A Dull Blade's Shine Pt. IX

// Five Days Until the Sanguidicium // After-Dusk //

"What took you so long? The banquet's just about to start!" Maev hurriedly chided me as she whisked around the atrium of the manor, other stressed-looking maids following her in tow.

I had to follow her as I tried to explain myself.

"Err- well, Verdin wasn't answering the door to his home."

"So, I had to give up after all." Is what I told her.

She gave me a raised brow, but she didn't question it- she was far too busy with dictating the other girls present to do this and that.

"Well, you can always try tomorrow- but please tell Madam Lorica that. I don't want to be *gulp* 'disciplined'..." She said as she looked like she was reliving a terrible memory.

"Will do... will do, by the way- where IS the banquet?" I asked.

"Hmm? Why, it's upstairs in the west-wing- in the ball room."

"But I need you for something, could you fetch some of crates full of flour? They're near Madam Lorica's office, just a door down from hers- please bring them to the kitchen that is adjacent to the ball room upstairs." She commanded; any impression of her usual squirrelly self was gone with her confident demeanor as she dictated me exactly what to do.

I nodded as I left her to her busy duties as I made way to where the crates of flour were.

After the dangerous beauty disappeared from Verdin's homestead, I hurriedly made my way back to the manor- in fear that whatever 'thing' she mentioned that required her attention wasn't AT the manor.

But not before I had thoroughly checked the bloody room of any kind of evidence or clues, I could gleam off from the situation-

But there wasn't anything but the regular things a farmer would use.

The only thing I have from the whole thing is the single surviving Kluer in my pocket, and the blood-stained note from Verdin's son.

The note mentions that Gohorn is enabling with the Kluer trade present in Rezabel, but with the middle of the letter being ruined by blood- I don't have enough evidence to make good of any solid leads.

Confronting Gohorn is out of the question too, as in doing so would spark an investigation into the deaths of Verdin and his wife- and me being the only one aware of that, other than that woman would land me as the culprit.

The Sanguidicium, The Stolg Crisis, Royalists and now a dangerous killer on the loose running around Rezabel- my concerns just keep growing.

I let out a heavy sigh as I walk by Lorica's office, but I abruptly stop just shy of the ajar door as I hear something peculiar come from within.

I peek inside and see that it's empty- Lorica is likely working at the ball room preparing the finishing touches to the banquet, so it shouldn't be surprising that it was empty.

But I could've sworn I heard 'something', like the slight creaking of wood.

I ventured to walk in- and as I did, I heard it again, it was coming from the large desk.

I slowly began to walk towards it, making sure I didn't step onto any loose flooring that'll make a sound- I get to the desk, and see small shoes peeking out from within under.

"Hello?" I called out; it made the small shoes shake a bit as they retreated under into the desk.

"I know you're there, it's fine I won't get you in... trouble?" I said, but it gave no response.

I make around the table, and finally see for myself who was hiding under the table- and I find...

Nothing, there was no one under.

"Huh?" I look all around the under the desk, but I find no sign of whoever it was that was hiding here. I trace my hands over the wood to see if there was anything loose to allude to a trap door, but that too brought up nothing- they just simply disappeared.

"Can I help you?" A voice spoke out to me, it came from the doorway.

"Hmm? Oh!" I rise up from the below the desk and see a rather displeased looking Lorica walking towards the desk as she glares at me.

"I-I dropped something, ah here it is." I said as I showed her the documents from Ofilia and Verdin- both as empty as they were given to me.

"The reports? Ah, have you gotten them as I had instructed you to?" Lorica asked as she straightened out some documents lying on the desk, she looked like she had a lot on her mind as even her otherwise neat hair looked disheveled.

"No, there has been some issues." I confess.

Lorica fixed her glasses as she focused her eyes on me, she didn't have the same kind of unfeeling air that Carmilla had but she still looked stern, nonetheless.

"Issues? What issues? Please be quick to explain, I must return to the banquet soon." She sighed as she gently put down the stack of documents back onto the table.

"The oracle told me that the report she gave you was complete." I said as I showed her the empty sheet.

"And for Verdin- he wasn't home."

She eyed the reports, flitting her eyes from them and back to me in confusion.

"I- I don't understand..." She said as she scratched her head.

She turned away from me and began to mutter something under her breath.

"Let us continue this after the banquet- I-I'm just not in a good state of mind right now to offer much help." She confessed- I was glad she wasn't too upset about it.

"Oh and don't blame Maev for this, she had brought me to their locations as she was instructed to." I added in.

But Lorica wasn't listening to me anymore as she had already begun walking away back to the hall.

"Leave the empty reports there on my desk, and hurry to the ball room upstairs in the west-wing immediately- ask one of the girls running around to escort you there if you must." She said as she disappeared into the hall in a hurry.

I gave the desk one good last look before I left the office, who was that hiding underneath it? I'll have to keep a note of it.

...

After grabbing the two small crates full of flour and other foodstuffs from a small closet room next to Lorica's office, I made my way upstairs to the west-wing. I tried my best to not look at the creepy portrait of the count's late wife as I walked by, instead focusing on following the trail of girls who were walking towards a brightly lit room down the hall, classical music could be heard from within.

As I entered, I was greeted by a rather large crowd of demons I've yet to see before- a large number of them being mainly beautiful women, all wearing elegant gowns and dresses with only a handful of sad looking men sitting by themselves on the set tables within the ball room- looking as if they've just lost a war.

I felt a hand grab my wrist and try- but fail to pull me to the side.

"Maev?" I asked as I caught the red-faced, heavily breathing head assistant tugging my wrist with all of her might.

"Why are you here! Please bring the crates to the kitchen! *Huff* She gasped as she finally let go of my arm, as she pointed to a small doorway that had maids coming and out of with platters full of food.

I followed her with my two crates as we snaked through the onlooking women- some gave me some interesting looks, while others kept their gazes fixed to... 'something'... just beyond the further end of the ball room.

But I couldn't see it for myself just yet until I finish this chore.

...

"Thank you!" "Thank you!!" Two younger girls wearing chef hats and aprons said as they gleefully grabbed sacks of flour from within the crates that I had unloaded atop of a table within the large kitchen.

"Aghh." Maev collapsed tiredly onto a chair as she wiped sweat off of her brow.

"Has it been this hectic since you got here?" I asked her, as I fixed my collar- having ran here I looked a little disheveled for the fancy banquet going on, I felt out of place.

"Has it? Why, it has." She said as she rolled her eyes- I think it was dumb in hindsight to ask her that.

"Where is my 'Lady'?" I ask, hopefully she still wasn't having a personal 'conversation' with the count right now.

But more importantly, I wanted to know where Ima was- I need to tell her what I've seen, and about the evidence of the Kluer trade going on in Rezabel.

"She should be sitting next to Lord Saleos, along with the hero in her seat of honor at the other end of the ball room." Maev said.

"Oh good, I'll go see them now-"

"Oh no no no." Maev shot up from her seat, instilled with newfound vigor- she eyed me up and down.

"Dressed like that, you will not!" She cried.

But as she said that she lingered her eyes on my shoes for a moment-...

Oh no, my shoes! They're still caked with blood from Verdin's room!!

"What is tha-"

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

But Maev was cut short from questioning my blood-stained shoes as we heard a woman's shrieking scream come from the ballroom- it stopped everyone dead in their tracks within the kitchen.

///