Not long after the Baroness' death went public, a state of emergency was swiftly imposed. This was followed by a dispatch of soldiers in the city and a curfew imposed. But why take such measures after the death of a Baroness?
The answer was two reasons, one, the nobles wanted to flex their power, and even if her position was trivial, they needed to make a big deal out of it lest they would be undermined.
Second, since it was still a time of peace talks after the First World War had just ended, it was a necessary precaution to prevent a civil war from occurring. This was mainly because, to the outside world, the Baroness' family was very popular, especially in her region. And her contributions to the war had been publicly known.
As Jhana stepped outside, she bumped into "the maid".
"How was your day today?" he asked, "hope they are treating you well."
Jhana sighed unable to play any more games with Erick.
"Am this close to getting court-martialed," said Jhana showing her fingers.
"Don't worry," Erick held up his thumb, "I will make sure to bring flowers to your funeral."
Jhana frowned slightly.
"But seriously don't worry, if things escalate tomorrow, I need you to tell them everything, I have a plan."
"Ok, and by everything you mean?" She asked.
"The identity of the Grim Reaper."
She looked startled for a moment but recovered soon. She smiled weakly. There were eye bags under her eyes and from time to time, she yawed. The interrogation had been on for two days straight.
"Umm Erick, about what we talked about earlier," she asked suddenly, "will you be coming home? Please. We only have eight days to October."
"I haven't made up my mind yet," he looked agitated for a moment then asked, "And how is Kana?"
Jhana smiled mischievously at his question.
"I was surprised you didn't ask me about her when we met, it kinda got me hopeful,"
"I wasn't certain whether it was okay to talk about Kana with you,"
"Well, in that case, Kana is fine, for now,"
"What do you mean for now?"
"After it was reported that you died Kana locked herself up for days without eating, she grew pale but recovered from the shock after some time, after I told her you are alive she started going back to her old self,"
"I don't understand. She had not fully recovered by now. It has been three years since I faked my death,"
"After you "died" she became quiet and kept to herself,"
"Am more surprised that Xerxice hasn't married her off yet, he is the Kind of man that would use his daughters to establish political supremacy with the other nobles."
"There were a few sutures, but Kana shot them all down, It was embarrassing to watch, and funny too."
"Sounds like her," he said smiling recalling her black hair, her confident persona, and the elegant demeanor she carried herself with, "but she has to move on eventually, you too, you have to move on. I don't have the luxury of having relationships."
There was a flare of rage in Jhana's as she watched the cold expression on Ericks' eyes when he said that.
"You say move on, how do you expect that of us, it is your fault that Kana fell in love with you, it is also your fault that I too fell for you, so, don't act like it doesn't matter."
"I see," he said as he looked at the tears welling up in her eyes.
He then looked far ahead of them.
"Jhana, just remember what I told you today," he made a bow and was about to walk away.
"Wait, we both know what Kana wants, so if you care about her, come home,"
"I'll think about it. One more thing, in here I am your only friend, no one else.'
He walked deeper into the halls.
She felt easier now.
* * *
The crescent was high up that night, several clouds were blocking the crescent light and the light from the stars. The owls hoot, and the dead branch of a tree scratched the window as the wind hallowed across the night. Yellow luminous light penetrated the curtains of Jhana's room.
She pulled the towel off her silver-white hair and left it on her bed. She lay on her bed abruptly, shaking it, and her boobs shook in turn, the nemaki robe she wore did little to hide the cleavage and her thighs were exposed as her legs remained up.
She looked up and spaced out for a moment.
"Things are escalating fast," she thought, "but I suppose things will be settled by tomorrow," she threw the thoughts aside.
She was just about to slip into her blankets when she noticed the taping sound of the glass window. Taking note of the distance from her gladius, she walked to the window and opened the curtains. To her relief it was a branch, she breathed a sigh of relief.
But just then a force yanked her back and onto the ground. A wire was around her neck choking her. The wire was thin but sturdy, the infamous piano wire that severed people's heads, she pulled the wire and noticed some resistance to her pull. A person was pulling the wire, someone was trying to assassinate her.
Her left hand bled as she struggled to pull it. Already it had made several crevices on her neck. She felt around with her right hand until she came in contact with what she was looking for, a pair of scissors. She quickly cut it and sprang onto her feet picking up her sword and turning to hold it firmly.
Several gulps of air. Uneasy breathing. Had she not augmented her body with magic the moment the wire touched her neck, she would surely have died.
"Come out, show yourself, you coward!"
The door was slowly pushed open. Her mouth felt open when she saw the face of the man, she had confessed to all those years back. Erick Helmsman. He looked at her with a calm smile but with a malodorous look in his blue eyes.
"Hey Jhana, I said I would kill you, didn't I?"
* * *
Chief Henrick was sitting behind a desk, his eyes buried in the files in front of him. There were many holes in Jhana Helmsman's case, maybe it was because she was young, but it was as if the higher-ups were trying to pin all this on her, the question was why?
Just then, there was a peaking on his windowpane. He rose slightly dragging the chair, he slowly opened the expensive glass window, a black crow flew in and landed on his desk, he could see a letter tied on its leg.
The letter looked small, but for some reason, there was a lingering feeling, the same one he had during the war a few months back. The letter was more like a note, but as he read it his expression changed, his eyes widened, and he instantly turned to look behind him as if there was someone there.
He exhaled deeply and then sat behind his desk. As if not certain of what he had read he opened the note again. It was short and brief but carried heavy words. It read . . .
(The Grim Reaper is in the vicinity.)
"Why would that monster be here?" he wondered.
All the while he recalled a scene in battle, the midst of the smoke of the canons, the blood, dust, and the chaos of the war, he had caught a glimpse of the living legend. Standing on top of a pile of corpses his presence alone halted the battle.
"This man, not this thing, was acknowledged by the world, as a killer among killers. And if it is here, then this could be my only chance to put it down. But if the killer is here, then it could be anyone."
He lit a candle and placed the note. He took a moment to confirm that the not had disintegrated, and then calmly he called out two names.
"Fox! Hare!"
Just then two masked men appeared beside him on one knee each.
"Put a lockdown notice for the next kilometer radius, no one leaves or comes in without my permission, I want everyone in this camp to report to me one by one."
"Yes sir," they both replied.
"And Jhana Helmsman?" asked one of them.
"Yes, she is to be put into a strict watch, everything she does and with whom she does it with is to be reported to me."
As soon as he had concluded his orders both had dispersed. He sat back and smiled slightly, what he thought had started as whims of the proud noble was now turning into an interesting manhunt.
He rose put on his cloak and walked to the door. He walked through the halls, deep in thought, his boots making mild noises on the floor. He was about to make a turn when he noticed Jhana standing at the end of the halls, she seemed to be conversing with someone, but whom?
He remained out of sight, silently trying to listen in on the conversation. This could be it, the evidence he was looking for. But to his dismay, the only thing he saw was a maid bowing slightly and leaving.
He watched the maid walk away, nothing was interesting about her, her mana was average, her looks average and even her physique was average. His attention then shifted to Jhana who rested her back on the wall.
He then wondered, "What could be so important that the nobles would want to get rid of Jhana."