Chapter 158: List of Suspects.
"Maman, what are you doing?" Ezra felt movement behind his chair. He glanced and saw Lior peeking up at his desk.
"I am just doing some work, Little one," Ezra answers gently, though it wasn’t the full truth.
Well, it wasn’t really a lie either.
Ezra was trying to get a head start on creating a suspect list.
Why?
Purely out of curiosity and spite.
’If the king wants me to figure it out myself, then fine,’ Ezra thought, his eyes narrowing slightly at the paper before him. ’I’ll figure it out.’
"Okay! I’ll keep drawing," Lior exclaims, running to his little table so he can draw again, his earlier nervousness already gone as he focuses on something simple and safe.
Ezra just smiles, watching him for a second before looking back at the list he has made.
The room was quiet except for the faint scratching of charcoal against paper from Lior’s side, and it helped him think, helped him focus.
In the list he made, he considers three things first.
Possible motive.
Ability to commit crimes.
And lastly, influence on others.
’Start with what matters,’ Ezra thought, tapping the edge of his paper lightly. ’Not with feelings or biases.’
He thought that because first on the list was Circe.
As much as Ezra didn’t even want to think about Circe as a possible threat because of Helios, the analytical side of Ezra knew Circe was suspicious.
Just the first time he met her, which was earlier this morning.
It was very suspicious.
The way she was mentally unstable, too.
It seems she hates the king, and the king is responsible for taking care of the kingdom. Of course, if Circe somehow wanted revenge for the king having so many children—
Ezra’s pen paused.
’That alone isn’t enough,’ he thought, frowning slightly. ’Hatred doesn’t automatically mean she’s behind something like this.’
For the ability to do the crimes, Ezra didn’t know Circe well enough; other than that, she also came from a powerful kingdom.
He doesn’t know how exactly she would be able to create Dark Ones, have children kidnapped, and even use Alphas at her disposal, considering she, herself, didn’t even have a second gender because she came from a kingdom where that didn’t exist.
That alone made things complicated.
’So either she’s working with people who can...or she’s not involved at all,’ Ezra thought, his fingers tightening slightly around the pen.
As for influence, that was a given.
She was a queen.
She could have people under her from her own kingdom that aided her; maybe she managed to manipulate people from Luxaelis as well.
’Also, the forsaken queen is always the number one suspect,’
Ezra thought, though it was an unfair prejudice. Seeing as everyone seemed to fear and dislike Circe, it made her the easiest answer.
And that was exactly the problem.
"But she seems too obvious," Ezra mumbles, the words coming out quieter than he expected, his pen hovering just above the paper as he stares at her name.
If it was that obvious, then it either meant she really was involved...or someone wanted it to look that way.
’And if someone wanted it to look that way...’ Ezra thought, his eyes narrowing slightly. ’Then I’m already falling into it.’
That’s why he also has another suspect.
His second suspect was Aurelia.
Now...
Aurelia had been nothing but kind since speaking to her earlier today. Her words were gentle, her actions even more so, and nothing about her presence felt threatening.
She didn’t really give enough reason for Ezra to suspect her BUT that’s exactly what made Ezra suspect her.
In contrast to Circe, who was severely suspicious, Aurelia was a little too nice.
A little too composed.
And of course, too understanding.
It didn’t feel fake.
But it didn’t feel entirely real either.
’Kindness like that...isn’t always harmless,’ Ezra thought, tapping his pen lightly against the paper.
It is,t though, right?
Her motive could be that her son being favored by the king wasn’t enough.
She needed to make sure to solidify Aurien’s position by creating a threat.
Threat after threat, and she had hoped Aurien would step up over the years, rs but he didn’t, so she made things worse.
Now Aurien has been stepping up.
Ezra paused there, staring at the words he had written.
’That timing...’ he thought. ’It lines up too well.’
Aurelia was from Luxaelis, which meant she probably knew a lot of people growing up, which meant she could have her own network, people loyal to her, people who could move without raising suspicion.
People who now pose as the Cultists.
The more he thought about it, the more it felt possible.
Not confirmed.
But possible.
’It was odd that she followed behind Circe, even though Circe obviously disliked her,’ Ezra thought, his brows pulling together slightly.
Not only that.
But the fact that Circe and Aurelia were both there at the tea party at first? It was odd.
The king said it was because Circe threatened to hurt herself, but why was Aurelia there, too?
Aurelia didn’t seem like someone who would insist on being present without reason.
She seemed...to move with intention, not on a whim.
And she seemed to be the type to respect the king’s decision.
There must’ve been another reason.
And what better reason than them being suspects?
Another few suspects were the king’s eldest daughters.
Samson had two prominent daughters, though Ezra hasn’t met them.
He stared at the blank space on his paper for a moment before writing their names down, slower this time, more careful.
’If I’m going to do this properly, I can’t skip anyone just because I haven’t met them,’ Ezra thought, his grip on the pen steadying.
One was named Lorencia.
She was his eldest daughter, who was almost the same age as Helios; they were only a few months apart. Lorencia, as far as Ezra heard, fought for women to be part of the run for the throne.
That alone made her stand out.
That alone made her dangerous.
’Ambition is never quiet,’ Ezra thought, tapping the paper lightly.
Lorencia apparently was very smart, and as far as Ezra knew, she had her own business, something independent from the crown.
That meant influence. That meant connections outside the palace, outside the usual circle of control.
She could very well be a suspect because of that motive, and because she was a princess. Someone who had been close to power but not given enough of it.
And there were rumors that she had a powerful ability, yet the king still disregarded her.
Ezra’s eyes narrowed slightly at that.
’Disregarded...or suppressed?’ he thought.
That kind of treatment could build resentment.
Not openly.
But quietly.
The kind that stayed.
The kind that waited.
’She could even be working with the other daughters that the king has neglected.’
The other daughter suspect was actually only eighteen.
’No. Not just her.’
Ezra paused before writing her name.
She and her mother were both on his list.
Because of the fact that Ezra remembered that the concubine called "Araminta" was called a "witch
." Even writing that down felt strange.
Like he was writing a rumor instead of a fact.
’But rumors don’t come from nothing,’ Ezra thought, his brows pulling together slightly.
She was apparently a ’peace’ offering from another strange kingdom, given to the king, but the king didn’t visit her until she vowed to curse him.
That part...
That part didn’t sit right.
’Why would he believe something like that?’ Ezra thought. ’Or did he not believe it...just didn’t want to risk it?’
And the king somehow believed her, slept with her, and then her daughter, Aramina, was born.
Ezra stared at that name for a second longer.
Aramina.
Eighteen.
A little too young.
But that doesn’t mean she’s harmless.
’If her mother really is capable of curses...then what about her?’ Ezra thought, his fingers tightening slightly.
That line alone made them worth considering.
Not confirmed.
But not dismissible either.
Ezra leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose as he looked at the list forming in front of him.
Circe.
Aurelia.
Lorencia.
Araminta, an Aramina.
It was starting to look less like a list and more like a web.
’Everyone has something,’ Ezra thought. ’But why am I just thinking of women?’
He wanted to keep going.
He needed to keep going.
Because he wasn’t satisfied with his list.
But—
"Maman...?"
Ezra blinked, the tension in his shoulders easing just slightly as he turned his head.
Lior was looking at him again, his drawing forgotten for the moment, his expression curious.
"Yes, little one?" Ezra asks, his tone softening without thinking.
"Are we going to see Princess Alyce again tomorrow?" Lior asks, tilting his head slightly.
Ezra paused.
Just for a moment.
’Alyce...could she be a possible suspect too?’