The next morning, Eleanora woke up later than usual. She spent half an hour simply tossing and turning before finally deciding to get up and prepare for the day. She knew that most guests were leaving today, and the only ones who would remain were her family. She also knew that today, after a long half-year, she would finally see her niece and nephew.
She shuffled over to her wardrobe, and the first thing that caught her eye was the emerald gown she had worn the night before. A smile immediately spread across her face as she recalled the garden encounter. It had been nearly morning when she returned to her room, laughing and feeling freer than she had in a long time.
All her doubts had seemed to vanish when she was with him. The rascal had started, maybe half an hour into their conversation, telling her about stars and the stories tied to them.
Suddenly, she realized she was smiling — a genuine, happy smile. She didn't quite understand why. After all, he had been cheeky and had no business being there.
She honestly couldn't explain her decision from the night before — though, secretly, she didn't regret it one bit.
What puzzled her more was the feeling that he somehow knew her . Not just that he knew she was a crown princess — but that he truly knew her, how she behaved when no one was watching. He had acted as if they'd met before. And no matter how hard she tried, Eleanora couldn't recall from where. Or even if she'd ever seen him in passing. And that deeply bothered her.
In the end, she decided to forget that night. She didn't want to think about it anymore. She probably wouldn't see him again — and even if she did, she likely wouldn't recognize him. It was better to let it go and not get her hopes up.
Eleanora quickly dressed in a pair of summery violet gowns. She ran a brush through her brown curls and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Looking back at her was a nineteen-year-old girl. She didn't feel particularly noble — but even she had to admit that she radiated something.
As her brothers liked to joke, a kind of natural authority.
She smoothed her dress and stepped out of the room. Her plan was to first go to the library to continue working on her school project. After that, she'd enjoy the rest of the day with her family, without letting her thoughts wander back to masked strangers.
The library was vast. Towering gothic vaults stretched up to the ceiling, and the walls were lined with rows of shelves, each packed with books holding the knowledge of generations past. The lower the shelf, the newer the books.
A narrow spiral staircase led up to the higher floors, its railing decorated with ornaments carved in ancient times. Sunlight from the afternoon sky filtered in through the stained glass windows, casting colorful patterns on the stone floor.
In the center of the room stood a large wooden table. Scattered across its surface were parchment scrolls, newspaper clippings, and open books.
This was Eleanora's usual workstation. Whenever her parents visited the library, she always promised to clean up — and insisted that they will not send any servants, since she had her own system and didn't want anyone messing with it.
At the edge of the table stood a candleholder with a half-burned candle. Eleanora stepped up to it — the sound of her footsteps echoing in the silence — and lit the candle. Then she sat down and rummaged through a stack of papers, pulling out her notes to the school project from Friday — the day before the ball. Originally, she was only supposed to investigate a single case — the one about the missing family — but the deeper she dug, the more connections she began to uncover with other cases.
Whispers from the Borderlands: A Magico-Forensic Analysis of Murders and Disappearances on the Edge of Nyvarion
Topic: A magico-forensic overview of unsolved murders and disappearances over the last two decades, with a focus on magical traces, anomalies, and recurring patterns.
Objectives and Methodology:
Gather case records from the past 20 years
Compare magical signatures from the scenes — spell residue, ritual traces, and curses
Assess whether each case was truly an accident or suicide
Analyze connections between the type of magic used and the purpose of the attacks.
Selected Cases
Case 1 – The Disappearance of the Sellwick Family (Year 980)
Official Version: They fled from debt collectors.
The Sellwicks owned a farm on the edge of the village. They were an orderly family, and locals claimed they had no reason to disappear. Their only real fault was that they sometimes charged too much for poor-quality produce. But in recent years, even that had reportedly improved.
The family's disappearance was reported by a neighbor who was supposed to come over and babysit.
Guards' comments:
"They ran off, simple as that."
"Poor folks disappear all the time — why should we care?"
Archive Status: Missing magical resonance scans.
Notes: Food was left on the table. Why would they flee in the middle of dinner?
Case 2 – The Noctaris Family Massacre (Year 984)
Official Version: Attack by unknown mercenaries — all family members killed.
House Noctaris was one of the oldest and most noble bloodlines in Nyvarion. They were longtime enemies of House Bleckwhite. Unlike the Bleckwhites, who ruled the Sun Nation, House Noctaris held dominion over the Moon Nation in the Silver Realm.
In the autumn of 984, all members of the Noctaris family were found brutally murdered — to the point where the bodies were almost unrecognizable. The attacker hadn't spared even the youngest child. Yet strangely, no magical protections had been broken.
Guards' comments:
"Not surprising. That family had too many enemies."
Archive Status: Some key photographs missing.
Notes: The most important photos — gone. Coincidence … Hmm, I don't think that.
Case 3 – The Fall of Lady Marien Rell (Year 987)
Lady Marien Rell came from an ancient house. She had no children, and her family had recently noticed that she seemed increasingly forgetful and unhappy. In the spring of 987, her maid found her body beneath the balcony.
Official Version: Unfortunate accident.
Guards' comments:
"The family didn't want to dig into it — so we didn't."
"Old house, tall balcony. She probably slipped."
Archive Status: Maid's interrogation protocol lost.
Notes: Why didn't the family want to know more? Could they have been involved — or just afraid of deepening the grief? I'd bet the maid knew something for sure.
Case 4 – The Wedding Feast Poisoning (Year 990)
Official Version: Spoiled wine.
Guards' comments:
"Wine spoils. It happens."
Archive Status: Complete.
Notes: The poison only reacted with the bride's blood — not a coincidence. The inheritance from her father was a clear motive. Why hasn't anyone looked into it?
Case 5 – Drowning in Lake Lorr (Year 993)
Official Version: Suicide.
Archive Status: Witness testimony from the professor missing.
That was all she had for now. What she needed most were more archive records to flesh out the details of each case. She had already decided to visit General Whitmore later that evening and request access to the remaining files.
The first time she had asked him — last Thursday — he hadn't exactly looked thrilled about it. But Eleanora knew that, as the future queen, he couldn't exactly deny her.
Before her lay a map of Nyvarion, marked with small red crosses showing the locations of the five incidents. All of them were near the Lorr River.
Eleanora leaned over the map, carefully jotting down notes in the margins. The room around her was quiet. She could hear only the rustling of parchment and the distant sound of footsteps in the corridor. The air smelled faintly of candle wax and old books.
That peace, however, didn't last.