Once he fell into a deep sleep, his tiredness melted away. His arms and legs filled with warmth as he curled up. But after some time, he woke up. A thin layer of sweat coated Francis’ body, and he slipped out of this bed. It was still dark out, with the stars that shone above. His mind was active, and he knew that it would be nearly impossible to fall back asleep. With the beds all pushed together, he slept with Estelle on his left, and Kim Hye-Sung on his right. His sister insisted on sleeping in the bed that was closest to the door.

He walked towards the window. Passing by the last bed, there was a missing Katalina. Most likely, she was outside, guarding the door. He pressed his face against the cool glass window. A large area was outside. Trees, evergreen, the like. No doubt, there were probably nocturnal predators prowling around. With light footsteps, he crept towards the door. Slowly, he opened it, and it creaked as it inched open.

“Katalina, you there?” he whispered.

“Yes my lord. What do you need?” she whispered back.

“Perfect. I’m coming out.”

For a split second, he expected a reply from behind him. From Miss Kim, to be exact. A smart retort, like ‘took you long enough to come out’ or something along those lines. But that did not happen.

“Haa.” The door creaked as he closed it behind him. “What time is it?”

“According to the watch...” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a watch. With a silver chain, it was a pocket watch. “It's about 3 hours past midnight. Could you not fall asleep, my lord?”

“Not quite ‘could not fall asleep’, more so of sleeping, but woke up. How are you tonight?”

“Well enough. I can defend you, if anything.”

“Don’t you need to sleep?”

“It is a knight’s duty to be aware at all times.”

“You sure? Wanna chat?”

“If you’re the one offering my lord, I don’t think I can refuse.”

“Anything you want to talk about?” Francis leaned against the door.

“Hmm. What exactly is it that you want to do? Till now, I still don’t know your aspirations, your ambitions.”

“One hell of a subject to start with. For ambitions... Let’s see... To fight against fate?”

“Hefty goal. What sort of fate do you want to avoid, my lord?”

“Before that, what about you? What sort of ambitions do you have?”

“Well... Don’t laugh at me, but...”

“Don’t worry. I won’t. I respect you in your entirety, Katalina. I would never laugh at you.”

“Then... I want to be a hero... It's so embarrassing saying that out loud.”

“A hero huh... I respect that, Katalina. Really, I do. Rescuing those in need, protecting those that can’t. Heroes are great. Actually to me, you’re already one.”

“To you, my lord? That’s quite a compliment. Thank you.”

“Really. I appreciate you being here. But Katalina, do you actually like working for me?”

“It’s been nice watching you change. You know, originally, people said that you were an absolute asshole. Throwing plates around, and whatnot. But now I see that you’re not like what they said.”

“Well I wouldn’t exactly call them wrong. I was an ass, yes, but I’ve certainly changed. Thank you for waiting for me to change.”

Katalina chuckled. She had a habit of hiding her mouth when she laughed. Why would she do that, when she was already so beautiful? Was there a need to hide it?

They continued chatting for quite a while. It seemed that both of them enjoyed each other’s company. Time passed without them knowing, and they were deep into a conversation.

“Really? That’s surprising, my lord.”

“I know! Exact-” He was interrupted by a piercing scream.

“What was that?” Katalina asked.

“Well, we better take a look. Could be a dead body, for all we know.”

“My lord, you shouldn’t joke about it.”

They made their way down. The scream came from below, near the ground floor. It echoed up the stairs, and into the hallway. So down they went. But it seemed like they were not the first ones there.

A maid, a butler, the ever strange Benjamin Wynt, and a dead body. Located in the middle of a nondescript room, lying in a puddle of blood. The smell of iron was present in the air.

“So it was a dead body,” Francis said.

Kneeling down, the maid sobbed. The corpse had the attire of a maid, a colleague. Did maids typically work late into the night? Francis wasn’t familiar. More people shuffled in then. A young nobleman, breaking a sweat as he rushed in. Lady Claudia.

“Put this whole mansion under lockdown!” Benjamin barked, “No one is to leave or enter these premises! There has been a murder.”

“Yes, milord!” said the butler.

He rushed off with stiff movements. Benjamin Wynt bit his thumb, and looked at the corpse. A knife was stuck in her chest, and she collapsed onto the floor. With her eyes wide open, frozen with an expression of fear and terror. Blood pooled around the corpse.

“You don’t seem shocked,” commented Benjamin.

“Same could be said to you.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“I was in a war against the beasts. I was surrounded by death, and sent men to their graves. You, respectfully speaking lord Francis, have no experience with death. Just stick to looking pretty and crossdressing.”

“Enough about that. How cold’s the body?”

“Don’t play detective, lord Francis.”

“Oh but I will. Is there a doctor in this mansion, lady Claudia?”

“A-a doctor? Um, yes, there is. The family physician. My grandfather is sick.”

“Okay, call the doctor here. And who’s the deceased?”

“M-milady, this is Lana Ratchet. Uuu. Why would anyone want to kill her?” The maid was not in a good state.”

“Lana Ratchet. Alright. Lord Benjamin, what do you think?”

The young nobleman squatted down and took a closer look. He looked like he knew what he was doing, somewhat. Benjamin lifted up the corpse’s hand by its wrist. More people came rushing in then.

“Dear gods, what happened?” someone asked.

“Can’t you see? Murder. I want everyone to calm down and stay in this room,” Francis said.

“A murder?”

A woman shrieked. Her voice shrill and filled with panic. She struggled to get her words out, but Francis could more or less make out what she was trying to say. And it was understandable. After all, she might be next.

Panic soon spread. Various people chimed in with their concerns, mostly about being murdered. Francis tried to calm them down to no avail. It wasn’t until lord Benjamin declared with force then did they shut up.

“All of you, stay calm.”

“Oh my. Lord Benjamin, how can you be so calm in the face of a situation such as this?”

His only answer was to point at Francis. Benjamin shot a glare at the noblewoman who asked that question. He stood up and addressed the crowd.

“Look. They’re here in a nightgown, with no exposure to death in their life. And yet, they’re calmer than all of you.”

“I’m not sure if I should be complimented or insulted, lord Benjamin.”

“Complimented, not insulted. You exceeded my expectations.”

“Oh my. Thank you for that. But what could you tell?”

“No signs of being tied up or bound. She was killed right here.”

“Check her fingernails.”

“What, why?”

“Struggle. See if she fought back.”

Francis wasn’t exactly able to do any detective work. Especially not in a nightgown. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t help in other ways. Benjamin nodded in understanding, and observed the corpse’s fingers.

“Clean. No blood or anything.”

“Good to know.”

More arrived by then, and the butler reported back. In total, there were close to 10 people gathered within the room. Maids, nobles, all of them could have been the killer.

“Right. First thing I need everyone to do. Could all-”

“Urg. Alright! Alright, I’m here. What do you need, milord?”

“You’re the doctor, right?” Benjamin asked, “How old is this body?”

“There’s a body?” he shouted out.

“Did no one tell you? Wait, who called you here?”

“It was me.” A tall nobleman raised his hand. “I called him here, Lord Benjamin. And uh, Lady Francis.”

“You are?”

“Nick Trafel.” He reached out for a handshake.

“Francis Rayleigh.”

The two shook hands. Their hands touched for an uncomfortably long time, and Nick almost seemed to caress the offered hand. Francis pulled back.

“I must say. This probably happened, two, three hours ago?”

“So it’s rather new.”

“Alright. Could everyone please tell me where you were three hours ago?” asked Benjamin, “Including you, Lady Francis.”

“I was sleeping. My knight here can testify that I have never left my room. Katalina?”

“Yes. My lord has not left the room after entering it. If you’d like, Lord Benjamin, you could wake Lady Estelle and Miss Kim.”

“That’s for later. But you’re accounted for, alright.”

“But what about you, Lord Benjamin? Where were you?”

“Let’s see. Three hours ago, I was in my room. I believe a maid can testify for me, Yuiso.”

“Um, yes I can.”

A petite maid raised her hand. She was on the younger looking side, quite like a child. Actually, how old was she? Was she even supposed to be working? But labour laws were not the main issue at hand.

“Alright. You’re accounted for.”

They repeated the process. Most of them had someone else to back their statements up, save for a few. Notably, Nick Trafel, a middle aged noblewoman, a visitor that stayed the night, and a merchant selling spices.

The visitor, a young man of about 23 years of age, wore clothes of foreign origins. In Earth terms, he would have looked Asian. A long black robe draped over his shoulders. Though, none of that mattered once Francis got to the legs. He walked with a limp, without the support of crutches or a wheelchair.

The merchant, however, was well off. Even his pajamas were of the upper classes. So spices were a luxury. Would he have a motive to kill an innocent maid? And what about the foreign man? What about him? Did he have a motive?

“First of all,” said Francis, “I would like a word or two with the young spice trader. He may give us insight on the situation.”

“Agreed.” Benjamin nodded. “Butler, I trust that the mansion is under lockdown?”

“Yes, milord. The guards have orders to shackle and attack anyone who tries to leave.”

“Oh my. Lord Francis, you can’t be trying to solve this, can you?” Nick Trafel reached out to touch him.

“Lay a hand on me, and you will regret that, Lord Trafel,” Francis said in a calm and steady voice.

“Hahah! Is that a threat, Lady Francis?”

“Yes. I hope I got my point across.”

“Oh please. Your knight there can’t even touch me without being arrested for assaulting a noble.”

“I never said anything about Katalina.”

The potential murderer backed away. He raised his hands up as he retreated, showing that he had no weapons. A bead of sweat rolled down his face.

“Was I really that scary, Katalina?”

“No, my lord. Rather, it's the person behind you.”

“Hiya, Fran,” Ms Kim said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re up?”

“Yeah. How could someone sleep through all that commotion?” Estelle yawned. “So what seems to be the issue now?”

“Well, there’s a dead body. Oh, right. Someone, grab a towel or something to cover it. Don’t be disrespectful to the dead.”

“Of course, milord. Right away.” The butler bowed, and left promptly.

“A dead body, huh? What’s the cause of them?” asked Estelle.

“Bleeding out, maybe?” Francis suggested.

“Nope. If she bled out, she wouldn’t have stayed in one spot. Look, the blood’s all around her. No trail, or anything. She didn’t bleed out. If you got stabbed, would you stay still? Or would you shout for help and try to survive?”

“But look, stabbed between the rib cage. Right in the heart. Don’t think you’ll survive that.”

“Possible.”

Estelle walked around the body. She looked like she knew what she was doing. But did she?

With a knife stuck in the corpse’s chest, there really shouldn’t have been much of a question of how she died. It was painfully obvious. She died on the spot, if not immediately certainly a few moments after.

“Urg! How thick is your mental barrier?” a voice Francis hadn’t heard from called out.

“Where were you?”

“Trying to take over. What, you murdered someone or something? Were you a soldier? How is your mental resistance so strong?”

“Certainly not a soldier. But there was a murder.”