-~*~-
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"Please, enjoy our delicacies." Countess Corla tries to appeal before her guest. A smile etched on her lips. Couldn't figure out what kind of smile it is.
Clang!
The sound of porcelain glass echoes throughout the space. "It's a great honor for us to be granted a visit from individuals as prestigious as you young lads." Corla again expressed her gratitude. It felt weird but not in a dangerous way.
"Shall we get to the matter at hand then?" Yanyi said, not wanting to delay the matter any further. Countess Corla, still with the same smile, expressed it with a nod.
Only then did her posture start to change — not much, but enough to be seen. Her back straightened from slightly slouching. Her torso sank a bit deeper into the armchair, ready to listen to all that would be said.
Yanyi then slid all of the evidence she had taken from the station across the coffee table. She then proceeded to explain the whole case so far to her, hoping that the Countess would be able to get a quick grasp.
Yanyi — "These are the evidence that we could gather. A packet of unknown substance with a simple word, Venium."
Kazuto — "We believe that Venium is one of the ingredients. However, based on how the 'corpse' is, we have a suspicion that it might not be our main concern."
"This is the file for the 'corpse' that has already been through the autopsy process. Irene." Hearing her name, Irene immediately took out the pictures in her bag and slid them across the table.
Various photos of the 'corpse' that had been placed in the morgue are on the table. Each of them is taken from a different angle.
Countess Corla does not concern herself with the autopsy file. Instead, she took the photos and shuffled through them one by one. "Are they dead?"
The only male in the room, Kazuto, let out a defeated sigh, as if he himself could not explain the situation properly. "I think it's best if you read the file, Countess."
She did, and her brows furrowed deeply. She then turned to her servant by her side and said, "Go get Andrew. Tell him it's urgent." The servant bowed before exiting the room.
Corla — "Forgive me. I will have my nephew see and read the files if you don't mind."
Yanyi — "Will he be helping us?"
Corla — "Certainly. He is my disciple, and his knowledge about herbs especially goes further than mine. I'm sure he will be of help."
Knock! Knock!
"Come in, Andrew!" Corla said before the door opened, and in came a young man, around the same age as the three guests. His hair was short and curly, in a beautiful magenta shade. His pale yellow eyes looked over at his aunt.
"Is there anything you need of me, Aunt?" Corla then patted the empty armchair beside her, inviting him to take a seat. He listened well to her.
After taking his seat, only then did his eyes start to wander around the room. His eyes immediately landed on a familiar face that he had met just two days ago. Yanyi also recognized him.
He was momentarily stunned, surprised that his aunt had a visitor who was her.
"Ehem!" The sound came from the other end of the long sofa. Kazuto was seated there, his eyes fixed on Andrew as if giving him a warning not to stare further.
He didn't disobey those glares and then turned to his aunt. "Please meet Andrew Sith, my nephew and successor!" she said with a proud smile.
Andrew just bowed down to show his respect.
"He is much more versed in the herbs department. I'm sure he would be able to help you." Countess Corla then proceeded to tell Andrew to read everything on the table. She also briefed him on the current situation.
"A test needs to be made first. It will take a bit of time for the ingredients to process." A few bags containing powder form slid across the table. The hand that retreated back belonged to Yanyi.
"I have made a powder composition of all the available herbs in the market. If it would help in your test, feel free to use them."
"Thank you, m'lady."
"It will take at most 30 minutes to get the results. Andrew, go ahead with your test. We'll wait."
"Uh. Alright then."
He proceeded to walk out of the room, bringing along all of the packets that Yanyi had slid over. After closing the door to his large experiment room, he let out a defeated sigh. "Why is my love life so hard."
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30 minutes later…
The door creaked open, and in came Andrew. He carried back all of the things that he had taken. Not only that, he had also brought with him a notebook.
"Forgive me, esteemed guests, but none of the compositions of the ingredients that you have brought over match with the drug."
"What? How?"
"Each of them has different benefits, and it will change depending on the mixture. However, none can match them."
"Is there no other way then?" Irene asked, her eyes looking over at Yanyi, who had her hands under her chin. She was thinking about the possibilities. That was when she realized something.
"Is there any herb containing the essence of preservation?" she asked out of the blue, her silver irises eyeing Andrew like a laser. She was waiting for his remarks.
Andrew didn't get fazed like before and answered in a calm tone. "Well, preservation of beauty, yes, but that is usually under the cosmetics category. Nonetheless, if we are talking about preservation in terms of such a situation…"
Ting!
A light bulb seemed to appear above his head, like a little hallucination. He then flipped through his notebook, all the way to the middle. His fingers ran through each page and line.
"Morian Flower. That is the only option." Countess Corla's face contorted in a dissatisfied and disgusted look. It was as if she was not happy with where this was going.
"Morian Flower?"
"Morian Flower is a type of herb that was used hundreds of years ago, especially during battles. It has preservation properties. It can preserve a dead body for three weeks."
"This allows the military to wait for a carrier to take the body back home. Essentially, relatives of the deceased are able to see their loved one in good condition before the funeral."
"Why has it never been heard of before?"
"Because Morian Flower became naturally extinct. You can't possibly find it anywhere."
"They are extremely dangerous for the people around them. The flower itself emits toxins which, when inhaled, would leave a person hallucinating for three weeks straight."
Andrew nodded and added an even more shocking fact. "High exposure to the herb essentially makes it impossible for a person to return to normal. You're essentially dead at that point." The two high figures sitting in front of the Countess and her disciple did not appear to be happy or delighted.
Before they could process the flood of information, Countess Corla yet again hit them with a big revelation. "Despite being extinct, Morian Flower can still exist."
"How?"
"Cultivation. They thrive from the nutrients of fresh human corpses or high-rank beast corpses. I don't have anything else to say but, Lady Yanyi…"
Yanyi stared directly into Countess Corla's coral eyes. That serious gaze was penetrating through her own. "Whoever is doing this, they are not normal people. I would say they rival even your own rank."
Well, isn't that one way to put more suspicion on their rank? Regardless, as long as such words never got out, they had nothing to fear. Countess Corla gave the youngsters a piece of advice which she believed would help them tremendously.
"I believe that you've already got all the possible leads in your hands, Lady Yanyi, Young Marquess Ryuichi. I implore you to return and have a much more detailed rundown of all the things that you have gathered."
They had nothing to say back. After all, what Countess Corla said was correct. They had thought that perhaps by visiting her, their little scavenger hunt would be finished. Unexpectedly, they got an even more disturbing puzzle piece.
The worst part?
The puzzle had no lead or answer.
They were stuck.
With nothing more to say, the three of them left the place, bidding farewell and thanks to the teacher and disciple who had helped them tremendously.
Clack!
"So, which one do you like?"
"What?" Andrew's aunt immediately perched on his gaze and asked a rather personal question. "I know that you like one of them. I don't even mind if you like men, really. So, which one?"
Andrew — "Aunt Corla, this is not an appropriate topic."
Corla — "Come on~. I raised you as my own son. At the very least, I get to know your preference."
Andrew — "… It's Lady Yanyi…"
Corla — "Oh… dear…"
Andrew — "I know. I know that I have no chance. I'm not betting on it anyway. Just some eye candy only."
Corla — "That aside, tell your aunt about your preference. Male, female? Buff, skinny? Dominant, submissive?"
Andrew didn't answer, but he didn't leave either. hey both spent the rest of the day until sundown like that — Countess Corla trying to pry more while Andrew either swatted it away or gave a vague answer.
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At the apartment.
Kazuto had already left for the manor after sending Irene and Yanyi back home.
Clack!
Irene closed the front gate before turning around to Yanyi. She waited to see what her friend would do next. Unbeknownst to her, Yanyi didn't move an inch.
"Yanyi? Are you not going to your room?"
She didn't move. Heck, it didn't seem as if she heard Irene's call.
"All we want to find is here already, yet why can't we find it? Is this an impossible case? No, it can't be. No case is impossible if you work hard enough." She started to mumble to herself.
Chi…
Chir…
Chirp!
Her frozen body moved in an instant. It was like something important was calling to her. It felt painful… "Painful?... Willow!" she thought before running up the stairs to her bedroom, Irene following close behind.
Pushing the door open, she searched up and down the room. That little creature must be inside somewhere. She had yet to send Willow on another task — it was still resting time for him.
"Willow! Willow, where are you!?"
Chirp! Chirp!
The sound was coming from around her study table. She rummaged around the table.
Nothing on the table.
Nothing behind her papers.
Pulling the drawer where she had placed the documents she had received from Devian, she was met with a loud, desperate chirping. Willow was somehow trapped inside the drawer — one that could not be accessed without a certain password.
"How did you get inside?"
"Chirp! Chirp!" (I don't know. I woke up to being inside.)
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"Chirp…" (No, but I feel weird…)
Yanyi looked down into the drawer while stroking Willow's translucent feathers. She saw an unknown piece of paper on top of all the documents she had kept inside.
"What is that?" Irene came from behind her. She was glad that at least their most secretive method of communication with Devian was safe and sound.
She had also found Yanyi holding onto a piece of paper — one that was not a formal document paper but a torn and weathered one, not befitting anything the imperial family would use.
Yanyi took the paper and opened it. The handwriting was not anything she hadn't seen before. It was familiar, but only for a couple of times had she seen it.
"Isn't that the same handwriting we received months ago in our mailbox?" Irene voiced her concern.
"As well as at the imperial palace, before we came here."
"What does it say?"
"Chirp Chirp?" (Can I know it too?)
Yanyi nodded and presented the letter so that they all could view it together. The letters were inconsistent — some were angled, some were big as heck, some were small. Heck, some letters couldn't even be read. They had to guess from frequently used words.
"They knew everything.
They had given you everything.
All the pieces are in place.
There is no such thing as coincidences.
Not in this time.
Dense green is certainly not a place for humans.
Closest to your rank yet not powerful enough.
Displacement is better.
Obey one.
Not the crown.
Not the moral.
Blood moons."
Irene — "Why is it so cryptic? If they wanted to help us, they could've just written down something simpler, like the one we first got."
Willow — "Chirp! Chirp!" (True! True!!)
While the two were hovering in disagreement about the method of communication, Yanyi had slowly started to piece everything together. "All pieces in place… No coincidences… Obey—Obey blood moons!"
She then turned to Irene and pushed her out of the room.
"Dude, what the heck!" Before closing the door, Yanyi gave her one instruction only. "Contact Kazuto privately and tell him, Blood Moon Forest. He'll understand."
Bang!
"Could've given me some time to process, wouldn't you!" she yelled from outside the room.
With unwilling steps, Irene strode to the living room phone and contacted Kazuto's private number.
In less than three rings, the other end answered. She didn't play around much and said what she needed to say. Instead of being the one to hang up, the other side closed the call in mere seconds.
"Why is everyone so rude tonight!"
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The next morning…
Irene had already gone to her work. Oh also some notes, Eker only spent one day off. After yesterday's training he will be returning to the manor to continue his training. This also won't bother with Yanyi's investigation.
Anyway~
Irene had to go to work alone as Kazuto will be busy with the case. She didn't question it much. Seeing how Yanyi is desperate for his side of the story while also the male himself had put the phone down first last night. Yeah, they are both into it deep.
Kazuto enters the living room before closing the huge door. Yanyi is sitting on the couch before him. Sipping on her teacup. "What do you want to share?"
Yanyi — "You have your part?"
Kazuto — "Right here. So care to explain how you get this weird lead? One that pointed us to the location."
Yanyi — "I would. But not the right time. You'll understand when I return home."
Kazuto — "Whatever."
Kazuto then flipped open his own folder and placed it on the coffee table. It states the exact location of where the most concentrated umbra beast is located. A desolate town that houses all of the state level criminals. One that had already been thoroughly repented.
This is where they can live in peace while keeping away from the normal law abiding citizens. They can only get their resources from hunting in the dense forest.
Why here?
The blood moon event happens every year. Each state has their own concentrated area. An area where the blood moon is best to look over. Well guess what is also great with this area?
Umbra beast. Filled with umbra beast.
These repented criminals essentially are still living with lifetime punishment. They have to live and fend off the umbra beast from rampaging past the area.
If cultivating the Morian Flower requires either fresh corpses of either a human or a high-rank beast, then this area is the best. Red Leaves Town. "What else did you find?" Kazuto casually ask.
Yanyi — "Morian Flower is a preservation herb. One that lasted for 3 weeks. If it requires a high-rank beast to cultivate, Red Leaves Town is our best bet."
Kazuto — "How? High-rank beasts are rare. Especially when it's not the hunting season or the blood moon."
Yanyi — "Because one is enough to cultivate multiple Morian Flowers. If they keep half of that Morian Flower to cultivate more and half to preserve the corpse, they essentially has created an infinite soil for them."
Kazuto — "Okay… So now what? We hardly be able to find who it is."
Yanyi places the letter she received last night on the table alongside a list of people. One is the official imperial paper while the other is a worn out paper. Kazuto read everything. "Obey Blood Moon… You don't mean-!"
"Among all of the subordinates, he is the only one that has yet to resign formally. In fact, the last thing known about him is his departure from the abandoned home. The rest… nothing was ever found."
"But why is he in Red Leaves Town?" Kazuto asks, quite skeptical as to why the man they are discussing is even related to the Red Leaves Town.
Yanyi then pointed to where the map of the Red Leaves Town is. Specifically towards a cliffside. Overseeing half of the ocean and half of the Anderil Kingdom. "What about it?"
"The family is buried there."
"..."
"..."
"When are we moving?"
"When ever you are ready."
"Today. Noon. We leave for Red Leaves Town. Full speed."
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-~*~-