Since she was asked for, she would go near. Her belief in life is very simple. She will do what she can and if she is helpless at some point, she will quit. While her mother wondered why she had to give birth to a worthless child like herself, she also wondered if everything she had done so far was still not enough for the blood guilt she owed her. After all, she didn't ask to be born. For a decision that didn't come from her will, why should she take the risk?
She had given in too much, even willing to give up her very dreams for the sake of her birth which she did not ask for. She understood very well that trying to maintain parental comfort was a virtue that a child could do, but still it was not a responsibility that a child had to undertake.
Later, can she guarantee that she won't act like her mother?
Can she guarantee that her child will not suffer the same fate as her?
Standing up from her seat, Kirsi stroked her belly gently. The small movement was not visible from the outside because her body was wrapped in a thick black robe. She took slow, steady steps toward the table opposite, which was near the entrance.
On her way, Kirsi accidentally bumps into someone. Or in fact, it was that person who accidentally bumped into her. She was already certain that her way of walking was correct, for it was impossible for her to recklessly bump into someone much bigger than her unless she was looking for trouble.
Kirsi automatically turned around and complained in annoyance, but the person had already arrived at the bar and ordered his food as if nothing happened. Apart from leaving a bad impression on her, that person also left a unique impression on Kirsi of how his scent smelled exactly like the blood smell of rusting iron.
Startled, Kirsi instantly turned her head. Sniffing him made her sick to death. There was nothing odd about the grown man except for his annoying smile. Kirsi soon looked back at the front and walked briskly towards Cedric. She hastily pulled up a chair and sat as close to her husband as possible. It didn't matter if the unknown man was a serial killer just out of action, as long as it wasn't something related to ghosts and the like. Kirsi won't stand it.
"Why don't you bring your food?" Cedric's question dismissed Kirsi's worries for a while.
"I finished the food. "
"Wanna go home already?"
Kirsi thought for a moment. If possible she wants to go home now. But at least she wanted to tell Cedric about the guy just now. Kirsi shook her head slowly in response.
Cedric said once again, "Then order some more food."
Kirsi shook her head. The smell of blood just now was too thick to be able to drive her appetite away.
On the other hand, Alastair was watching the two while munching on his rice cake leisurely.
"Kirsi, this is my older cousin, Alastair Riven Elaxi."
When Cedric finally formally introduced him to his wife, Alastair swallowed his cake and added, "Nice to meet you."
Kirsi nodded and smiled kindly, "Nice to meet you too. Thank you to those at the hunting event last time."
"Don't worry About It. "
Cedric had heard everything from the Emperor and Alastair himself, so he didn't ask Kirsi about it. And he didn't say much about it either.
"By the way, where are Sir Frederick and Alruna?" Kirsi asked in wonder seeing the two people mentioned had not appeared. She just realized they had been separated since Kirsi and Cedric entered this diner.
"They have other work to do." Cedric plucked the toasted rice cake from his small plate and ate it in one bite. As they tasted good, he finished the other two rice cakes and asked the fat chef behind him for more. He subconsciously made the big and fierce-looking Old Man look shy and scared.
While waiting for his food to be ready, Cedric reached into his trouser pocket and took out an envelope that emitted a fragrance identical to his odour. Cedric handed the envelope to Alastair, who rapidly accepted and opened it.
The man only read it for less than two minutes before handing it back to Cedric, who didn't put it back in his pocket but simply laid it on the table. Kirsi who saw it of course was interested in reading it but did not dare to ask. In the end, she could only stare at it blankly.
"Why are people busy looking for him just now?"
"The missing person who was first reported missing had actually been reported missing two years earlier. But the case was dropped when the victim's family finally met him in a remote village on the outskirts of Aslaug. The victim at the time said that he was not going home, so he and his family broke up. Similar cases happened so many times that people started to relax whenever one of their closest people disappeared because then they would meet the victim again somewhere.
However, in the past four months, there have been murder victims and when traced by the local police, it turned out that the victims were people who had been reported missing. Subsequent murder cases continued and all known victims were missing persons. The strangest thing that then happened was that the victims of the murder were still reported to be seen in various places, and when the crime scene was approached by the authorities, the crime scene seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye. Not a single trace of what happened was left there. "
Alastair tapped his fingers on the table. "What about the possibility of a false report?"
"At first the district police who handled such cases labelled such cases as false reports. But then similar cases happened several times in different districts, so that possibility was immediately ruled out. Not to mention, most of the witnesses who reported experienced trauma that seemed impossible to fabricate. "
Alastair nodded, then said, "I could have stepped in without a letter of assignment since I have the staff of authority insignia, but it would be unethical for me to use it in a place close to the Emperor's authority."
"No need to worry. It's not that the Emperor doesn't want to demote you, but anyone would be embarrassed to have to leave such a trivial local task in the hands of a Grand Marshal. This matter hasn't even reached the Crown Prince's table yet. But as a good landlord, I want to get to work before the problem gets too big." As Cedric explained, the food he ordered finally came with a bowl of chickpeas and a vessel of fried peanuts. Cedric pushed it slightly forward to make it easy for Alastair to grab it.
Alastair took a handful of fried peanuts and replied, "No problem. You can use my troops however you want. I'll make a formal letter about it. With a note, every progress of the case must go through my desk first before it can be approved."
"No problem, that's how it should be."
The two of them had a long chat about some of the procedures to be followed which were not easy to discern for a layman like Kirsi. When they decided that the Grand Marshal would be interfering in this matter behind the scenes, Cedric glanced at the clock hanging on the wall of the shop which was already 9-21 minutes past. Because he was too busy talking, Cedric lost the track of time.
Cedric instantly spoke to Kirsi who started to nod off beside him. The woman seemed to be trying hard not to lean on his shoulder and fall asleep. "I'll take you home first."
"Oh, okay." Kirsi got up to follow Cedric who was already standing first.
"Go ahead first, I'll pay." Cedric went to the counter without waiting for Kirsi's answer.
"Let me drop you off at the carriages." Alastair politely offered her a small favour, to which Kirsi received a nod and a friendly thank you.
The two of them walked out side by side. And when the two of them arrived outside the tavern, the horse-drawn carriage parked across the street moved closer. Cedric came out of the tavern not long after that.
"Your Highness! Excuse me!" from the west, someone was running towards them.
He was a district policeman still on duty at this late hour. Once he arrived, he caught his breath first before opening his mouth to explain. "Your Highness, just now, there was a report regarding the latest murder case. The witness reported at around 6 pm to the police who were patrolling the area near the crime scene in the Upper East district. This news has not reached anywhere except every police station via internal news relay. And the information only reached us at around 9 o'clock. Recalling that you will be going to this tavern tonight, I rushed here to report."
Sweat the size of corn kernels wet his forehead and the area around his face including his neck. His chest was moving up and down rapidly, it seemed that he had just been running to catch up with the time when he heard the news that the Crown Prince was still here.
It is not a common procedure to report directly to the Crown Prince regarding the latest developments in the current case, but after a serious discussion some time ago at the city prefect's office regarding the authority transfer of the case by the Crown Prince, everyone concerned is obliged to report even the smallest thing regarding this case directly to the Crown Prince, as he had surpassed two authorities at once to take over the case.
First, the authority belongs to the circuit inspector who is directly supervised by the court clerk who is a direct subordinate of the Grand Chancellor. Second, the authority of the local nobility, which actually quite reckless to take. Only this time the Crown Prince hurried and worked seriously. People assumed that the Crown Prince had finally matured after he got married.
After listening to the policeman's explanation, Cedric gave a curt nod and turned to Kirsi, saying, "Get in the carriage first."
Kirsi tightened the warm robe around her and asked hesitantly, "May I stay here and listen? I won't interfere."
"Sure you can, but come in if you're cold." Fearing that a robe wouldn't be enough to keep out the chilly night, Cedric took off his robes and piled them on top of Kirsi, making the tiny woman appear to be drowning in the coils of cloth.
"No need, I'm not cold." Kirsi was about to take off and return the robes,
"Put it on or go inside." but Cedric quickly gave an ultimatum so Kirsi cancelled her intention.
Finished dealing with his wife, Cedric turned back to the police in front of him. "Stable your breath first."
His gaze then turned to the coachman who jumped down from the reins. Cedric said to him, "Go buy a glass of water from the tavern."
The policeman forthwith said, "No need to bother, Your Highness!"
Cedric doesn't like to be denied, especially when he's offering kindness. As soon as he looked at the police's face with furrowed brows, the police instantly went silent and stopped resisting. Instead, the policeman pulled out some files from his small bag and handed them to Cedric in a whisper 'Excuse me'.
While waiting for Cedric to receive and read the file, the cop explained. "The victim's name is Damian Anderson, a 46-year-old man who lives in Port Stebex in the city of Aslaug. The victim has two underage daughters and a wife who divorced him 2 years ago. According to police records, the victim is one of the victims who had been reported missing, who was later seen several times in the area around the capital before disappearing again. Since the two children decided to move to their mother's house once their father was reported missing for the first time, no one else has reported him in the second missing case. So unknown exactly where the victim has gone for the past few years. According to eyewitnesses, the victim has recently been seen wandering the Upper East."
Cedric nodded. The coachman that Cedric had previously ordered had returned with a large glass of water and given it to the police just now. As the police drank, Cedric focused his attention on the paperwork in his hand. Curious Kirsi tugged at Cedric's sleeve so he could lower the paper a little so she could read along.
Ahem, isn't it a wife's job to lighten her husband's burden? Kirsi didn't really intend to interfere, she was just curious and thought that solving problems with two heads was better than just one.
Cedric didn't protest and lowered his hand as low as possible so that Kirsi could read it too. The document page has arrived at the description of the victim's death according to the witness' explanation. The imagery is so explicit and gruesome that Kirsi needs to steady herself several times and focus her mind on the good things to keep her sanity. While she had mostly skimmed through just looking for the main points, she had come to the document's corner which draped over a crude portrait of a man who for some reason looked familiar to her. It felt like she had met this person somewhere...
"Sorry, can I see the portrait for a second—" Kirsi paused mid-sentence when she suddenly remembered who it was. Her face was pale, her expression was like seeing a ghost. Her body stiffened, and in an instant, she almost forgot how to breathe. The 4 people who watched her soon realized her fear.
"Kirsi, what's wrong?" Cedric asked and wiggling her shoulder.
Kirsi replied in horror, "I... Just met this man."
Cedric looked as surprised as Kirsi when he asked, "What? Where?"
Alastair, who had been listening in silence for a while, finally realized who Kirsi was talking about. Since Cedric's position was with his back facing the bar table, it was natural for him not to know of the incident when Kirsi accidentally bumped into a grown man who was much bigger than her at the tavern just now. Alastair, on the other hand, was sitting directly facing that direction, so no matter how forgetful he was, he would still remember what had just happened right before his eyes.
Alastair asked to confirm, "You mean the man you accidentally bumped into a moment ago?"
Kirsi nodded in horror.