Chương 8: 0.10.
"Jeez ... " Sequencee voiced.
His hands were tightly held by the princess as she slept. The moment he removed his hands, her brows would tightened and she would begin to wince.
"Do I need to stay up like this … " Sequencee yawned.
Anna hadn't come back. He couldn't reach her either.
Earlier, when he heard Evelyn's shout, he rushed back to the room to find her sobbing at the door. Apparently, she had developed some trauma that made her afraid of being left alone.
She struggled to sleep, complaining that she was too scared. So being the gentleman he was, Sequencee decided to watch over her until she went to dreamland. Just, unexpectedly, she requested for his hand, and so was how this situation came about.
"I need to sleep too … " Sequencee knew it wasn't going to do any good staying up all night just because his mother wasn't around. If he had to, it would be better to rest up for tomorrow. Even if something had happened, it wasn't like he could take action at this sort of time.
He sat on the ground and leaned on the bed the princess was sleeping on like a table.
With her hands interlaced with his, he shut his eyes.
Memories of the people he killed came flooding into his consciousness.
Aroused by the sound of something shifting, Evelyn opened her eyes. It was still dark, her vision remained fuzzy. For some reason, she thought that she had woken up in a strange place after a strange dream.
'Mn ... is this an inn?'
She wanted to move her hands when she noticed a feeling of warmth enveloping it. She realized then.
'Ah … he's still holding onto my hands?'
The thought of it made Evelyn swoon. She suddenly heard him groan, she flinched but didn't let go of his hand. She saw his brows narrowed inwardly, as if he were having a bad dream.
Carefully, she sat up to look at the boy leaning on her bed.
"This isn't a dream," she muttered to herself.
Under the dim light of the moon, she studied his features. She had never gotten a chance to do so until now.
Why did he save her? Who was he? Why was she so scared when he left? Why did he continue to hold her hand? Why did she trust her? Why would the world become dark as soon as he left? What was this feeling of loneliness in her? What was this fear?
She hesitated for a while before deciding to reach out to touch his hair. His sleeping figure was so cute, his brown hair looked shiny under the glow of the moonlight. He didn't have any pronounced features that made him stand out, but he certainly did have the looks. She thought he had the perfect balance of gentle coolness.
He groaned again.
"There, there. You're safe … we're safe … right?" Evelyn ran her fingers through his silky hair.
She was scared to die, but she found the prospect of him leaving her side much more terrifying. In his presence, everything was at peace; the moment he left, the world seemed to crumble before her.
A single traumatic incident had implanted an irreplaceable attachment inside her. She wasn't sure if she could live her life normally without him anymore.
She thought it was scary how he would soon treat her as if some distant stranger once this was over. Was it because of their standings? Because he thought of her as some untouchable flower?
'What should I do to keep you … '
It wouldn't be easy to break down this wall between them would it now? She needed time, or, some insight to his wishes to rope him in.
"Hm?"
She felt something jagged.
She noticed a little distortion where her fingers were.
"This is … "
'A horn?'
===
While Sequencee was left at the Marquis' mansion, Furoie and Anna headed to the storage facility of Euncing Trade Company. It was a large plain building made from bricks and metal. This facility served as the headquarters of distribution for suppliers of this region. Surrounded by a guarded fence and patrolling officers, she introduced herself to one of them.
"Pardon me sir, I am Anna, this is Furoie, is it alright if I talk to the general manager of this facility?" Anna asked.
"The general manager? I'm not certain if he's in, for what reason do you wish to see him for?"
"A crack down," Furoie opened up a parchment and showed it to the man.
A royal decree permitting on-site investigation. He froze when he saw the royal stamp embossed at the bottom.
"W-wait a moment. I'll get him at once."
"Is it alright if we went with you instead?" Anna asked.
"W-what?" Shaken, he knew he had nothing to do with the shady things the head of the company did or did not do. He was merely a salaryman who worked to make a living.
What if his boss was aware of this? Then wouldn't he be killed? Anna's words hinted that his life was at risk. Could he prove his innocence if they found out that the company he was working in was corrupt?
This could spell the end of him.
The facility was divided into main two sections, perishable goods and non-perishable goods. For perishable items, many temperature controlling sigils functioned to preserve the items in the storage units.
Climbing the metal stairways, the officer knocked on the manager's door. It was a small office located on the first floor.
"Who is it?" A lanky man appeared from within.
"Boss, they're here to see you," the officer said with a salute.
The man glanced over at the guests, Furoie raised the royal decree.
"Come in," he said. "What do you need?"
He was oddly cooperative. While he wasn't removed from the list of suspicious people, Furoie judged there that he could possibly be uninvolved in the matter.
"Allow us to check the logistic logs, invoices and tax receipts from the past year."
He took a while to sort through the shelf before stacking the thick folders on the low table. "How long would you need?"
Looking over at his desk, there was a lot of paperwork to be done. Furoie felt a pang of guilt for disturbing his work. Nevertheless, they couldn't simply overlook the possibility of finding some clues here.
"Give us a few hours. I will also need to question you regarding certain things about the company."
"Fine," he sounded annoyed.
Furoie did some light interrogation on the manager in charge of this storage depot, the best piece of information she got was his confirmation of the company's stance on supporting the second prince.
Furoie opened up her notebook and took down notes on the reports provided by the manager. Anna was clueless about how to read financial reports so she went to look at the other documents instead.
"Strange things? No, I haven't heard of any rumors of that sort," he said.
"Really?"
"But if there's something that's been bugging me, it's the corporate corruption up top. It seems to be getting worse lately. A lot of the transcripts don't tie up properly with the logistics, of course, the taxes were paid appropriately."
Anna nodded sympathetically. What he meant to say in simple terms was that if the company ordered 10 boxes of chocolate to be made, only 8 would be produced as a result. The money of the missing 2 boxes were taken by the head of the company–corruption.
Anna traced her fingers along the bulky binders on the shelf before choosing one to take out.
"Did you find anything?" he asked curiously.
While distraught by the fact that he was being suspected, he still felt honored to have this chance to meet Anna in person. For a mercenary her caliber, she was a lot kinder than he imagined.
"Just curious. I've never seen contracts like these. Quite different from the ones I've come across in private guilds."
"Of course."
Anna skimmed through them one by one. Seeing as she wasn't able read any of it properly, he thought to just leave her be. Even if they find some shady thing about the company, it wasn't like he could do anything about it. It was a royal decree after all–better to cooperate than to be seen as suspicious.
"Well, take your time. Ask me if you have anything."
He went back to his desk to work. Anna nodded.
'Hm?'
Anna narrowed her eyes.
'No way, this is … '
Anna raised her head to look at Furoie. She had her face buried in paper. Carefully, she put the file back and casually took out another.
It had been five hundred years since the Last Era, referred to as the great war between humankind and the demons. While there had been a long period of peace from then till now, the racial conflict between the two big races still ran deep. Even with that said, it wasn't as if the humans and demons were completely disconnected.
The proof of it could be found in this question: why was it that there were goods that could only be made from the demon empire found in the human empire? Simple, because of trade. As long as it made profit, some merchants would willingly step outside the bounds of normal society in order to gain an edge.
Taking these legal, though underhanded trades into account, what Anna found were multiple contracts between Euncing Trading Company and a fake company under one of her acquaintance's management.
The vampire queen, Lydiane Night.
"Nothing much huh?" Anna muttered causally.
"The succession war between the princes'," Furoie muttered.
They got the short end of the stick. Interviewing the headquarters of product storage, it seems that he had little relation to the incident. Just normal trades between different merchant names.
"I wonder how my son is doing. He couldn't have gotten into any trouble could he now?" Anna muttered.
"Would he?"
"Dunno."
Sequencee was in charge of babysitting the Marquis' mansion, Anna and Furoie went to Euncing Trading's storage facility. That leaves Aaron, who went to investigate the family's home directly. Anna wondered if he cut the house in half.
"Let's go and see if my son is doing well," Anna hummed.
"No, we should meet up with Aaron first."
"Hm …? Why?"
"If there was anything, your son would have notified you about it already, wouldn't he?" Furoie glanced at the necklace dangling on Anna's neck.
Anna thought about it for a moment before agreeing. Sequencee wasn't a child anymore, he can handle himself. Anna pulled at her own cheeks.
"Are you alright?" seeing her gesture, Furoie thought that something was up.
"Just celebrating my misfortune."
'Looks like our trip to Rika Nation has to be delayed.'
The white cobblestone pavement split into two, one path led to the manor, the other to an arbor that overlooked a large pond. As they made their way towards the manor in the center of this small estate, they caught sight of something bizarre.
Hex magic.
Different from the runes magic carvings on sigils, or the typically understood magic formulas needed in casting spells, hex magic was a special framework of magic founded by the demons. It was taboo magic in the eyes of many.
"What in the world … " Anna's eyes became dots.
'What are they thinking …?'
Scribbled across the wooden beams and granite-floor of the entrance, it was so openly displayed that Anna wondered if the person who did this was dumb to reveal itself or that–it had some other plans in mind.
"This is … the involvement of demons?" Furoie eyebrows arched inwards.
"Why are there no knights stationed here?"
For a clue this big, there should have at least one or two guards here to ensure nothing happens to it.
As they hurried into the manor, they met with Aaron. It seems he had already taken necessary measures to tackle the situation. The members of the Euincing family were being interrogated, however, their first son, Boltt was nowhere to be seen.
Her necklace glowed subtly, Anna quickly grabbed it. It was Sequencee, notifying her that he had found something suspicious at the Marquis' home. And soon, the imperial princess.
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