"By recovering what was taken from Aurevane, before someone else makes better use of it," Roderic said.
Alfons frowned. "Esmond."
"Esmond," Roderic agreed. "And the homunculus."
That word changed the room.
Noelia's fingers tightened on the edge of her sleeve. Marielle noticed and pressed two fingers to her wrist, only warning her not to speak over the others. Noelia swallowed whatever question had climbed her throat.
Alfons saw it and hated that he understood the feeling.
"A homunculus?" he asked. "That was in the reports?"
"An artificial being tied to Esmond's work," Elysette said. "What we paid Aurevane was steep, but not for nothing."
Roderic let the quiet pass only as long as it served him. "The officials who spoke to us did not have everything. Fragments, names, a record of movement, ledgers with the worst pages burned. Enough to know Esmond is missing, and that the homunculus did not vanish by accident."
