"My Lady, I haven't seen you in ages. I missed you so much! How is Tudor doing?"
"I'm fine!" the little saw whet owl immediately appeared from mid-air and did a dance on Libitina's shoulder. Tudor was no secret to her closed ones, even though they knew him as a spiritual pet which had gained consciousness. "Sabrina! Sabrina!"
"Tudor!" Sabrina squealed. Libitina smiled at their interactions as she gave Tudor to Sabrina to hug. Unlike Elizabeth, Sabrina was so carefree and bold that she did not care that the Second Prince was around before cuddling with the animal spirit.
"Tudor, I see you're just as cute as always."
"Sabrina, I missed you too! We got a new friend while you were gone!"
"Friend?" Sabrina and Sydney both looked at Libitina curiously.
"I'll show you later," Libitina massaged her cheeks. Smiling so much for one day was too tiring for her. After Tudor told her that she had to control her emotions, she had tried to remove her penchant for emotional responses. The result was her stoic and cold face. Even her smile was often more scary than happy, but at least the look was useful for fending off flies.
"More importantly, good job, Sabrina. Thank you for staying here to spy. After we clean house here, do you have any recommendations on who can take over the northern fief operations?" Libitina asked her clever servant.
"Well, there is a person, but I am not sure if he will be to your liking. He is the warehouse manager. Not anyone in charge, not a major leader. But he knows the best on what's going on and he has popularity amongst most employees. The only drawback was that he is a little…weak? He would be great for uniting the people now, though."
"Name?"
"Creda Hull. Aged 25."
"Weak but loyal, what's left is to test his character. Did he fail to stand up to Mallory due to ignorance, a lack of courage or a weakness in character? Well, send him to me later. I'll get Ellie to whip him into shape.
"Meanwhile, let's gather up the people on this list."
Sabrina's eyes shone with excitement. "Yes, Ma'am!"
…
For the few days that Lady Merveille stayed at the northern fief, the people trembled whenever they saw her figure.
Before she arrived, the General Manager Din Mallory had assured them that she was just here to see the sights. Then, two days after she was around, they saw their General Manager carted off under the protection of some knights from the police order.
He was not a good guy, but he represented stability. What was going to happen next?
True to the foreshadowing, more and more people got 'invited' into the room on the third level. Rumours stated that there is where those 'invited' would get 'interviewed' by Lady Merveille. No one knew of the horrors that happened inside that room. Sometimes, screams would erupt, with begging voices and hard thumps in the mix of cacophony. The lady with the silver mask and the silver fan, who would sneer with disdain at mortals and rip apart souls. The rumours got exaggerated.
Soon, the room became known as the most terrifying place in the little headquarter building. More and more people got escorted out of the building by the knights, and everyone's heart quivered whenever they saw an acquaintance amongst those apprehended.
Creda Hull was a timid guy. He loved nature and he followed his father's foot steps to become a farmer. He was recruited by an old matron who worked in the management centre of the cornfields, and soon rose to the position of warehouse manager.
Then, one day, he received an 'invitation' to that room. His mother almost fainted out of fear when the guards appeared at their door one evening after dinner time. Creda was scared and confused.
Creda knew that Lady Merveille was removing the more corrupt officials in the management centre. But how was he involved? The timing was never this late as well, for those being 'invited'. His lips trembled and his face paled as he was politely escorted to the third floor.
It was out of place that the guards left him standing at the door of the room politely, instead of dragging him inside like what he heard the others describe. Aside from him, the long corridor only consisted of the two guards. The moon casted long shadows on the dark carpeted ground. It was a scene out of a horror story.
Taking a deep breath, Creda tried in vain to calm his heart. Then, he slowly placed his hand on the door handle and opened the door gently.