Chapter 1

*Knock* *knock* *knock*

A series of polite knocks came from the other side of a large polished wooden door. It echoed in the spacious room because it was scanty inside, few furniture, a ceiling to floor bookshelf, some tapestries hung on the wall, and the centre of attraction was a wide circular bed smack right in the middle of the room. The wood of the bed was attractively carved and painted a striking gold, the bed itself was covered by a grey fur duvet and comfortably nestled in the middle was a person.

Someone who didn't appreciate the interruption of his slumber. He frowned, dissatisfied, and peered an eye open reluctantly in wait, when he didn't hear anything again he turned over to resume sleeping. Then the knocking started again.

A hand stretched out to loosen the spell placed on the door, a pattern glowed at the entrance before crumbling. Tentatively, a pleasant portly face sprite peered into the room and sighed in relief after seeing the protruding reddish hair from under the duvet. It was a good thing that the nascent master was at least at home to receive the news, he had a habit of sleeping anywhere but in a bedroom.

'Young master?' Winry, the maid, stepped closer intent on delivering her message.

A hum roused from between the sheets in reply. 'Well young master, terrible news has been delivered and needs your attention.' He hummed again. 'Gary Lancaster, the head butler of the mansion, is dead young master.' Winry paused to let the situation sink in.

After a few seconds, he used his voice for the first time in the day. 'What does the Citizen Bureau conclude about that?' Winry knew the last part was going to bother him more than anything else she said previously.

'Your expertise has been called upon to assist the case young master. It was a murder.'

Alexus internally groaned and he could feel a headache begin to form. He finally slept in his bed for the first time in a while, but no sleeping in, no morning routine, no breakfast savouring, no time to relax, he was expected to get out of bed and head to the scene immediately which he was going to do because it was his job. Sometimes, Alexus looked back on his career path and decided that he did make a mistake.

He sat straight and itched his blurry eyes awake. 'I expect, the bath is ready?' Winry brightened, he wasn't eager to go but she was glad he was taking action immediately, she prayed Gary soul finds peace once justice has been executed.

In less than an hour, Alexus was prepared adequately to get to work except he had to skip his meal which worsened his mood. Alexus wasn't a righteous person, quite selfish actually, he worked to find murderers not because he held moral prejudice against the criminals but because it simply seemed like an interesting thing to do. It first started out as a pastime activity to now being his sole employment, he felt like he was in a collar and it was yanked every time he was forced to look into cases he didn't choose to do.

Gary had been a good butler, that was all the opinion Alexus had on the deceased. He never had an interaction with him that wasn't strictly about what a butler usually does and says to the homeowner, his background was reviewed and he did have a few scepticism on Gary's life as a Muliebrity soldier but that was where the good stuff came from. They weren't rare to find, anyone over forty was likely to have been a soldier but some of them were skilled, incredibly so that they had been on the Queen's personal battalion. Those particular soldiers were treated like relics after the war.

Gary was one of them, so it was odd that he'd settle for a butler job although the pay was handsome, and thinking about it, Alexus realised his butler was paid higher than he did working. His mood soured further, he decided that after Gary's case he was going to change his fee and get hefty with the Bureau. Maybe then, they'd require his services less.

He turned to the maid who had been tailing him and providing his things. 'Anne. The message Winry delivered, did it come with a letter?'

The elf ears perked up and was surprised to be addressed directly by the young master; she didn't think it had ever happened before. 'N- no, I don't know young master, but I'll go find out right away!' She flustered her way out of the room in a hurry.

Alexus sighed, and looked out the window of the dressing room, the sky was cloudy and had threatened to rain since yesterday, the cool melancholic breeze and atmosphere soothed him. His greenish grey eyes lightened when he saw a cat scuttling around probably after a rodent. The maid came back in a moment, her breathing a bit laboured.

'It was with the governess, young master.' She stretched out a silver platter, an envelope was placed on it, the seal had been broken.

He took the envelope and read its contents. It was awfully long so he skipped to the end and got where he was to start his investigation. 'Thank you.' He folded the letter back and placed it on the platter and headed out, a carriage had been prepared in wait, a few instructions and the coach was in motion. Alexus leaned back and mentally prepared for the day's stress to come.

Investigator Doran wiped the sweat from his brow even though the weather was cold, and still early in the morning, but things had been hectic from the start of the day. A witch had reported that she had sensed death in the neighbourhood, and after knocking on every door there was one who didn't respond. The community vigilante had been the one to find his body, and when he himself saw it, he understood why they were too confused to give a solid explanation to the Bureau.

Gary's body, was now similar to a statue but had blackened to the shade of coal. The area was quarantined in case it was a new type of plague but information being released by the Bureau's magical forensics dismissed the plague speculation. It was also mentioned how his insides were not in his body, as if his organs had been scooped out before solidification.

Doran didn't like the tone the situation was taking. A new serial killer on the loose? A cult? He walked back into Gary's apartment and tried to see something he'd miss if one wasn't looking closely. The apartment had an air of humility, furnished to taste and nothing grandiose but there was also a feeling of detachment. Gary had simply taken shelter here, he didn't live in the apartment, there wasn't anything that could be perceived to be of sentimental value to the victim.

He walked deeper into the house, and came across the study. Then carefully examined the books on the shelf, there was a worn out leather journal that had seen better years, he pulled it out. Doran's breath caught in his throat, it was a book of spells and he couldn't believe his eyes when he started to read the details and complexity of the spells and its explicit usage to kill.

'Can I have that, investigator Doran?' Doran almost jumped out of his skin from the sudden voice beside him, and he slammed the book shut. He turned to face the young detective, who looked up at him just nineteen centimetres short of eye level.

Alexus Smith.

He handed the book over, and took a moment to examine the detective. As always, his clothes were crisp and clean and the standoffish atmosphere clung to him second to his cologne which the investigator noted he didn't put on, the cologne smell was faint and a residue of its previous continuous application. He glimpsed the red shade below his eyes suggesting he was still sleepy, and the characteristic unnoticeable thin eyeliner wasn't used. The slight up turn of the corner of his lips was a remnant of irritation. Rushed straight out of bed and right into work and the deceased had everything to do with the unbalanced mood. Doran unconsciously examined Alexus and drew his conclusion in less than ten seconds.

Doran had crossed paths with Alexus multiple times, and it always awed him how the detective had been into this longer than he was and at the same time two years younger than him. There were whispers about the individual prodigies the Bureau had managed to encroach on and eyes were always tailing them so sure that they would be stars of a new turn.

Alexus didn't have an opinion on Doran. He got the job done, and was polite company, he never tried to know the investigator that made most of the joint cases easier for him. 'You've been on the scene from the beginning?'

'Yeah.' When Alexus mentioned it, he realised that he was fatigued and the adrenaline of a new case was wearing off. 'Let me make both of us some tea and check what this guy has in his fridge.' He offered. He was sure the younger detective hadn't had anything to eat either. He got a hum as a reply.

Alexus flipped through the journal quickly, there weren't many spells in it that he didn't already know. He closed it and looked around, taking careful steps and feeling for the pneuma remains in the apartment. There had been too many people on the scene and it was hard to track out anything odd. He walked about and came to the front of the victims bedroom, he spread out his own presence to draw out the pneuma and he gasped softly when he could see how the culprit had used their power.

The source wasn't in the room with Gary, the attack had been done at a distance, moved in a stream and once it sensed him, condensed into its target then dispersed. He had picked up on the pneuma and traced it around the house like starting a maze puzzle from the end. The energy had moved around the home, searching for something? Alexus came to a stop at the entrance of the apartment building with a confused frown, slowly he walked out to the street, people were already out and about their day, and towards the left the trace was thinning but he was sure of his deduction.