“Tell me some good news, Aldrich.” Blake sat in his study room a handful of hours later, holding his right arm over his head as an intense headache pounded in his scalp, courtesy of the overwhelming paperwork he’d been reading throughout the day.
“According to the maids, three unauthorized people entered the kitchen during the party. The daughter of a Baron and two servants, brand new hires in the Earl’s estate.” The aide’s finger slipped thought the several sheets of information, relating only the most important details. “There was a report, however, from the son of another Earl. He said he witnessed a white-haired man following Lady Ophelia around.”
“That’s probably her servant.” Blake commented, dismissing the latter testimony. “So, we can say that four people had the opportunity to poison the tea?”
“I’m afraid so, Your Highness.”
Besides Millicia’s supposed confession where she blatantly accused the Duke, there didn’t seem to exist enough proof to comply with her accusation. The prince had received some files, one of them being the contract of the commoner who was working for the Earl two days prior to the incident, meaning she was no longer under the roof of the Criswell’s. Why would that woman attempt to kill a noble when she knew her life would be on the line afterwards?
“Do you think she might have been framed? Or maybe she saw the person behind the poisoning and was threatened to remain silent, Your Highness?”
“It’s certainly a possibility... have you questioned the other suspects?” Blake’s hands grabbed his thin red hair, pulling it back with a single motion. The vivid color made the sunset rays sparkle against it, as if its essence has been engulfed by wildfire.
“About that... I couldn’t. The servants were all found dead in their residences and the young maiden was sent abroad to live with her aunt. The Baron said she was sickly and needed some rest in a more peaceful environment.”
At his aide’s words, the prince painfully grinned. Someone was hiding their tracks so remarkably they deserved praise, yet it didn’t take a master mind to understand who was the man behind such actions. No matter how he saw it, this all seemed like the perfect scenario to frame a poor commoner who had said a few words in the pit of pure despair and panic.
“Where is the girl’s family?” Blake sat back straight, reading through the reports on his desk.
“Her parents are deceased, so she is all alone taking care of her brother.” Aldrich pushed his monocle upwards, framing it perfectly in his rather gentle face. “I couldn’t see for myself but it seems the boy is extremely sick and the money of a noble would certainly help.”
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“That sounds like a motive.” The prince’s sapphire eyes darted from word to word, noticing how the stories of each element were almost perfect matches with keywords being repeated in most of the inquiries. Like he suspected, they had been bought off to hide the events that had happened prior to the poisoning. “What did you discover?”
At that moment the shadow of the closet turned into a smile who rose in size, gaining the shape of a human man. Aldrich frowned, knowing exactly who this figure belonged to. “Anton.”
“Aldrich.” The mercenary replied to him in the same, sarcastic tone. Just as animals like to display their dominance, these men fought to be the prince’s right hand man, complementing each other in areas they both failed at - while Anton did the dirty deeds and all the fighting, the aide was smart and cunning, able to deal with nobles and help his master with the most mundane tasks. “It wasn’t easy finding information... someone made the commoners very tight lipped.”
“What did you manage to find?”
“There is an underground rumor in the slums, they say the second daughter of the Criswell’s won’t live to see the next full moon and I found the source. It seems like your suspicions were right, a request for her head was posted for five thousand gold coins.”
Blake’s finger tapped on the desk, understanding this situation appeared to be far more complex than met the eye. No one, except a noble or an aristocrat had the ability to pay such sum to a commoner and, even then, for the amount offered they’d have to be at least a Marquess.
“Was the request still active?”
The man shook his head as chunks of slime fell from his inexistent face. “It seems an assassin had already taken the request two months ago, but no one has seen him for almost a week. It is safe to assume he failed his mission and paid with his life.”
“I’ll call you when I need you.” The prince said, rapidly rising from the chair as the slime fell into the shadow, completely dissipating moments after. “We’re paying Millicia a visit.”
“Your Highness, I must protest! You shouldn’t...!” As the aide followed his master, who rapidly walked through the corridors with large footsteps, eager to get to his destination, uneasiness settled. He couldn’t believe such a harsh, ruthless man, was going to such extents to help one single girl, that specific girl.
Aldrich always wanted the prince to find a companion, someone who could provide him with the emotional support no man could, yet he never appeared interested in the opposite gender; however, things had changed. Since her visit, his mood had improved slightly, even though he tried to hide the stress and anger as the truth came to light; simultaneously, his work had become far more effective, as if exhaustion had never once settled in his body. All beautiful traits that could be praised yet, the aide knew this was wrong. That woman was an uncertainty, a naive girl who could be a vixen in disguise - someone who posed far more danger than most men realized.
“I shouldn’t? Who are you to order me around, Aldrich?” Blake said, stopping at one of the entrances to the main palace. His eyes tainted by the fury of a stormy sea, left all the ships in its domain to be taken to the realm of God. “I am the future King of this realm; you are here to advise me. Don’t you dare forget your station.”