"Look at this wooden bucket. It's stained red with blood. And since it was at the end of the tilted table, it was probably… used to collect the blood. So, this table's like a slaughter bench for mermaids."
Denas spoke with a mix of curiosity and grim realization, his voice steady as he examined the scene.
"Then… what about this scent?"
Diverte hesitated, his tone soft and uncertain, almost as if he dreaded the answer.
"Remember what Captain Amard said earlier? He mentioned that mermaid blood has a sweet and pleasant fragrance, which is why all the perfumers on the continent desire it as the finest ingredient."
Denas's voice carried a hint of confidence, pleased with connecting the dots.
Denas stood up, a satisfied look crossing his face as he pieced together the scent's origin and the room's purpose.
"Let's head to another spot, Denas."
Diverte's words came out tentative, but then Denas cut in, musing aloud.
"Yeah, we should, right? Wait a sec… maybe we could sell this blood-stained wooden bucket?"
Denas's tone shifted to something opportunistic, a spark of excitement creeping in.
He picked up the bucket from under the table and set it on top.
"Think about it, Diverte. Even with the door half-closed, we could smell that strong scent as we passed by."
He sounded persuasive, like he was already convincing himself of the plan.
"Yeah…"
Diverte's reply was quiet, almost distracted, still processing the room's horrors.
"That means this wooden bucket might be worth something if we take it. If we had an axe, we could chop it up and carry it more easily… but since there's no axe here, let's just grab it as is and keep searching the room! I've got a hunch we'll find something valuable!"
Denas's enthusiasm bubbled over, his voice lively as he waved the torch around, casting light across the dim space.
"Come on, Diverte, help me look."
He nudged Diverte with an encouraging tone, eager to keep moving.
"Uh… okay, I'll look."
Diverte's response was reluctant, accompanied by the sound of broken glass being brushed aside and the creak of a damp wooden door swinging open.
"What's this room for…?"
Diverte muttered to himself, his voice laced with unease as he opened a small, narrow door and peered into the adjacent chamber.
The long, narrow room was cluttered with iron hooks of various sizes leaning against the walls and floor. There were jagged-toothed saws, small chisels and hammers, and strange tools with purposes he couldn't even guess. Normally, it might've passed for a tool storage closet, but knowing it sat next to the room where sirens' blood was drained.
Diverte understood these were likely used on the mermaids brought aboard the Four Flue. Imagining the cruel tools inflicting pain on them made his heart sink, a heavy discomfort settling in.
"Were all these… used on the mermaids…?"
His voice trembled slightly, burdened by the thought.
Diverte stepped forward cautiously, shining the torch along the walls toward the room's far end.
Clang
"Hm? What's that?"
A sudden gust of wind made the torch flicker, and since his eyes were trained upward, he didn't see what his foot struck until it clattered against the wall. Realizing the breeze came from a crack at the room's end, he lowered the torch to light the floor.
"It's a scabbard… and what are these marks? Handprints?"
His tone grew tense as he spotted a sword sheath on the ground, surrounded by dark red handprints staining the floor. Five long streaks stretched from the prints toward the crack, like someone had been dragged.
"Dragged through that gap? Why not the door…?"
Diverte's voice tightened with confusion and dread. The signs of desperate struggle became clearer when he noticed bloodstained fingernails embedded in the floor. His gaze shifted to the scabbard.
"Oh! Gems! It looks like an expensive sword. Denas! Denas~ I found something valuable!"
Excitement broke through his unease as he saw the scabbard's sparkling gemstones, dulled by dust but unmistakably ornate.
Diverte knelt and lifted the scabbard with both hands.
"…"
The moment he gripped the hilt and drew the sword, his movements froze.
Resentment lingered on the blade… lost vengeance, grudges… the countless screams of suffering sirens flooded into Diverte. The cries of mermaids slashed by Lemaat's sword, the Greed Harpoon, rang endlessly in his mind.
Sorrow. Despair. A sadness so vast it seemed bottomless crashed over him, engulfing Diverte completely.
"Check this out, Diverte. I found this transparent glass bottle in the corner—maybe it's mermaid tears… uh… Diverte?"
Denas's voice started cheerful but faltered as he noticed Diverte's silence and stiff posture.
Sensing something wrong, he approached slowly.
Denas's blood spilled onto the floor.
The creak of footsteps echoed.
Riguld's welcoming scream pierced the air.
Lesard's laughter faded into silence.
One by one, cries of agony rose from the Four Flue.
Captain Amard's head. His legs. His arms—severed.
The creaking quickened. Footsteps pounded across the wooden deck.
The brutal sound of flesh being sliced. Bones snapping. Blood dripping. Terrifying noises filled the air.
Viiosa's blood flooded the Four Flue.
Viiosa's blood flowed, soaking the ship.
Diverte's lost memories—washed away by a wave of blood from that day.
Side Story: Feigned Marsh Violet Flower
A cat's meow echoed through the night.
In the warehouse district of Ves-Dinas, neatly divided into square sections, the buildings reflected a mix of styles from various merchant guilds, workshops, and wealthy nobles. While it lacked the harmony of uniformity, the wide roads slicing through the grid and the consistent plot sizes blended with the diverse facades, creating a scene unique to a grand city.
Among the countless warehouses stood one massive structure, claiming an entire section and dwarfing its neighbors—House Vanas's storage facility, marked by their bold emblem. Far from it, in a narrow alley, a figure in a deep hood crouched within the shadows. Shivering against the cold night wind, the black silhouette sat on a discarded wooden box, one knee raised, eyes fixed on the distant entrance to the Vanas warehouse.
"Whew… surveillance duty's always a drag."
The man sighed long and low, staring at the moon and stars peeking through the alley's gap. His name was Merenzo, sent here by Ard Kavil to keep tabs on Diverte.
"Why'd he even come here…? No way Baron Pelta would be in a place like this…"
Merenzo muttered with a bored grimace, unable to fathom why a noble—especially one gearing up for a jousting tournament—would linger in this remote corner of warehouses. His patience wore thin as the mission dragged on.
"This is taking forever. I thought if it wrapped up early, I could make it before they close… tch."
He clicked his tongue in frustration and slumped his head.
A few days ago, upon arriving in Ves-Dinas, Merenzo had stumbled across a gem of a place near the harbor—a tavern tucked in a dim alley called Marlin and Apple.
The scent of savory fried food and sweet apples drifted out, and despite its modest setting, it buzzed with lively laughter. The sign showed a marlin skewering three apples, but its real stars were thinly sliced red snapper fried in thick batter and a rich drink of mashed baked apples mixed with mulled ale, called Waes hael.
"Ahh~ I can still taste it… that fried fish was something else."
Merenzo's voice softened as he recalled dipping the thick fish into a tangy sauce of vinegar and fruit juice—the sweet snapper flesh, the rich oil, the crisp batter crunching in his mouth.
Just as it got heavy, a sip of Waes hael would refresh him, letting him dive back in.
"Maybe if it's late, the tavern'll still be open… ah, that red snapper fry was miles above the catfish back in Karobdiff…"
The biting wind slipping through his clothes only deepened his longing for the warm, chatty haven of Marlin and Apple.
"Tch… maybe when I get back to Karobdiff, I'll walk away from this life and learn to cook."
His tone turned bitter. Once a soldier guarding Karobdiff's walls, his agility and archery had caught the House Kavil's eye, landing him under Ard Kavil. But his work—spying, delivering threats—was shady, a constant weight on his conscience like shackles.
Maybe the bland, fishy catfish fry from Karobdiff was his current self, he mused, while Ves-Dinas's delicious snapper hinted at a future he could claim if he broke free.
That tavern meal had ignited a spark—to shed his chains, work in the open, and end his days laughing with others, like the patrons at Marlin and Apple.
"Ah… I'd kill for some Waes hael and greasy fish right now."
Saying it aloud lightened his chest.
"Marlin and Apple by the harbor's famous for both."
A stranger's voice cut through the quiet.
"Who's there!"
Merenzo leapt off the box and ducked into the shadows, shouting toward the figure approaching from the alley's end.
"Ah, didn't mean to spook you. Heh heh heh. No need to tense up."
The man chuckled, opening his cape to reveal a badge inside.
"(Marsh violet flower?) What's someone from Lord Krathu Kavil doing here?"
Recognizing the emblem, Merenzo eased up, stepping out to meet him.
"You're with Lord Ard Kavil, right?"
The man's tone was friendly, probing.
"Yep. On a job for Lord Ard Kavil, but…"
Merenzo trailed off, still wary.
"Good. Lost you at the fork earlier, heh heh."
The man grinned, stepping closer.
"Lost me? You were tailing me? Why…?"
Merenzo's voice sharpened with suspicion.
"Same reason as you. Lord Krathu knows Lord Ard and Lord Hadin are in the city, so I'm here to check on the brothers and report back. Been a while since I last tailed someone, heh heh."
His laugh was easy, disarming.
"Ha… haha…"
Merenzo joined in, scratching his head and sliding his hand away from the sword at his hip.