Li's guards had scoured the estate with the support of Lord Yin and Lady Yang's select forces. Li's guards, while numbering nearly two thousand, were the smallest force in the Camelia, and while they could cover normal guard shifts with spares, they always required support from the other Crimson Army units when there were emergencies like the assassination.
Even days later, Lady Yang and Lord Yin's forces were still supplementing Li's forces to maintain an increased guard. They checked the identities of every person coming in and out of the estate against the extensive records of the Camelia's inhabitants. Li had also increased patrols inside the castle, with guards constantly making rounds on the streets and in public buildings.
The flags had all been lowered, the red swapped for morning black, and Chenzhou had written to Finn's family, expressing his regrets and explaining the circumstances of his death. His body, along with Min and Sam's, had been preserved and were awaiting the decisions of the families for funeral rites, but Eirian's connections in the capital had yet to turn up any relatives for the couple.
Finn's parents had responded with one sentence, "Will be there in twelve days." And there had been no answer to any inquiries since, so they were fully expecting them to arrive any day. It was not an ideal time to have any of the main line Vermeers arrive, but neither Chenzhou nor Eirian was comfortable telling them no.
And they probably wouldn't have listened anyway.
They'd all been going non-stop since the attack. Eirian, Chenzhou, and Mingzhe had barely slept. Yuze and Kai Low definitely hadn't, but now the court had called for another accounting to hear the details of what had happened.
Eirian had downed a vat of coffee by herself before making her way to the chamber. Chenzhou and Mingzhe joined her along the way, and all three of them entered together. Few members of the court looked more rested than the three of them. Aside, it seemed, from the Wens and Eirian still couldn't decide what that meant about them. But all the families were on edge after such a shocking and impossible crime. No one had been assassinated inside the walls of the Camelia in hundreds of years.
And no tribesman had ever breached the walls either.
…Except that wasn't completely true, was it?
Fox, whose motivations they still didn't understand, had been inside the walls for rock knew how long.
It sat, uneasy and unpleasant, in Eirian's mind. The realization that the three men who had killed Finn were probably from within the Camelia itself. That all these families who'd seemingly rallied when word had gotten out were suspects in the act itself.
Eirian was ready to apply her magic to the task of convincing the perpetrator to come forward, but Chenzhou apparently had a weak stomach when it came to letting her torture members of the court.
Or anyone really.
He hadn't been any more willing to let Kai Low do it either, which was the only reason Eirian had let it go.
She hadn't expected to be back in this room so soon after the last time. The court had been demanding daily updates from Chenzhou, but he'd refused to give out any information on Eirian's investigation under the justification of keeping the investigation untarnished.
She took her seat next to Chenzhou, offering Henri a weak smile. The man looked exhausted, but offered one back.
"Thank you for finally granting us an audience, Lord Ye." Lady Darrow smiled as she said it, but the tone of her voice carried a note of mocking that was surprisingly bold of her.
Chenzhou ignored it. "I'm sure everyone has heard the gist of what happened by now."
Nodding heads and murmured agreements filled the room.
"Are there any specific questions?"
Lady Yang leaned forward. "Is there an update on when the Vermeers will arrive? They're likely to bring a large entourage and will have to be searched thoroughly."
Lady Vitali looked at her, agast. "You think they killed one of their own?"
"No." Lady Yang shook her head. "But the young Lord Vermeer was clearly not the target." She glanced at Chenzhou.
He nodded in agreement. "It seems unlikely, but it's not completely ruled out."
Lord Wen scoffed. "Why target a boy with no value to his own line, when the heir to the entire kingdom is there?"
"Finn had plenty of value," Eirian snapped, making several of them jump. "Whoever is responsible for this will be hung for what they did to him. And to Min and Sam."
The room fell into a loaded silence as Eirian's anger caused her magic to flare and flames to briefly appear. Several of the lords and ladies shared uncomfortable looks.
"Is there any idea who was behind it?" Henri's sister, Lady Colfax, asked.
Eirian glared at the room in general as Chenzhou took a breath and then said. "We believe it's the same party behind the rumors targeting Lord Zhao."
It was bold to admit, but they'd all agreed they needed to shake things up. To see if they could rattle the person hiding in the shadows.
And a lot of the court did look nervous.
Even Lady Yang and Lord Yin were looking around as if it had suddenly occured to them that everyone in the room could be a suspect. Lord Wen had finally stopped looking so confident and unbothered. Eirian thought she could see beads of sweat starting to pop through the foundation covering his face.
Lady Yang frowned and caught Lord Yin's eye. Focused on watching the room at large, Eirian missed the look that passed between them, something heavy with intent and command.
Lord Yin sighed. "That is a possibility."
Chenzhou turned to him, eyes narrowed. "But?"
Lord Yin looked apologetic. "But the court must ask where Lord Zhao was when the attack took place."
Mingzhe shrank in his chair as Eirian bristled. Chenzhou's hand took her under the table, squeezing in a signal to stay quiet.
"I was with my family. I returned to the main castle as the attack was taking place. I walked; there were at least a dozen people who saw me. Including guards." Mingzhe's voice was void of any emotion as he answered.
Lord Yin nodded, face sad, but by now Eirian didn't trust it. "I'm sure they will swear to seeing you, which will allow us to focus on finding the true perpetrator."
Mingzhe stayed silent, and Eirian squeezed Chenzhou's hand so hard his bones ground together beneath his skin.
"There's no need for your assistance. Or anyone else's in the court. The investigation is well underway." Chenzhou's voice was pleasant, but underneath there was steel.
Lord Yin reared back in surprise, as did several others. "You are refusing our assistance? We have a great number of resources that could assist-"
"You are also all suspects." Chenzhou's announcement was chilling, though Eirian didn't understand why they seemed so surprised.
~ tbc