Chapter 32: Not a monster
Morning arrived gently over the city of Rammstein, sunlight draping the Palace grounds with golden light. Birds chirped in the distance and a faint wind brushed the dew-covered grass. The estate stirred slowly to life.
Inside the northern servant quarters which were large buildings built to house the workforce and their families.
Since it was dawn the doors creaked open as maids, cleaners and gardeners exited with groggy eyes and polished shoes. They moved in unison, the Palace staff trained to operate with mechanical and excellent discipline.
Their first duty, as always, was to clean the estate lawns. The Palace’s garden spanned vast land which was beautiful yet monotonous for those tasked to maintain it.
Weeds had to be pulled. Dead leaves swept. The fountains scrubbed, and the grass trimmed but today was different.
One servant paused mid-step, narrowing her eyes at a dark shape lying in the distance across the trimmed greenery. She blinked, was it a rock? A mound of cloth?
No, but it was something else. Something rotten due to the smell. The closer they got, the more they noticed the blood. Dried, crusted crimson on blades of grass. The stench was rancid like a curse in the air until they saw the corpse.
A body, shrouded in black, missing both legs and its head. Blood pooled and crusted under it.
The cloth stuck to the flesh, bloated and discolored. The air filled with a wave of shrieks as one of the maids screamed. Others joined her in a terrified chorus. Hearing the screams other servants came running as word began to spread.
Inside the Palace, Galliard stormed down the hallway, his boots clapping angrily against the marble floor.
"What do you mean there’s a corpse?!" He barked, glaring at the trembling servants who had brought him the news.