

—Breaking the door, cutting holes through the two halves of the ship, or any other loopholes would not work either.

— The Stained Creature itself did not move into the commoner's area.

— No creature with a soul can leave the ship through windows. This makes a weird climbing or flying scheme through the windows impossible.

— Dragon Puppets, of any variety, can detect Rot within an individual. Out of Valeria, Captain Baltsar, Ferrero, Serena, Tenver, Solara, and Adam, it is Lord Adam who currently is most touched by the Rot.

— Valeria, the detective, is not 'the culprit.'

— The culprit is defined as the person feeding people to the Stained Monster. The location of the monster is unknown.

Valeria stated each demand with her Bloody Truth, one after the other, pausing as little as possible. She was stoic for most of it, but near the end she nearly fell. Adam made note of her stumbles: the 1st and 7th points appeared to make her struggle the most. Nonetheless, she finished it, albeit with a much paler face at the end.

"Are we done?" Her smirk was still there, but even standing seemed like somewhat of a struggle. "If my lord minds not, I would like to rest."

Adam nodded. "I'll call on you before I execute the murderer."

The detective laughed weakly, then stumbled her way out the door. After her unsteady footsteps became inaudible, Solara asked, "Do you know who it is?"

"I'm...decently certain. I need to make sure, though. Have to go over my theory and ensure I didn't miss anything. I think it also explains why our detective friend is being so cagey with her answers." He paused. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know who the culprit is. At the very least, I know which of our four suspects are innocent."

"Much as I hate the Puppet," Solara dryly said, glaring at the door as if the woman was still there, "I don't think she warrants suspicion. She wasn't present for the past murders, and her ability – if you trust it – means she has stated her innocence beyond the point of doubt."

Adam shook his head. "Oh, I'm not counting her among the suspects."

"But you said there were four."

"There are," Adam affirmed, frowning. "Serena, Ferrero, the Captain, and Tenver. One of them is the culprit."