Chapter 200: Violet and Alice
The aide’s vision swam with pain and terror, but even through the haze, he couldn’t help but notice—the black mask staring down at him had... ears. Little rounded protrusions on top of the skull, like a cartoon character or a child’s toy.
The aide winced, blood trickling from his split lip. "S-Substance? I don’t—I don’t know what—"
The hand in his hair yanked viciously, snapping his head back. "We ask the questions here, You answer. That’s the format. Don’t improvise."
Black Mask knelt. "Baron Kiliyan. Mysterious shipments. Weekly visits to the capital. Explain."
"I don’t—I swear—I only handle the ledgers—" The aide whimpered with genuine terror. "The Lord... he’s been receiving large sums. Every time we visit. I don’t know from whom, I don’t know for what—I’m just a secretary! I don’t ask questions!"
The lead white mask pressed a blade against the aide’s quivering throat. "We don’t have time for games. Tell us about the shipment. The dates. The contacts."
"I don’t know!" the aide screamed, tears and snot mixing with the blood on his chin. "I only know about the money! That’s all! Please—I have a family—I have—"
"His eyes say it’s true."
The smooth and cultured voice drifted, utterly indifferent. The golden-masked figure approached with unhurried steps, hands clasped behind their back, posture relaxed.
Black Mask turned, tilting that silly-eared skull. "Seriously?"
Golden Mask nodded. "He seems genuinely ignorant."
The aide’s heart leaped with desperate hope. He smiled in relief. "Thank you—thank you, merciful lord—I swear I’ll never speak of this—I’ll leave the city—I’ll—"
"I want to," Golden Mask interrupted, almost sounding regretful. They crouched down, bringing their face level with the aide’s, and for a moment, the aide saw his own terrified reflection in that golden surface. "I really do want to let you go."
"But," the golden masked person continued, "I can’t allow filth to roam around the world where she lives. You understand? And you..."
A gloved hand reached out, casually taking the grip on the aide’s hair from the subordinate. "You’re pollution."
The aide’s smile froze. "W-What? No—wait—I said I didn’t know—"
"Doesn’t matter," Golden Mask said, almost kindly.
Gold dragged him to the jagged stone wall. The aide had time to draw one breath, to form one final plea, before the golden-masked figure smashed his face against the stone.
Thud.
Not hard enough.
Crack. Thud. Crack.
The rhythm was almost meditative, like a woodpecker with anger issues. Smash, pull back, smash again. Blood sprayed across the white robes, across the cobblestones, across that polished golden face that didn’t seem to stick, sliding off like water.
The skull-masked subordinates watched in silence.
Crack. Squelch. Crack.
Eventually, there wasn’t enough structural integrity left to grip. Golden Mask let go, and what remained slumped to the ground.
Golden Mask straightened, adjusting cuffs with fussy precision.
"Clean the body. No officials should find this before we finish our work," the golden mask murmured, turning the gaze toward the black mask. "Let us go hunt the pig himself."
***
A few hours later that morning, Violet slipped through the main door silently; each step made no sound, instead producing a series of tiny, betraying squeaks. She was already freshened up in Eren’s room, her hair neatly braided by him.
"Alice won’t be awake right now," Violet muttered to herself. "She never wakes up before eight. She’s a sleep-loving saintess. A slumbering angel. A—"
"What’s with the cat steps?"
The smooth and pleasant voice called her name, making Violet snap straight.
She turned to see Alice sitting at the dining table. The Saintess-to-be held a coffee mug against her lower lip, her golden hair cascading loose over her shoulders, her eyes fixed on Violet.
"Alice!" Violet’s voice came out as a broken rap beat. "You’re... you’re up! So early! The sun! It’s barely—"
"Let’s talk about it later," Alice interrupted, setting down her cup as she rose.
Violet stood frozen as her best friend approached.
"Where," Alice asked, stopping exactly six inches too close for comfort, "did my little violet go all night? Only to come back sneaking in at dawn I?"
Violet’s mouth opened, closed, opened again. Her brain, still fogged with memories of Eren’s hands in her hair and Eren’s mouth on her skin, offered up the first alibi it could grab. "Lady Aria!"
The silence was so complete Violet could hear her own heartbeat.
"Lady Aria?" Alice repeated, brow arching.
"Yes!" Violet nodded with the desperatly. "She invited me! To a party! A social gathering! Very sophisticated! I slept in her room accidentally. She’s changed now, Alice, unlike last time with you! She’s helping me socialize! I’m being social!"
Alice stared at her, those golden eyes scanning. She leaned closer, her nose twitching as she sniffed Violet’s throat.
"Sandalwood," Alice observed. "Expensive. Masculine. Very..."
"Incense!" Violet squeaked. "Lady Aria has tastes!"
"Is that it?" Alice asked, her voice dropping to a whisper. "The truth? All of it?"
Violet nodded violently. "Yes! Completely! One hundred percent!"
Alice held her gaze for a long, terrible moment. Then, slowly, a smile spread across her face.
"Well," Alice said, reaching out to pat Violet’s head with maternal affection. "I thought you finally got a guy. Good thing you’re still not attracted to that shameless playboy you mentioned last time."
Violet’s smile froze. "That... that’s long ago."
"Good," Alice said, turning away, her nightgown swirling. "Because if you were still interested in that particular guy..."
Violet watched her friend approach the kitchen counter, her voice casual, almost breezy: "What if I still had feelings for that guy?"
Alice glanced around, her smile still in place, her eyes warm and terrifying as she raised a kitchen knife from nowhere like a magic trick by a psychopath.
"I’d eliminate him," Alice said sweetly.
Violet felt a cold sweat break out across her spine, her freshly washed skin prickling with the awareness that Alice was probably joking.
Probably.
•••
"Achoo!"
Eren violently sneezed in the carriage. He snapped his head forward, scrubbing at his nose with the back of his sleeve.
"Bless you..." Norelia muttered in a sleepy tone, not even bothering to lift her chin from her collar before immediately drifting back toward her sleep.
"Catching a cold, darling?" Aria asked in concern.
"Nothing that, my lady," Eren replied smoothly, leaning his head back against the leather padding with an easy, unbothered smirk. "Just felt a sudden, profound murderous aura."
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