Chapter 114: Noble Scandal
Paying for changing the elevator's location always hurts her pocket, but nothing is as good as Lacrosa's dimensional elevator system.
One moment, underground cavern. Next, a dusty and extremely shady library contains who knows what.
Exiting the library, Lea came to face Emut, the Capital of Kieran.
The city sprawled before her in white marble and red tile roofs. Architecture that reminded her of Renlou with columned buildings, open courtyards, and aqueducts carrying water through the streets.
Lea pulled her hood lower, her Cursed Constructs weaving a subtle cloak of Silence around her entire existence. To anyone looking, she was just another traveler. She found a shadowed alcove and sank into the darkness.
"Seek out information on Auro Melliz.", she commanded the shadow at her feet, "Location, habits, security. Report back within three hours."
The Twilight Gaunt emerged silently from her shadow, its faceless form invisible to normal sight. It bowed and vanished into the city's shadows.
Though still creepy, Lea allowed herself a small smile. Having a demon servant was proving remarkably useful. And she taught it some tricks, like bowing before executing her command.
She emerged from the alley looking perfectly normal, in a suit jacket and a half-cloak woven from Cursed Constructs that appeared as normal fabric.
With the currency she had exchanged beforehand, Lea found a café overlooking the main square. Ordered coffee, overpriced but decent, and settled at a corner table with a book she'd picked up from a street vendor.
She wasn't actually reading it.
Her Silence Path extended outward, picking up surface thoughts and conversations from nearby patrons. Listening. Learning.
"—tribute to Renlou Empire again this year. Highway robbery, I tell you—"
"—Taxes going up AGAIN? The nobility bleeds us dry—"
Lea could relate to that one.
"—second prince has the military backing, but the third prince controls the merchants—"
"—shame about the first prince. Would've made a fine king before he joined the Church—"
The race for Kieran's crown, apparently. Political drama she didn't particularly care about, but worth noting.
She sipped her coffee, pretending to turn a page.
Then footsteps approached her table.
"Excuse me, miss?", a male voice, sounding polite, "Do you mind if we share this table? Everywhere else is full."
Lea looked up.
A man in his thirties, well-dressed but not ostentatiously so. Merchant class, probably. A waitress stood beside him, looking apologetic.
She nodded, "Go ahead."
The man sat down with obvious relief, ordering his own coffee. After the waitress left, he glanced at Lea's book, some treatise on Kieran history she'd grabbed without reading the title.
"Ah, a history enthusiast?", he smiled, "Or just doing research?"
"Sightseeing, mostly.", Lea said, letting a slight Northern Renlou accent slip into her voice.
The man's eyes lit up, "Northern Renlou? You're quite far from home! Here for the architecture?"
"Something like that.", she set down her book, "Though I'm always interested in local gossip. What's the talk of the city these days?"
The man laughed, "Gossip? Oh, you've come to the right place. I'm Mark Lober, by the way. Fabric merchant."
"Mercedes Dantes." Lea lied smoothly, picking a name from the 'Count of Monte Cristo'.
"Dantes?", Mark raised an eyebrow, "That's an Aipotu name, isn't it? But your accent..."
Lea smiled, "My family crossed the Great Desert generations ago. We've picked up some habits."
"Ah, that makes sense!!", Mark's coffee arrived, he took a sip before continuing, "Well, Mercedes, if it's gossip you want, there's quite the scandal brewing."
"Oh?"
"Drama between noble houses", he leaned in, whispering to her, "Marquis Melliz's daughter and Duke Serasa's daughter. Apparently, Duke Serasa's daughter is accusing Melliz of witchcraft."
Lea's grip on her coffee cup tightened imperceptibly, "Witchcraft?"
"Claims Auro charmed her fiancée. Used some kind of mysticism to steal him away.", Mark shook his head, thinking it was just another noble thing, "The Duke's daughter is calling for a witch hunt. It's gotten quite serious."
Lea felt something cold settle in her stomach.
A witch hunt, it is quite a serious ordeal. Though the churches banned this practice at the beginning of the Fourth Era, some still believe in it.
Either her target was guilty of actual mystical manipulation, which would complicate things, or she was innocent, and Lea had just accepted money to kill someone who was merely a romantic rival's scapegoat.
"That's... quite serious.", Lea said carefully, looking around, "What does Marquis Melliz say?"
"Denies everything, of course. Claims his daughter is innocent and this is just jealousy.", he sipped his coffee, "But Duke Serasa has influence with the Church. If he pushes hard enough, there might actually be an investigation."
The Holy See of Centalpha, of course, they'd get involved...
She needed to investigate further. Needed to know if Auro Melliz actually used mysticism or if this was just noble drama blown out of proportion. Because killing an innocent person...
She'd done terrible things. Killed in rage, in desperation, in self-defense. But cold-blooded murder of someone who'd done nothing wrong?
That felt like a line she wasn't ready to cross.
"Sounds complicated.", Lea spoke with a casual tone, "Any idea where I might see this Auro Melliz? I'm curious what a supposed witch looks like."
Mark laughed, apparently interested, "She frequents the Garden District in the noble quarter. Likes to walk through Serene Park in the afternoons, from what I hear. Very public, very visible. Almost like she's daring people to accuse her to her face."
"Quite brave..." Lea murmured.
"Or guilty and flaunting it.", Mark countered, though from his tone, he wasn't taking it seriously, "Hard to say with nobility. They play by different rules than the rest of us."
They talked for another twenty minutes, and Mark proved to be a wealth of local information, clearly enjoying having someone new to share gossip with. Lea filed away details about the city, the noble houses, and potential complications.
When Mark finally excused himself, Lea sat alone with her coffee and her thoughts. Two hours until the Twilight Gaunt reported back. Enough time to visit Serene Park and see Auro Melliz with her own eyes.
Lea finished her coffee, left coins on the table, and slipped back into the shadows.
The investigation had begun.
And depending on what she found, this contract might end very differently than her client expected.
=0=0=
Getting through security was fairly easy for Lea; having two Paths related to concealment is really cheating.
Like its namesake, Serene Park is quite peaceful, with a garden in the center, yet not many people are here. Maybe to the noble, this beautiful place is quite normal.
Not that Lea cares. This was just a job, after all.
Sinking into the darkness, Lea moves through the shadows cast by trees and clouds, getting closer to the garden.
While moving, she thinks back to what that noble girl said. Everything that girl said was truthful, but that could be the fatal flaw of Judgement's lie detection.
Judgement's lie detection doesn't actually tell facts from lies; it is entirely based on what the target thinks is the truth. So, believing that a little girl, no more than 16 years old, isn't deluded.
Lea needed proof.
She emerged from the shadows at the edge of a private garden, staying hidden behind hedges.
A tea party was in progress.
Four young women sat around an ornate table, porcelain cups and delicate pastries arranged before them. They laughed and chatted, completely at ease.
Lea extended her Silence Path, listening to their surface thoughts.
'Lady Auro is so gracious to host us again—'
'I wish my skin were half as beautiful as hers—'
'the Earl's son was looking at her during the ball, I'm sure of it—'
And there, at the head of the table, sat the host.
Auro Melliz.
She was... beautiful. Genuinely, remarkably beautiful. Long dark hair that caught the sunlight. Delicate features that seemed almost too perfect. Grace in every movement as she poured tea for her guests.
The kind of beauty that would make romantic rivals extremely jealous.
The kind of beauty that could easily be mistaken for mystical enchantment.
Lea watched from the shadows, analyzing.
Was this woman actually a Pathstrider? Or just naturally beautiful enough to inspire accusations?
Only one way to find out.
Lea raised her hand, curses already forming on her fingertips. She carved a sleeping Hex into the air and threw it toward them, a quick, simple Hex that would drop all four women into harmless slumber.
Sorry about this... Lea thought, though she didn't feel particularly sorry.
She released the curse.
Pale blue light rippled outward, invisible to normal sight. It washed over the tea party like a wave.
All four women slumped in their chairs simultaneously, cups tumbling from limp fingers. Perfectly asleep. No harm done.
Lea emerged from the shadows and moved quickly. Her Cursed Constructs formed tendrils that wrapped around Auro's unconscious form, lifting her carefully.
No witnesses. In and out.
She melted back into the darkness, carrying her target through the shadows to a secluded corner of the park. Found a maintenance shed hidden behind overgrown hedges.
Perfect.
Lea set Auro down inside, then used Cloak and Silence to create a ward around the small building. Anyone trying to enter would suddenly remember they had somewhere else to be. Anyone trying to look in would find their eyes sliding past without registering anything wrong.
Temporary, but enough for an interrogation.
Lea dispelled the sleeping curse.
Auro's eyes snapped open. She gasped, trying to sit up— but Cursed Constructs pinned her arms to the wall behind her. Not painful, but completely immobilizing.
"W-what—who—?!", Auro's voice was high with panic, eyes widened with fear.
Lea stood before her in full Faceless Twilight appearance. Deliberately intimidating.
Just ask questions. Be professional. Don't be awkward about this...
"Do you know what Paths are?", Lea asked, her voice cold through the mask.
Auro's face went pale, "P-Paths? I don't—I don't understand—"
Judgement flared. No lies detected. She genuinely didn't know.
"Mysticism.", Lea clarified, stepping closer, "Magic, impossible abilities. Are you a user?"
Why does interrogation feel so awkward? Just keep going... the last time I did it wasn't this awkward.
"No! I swear!! I'm just— I'm just a normal person!", tears were forming in Auro's eyes, "Please, I don't know what you want, but I haven't done anything wrong!"
Judgement confirmed it was true. Lea felt something sink in her chest.
Of course... She's innocent, just beautiful, and unlucky.
"Then do you know anyone who can do impossible things?", Lea pressed, trying to salvage this, "Anyone around you with abilities that shouldn't exist?"
The girl hesitated, "I... I don't..."
"Answer honestly.", Lea said, letting a thread of Malediction weave into her voice, just enough to make disobedience uncomfortable, "Or this will get unpleasant."
I hate this. I sound like a villain... well, Malediction Pathstriders are called Villains, after all.
"M-my maid!", Auro blurted out, tears streaming now, "My personal maid, Theresa!! Sh-she can do strange things! Make people forget! Make them agree with her! I thought it was just... just her being persuasive, but—"
Judgement told her it was the truth.
Lea went very still.
"Your maid can make people forget and agree with her?"
"Yes! Yes!" Auro was sobbing now, "She's been with me for three years! Ever since Duke Serasa's daughter started spreading rumors! Theresa said she'd help me, that she'd make things better—"
Oh. Oh no...
"And the fiancé who left Duke Serasa's daughter for you?", Lea asked, pieces clicking together, "When did that start?"
"Three months ago! After Theresa talked to him at the ball! She said she'd convince him I was worth his attention—"
Even without Judgement, from the desperation to clear her name, the Faceless Twilight can tell it was true. Lea sighed.
There it is, the conspiracy.
Not Auro using mysticism to steal someone's fiancé. Auro's maid was using mysticism, probably without Auro even understanding what was happening. The maid is manipulating events, making the noble girl's life easier, inadvertently painting a target on her mistress's back.
And that jealous Duke's daughter? Probably detected something was wrong, blamed the most visible person and started accusations of witchcraft.
Which were technically correct, just aimed at the wrong person.
Lea pinched the bridge of her nose beneath her mask.
Why is nothing ever simple?
"Listen carefully.", Lea said, releasing some of the construct bindings so Auro could sit more comfortably, "You're in danger from the Church investigation coming your way."
"What? What investigation?"
"Duke Serasa's daughter is calling for a witch hunt. You're the target.", Lea crouched down to eye level. "And your maid, Theresa, is the actual Pathstrider. She's been using you as a puppet to play noble politics."
Auro's face went from terrified to confused to horrified in rapid succession, "But... but Theresa has been so helpful, she's my friend—"
"She's using you.", Lea said flatly, "And when the Church comes investigating, they'll find her mystical traces all over you. You'll be the one burned at the stake while she disappears."
Auro's breathing became rapid, panicked, "What do I do? Wh-what do I—?"
Good question. What DO I do? Lea wondered.
Lea had been hired to kill this girl. That was the contract. That was what she'd been paid for.
But Auro was innocent. Just a pawn in someone else's game.
Killing her would be... wrong... Lea sighed again, longer this time.
"Where is your maid right now?"
"At... at the estate. She doesn't attend tea parties with me."
"Good.", Lea stood, "I'm going to fix this. But you need to stay here and stay quiet until I come back."
"Fix? Fix how?"
Lea turned to leave, then paused, "I'm going to kill your maid. That should clear your name once the Church investigates and finds no powers on you."
"What?! You can't— Theresa hasn't—!"
"She's been manipulating minds without consent.", Lea said coldly, "That's a death sentence in any Church jurisdiction. I'm just expediting the process."
And honestly, mind control pisses me off... Lea grumbled. Her mind went back to that time, hours, days, years, she doesn't remember how much time that Star God forced her to hunt...
Auro sobbed but didn't argue further.
Using Dream Eater, Lea removed the girl's memories of her. Then dissolved into shadow, leaving the girl bound in the warded shed.