[ ROSE PALACE ]
Conan reached for the bloodstain on the creased sheet, rubbing his fingers against each other. Dexter was nowhere in sight and everyone in the Rose Palace was scattered around, unconscious.
"It's still fresh," whispered Conan, peeling his eyes from the empty bed to the person who had just arrived at the marquess's chambers.
Isaiah.
"He is not here," Conan announced the obvious while Isaiah's eyes fixed on the empty bed. "They hadn't gone that far."
Isaiah kept his mouth shut, lifting his eyes to Conan's countenance. Both of them stared at each other solemnly. Soon, knights came rushing from behind Isaiah as the latter stood by the door. They didn't say anything before Isaiah faced the knights, bearing his usual plain expression.
