"O-oh, please no! Don't do that. I'll talk okay?"
"Go on."
"I used to work here as a butler, I was referred to as Mr. Hobbleton. Y-yeah, ugly name, I know. Anyways, I didn't want to possess this body! It just happened somehow. I woke up like this slumped over that desk. There's a note on it. I-I can't understand it."
After hearing that, she quickly walks over to the desk and does find a note there.
It was different from all the other papers. This was most certainly written by Ms. Ipruk. It's in ancient fae writing! Most people don't understand this language since it's well, ancient. But, Sophia does! It's one of the 14 languages she painstakingly learned.
Ms. Ipruk roughly wrote out a simple message that says:
[Ask them about the Johnsons. Use the charm so they won't lie. I'm sorry but don't worry once you're done? I'll be back. I'll explain later and please be careful. I trust you'll? find the truth.]
If Sophia was alone she would have screamed in frustration! Ms. Ipruk why would you do something so dangerous! How did you even-
She shakes her head and takes a deep breath and tries to focus on the task at hand.
Sophia goes back to Mr. Hobbleton who's lying pathetically on the ground. She asks him, "Tell me what you know about Mr. Johnson."
"Um. Mr. Johnson, well he was my boss."
Sophia tries not to roll her eyes, "And? Did he treat you well? What was he like?"
"He was a very closed off and stern person. But he treated me fairly I suppose… " he doesn't sound sure of that.
"And you were his butler?"
He hesitates but responds with, "Yes. Er- no? Sort of. I was technically his butler but I-I had another job much more important. I guess being a butler was a cover-up."
Sophia's eyes widen in shock, "What exactly did you do? Be clear and don't leave anything out!"
"Before I answer, let me ask you something. Do you know where the Johnsons' wealth came from?"
"Um. I'm afraid I don't know much about them. T-that's why I'm asking you!"
"Ha, you must be pretty desperate to ask someone like me but since I have no choice," he sighs deeply and then reveals, "Mr. Johnson did inherit some wealth from his family but how he became the richest was through his inventions. I watched over him and his creations. Sort of."
"What the-"
"He sold his inventions to the black market, mafia and even rumored to have sold them to immortals. I took care of his dirty work. The dangerous type of work no one would ever want to do. I was in charge of getting the inventory out of here without suspicion. I was pretty damn good at my job. Well, maybe not. Since I died."
"What are these, 'inventions'?"
"Look around you, Miss Fauve. The remains are still here. I'd be careful though. I may not have been the best person when I lived but I'd rather not see another young lady die."
Sophia didn't pay attention to that last part because she was already focusing her thoughts on what sort of 'inventions' are under the covers.
She walks towards the nearest one. Is what she's about to do reckless and foolish? Absolutely. But she wants to know what it is. She wants to find out the truth. Her hand is shaking slightly as she carefully pulls the cover off.
What she finds is a cart.
Filled with empty vials?
The label on it is also written in a code so she has no idea what's meant to be in them.
"Goddess, what are these?"
"Keep looking around. You might find the answer before I even say anything."
"Don't order me around just tell me if it's safe to open this?"
"Maybe or maybe not."
Sophia resists the urge to throw the vial at Mr. Hobbleton only because he's still possessing her teacher.
She puts down the vial and goes to uncover something else. Another cart is underneath but this time there are less vials and the ones that remain are broken. She turns back to Mr. Hobbleton who gives her a nervous smile. Sophia shakes her head. She continues to uncover everything in the room. Most of it is empty vials and some heavy machinery Sophia won't even try to name.
But then she finds it.
In the far corner, what's hiding is disturbing.
It's… Shadow Beast remains.
Of course, Shadow Beasts don't have corporeal forms but after they die or are killed, they do leave two things behind. First and the most common, is their ashes. If you kill them with magic or a magical weapon then their ashes will burn immediately. That way they won't ever regenerate again. Second, their red eyes. To come across them is extremely rare. Almost impossible. Sophia's only seen them once, and it was because of a client. Said client wanted Ms. Ipruk to make a powerful potion out of them. She refused.
///"While powerful, using their red eyes for any kind of magic is dangerous. The amount of power gained is not worth the horrible curses it will bring to your body and spirit. It'd be better to dispose of it safely..."///
The client got angry and left after hearing the truth. Sophia has no idea what happened to them. In all honesty, she doesn't care since they were so rude!
///"Sophie dear, there will always be great, overwhelming power found but remember that the best power is found within yourself."///
She's always kept this advice close to her heart.
Regardless, what Sophia finds is a jar with Shadow Beast ashes and red eyes. But, these eyes look dull and cracked? Have they been used? Was this what Mr. Johnson experimenting with? What did he exactly invent? It can't be good.
"So, his inventions had to do with using Shadow Beast… essence?"
"Yup. See I told you that with a little digging around you'd arrive at the right conclusion!"
"B-but this is horrible! What kind of immoral and absurd thing did he bring into this world!?"
"Miss Fauve, no matter how immoral and absurd it may be, it was extremely powerful. It sold. It made him the big bucks."
"Did Mrs. Johnson know about what he was doing?"
"Hm… Probably not. Those two, their relationship was not the best. He always kept her at a distance."
"Really?" Sophia wasn't really surprised about that.
"Yeah, I even heard that their marriage was arranged so be that's why they were so distant. Tho, if you ask me, I think he does love her. At least, in a sort of precious, accessory sorta way. Kinda messed up. But who knows. Like I said he was a really closed off man. Physically and emotionally. Hell, I probably spent more time with him than she did and I was just the delivery boy."
Hearing that last part Sophia felt a little mischievous. "You were closer to him than his own wife? How scandalous!"
"W-wait. Don't misunderstand-"
"Misunderstand? I think I can see the clear picture now. Your soul never moved on yearning for a forbidden love." Sophia says as dramatically as possible.
"No no no! Are you messing with me? I have standards!"
"You've made it pretty clear by now that you don't have much standards."
"That's when it comes to work! Not the same thing! If anyone in this place is having some sort of affair it'd be that maid and Madame Johnson!"
"Oh, really? What can you tell me about the maid?"
"Well. I don't really remember much about her. Her name was Flores? I broke her phone once, that was an accident! Anyway, she was always by Madame Johnson's side. Practically inseparable. Sir Johnson, didn't say much but it didn't take a genius to know that he was displeased. Haha, some other servants thought that because he never did anything about it, he might have been into-"
"I'm going to have to stop you right there."
"Yeah well there you have it. I bet he's remarried by this point."
"Actually, they're both… dead."
"What??! W-wait that shouldn't be possible... He's-"
But he didn't get to finish before he let out a horrible scream!
He was still in Ms. Ipruks' body so the screaming was very much hers. Sophia couldn't just stand there listening to her mentor in pain. She crouches down and tries to calm him by patting his shoulder awkwardly.
"It's okay! Please calm down. Look, I'm sorry for being mean earlier. We really do want to help you."
He stops screaming but still looks distressed and doubtful.
"Y-yeah, okay and why would you want to help someone like me. No one's ever h-helped me out of the good of their hearts."
"I can't make you trust me so quickly but let's be honest, we are the only ones who can help you.
Why do you think Ms. Ipruk let you possess her? She wanted to find out the truth. She wants to help you move on. So do I. Believe me or not, I'm a fantastic person. I believe in doing good. That's my reason. As long as you'll let me, as long as you put some faith in me… I, Sophia Fauve, promise to set you free!"
He stays silent for a moment before he starts laughing.
"Hey! Don't mock me! I was being serious!"
"Helping me for such an honorable reason? It's funny! Really? You're serious?"
"Of course I am!"
For the first time, he meets her eyes. He gives her a firm nod. "Okay, sure. Why not? It's not like I have anything to lose at this point. I am putting my soul in your hands, Miss Fauve."
"Good. I think I just have one more question to ask you. But it's the most painful one. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I can be. Which isn't much but shoot."
"What do you remember of your death? Please tell me everything. And I'm sorry in advance."
He goes rigid. "I-I can't remember too well. I was making a delivery or returning from one. I was being chased? I got in an accident."
He continues shakily, "Y-yeah… I guess I d-died in an accident. All I can remember was being run into. My truck flipped over. Flashes of fi-fire and a shit ton of pain. I must of d-died… slowly."
"I am so sorry. But, if you died like that I still wonder why you linger here of all places. Don't, get me wrong your death was horrible. But I can't help but feel that there's more to it. You feel that too right?"
"I do. There's something important. I just can't remember no matter how hard I try."
Sophia thinks for a moment before she gets a brilliant idea. She rummages through her bag and pulls out her phone!
"Uh, you're gonna call someone?"
"No, I'm going to look you up! Maybe I'll find some articles or something about your death."
He gives a low whistle, "Wow that's actually not a bad idea. I never had one of those smartphones. I just used communication rocks."
"Right. Okay, let's see what I can find."
It takes a few minutes before she finds something somewhat reliable. "Aha! I actually did find an article about the accident… " Sophia skims the article and her eyes widen.
That's very weird.
"Well. What's it say?"
"It does describe the accident like you did. Didn't mention anything about foul play. Might have been covered up. But! The most concerning part was that your body was found inside the mansion."
He looks shocked!
"W-what? Why would I- How did I even get here? I know my death wasn't instantaneous but why would I c-crawl back here?"
"There's two possibilities. Either you moved yourself or someone moved you. I can't say which one for sure because both have pros and cons." she continues, "I can't find anything on the state of your body other than it being badly burned. Nothing about your legs or arms being severely damaged. So you, yourself, coming here could be possible. Although, it would make more sense for someone to have moved you or helped you. No idea who. The article also says that your arms looked as if they were holding onto something. A package? It was never found."
Silence.
"I-I can't remember. I can't… think why I would… I mean I'm not a good person but I would always…"
"Your death was a huge scandal. Not surprising but this place was already earning a bad reputation. Only about a month before you died, a maid went missing. Do you know something about that?"
"W-wait."
"Earlier you said 'I don't want to watch another young lady die', did you mean her? Did you watch Darmae Farona die? Did you do something to her."
"I-I No. Never. I would never hurt-" He screams again. It looks like he wants to move his arms and hold himself. To make himself smaller. But the mist is still restraining him.
"B-believe me. I would never kill-"
He didn't get to finish.
The mist began to dissolve. The light left his eyes and it was over. Sophia did not need to check to know that he was gone. Ms. Ipruk was the one who remained on the ground. Sophia quickly went to her side to make sure she was okay. Her eyes were still closed but she was breathing and Sophia let out her own breath of relief.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't able to help. Mr. Hobbleton, you're still here right? Somewhere else? Lingering? There's no way you'd leave now. I promise this isn't over. I'll find the truth and set both of you free. I'll trust you like you trust me."
Nothing happens, all that she hears is the steady breathing of Ms. Ipruk.
"Wake up already, Ms. Ipruk. I still have to yell at you."
"Hrmm. 10 more minutes."
//Seriously?!//