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🕑 Added 2024-05-20 05:26:02 +0000 UTC39: Blood Scandal (3)
Two accidents happening in such close proximity to each other would surely bring attention especially if it was in a building hosting a party as big as the final's Spring Festival.
But that attention was the last thing needed by the faculty of the Academy and the professor who arrived on the scene did their best to prevent anyone from leaving.
"Describe how you got here!"
"When I arrived, Matilda Ambrose was in the proximity of the place and seemed to have heard or sensed something, I am not sure. Honestly, I felt something as well and proceeded ahead with the support of Miss Edith Black covering my back. When we entered the scene, we were greeted with the sight of Lord Reginald lying on the ground beaten to an inch of his life and we only recognized him from his attire and sword. Later, Sir Edmond Black joined me and we discovered that Miss Isadora was in the other room and she seemed to have had a violent accident as well."
"Describe how you got here!"
"I followed Senior Vivian Moore in order to find a place where we could eat and converse without disturbance and away from the noise. We stumbled upon Matilda Ambrose and later the three of us discovered Sir Reginald's body, who was alive by the time I checked for his vitals. Senior Vivian instructed me to rush for help and you know the rest."
"Describe how you got here!"
"Well… since His Highness wanted me to keep an eye on Miss Matilda while he was in a meeting with the Provost, Lady Vivian, and my sister Edith encountered her and I sensed a bit of hostility. As I was about to intervene, the three ladies suddenly acted strange and rushed to the room, weapons in hand. I later revealed myself and managed to find Lady Isadora with Lady Vivian's help."
"Describe how you got here!"
"I was… I felt something… I know it sounds ridiculous… sob We found him on the floor and… he… I couldn't help him. I was afraid… I came too late."
"Enough with that, you've already figured out everything."
While the fourth testimony seemed to have driven the witness into a stressful state, the first three testimonies were indeed enough. Prince Liam seemed to be ready to stand up for the distressed Matilda while the situation seemed to be getting more complicated.
However, the only survivor of the incident seemed unresponsive. Isadora Wellesley seemed to have cried so much and kept herself shut inside her own head. No matter how many people try to talk to her, she seems like she needs someone who can take care of her.
"Don't you see how badly distressed she is? Get her family here right now and see if her parents can do something. The girl was assaulted for crying out loud!" Vivian shouted at the Minister and the Professors who were trying to talk to Isadora.
This was a situation that almost everyone here wanted to avoid. More people getting involved is the last thing they need.
Of course the girl's family should be notified immediately but it should happen more quietly to draw less attention. If this situation goes out, especially with the existence of so many nobles and guests from abroad, there will be hell to pay.
But just how to get this situation handled. The Professor on the scene was Sir Cornelius Ashford, the martial instructor of the Academy. But then, a ruckus started to happen outside the crime scene.
"Let me through! What do you mean I can't get past this? These are my students! My students!"
A man pushed through the academy guards and lo and behold, it was Professor Amos Morgan, the third-year classroom supervisor.
Just as the man saw a body lying on the ground covered with a sheet and saw Isadora in the corner in her sorry state, he became instantly speechless. He couldn't help but look at the situation and push away the professor who tried to take him to the side.
"What happened?" He asked and looked around to see not only the Prince but also three other students and one former student being interrogated.
"Amos, this is not a good situation to cause a scene. We need to keep this under wraps." Professor Cornelius walked to Professor Amos and implored him to keep quiet.
"What happened to Isadora? And who is on the ground? Who did this, Cornelius?" Amos asked with his eyes turning bloodshot red.
"Isadora was found after she was… assaulted." Professor Cornelius said and saw the expressions of Professor Amos take all the shades of paleness, "We don't know what happened yet. We're waiting for a nurse to…"
"To what? TO WHAT?" Professor Amos became infuriated immediately and wanted to walk to Isadora but he stopped and pointed at the corpse, "Is that a student?"
Knowing how passionate Professor Amos is about his students, all the other professors wanted to avoid answering him and fortunately for them, someone answered for him.
"It's Reginald, Professor." Vivian stepped away from her interrogator, "I am sorry."
Professor Amos almost collapsed after hearing that one of the kids that he raised for three years was the lifeless corpse on the ground. He held his chest, his breathing became chaotic, his eyes tearful, and he looked at Vivian.
"I arrived first on the scene along with Miss Edith and Matilda. I am sorry we were late."
"No! I am glad you're alright, Vivian." He said and patted her shoulder, "Did you see who did it?"
Vivian shook her and helped him sit down on a chair.
"Here." She said and handed over a white handkerchief to him and whispered, "This is a clue I picked. I don't trust the others."
"What is this?" He asked as he held the kerchief from her.
"A footprint in blood when the culprit walked out of the scene. Reginald's blood. The size and pattern will identify the killer from his shoes."
Professor Amos looked at Vivian with shock and then looked at the others. With evidence like this, a list of suspects can be narrowed down quite significantly.
He swapped the handkerchief she gave him with another and acted as if he accepted her kerchief to wipe his face.
"Thank you." He said and stood up to join the professors.
"Where is Lord Provost?" He asked.
"He was with us before going back to the Party in order to not let anyone suspect something weird. Don't worry, Amos, we've contacted the families of the two victims." Professor Cornelius said and tried to be calm, "The party will be wrapped up as quickly as possible and the students will be kept to interrogate."
"It doesn't have to be a student." Professor Amos said.
"That's a possibility but right now, we can't deny that this is a crime of passion. Young Reginald was beaten so badly it can't be considered an assassination. Someone with a grudge must have done it and his strength is no less than that of a 2-star Apprentice Knight." Professor Cornelius said.
"You're right. I don't want to think of the fact that the rivalry between my students would make them take it this far." Professor Amos said.
"We also don't know what happened to Isadora, she refuses to speak." Professor Cornelius said.
"I don't expect her to." Professor Amos seemed determined as he put his hand in the pocket where the evidence given to him by Vivian was kept, "We need to know who was the last person to see Isadora and Reginald."
"Reginald was at the ball dancing with Miss Vivian Moore before the ceremony was over." Professor Cornelius said and then whispered, "But you know as well as I that involving her more will upset some people. Let's try other leads and…"
Professor Amos didn't listen one bit and immediately walked towards Vivian again and asked her a very specific question about who was the last person she saw with Reginald. Vivian wanted to answer but before she could do that, Edith Black was right next to her.
"It is my fiancé Richard Marshall, Sir Amos. He is… was a good friend to Sir Reginald. He may be able to shed light on who did it." Edith said and looked at Vivian with firmness.
Vivian was pleased she didn't have to answer that. Saying Richard's name may incur more wrath upon her than what she has accumulated so far but when Vivian put it that way, it allowed Richard to be called in as a witness.
Edith's answer caused the air to tense up between Prince Liam and Edmond, who eyed each other and used a language only they could understand. After their eyes met, Prince Liam returned to his solemn attitude without revealing a thing on her perfect poker face.
"Let me bother you with one more question, Vivian. Where was the last time you saw Isadora?" Professor Amos asked.
"Sadly, I wasn't paying attention but I assume she was with Johann."
"Naturally. I expected that as well. Thank you."
After thanking Vivian and leaving her, Professor Amos was approached by Edmond Black.
"Greetings Professor." Edmond spoke.
"Lord Edmond." The Professor replied.
"I know it is improper of me but I can call upon some of the men from House Black to assist with the investigation. It may sound bold of me to meddle in House Morgan's affairs but…"
"It's alright." Professor Amos said, "But the one you need to be asking is Professor Corneilus who is in charge of the scene at the moment."
Edmond turned to Professor Corneilus, who seemed not to know whether to accept such help or not.
"The case will be handed over to House Black either way. A high profile murder such as this is their specialty to deal with." At that time, Prince Liam added his touch to the situation.
"In that case, I guess we can use all the help we can get." Professor Cornelius said and turned to Edmond, "Lord Edmond, you are free to leave the premises but please return with haste."
"Thank you, Sir. I promise to return with results." Edmond said and bolted out of the place immediately.
As for Vivian, Edith, and Matilda, the three of them were told to stay in a room not too far from this place in order to be ready to answer any question on the spot. Prince Liam insisted on staying with Matilda and later, the families were notified and many important figures started to gather inside the Academy. One of which was Count Julian Moore and his family, who stormed into the room where the three witnesses were staying.
Count Julian wanted to take Vivian away since he suspected that they may try to frame her with something new but as soon as she explained the situation to him, it was pretty understandable that she couldn't be framed into this one as she is realistically incapable of committing both crimes.
Two hours passed since then and the investigation in the case of Reginald and Isadora seemed to have progressed as two students were later invited into the room, Richard Marshall and Johann Fitzroy, the last two who saw both Reginald and Isadora respectively.
It seemed that the help brought by Edmond Black was enough to contain the situation and bring the last two witnesses. What was left was to put down a list of suspects and start the process of elimination.
Richard was summoned first to speak privately with the Black Family knights and the professors. After a while, he returned and Johann was up.
Once he returned, he was approached by Edith, who began interrogating him about what happened.
"What's it to you? All I said was the truth, I was speaking with Senior Reginald about his official dispatch and wanted him to wait a year so we could do it together. He seemed distracted by another matter and left me with the promise to continue our conversation some other time."
Despite how Richard seemed like he wouldn't answer, he spilled the beans to Edith right away. He didn't seem nervous but he felt a bit rigid.
On the other hand, Johann, who was being questioned at the moment, seemed to have taken too long compared to Richard. Vivian started skipping back and forth in the waiting room until an hour passed without news from the outside.
Then Professor Cornelius walked in along with Professor Amos, Edmond Black, and Johann, as well as a score of knights and professors.
"Alright, everyone. We thank you for your cooperation. Despite the unfortunate circumstances we are facing, we were lucky to get to the truth of the matter." Professor Cornelius said.
All the witnesses in the waiting room looked at each other and waited to hear what the investigation had led to.
Professor Cornelius stepped ahead and announced what was found out.
"The truth is the following…
Between 8 and 9 o'clock this evening, student Johann Fitzroy ambushed and killed student Reginald Ashcroft after the latter…"
"WHAT?"
"Hold on!"
"How was…"
Vivian, Edith, and Matilda responded simultaneously. Edith was glared at by Edmond and Matilda was held by the Prince. Only Vivian remained unfazed against the looks of everyone else.
"Sir Reginald was a 3-star apprentice knight. How on earth is it possible to even ambush this year's Top student in the martial arts class?"
"Miss Vivian, sir Johann is a 2-star apprentice knight himself. It is no impossible feat for him. On top of that, there were specific circumstances. Please, don't ever interrupt me again." Professor Cornelius seemed a bit aggressive as he responded to Vivian who didn't say anything in return.
"As I was saying… student Johann Fitzroy ambushed and killed student Reginald Ashcroft while the latter was busy assaulting student Isadora Wellesley."
If a needle were to be dropped in the middle of that room right now, everyone would hear it loud and clear.
But what the professor said just now…
"This doesn't make any sense!" Vivian spoke but nobody cared what she thought.
She turned to Professor Amos who seemed as if he couldn't process what was going on and kept staring away from anyone.
Vivian couldn't believe it.
A gentleman like Reginald would never do something like that. He treated Vivian gently, shared a dance and a laugh with her, and while he was simply someone she just got to mix with for an hour or so, he was the first stranger to leave Vivian with a good impression in this rotten place.
Details around the accident were recited by Professor Cornelius according to Johann's testimony.
According to the official investigation, Johann searched for Isadora until he found her shoe flipped off in a hallway. By acting fast and searching the empty places, Johann arrived at the faculty conference room where he could hear a struggle between Isadora and Reginald. He picked a blunt mace from an armor stand and snuck up on the distracted Reginald to deliver a powerful blow against his head. Reginald, who was critically injured, tried to escape but after seeing what he did to Isadora, Johann followed him outside the faculty conference room and beat him out of anger with the mace to an inch of his life. He then felt that someone was coming and in a moment of panic, he escaped through the window.
It seemed shocking but all the facts were laid out clearly and nothing contradicted any of the things witnessed by the three ladies who arrived at the scene first.
So… could it be true?
Was Reginald really that kind of a person? A wolf in sheep's clothing?
No! Someone must know him well enough to defend him. Someone…
At that second Vivian remembered.
"Richard!" She turned away to Richard Marshall, "Reginald was your best friend, you surely know he is not that kind of person."
Richard stared blankly at Vivian and took in a deep breath.
"It is understandable you think that way." Richard said and sighed with obvious distress, "However, Reginald was always eyeing up Miss Isadora and didn't seem to have made progress winning her."
"You can't be serious!" Vivian couldn't believe what she just heard.
"What a waste of time!" Richard said and walked away towards the door, "He got himself dishonored and killed."
To not even stick out for his friend!
"And you keep saying I am the disgrace of high society!" Vivian couldn't help but spit out those words at Richard.
That was that!
Vivian's ability to provoke others was top tier but when it comes to Richard, the two were like water and sodium.
"You think you know everything, huh? You think you're better than everyone else?" Richard immediately turned to Vivian gradually losing grip over his emotions, "You think I don't feel ANYTHING? That's my friend who got killed tonight. MY FRIEND! One that I trusted with everything. And he betrayed me! HE! BETRAYED! ME!"
Richard shouted at Vivian without class or etiquette.
"Betrayed you?" Vivian frowned, "Are you even listening to yourself, you moron?"
Richard's face became as twisted as the devil and took a powerful step toward Vivian. Vivian had a hand ready to grab her pistol but before she could do that, the Black siblings were already stepping up between the two. Edmond on Richard's side and Edith on Vivian's.
As the two will never tolerate one another, this is never going to be the last clash between Richard and Vivian.
"You too will take her side?" Richard looked at Edith and couldn't seem more upset.
But then, Vivian had an epiphany.
Just now, he said "You too" to Edith.
Aside from Edith being Vivian's only friend at the moment, the only other friend was none other than Reginald.
Was Richard upset because Reginald and Vivian were friendly?
And so just before Richard steps out, Vivian fires the loudest bang in her arsenal.
"Richard, what was Reginald to you?"
Richard froze right away and turned to Vivian with a face shaken with fear only to find her holding a card and looking at it.
The card Vivian pulled out was the Tarot from the free draw she got from the last quest reward and as she looked at it, Vivian could see the reading via the system.
Usually, four cards are needed for a reading but the system only requires one.
That one card was Justice, reversed. It means denial, falsehood, and even injustice.
But the meaning wasn't important right now, what was important was this…
————————————————————
— Name: Richard Marshall
— Age: 17
— Level: 3-Star Apprentice Knight
— Emotions: Angry and Scared, Betrayed by a Lover, Avoiding Accountability for Murder
————————————————————
The system was rather specific on this one. It didn't give vague hints or unclear meanings. It was there right in the open.
Betrayed by a Lover?
Avoiding Accountability for Murder?
The same amount of shock on Richard's face appeared on that of Vivian's.
"How?" She blurted, "How could you?"
Richard didn't know what to do and nobody else aside from him understood what Vivian meant. The whole crowd thought there was something between them and she was blaming him for not standing up for Reginald. The whole crowd except the one Richard turned to right after fleeing the gaze of Vivian.
Edmond.
Richard looked at him as if asking what to do. Edmond himself was frowning at Vivian and as she saw Richard turn to him, she turned to him as well.
Vivian found something out. Richard and Edmond realized that. She knew that the two of them were in on it together. Maybe Richard killed Reginald but Edmond clearly helped, he was the first to arrive at the scene after all.
Seeing that Edmond was doing nothing, Richard made the best course of action he could think of and quickly walked off the scene.
But at the end of the day, Reginald Ashcroft's reputation was tarnished, Isadora Wellesley didn't speak up and suffered from mental breakdowns, and Johann Fitzroy somehow carried the blame for killing Reginald under the excuse of defending Isadora.
The Families of Wellesley and Fitzroy would have a large feud with House Ashcroft for generations to come and all of them were unknowingly innocent.
[A/n: I don't know what to say about the ending of this chapter! Goddamn, me from a few weeks ago was something else!]
