"Do you want to know one thing, Lio?" Aefia suddenly asked. "I will have to leave as soon as possible. Maybe by lunch."
"What...?" He looked down at her, searching when face as his fingers trembled against a plate.
"I may or may not have... Escaped... For a while."
"..." His eyes widened, though no word came out of his mouth when he gaped like a fish.
"I am pretty sure you are feeling worried and confused at the same time... But it still is the Mides case. Apparently... I have been a prisoner there for a while now."
His brows furrowed almost instantly. "Why?! What did you do that they thought capturing you would be a solution?!"
"..."
"Aefia?"
"I personally chose to be the one to be imprisoned..."
His eyes widened till his pupils were pinpricks. His fingers trembling from the words that came out from his mouth. Then a chuckle.
"Okay, I get it. Nice try, but try less harsher jokes the next time."
Aefia stared with disbelief back at him. Then guiltily looked away.
"I am not lying, Lio."
Helio's expression changed. The disbelief vanished from his face almost instantly. "...Then tell me what happened."
Aefia remained silent. Her gaze lowered toward the plate between them. "I was caught with something."
"Something?"
"Evidence."
His brows furrowed.
"Evidence of what?"
She swallowed.
"Murder."
The word settled heavily between them. Helio stared at her.
"You killed someone?" Aefia didn't answer immediately.
That silence was enough.
His fingers slowly loosened around the plate.
"...Aefia."
"I didn't do it. I was only investigating."
The words were quiet.
There was no attempt to deny it. No excuse.
Helio's eyes remained fixed on her face.
"Then why are you telling me you were imprisoned?"
"Because they found out."
"And you escaped."
"For now."
He looked away for a moment, trying to process everything.
"Why?"
Aefia's expression hardened.
"I don't know how much you understand about the Mides case."
"Not enough."
"Neither did I."
She lowered her voice. "I made a decision without knowing what it would become. Now I understand what I did, and what I need to do next."
Helio's gaze returned to her. "What are you planning?"
"I have a way to settle this."
"Settle it?"
"Yes."
There was something grim in her eyes. "But there is a possibility it will fail."
"And if it does?"
Aefia didn't answer.
Helio already understood. "...You might die, right?"
She slowly looked at him.
"Yes."
The room became completely silent.
Aefia's expression didn't change.
"I am not asking you to forgive me. I am not asking you to tell me that what I did was justified," she paused. "I am telling you because I may have to leave before lunch."
Helio stared at her.
"And you are going back?"
"I have to. They don't know I left, and I can't miss my meal there."
"Even knowing what could happen?"
"Especially knowing."
She looked toward the window. "I made the mistake once. I won't make the mistake of pretending I can simply walk away from it."
Helio said nothing.
Aefia finally turned back toward him. "I don't know whether my solution will work."
Her voice became quieter.
"But I know I can't leave this unfinished."
A long silence followed.
Then—
Helio placed the plate down.
"When? Will you come back?"
Aefia looked at him. "I don't know... It might take weeks or even months... I simply don't know.
He nodded once.
Neither of them said anything else.
And the morning continued the way Aefia wanted. Just to spend some time with Felix and him before she had to leave again.
But then, by lunch...
"I have to warn you about something..." She turned to face Helio across the room. Her hands resting on the railing of the balcony.
"..." He silently looked up at her from the floor.
"Be careful of Rosetta. I suspect her."
His eyes were watery, bloodshot as if he was trying to surpress his tears. He stepped forward and extended his hands to hug her.
"Alright..." He whispered, leaning down to kiss her cheek and forehead. "I wish you will be careful and be safe."
"Yeah..." She buried her face into his shoulder, her shoulders dropped an inch.
Though in her mind, she wanted to stay like this for longer. And just abandon trying to solve this mystery as long as she could.
If only it wasn't for those two bastards trying to get revenge.
***
Three nights ago.
"Aefia... Please," Rosetta begged on her knees at her feet. "I am certain what I saw is going to help you in your investigation!"
Cedric folded his arms in suspense. "Yeah... What are you playing at Rose?"
"Will you shut the fuck up Cedric?!" She glared back at him, before snapping her 'helpless' mask back on. Her eyes went back on to Aefia's face.
"Please? I swear to God! I know my older brother has some unpleasant secret inside the basement!"
Aefia's eyes twitched, "what...?"
"Besides! If you want to solve this case, then you have to get a better understanding about this Palace! You need to gather evidence and that requires your full knowledge of where things are placed! Please?!"
Why is she begging me so much? Aefia thought, her brain wrecking under emotional pressure. I mean... If she that desperate, I should just go along with her and see what is up with the basement. If I recall... Many things can happen in there in fantasy novels.
"Alright..." She sighed. "Lead the way."
Rosetta's face immediately bloomed with a smile, she immediately scrambled up onto her feet and grabbed her by her wrist, trying to drag her away.
That was the first mistake.
It was at the dead of the night. The clock just struck two, somewhere far, a crow zoomed past with a loud shriek.
You could say that a shriek that loud near where a Guardian was... Was trying to tell that Guardian about an upcoming bad news. Of course, Aefia thought it was just a coincidence. So she just waved it off.
The corridor was almost completely empty.
Rosetta walked ahead, still holding Aefia by the wrist as though she was afraid that letting go would make her change her mind.
Aefia didn't resist.
She simply stared at the back of Rosetta's head, her single visible eye narrowing slightly.
Something about this was wrong.
Not necessarily dangerous.
Just... strange.
Rosetta was usually more careful than this.
"Where exactly is this basement?" Aefia asked.
"Not far."
"That isn't an answer."
Rosetta glanced over her shoulder.
"It is beneath the eastern wing."
"The eastern wing?"
"Yes."
Cedric followed several steps behind them, his arms folded across his chest.
"You know," he muttered, "this is exactly how people end up becoming evidence themselves."
Rosetta stopped. She turned around with her face holding a hint of annoyance towards my brother. "Do you ever stop talking?"
"No."
"Wonderful."
Cedric shrugged. "You invited us into this in the middle of the night. I think I am entitled to complain."
"I didn't invite you."
"You were practically dragging Aefia through the corridor."
"And?"
"And I followed."
Rosetta stared at him.
Cedric smiled. "...What? Are you worried she will find out something?"
Rosetta seemed to have noticed the way Cedric was being cautious. "Nothing."
She turned around and continued walking.
Aefia glanced backward at Cedric. "Why did you follow us? Seriously." She whispered.
He raised an eyebrow. "Because someone has to make sure you two don't get yourselves killed."
"That is surprisingly considerate?"
"Don't misunderstand me."
"I wasn't."
They continued down the corridor. The palace felt different at night.
During the day, every hallway seemed alive. Servants moved between rooms, knights stood at their posts, and voices could be heard from almost every direction.
Now?
Nothing.
Only the faint sound of their footsteps.
Rosetta eventually reached a narrow staircase hidden behind a decorative wooden panel.
She pushed it aside.
Aefia stared.
"...That was hidden?"
Rosetta nodded.
"Nobody uses this passage."
"How convenient."
Cedric leaned against the wall. "Extremely."
Rosetta glared at him. "Are you coming or not?"
Cedric sighed and followed.
The staircase descended farther than Aefia expected.
The air became colder. Much like back at the Guardian Realm.
The walls changed from polished stone to old brickwork, with tiny lamps mounted along the sides. Several of them had already gone out, leaving portions of the staircase swallowed by darkness.
Aefia placed one hand against the wall as she descended.
"How old is this part of the palace?"
"I don't know."
"You said your brother had a secret basement."
"Not exactly."
Aefia stopped.
Rosetta stopped too.
"What do you mean, not exactly?" Aefia squinted her eyes in suspicion. Her hands clenching into fists beside her.
Rosetta's expression faltered. "I mean... I heard things."
"What things?"
"Voices."
Cedric's expression immediately became serious. "Whose voices?"
"I don't know."
"When?"
"Several times."
Aefia studied her face. Rosetta looked genuinely frightened. Or at least, she looked like she was.
Aefia couldn't tell anymore.
"And you never told anyone?"
Rosetta shook her head. "Who would believe me?"
Cedric scoffed. "Apparently, Aefia." His eyes then trailed over to where she stood. "You do know this is eventually going to go downhill... Right?"
This may have brought her back to her mind for a while...
Rosetta ignored him and grabbed Aefia's wrist tightly.
"We are almost there."
The staircase finally ended. A heavy iron door stood before them.
Unlike the rest of the palace, it looked completely untouched.
No decorations. No insignia. Nothing. Just a black iron lock.
Aefia stared at it.
"Where is the key?"
Rosetta reached into her pocket. Her fingers closed around something. Then she pulled out a small brass key.
Cedric immediately noticed. "Where did you get that?"
Rosetta froze. "...I found it."
"Where?"
"Somewhere."
"That's not suspicious at all...?"
"Shut up."
Aefia extended her hand. "Give it to me then."
Rosetta hesitated. Then placed the key into Aefia's palm.
It was cold. Far colder than it should have been. Even if it were inside a pocket... Why would it be cold then?
Aefia turned it between her fingers. There were tiny markings engraved along its surface.
Her eye narrowed. "What are... these?"
Rosetta looked away. "I don't know."
Cedric stepped closer. "You are lying."
Rosetta's head snapped toward him. "I am not. And for the sake of God... Shut the fuck up!"
"You looked away."
"I looked away because you keep accusing me!"
"Because you are acting suspicious."
"Both of you," Aefia interrupted.
They immediately fell silent.
She looked at the door. Something was bothering her.
Not the key. Not the basement. But the fact that Rosetta had brought her here personally.
Why?
What did she actually want Aefia to find?
Aefia inserted the key into the lock anyway.
Click.
The sound echoed through the staircase.
Clack.
Rosetta took a step backward as Aefia slowly swung open the heavy iron bolted double doors.
Cedric noticed. "So," he murmured, "you were confident enough to bring us here."
His eyes shifted toward her. "But you're scared to see what's inside."
Rosetta swallowed. "I told you."
Her voice became quieter. "I know there's something wrong down there."
Aefia had long since tuned out of their conversations long ago. She stared into it for several seconds. Then stepped forward.
A cold draft swept past them as soon as whatever was inside, detected Aefia's powers.
Beyond it was complete darkness. Only for a small amount of time.
Cedric hesitantly followed. Rosetta came after them.
The door slowly swung shut behind the three, and it was not surprising.
And somewhere deep beneath the palace—something creaked.
The first thing Aefia noticed was the smell. Her expression changed.
The air below them was thick with something stale and metallic, mixed with damp stone and the unmistakable scent of something that had been left untouched for far too long.
Aefia covered her mouth.
For someone who had already seen enough dead bodies to make most people lose their appetite for an entire lifetime, the smell still made her stomach twist.
She gagged once.
Cedric immediately noticed. "Aefia?"
"I am fine." She wasn't.
And then Aefia saw the first piece. A torn piece of servant's clothing lay against the nearest wall.
White fabric. Darkened by dried blood.
She stopped. Cedric's expression immediately hardened.
"...That's from one of the missing servants."
Aefia looked at him. "You recognize it?"
"I have seen the uniforms. They all have a signature on them to differentiate each other."
He crouched down without touching it. "The embroidery is from the palace laundry staff."
Rosetta continued walking.
Aefia's eye narrowed. "Rosetta."
The girl stopped. "Yes?"
Cedric stood. "Don't."
Rosetta looked back at him. "What?"
"Don't pull her any deeper."
Her expression changed. "I told you there's evidence here."
"And she can see it without walking blindly into whatever brother has hidden."
Rosetta's hands curled into fists. "You don't understand."
"Then explain."
"I can't."
Cedric stepped between Rosetta and Aefia. "Then we can stop and wait until you do."
Aefia glanced at him. "Cedric, move."
"No," His voice was unusually firm. "We don't know what's ahead. And she is most certainly trapping us here."
Rosetta suddenly reached around him. "I need to show her that the evidence! What can I be evil about in this?!"
Cedric caught her wrist before she could grab Aefia. "Absolutely not."
"Let go!"
"You are acting strangely."
"I am trying to help her!"
"Then start acting like it."
Rosetta yanked her arm free. "You think I brought her here to hurt her? Then where is my weapon?!" Her face turned into something creepy.
"I think you brought her somewhere dangerous without telling her what was inside, not even needing a blade."
Silence.
Aefia simply looked past them. There was another object farther down the corridor.
A small black shoe. Beside it was another torn piece of clothing.
And then something else.
A tiny piece of a finger lay among the scattered fabric.
Aefia's face went pale. She immediately looked away to find another detail.
Cedric noticed. "Don't look."
"I already did... I don't intend to back up right now."
His jaw tightened. "Those belong to the servants who disappeared."
Aefia's face turned eerily normal. "The missing ones?"
"Yes."
Her gaze returned to Rosetta. "You said you heard voices."
Rosetta nodded. "I did."
"From here?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you bring anyone else?"
"I couldn't."
"Why?"
Rosetta hesitated. "Because my brother would know."
Aefia stared at her. "So you are telling me now..." She stepped towards Rosetta, even when Cedric was protesting loudly.
"That you couldn't bring people with you back then... But now, you are suddenly willing to bring someone who is your serial killer brother's next target? That is kind of suspicious, isn't it?"
That answer only raised more questions.
She stepped forward. "But I guess since I will have to save my own neck now... This basement will be investigated thouroughly."