-~*~-
Luyao places the flashlight in between his teeth before ushering Kazuto to the body. Luyao had decided that in order to find more things they had to take the body down and conduct an autopsy. They gently take the dead man away from the rope and lay him down on a much more empty floor.
Luyao — "You go ahead and check the surroundings. Our attic is locked tightly. This is a closed door murder so try to figure out how they got away."
Kazuto — "Alright, boss. You got it."
Kazuto went to do his part while Luyao made a simple check of the body. He checked the finger joints and found that it was rock solid. However it's not as rock solid to be conferred as dead for more than 12 hours. "He must be dead at night then."
Although he came to this conclusion, he can't really tell at what time. He can gladly conferred that it is not a suicide. For a suicide there must be little to almost no sign of struggle. Sudden recollection for small struggle stretches would not leave blood marks.
"Death by strangulation. Made to be seen as a suicide but the bloody marks on the neck shows that the man has no intention to die." Luyao said to himself and further checked the dead man. On the other hand, Kazuto is checking the surroundings. Specifically the single round window.
Aside from the staircase, the only way to get in and out of the attic is through the round window located in the center of the attic. It is able to be open. However, considering that the attic is located on the fourth floor, it is impossible to have a safe landing especially in such weather.
Thinking back again, it may be impossible to go from the very top to the very bottom. But what if they had a mid stop. "Luyao, I'll be back in a second. Gotta check something." Luyao nodded and Kazuto left the attic and went down to the room underneath.
The room underneath is just a spare reading room that had always been reserved for guests. He went over to the window right underneath the round attic window. The floor is covered in carpet to ensure that children won't trip. Another benefit from having the carpet is that if it becomes wet the stain would be easily discovered.
Low and behold, there is indeed a stain in the carpet and what's more it is right in front of the window. Unfortunately, it is not to his expectations as he had wished to see any footprints on the carpet but there is none. The wet stain only came from the rain pouring outside.
Not giving up, he went and checked the window latches and indeed it was loose. Meaning someone must have opened it. To ensure that the window does not open in the hopes of not tampering with the stain and evidence, Kazuto takes a cloth from the covered furniture and ties it to another latch of the window.
Finishing, he went back upstairs to the attic. The moment he shines the light to the body no one is crouching by its side. "I'm over here." The voice is coming from the area where they had found the body. It seems like he is checking for something. "What are you looking for?"
Luyao didn't reply and pointed to the dead man and said, "check the back of the neck, you'll understand." Kazuto did and found a slight bump with the sticky substances that seemed to be partly dry. It was blood. "Blood and lump at the back? You want to find a blunt weapon?"
Luyao nodded and further explained. "The victim was killed by strangulation. It was suspected that someone had placed him on that rope. To do that without the victim realising the suspect must've knocked him out unconscious without wanting to leave many mark to lead to anything aside from possible suicide. Meaning blunt object is used to knock him down while preventing blood from ushering out too much."
Hearing his stance Kazuto nodded in understanding before saying. "Is there anything else you need help with? If not, I'll go and get some testimony and inquiry from the servants." Luyao urged him to go out, which he gladly did.
He soon reaches the servants quarters which are connected to the mansion via a pathway. Seeing his parents still in the area, he figured that they ought to be told about the current situation. Vaiden, being the first to reach her son, holds onto his arm in desperation. "What did you kids find?" Being the Marchioness, she is the one in charge of the household meaning most of the servants are people she had taken in and cared for. To see a servant who you care for as a family die, it must've at least hit her in some ways.
Kazuto being the caring son, takes her palm and gently places it in between his own. "Mom, it'll be okay. We'll tell everything once Luyao has finalised his findings. It's his specialty." Nodding in agreement, Vaiden takes in a few deep breaths before leaning her body against Izumi for some sort of support.
The son then looks over at his father who is cradling his mother's arms. "Father, I would like to ask for your help." He didn't answer but his firm pupils had said enough. "I would like to ask if we could look over the servant's entry. It will help tremendously."
Marquess Ryu — "Of course. I'll let Rosalyn hand it over to you."
Kazuto — "Thanks, Dad. Mom, if you want you can help Dad and then go over to where Yanyi and Irene are. You need rest, or my baby sibling won't like it."
Marchioness Ryu — "Haish! You. Yeah yeah.."
And so, the Ryuichi family parted ways to complete their assigned tasks. Kazuto enters the resting quarters which is similar to a living room for all the servants of the house. Guards, maids, chef, gardener. All of them share the same living room to create a much more welcoming environment. Of course, beds and daily accommodation are given separately but this area is big enough to actually allow for everyone to be inside. Albeit just a bit cramped.
Kazuto then proceeds to find the servant who had first discovered the body. He was sitting in a corner surrounded by Rosalyn and other servants. He is clutching his arms in fear, perhaps such fear served to be something he got from the encounter. The man is quite petite and has very good looking features. His cheeks are round and his eyes are giant and cute. His structure is smaller but not too small.
Kazuto gestures to Rosalyn to help the kid into a separate room. She takes the note and gently guides the trembling body to a storage room made to keep in all the games provided to by the family. "Rosalyn, stand outside and make sure that no one is there. No one leaves the room." Rosalyn responded affirmatively and went outside, leaving Kazuto alone with the servant.
Kazuto then proceeded to drag any available chair or stool he found and sat right before the young servant. "Can you tell me how you found the body?" The boy who is still shivering shudders from the word "body" which is expected of someone who hadn't encountered any murdered dead body before.
Slowly the young servant took a deep breath before he spoke to the man standing before him.
Young servant — "I was tasked to take the plate from the dining area to the kitchen to be clean. Since breakfast is still ongoing, I was standing in my position by the entrance of the dining area. When the light got cut off, I was tasked by another servant to check the attic and turn on the fuse box. When I opened the ladder to the attic a pungent smell filled my nose."
Young servant — "At first I thought nothing of it, thinking that it was the smell of dust and old items located in the attic. When I went up the ladder I shined the flashlight given to try and find the fuse box. Then I see a shadow hanging from the ceiling. I move the flashlight up and see the body. Then… T-Then I scream…"
Kazuto noted his behavior throughout the whole process. The boy keeps a firm grip on his uniforms. It's not fidgeting from nervousness but rather trying to find a stable ground to recount unwanted experiences. If he remembers correctly, Luyao had once mentioned that rarely had he encountered people who are able to fake fear which is what the boy is supposed to feel.
Kazuto then continues to question him by saying, "Is there any extra thing you would like to tell me? Like what the body looks like in the beginning?" No reaction. "Something else out of the ordinary?" Nope. "Or do you know the victim?" Slight body twitch. Bingo.
Seeing that the boy didn't want to open his mouth or was too scared to do it, Kazuto decided that interrogation time had ended. Coming out of the room, he saw the boy slouching back on the couch while everyone is trying to comfort him.
Just then, Rosalyn's figure appears before his peripheral view. He saw that she was holding onto the huge file. It is the servants' entry document that they had of all the people working in the estate. Kazuto takes the huge file and turns back to Rosalyn.
Kazuto — "Rosalyn, I would like you to help me. Help me by confirming whether all the servants were indeed in their designated place last night. Specifically after midnight. If there seem to be any suspicious, report to Luyao and I near the attic door"
Rosalyn — "Of course, young lord."
With that Kazuto left the servants quarters and went over to where the attic door is. The reason he had asked Rosalyn to question the servants is for two reasons. One, if he were to question them, they would not be able to be at ease. Two, it is strictly forbidden for the servants who are not on duty to leave their designated room. Bathrooms are provided inside each room and simple beverages are also provided so there would be no reason for them to leave the room unless it would be their shift.
Luyao came down from the attic and saw Kazuto sitting at a nearby table. Coming over, he saw that he was looking through the servant's entry. "Want me to help?" Kazuto throws the file for guards at Luyao who skillfully catches them. He sat down and started to look through.
Less than 5 minutes later, Luyao snapped his finger. "Found the victim." The other male stopped his reading and read the file Luyao had placed on the table in between them.
The victim turns out to be on the shift of guarding the weapons warehouse exactly the day corresponding to yesterday night. Reading the shift time, we were supposed to take the shift from midnight to around 3 pm. "If they had died around the end of their shift then it makes sense why the body is in such a state. Not much of a pungent smell but stiff enough."
Reading through the characteristics of the victim which has been recorded from outside acquaintances which the family had personally investigated. The victim is recorded to be a spirited and joyful person. He was friendly and often made contact with other people. Suicide should not be on these people's mind.
"They registered to work alongside another person"? Does it say who though?" Kazuto flips through the back of the file trying to find more stuff. Unfortunately, personal records that are to link directly to the family members are not recorded as to still keep a sense of privacy.
The red messy red locks slump his body against the couch and mouth, "We won't be able to find anything with this huge library. *sigh*" He then realized that Luyao had searched through the attic to find something. "Luyao, did you find the weapon?"
The man then proceeds to go back up the ladder where his brother also follows suit. Upon entering the attic again, he saw a bypass pruner on the ground.
Kazuto — "This is the weapon?"
Luyao — "Hard to believe how it is here, but yes it is. I've checked the bump on the head alongside the pruner. Wouldn't you know it, the bloodied section matches the dent area."
Kazuto — "Did you find it laying around the body or-"
Luyao — "No. It was well hidden at the back of the attic. You know, where all of our old toys are placed."
Kazuto stayed silent before Luyao asked him about what he had discovered with the window. Leaning against a pillar, he asked Luyao "Do you think it is possible for the escape route to be the round window?" He pointed towards the window.
To which Luyao shook his head. Walking over to the said window, he examined the rim. There is no clear dry damp on the lower part of the rim. If one were to escape during such a storm, opening the window would allow the rain to go inside. Go inside and cover all the other rim areas except the one where the heels are on. Considering that all the rims are equally weak and coated with water, it pushes out of his theory.
Luyao — "Not only the rim but also the wet floor beneath us. If it were used as an escape route then it wouldn't be so damp."
Kazuto — "Huh, like how I expected from looking downstairs. The room right beneath the attic is a normal room with a carpeted floor. If a person is to come inside from the rain, a clear footprint needs to be left behind which is not."
Just then, the sound of another pair of footsteps approaches the attic. It was the Marquess. "You kids should go and investigate other areas. I believe that all the information from the attic has already been found." They nodded and the Marquess shoo them away.
Contemplating on their next move, Luyao suggested checking the victim's room. If the killer is way too skilled to leave any evidence on the crime scene then the victim's relation could prove useful. They yet again, for Kazuto, strode to the servants quarters. This time heading for the room quarters.
The quarters are quite unique as they are a long hallway with a bunch of mini rooms made for each servant. Thus everyone shall have ample privacy. They soon reach the room of the victim from the servant entry.
Opening the door, they find the place to be rather… weird. Out of nowhere there stood the chair from the study table in the middle of the room. Quite far if you were to say it was pushed backwards. They ignored it, thinking that some people do like to rearrange their furniture to be however they like.
Luyao searches through the victim's table while Kazuto pulls out the box of items which is under the bed of each servant. Inside he found some miscellaneous items, like toys, some postcards and some teddy bears. That is when he found a small red velvet box. Inside as you would've expected, rings that seem to look like a couple rings.
Kazuto — "Hey Luyao. The entry never says that the victim is engaged, right?"
Luyao — "No, why?"
Kazuto — "Because of this." *throw the box to Luyao*
He caught it and just by feeling the velvet fabric he knew what it was. The rings inside aren't any ordinary rings. It was not meant to be an engagement ring between a male and a female. But rather the style is more kin to male rings. "Male couple rings?"
"Thought so too. The size of the two rings are similar with just one being a tiny bit smaller. Pretty sure it was meant for males." Luyao places the ring back on the table and pulls out the diary which he had found just a moment ago. He flipped through the pages but only found a normal diary entry. How's the weather, the activities, the colleagues. Just a normal entry. That is until he flipped to the pages nearing the end.
'Journal no. xx'
I have prepared everything for tomorrow. I hope this all goes according to the plan. We have known each other for over five years. Jinoo will be there to make sure everything is according to plan.'
"What did you find?" Kazuto, who had finished investigating his part, bent over and looked at what Luyao had. Seems like the only thing he finds of value is the ring box. "A diary. I don't think it belongs to the victim though. His name is being recorded as a third party." Luyao continues to flip the pages. All of it was just more story about the proposal.
'Journal no. xx
It didn't work out.
"Looks like someone's proposal went downhill" Luyao side eyed him and continued to read the diary.
'Journal no. xx'
Dear Aurilians, I am grateful that you can bring me a friend like Jinoo. Ever since the plan he had been by my side and often came over and chatted with me whenever it wasn't his shift. Although I am a bit more busy than him, I won't mind the company.
'Journal no. xx
I don't know why but there's this new guard that keeps on following me whenever I am outside the manor. It's weird. Like I am being watched. Luckily though, Jinoo is always there whenever I go out to grab some fresh air. He also noticed the guy but he kept blocking his view towards me. That's really nice of him.
"There's one more entry to this diary." Luyao said as he flipped to the final page. It was a rather lengthy one.
'Journal no. xx'
I don't know what happened today. I can't believe what Jinoo said. He proposed to me. Sure late at night in the middle of the storm, but his silhouette by the window is somewhat mesmerizing. I said yes. I hugged him. I kissed him. Sure he's a bit wet from standing in front of an open window but hey, I don't mind it. I guess this is the last entry then.
I'll leave the book to him though. Let this diary be the story of my journey before being with him. Then I'll write a new diary where we both will be in it. Thank you Jinoo. Thank you for making me happy throughout our journey. I, Keith, will always love you from this moment forth. Keep the book safe okay. We can wear the ring next morning. At night it is hard to see the ring clearly.
"Keith huh. Isn't it the young butler who finds the body? The one you interrogate?" Kazuto nodded. He had indeed felt something off with that young man. Like he was hiding something but not something sinister. After reading the whole thing now he knew what that feeling was. It's their connection.
Kazuto — "Something is just not right with this. If it is a suicide case then it wouldn't have happened right after a successful proposal.
Luyao — "Think that a third party is behind this case?"
Kazuto — "The stalker felt weird…"
Luyao — "True. The boy wouldn't be mentioning anything if it weren't remotely close to his life. The whole diary is like that. Perhaps a confrontation happened."
"Do you remember reading about a new guard entry on the servant files?" Luyao nodded, he scanned through his memory and found one. He remembers the contracted date as well. Surely enough, it is 3 weeks before the journal is written. "His name is Wei. He was a guard that came three weeks before that specific entry. He was assigned to patrol around the gardening shed at noon."
Something just clicks in their mind. They both share a glance before rushing out of the room and one heads over to the room and the other starts running around the manor. Both are searching for something and someone.
Kazuto is rushing through the hallway of the servants to look for a certain young butler.
Barging in through the servants quarters, he sees Rosalyn who is still guarding and making sure everyone is safe. Although he didn't see a particular person. "Rosalyn, where's Keith?" He asked with breath almost lost. "He said he wanted to go to the bathroom for a moment so I let him." Kazuto didn't hear the rest after he heard the word bathroom.
Keith, who is still wrapped up in a blanket, gets out of the male servant's bathroom and starts to rub his eyes in disbelief. Down the hallway, he sees a figure, eerily similar to his late fiancee, Jinoo. Not in the right state of mind, he mutters the name "Jinoo?"
The figure which has been standing still until the word escapes Keith's lips starts to lunge forward. Keith, still in a daze, didn't realize about the sudden movement until it was too late for him. He closes his eyes, wishing that the pain won't be for long. To his surprise, there is no pain.
Opening his eyes, he sees the man who had been chasing him down stagger for a moment just a few breaths away. He then collapses on the floor with a loud thud.
"Are you okay, Keith?" The voice of the young master he serves is right across the hallway. Keith, speechless , is only able to nod and slide down the wall. That little adrenaline rush got him so tired.
Kazuto didn't kill the person but had used his tranquilliser gun that he had to keep in himself all the time. He had shot him near the shoulder area to paralyze it quickly to both stop his incoming attack on Keith as well as spreading the materials to his body quickly. He did that within a 100 meter hallway.
He checks the pulse and upon seeing that he is still alive, he turns to Keith. "Stay in the bathroom for the next 10 minutes. Whatever you hear, see or feel, never open the door until the time is up." Keith didn't say anything as he watched the young marquess bring the man away.
He did as has been instructed.
.
.
.
On the other hand, Yanyi, Irene and Eker had been sitting in the living room surrounded by books and toys that the Ryuichi couple had provided for Eker. They had been waiting for the past 4 hours.
"Do you think they're finished?" Irene asks out of the blue as she reads the hot selling magazine in her hand.
Yanyi responded with her eyes still glued to all the puzzle books that Eker had finished. "I don't know. Whatever happens, they will be informing us about anything that happened."
She thought to herself after examining yet another book. 'This kid is really intelligent. A question so tricky for a 14 year old and he had finished them in under 2 hours.'
"Jie?"
"Yes."
"Eker's hungry, can we have some snacks in the kitchen?"
Looking over at Irene, they both nodded and all three went to the kitchen to grab something. The hallway is a bit eerie as there are no servants nor guards around. They have all been instructed to be in the servants quarter to help with the investigation.
Yanyi went over to the pantry cabinet which she now knows thanks to a certain red head, and started to rummage through. "Do you want some biscuit, chocolate or wafer? Or anything else."
Eker — "Is there a chocolate mini pie, Jie? Eker wants one!"
Yanyi — "Luckily for you, there are some."
Yanyi took the snack requested and handed it over to Irene. "Go on ahead and return to the living room, I'll get some water for refresher." Closing the pantry cabinet, she went over to the fridge to grab some water and some cups. Cups because glass is meant to be used at the dining table.
"Come on, we'll get some water soon." Irene brings Eker out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the living room.
Just as they turned the corner, the lightning strike came through the window and in the middle of the hallway was a man with a rather sharp instrument at the end of his palm. His steps then strode closer to the dining hall and turned to the kitchen.
In front of his vicinity is a lone young lady, who is sipping her water and preparing some beverages for three people. The man quietly moved closer in the dim room. Hand ready to strike as his pupil targets her vital part.
"YANYI!!"
The shout came from the entrance of the kitchen just as the man was three steps away from his target. Hearing the scream, he struck his chance. With the short distance and the sudden call out, it wouldn't be possible for her to stop his attack.
How bad has he calculated. His sharp instrument stopped just inches away from Yanyi's neck. Looking back at what had stopped it, a small metal fork came into view. Above those delicate hands are a pair of soul piercing silver gaze.
The fork then flung to his direction which thankfully he dodged. He tries again when Yanyi is no longer armed and a piece of handkerchief flung to his arms and flipped his bone backward.
The girl he had targeted then kicked him back. Luyao placed back the handkerchief he had used and stood side by side with Yanyi. He is now facing two strong individuals at once. Rationally thinking there is no way for him to win. Thus, he escaped.
Ran through the hallway to where the main exit is.
"Jie?"
The young voice is what caught him off guard. Instead of stopping from the sudden appearance of a little boy by the corner, he took it as a chance and took him along on his escape.
Irene who was about to grab Eker was caught off guard when she was shoved to the side and the boy suddenly got caught away. "EKER!!!" The older sister screams ring through her ears, before seeing a flash of blue running past her and out of the main gate. Soon enough a flash of dark blue follows suit.
Eker is wiggling around the captor's arms trying to get off his grip. He sees Yanyi from afar and cries out for his sister.
Yanyi is not able to catch the captors with the heavy rain and the large gap.
"CLOSE THE GATE!!!" The command from behind that is slowly growing faint brings him not much reassurance. The speed of this captor or assassin can rival that of her own.
Without thinking of her own rin state, Yanyi pulls out both her signia and smacks each of the cryst against each other. Instead of a string kunai and a huge scythe the weapon in her hand are different. It's a pair of sickles which she quickly struck one on the ground and the other thrown towards the direction of the man.
The floor which is previously covered in soil pavement is now covered with a thick layer of ice. Combining ice with the heavy rain, the man struggled to run. The sickle which she had thrown towards the man caught his legs and cut it enough for him to stumble from the pain.
Eker was thrown on the floor sliding backwards closer to where Yanyi is. The girl ran towards her brother and cradled him in her arms. Covering him from the heavy and cold rain while the voices from behind gradually became clearer.
Irene crouched down to her with an umbrella while the other two men went over to the man in pain. They were stunned for a moment from the ice floor before telling the guards by the gate to take the man to the estate dungeon.
They both turn to look and ask the girl which they had seen turn the very ground floor to ice. "Jie? Jie!" The young voice brought them back to a halt for the question. The girl who had been coddling her little brother had fainted out of the blue.
The chase for the murder is over, but a new question emerge
.
.
.
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