Chapter 25

Eiji gazed at the table, where he had dropped the journal. "I don't know what to say. I didn't know any of this."

"None of us knew." Despite Rose speaking, Eiji remains focused and continues to stare at the cover.

"Miss Rose, why is Mister Eiji sad?" Sweetly smiling at Ella, Rose squats down to her height. "His just thinking really hard Ella, why don't you go back upstairs for now, I'll bring the journal back later."

Ella acknowledges Rose with a nod of her head. "Okay." With quick strides, the girl made her way up the stairs.

Eiji looked in Rose's direction and their eyes met. "Has she read any of this?"

"No, Samuel had told her these were his regrets, and she didn't want to remember him by them." Eiji nodded and shifted his gaze toward the table, where he saw Suki flipping through the pages. "That's good."

"Do you know how he died?" The two individuals were taken aback when they heard Akiyoshi. "We were told he vanished during a shifting while saving Ella." Eiji noticed Akiyoshi's surprised expression when he heard Rose.

As Suki slammed the journal close, she maintained a calm expression and smoothly pushed it across the table toward Eiji. 

"If only I knew this earlier."

"You don't have to beat yourself up about it Eiji. Like I said none of us knew what was going on inside his head." Eiji nodded he knew Rose's words were right it just didn't feel right to him, as his senior he could have maybe helped him down a better path.

Eiji awkwardly smiled as he glanced at everyone. "I think I'm going to take my leave. I hope that's not a problem."

Rose smiled in response. "Not at all, take care of yourself."

"Thank you, Rose." Eiji bowed towards her and looked at the other two. "Let's meet back up later after dinner."

"Take your time Eiji." Recognizing Eiji's emotions, Akiyoshi understood that Eiji needed some alone time.

"I'm sorry for opening such a wound back up." He could tell by the distress in her eyes that Suki was feeling guilty. "Not at all it's all thanks to you I can move on."

Murmurs filled a room, while everyone inside looked at the man kneeling center stage. "Order in the court." A stern man spoke up, slamming a gavel repeatedly on a sounding block, causing everyone to quiet down.

"Young man, you are here today before the court for the allegation of being a cohort in the murder of the second princess, Valentine von Kisher. How do you plea." As soon as I woke up, I found myself in this position, I had just escaped from a terrifying nightmare and now a new trail awaited me.

I looked at him, feeling unsure of what to do. The words he had just spoken sounded familiar, but I couldn't comprehend any of it. 

Without eliciting a single word from me, the judge shifts his gaze to his right. "You checked him, right? Were there any remaining or permanent injury that could inhibit his ability to stand this trial?"

A woman shakes her head at his words. "No, most of his injuries were healed by the blood flowing through his veins, and any severe injuries he had I took care of." The elderly man nods and gives me a stern look. "Are you going to keep your mouth shut or start speaking?"

All eyes were fixed on me as they eagerly awaited to hear me speak. I couldn't remain silent when I realized that his words were specifically directed at me. "I don't understand what you are saying." When I spoke, people gasped and looked at me like they couldn't understand what I was saying.

The unexpected sound of a fist hitting the wooden surface surprised everyone. "Don't try to fool around, tell me where they ran off to!" The old judge turned his head and glanced at the young man. "Lord Viktor, you were captured by those criminals, am I correct to presume that?" Viktor cools down and nods his head. "Yes, I was."

"And Rudech you were the one that saved the young master, right?" Just like Viktor, Rudech made the same movements before answering the question. "That is correct, sir, judge."

"Then why don't you tell me what happened that day." Rudech boldly walked to the front, positioning himself in front of everyone. "I will start then."

A maid standing next to a lavish throne heard something and then turned around. She noticed the door to the stands slowly opening. "Eldest mistress you have come, as well." A lady with long crimson hair and eyes of the same shade walked through. Silencing the maid, the eldest mistress spoke to her quietly. "I just came to see the suspect that's all."

From her position at the back, the oldest mistress gazes down from the stands and furrows her brows upon seeing the man who is chained up in the center of the room.

"Me leaving the capital started when I was contacted by Drekem saying the young lord carriage had been attacked, and that the young miss was wary of what the assailants would do next. Swiftly gathering my men we road off towards her mansion, during our travels we found tracks deciding to follow them some time passed by but ultimately we found the young lord being transported to the surface."

Everyone inside the room gasped hearing Rudech's words. I moved my head as well staring at the one-armed soldier who was speaking. "After saving the young lord we send him with one of my men back to the capital before quickly making our way towards the young mistress mansion, but when we arrived, it was already too late."

Intently listening to Rudech's accounts, the eldest mistress glared at me and never let me leave her sight. "The stench of death filled the air and the crackling of flames filled our ears. On the field around the estate, corpses littered the ground while the building crumbled. We searched for the young miss, and when found her she was in her study along with this young man who had many scars all over his body and was lathered in her blood."

"And you allude that this man has something to do with her murder and the attack." With a nod, Viktor opened his mouth. "There is a good chance he does. I visited my sister before being attacked. This man is a human turned vampire that has been working under Valentine for but two weeks or even less." The eldest mistress turned towards her brother and started walking towards him. "Miss?" The maid tilted her head upon seeing this.

"Yet all the surviving staff state say he had a close relationship with the young miss even though they did not know each other for lo-"

"Why don't you stop talking for a bit Viktor." Viktor wanted to express his annoyance, but when he sees who interrupted him, he immediately loses that desire. "Sister?"

"Miss Rosalia, even if you are the heir to the throne. You can't just interrupt a trial when it is in session." She pays no attention to the judge and instead glares at me. "I just noticed a lot of words were being said but none came from the suspect."

"You must have only entered recently Rosalia, you see we have given the young man enough time to speak up. So, if-" He felt a chilling shudder as he looked into Rosalia's eyes, which were a deep, menacing shade of red. "It's young mistress to you, old man, and have you not considered he might not speak our language."

"You, go to my office there should be a collar with a green language stone embedded in it." When Rosalia pointed at the maid standing beside Viktor, the woman's body froze up. "Sister, you can't just-" Viktor fell silent under the weight of Rosalia's death stare causing him to stop his sentence. Without looking at his maid, Viktor opened his mouth. "Do what she asked."

"Young mistress Rosalia, his Highness is present." Not being able to hold herself Rosalia had a smug smile while looking at the judge. "Yeah, and what about it?"

With eyes filled with surprise, the crowd eagerly awaited the next turn of events. "I don't mind, this makes all of this a bit more intriguing." the words came from a luxurious seat, even without looking in that direction, everyone in the room recognized the speaker.

"Let me ask you, why is he the prime suspect?" Baffled by her words the judge didn't know what to say, so Viktor spoke up. "For what has been found his fingerprint where on our sister's body, he was extremely close with her, he-"

Rosalia grew tired of her sibling's words and waved her hand. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, but that wasn't what I wanted to know. You say more people than him survived, so why is he being seen as the killer? Also, where is that idiot that follows my sister around."

Viktor clenched his teeth and stared angrily ahead, contemplating her words. He clenched the armrest of his chair, his expression filled with anger. "Drekem."

Viktor's maid reappeared in the room, holding the collar. Rosalia snatched it from her grasp and approached me. "If the suspect can be changed so easily, I think we should end this trail here today."

"Young mistress it's not something you-" The judge was interrupted by the sound of wood breaking. As he stood up, there was a wooden armrest in the palm of his Highnesses hand."I'm leaving." The wood clattered on the floor when he disappeared from the spot he previously stood.

As soon as His Highness departed, everyone understood the outcome of the trial and started to leave as well.

Still annoyed Viktor gazed at the back of his sister. "We're leaving."

"Yes, sir." As if by magic, he and his maid vanished, transforming into a mysterious black mist.

I couldn't understand why, but I noticed that everyone around me was departing. As I moved my gaze, I noticed the red-haired woman who had been actively participating in recent discussions approaching me.

"Take them off." The two guards, who had been beside me the whole time, followed her instructions and removed the restraints on my arms and legs.

Released from my shackles I looked at the woman who squatted down to my level. As she put the collar around my neck, the surrounding voices grew increasingly peculiar until I could comprehend every single word they uttered.

"Who are you?" The woman smiled and extended her hand to me. "Let's talk about that once we have left."

While being helped up, my surroundings began to blur and in a matter of seconds, I found myself in a room that seemed to be someone's office. The red-haired woman walked to her desk and took a seat. She chuckles as she observes me touching the collar on my neck. "That's similar to the wristband you were given, outworlder."

I released it and looked at her, my eyes wide open. "how do you-" She quickly stopped my words by talking over me."That's not what's important right now." 

Her eyes glowed and sent me into a strange daze as she glared at me. "Did you have anything to do with the murder of my sister?" I attempted to respond to her, but my mouth wouldn't open. Eventually, my mouth opened on its own, and I flawlessly articulated my thoughts to her. "I did not."

"What did you do to me?" Confused I had regained control over my body, but that didn't change what she did to me felt creepy as hell. "Just making sure."

"If you can do that-" Rosalia interrupted me, knowing what I was thinking. "You can stop that thought process the only reason I did this is because I knew it would work on you. If it was this easy to get information and so on out of anyone, we would be a renowned intelligence agency, not a race that is secluded underground." Upon hearing her, I was uncertain whether she wanted me to cease being impressed or if she had just insulted me.

Rosalia clapped her hands, making a woman appear out of thin air. "Bring him to his room."

"Yes, mam."

"You sure are as good at acting as I remember." His Highness lifted his head and noticed Rosalia entering the room. "Why have you come?" Seated on his throne the man's blood-red eyes stare at her.

"I want you to not make any unnecessary moves, Father" Hearing Rosalia the man smiles. "I'll think about it. Anyway, that human you seem confident he has nothing to do with this. Why is that?"

"He's an outworlder father, the possibility he is anywhere related to this is extremely low."

The man pondered her words while he held his chin. "Have you used hypnosis on him?" As he sees her nodding, he carries on speaking. "Seems like Drekem is your only clue then. Was that all?"

"Yes, father."

"Alright." The cold expression reappeared on his face as he stared at her. "I will take my leave then." With Rosalia's words, he moved his head to the empty smaller throne next to his.

When the door closes, he sighs. "Everything is going so fast. Is it already time for that?"

Someone walks through murky streets and stops in front of an old factory before going inside. They navigated the dark building, steadily advancing towards a spacious room. In said room, they could see bodies hanging from threats as a man with grey skin stood in front of them.

"I've done my part we can start when you're ready. You better keep your word." With a turn of his head, the grey-skinned man's hair swayed as his face twisted into a wicked smile. "I won't forget my end of the bargain, I will make sure you will get what you want."

The grey-skinned man raises his head and opens his mouth, maintaining a sinister grin. "May destruction engulf this city." The other man's red eyes stared at this with a cold expression.