Hearing the red eyed man's question, Anneliese's face paled. She made up the lie in a haste and didn't thought that the lie will need to be proven because it's the High Conclave she is lying to.
Ann thought to herself, "You can name anything Ann, It's not like the Conclave will search for it!! And Even if they do look for it, it's not necessary, everything that has lost can be found, specially in this huge forest!!"
Ann closed her eyes and said in her mind, "C'mon Ann hurry, think of something you could have lost yesterday, Think Ann, Think of anything!!
When she opened her eyes, she saw the people in elite attire who were staring at her, came to stand beside the red eyed man!
Ann felt a bead of sweat trickle down her back because of the nervousness she felt under the piercing gaze of the head members. And she heard one of the members, "The girl is lying! Our Inspection Unit has searched the whole area thoroughly and did not find anything."
"She is not lying. I am sure of it because I was here in the forest yesterday night and helped the girl find her way back to town." stated Vincenzo.
Even though Vincenzo knew that the girl is lying, he did not wanted anyone else to find out because since the moment, the girl with umbrella crossed path with him, She became his mystery to solve.
Hearing what the red eyed man just said, a flush of relief passed through Ann's face before she realized, "He was the shadow man who helped her! and He was the shadow who killed the witch!" And she felt panic started to rise in her body making it tough for her to hold her ground.
Archimedes gazed Vincenzo with scrutinizing eyes before turning towards the girl in white and questioned in serious tone, "What is the thing you lost here Miss!"
"A Book!" Ann named the first thing that came to her mind.
"A Book?" Envoy Egnatius repeated with a perplexed look.
Gulping down her throat, Ann clarified, "I am very fond of books and this particular one is very special because of it's rare appearance."
"Search the forest again and see if the Miss really lost her book or it's just a made up lie to deceive us." King Archimedes ordered the Inspection Unit.
Hearing the order, Annelies's already paled face paled further. Ann saw the Inspection Unit spreading across the forest and started to look for the book which does not exist in the first place!
Even after searching for an hour, the Inspection Unit did not find any book mentioned by the lady. Seeing the Inspection Unit looking for the book for more than an hour, Head witch Bellatrix commented, "I don't think there is any book here! Its obvious the girl is lying about loosing the book and is here because of some other reason!"
Regal Fairy Luciana looked at Ann before asking, "Do you know, what is the punishment for lying to the High Conclave?" Seeing the girl not responding, Luciana answered, "Execution."
By the thought of execution, Ann's whole body went numb. Closing her eyes, She wished in her mind, "If only it was possible and a book that belongs to her could just magically appear in the forest!"
Hearing a distant voice coming from behind, Ann opened her eyes before turning around and saw an Officer, walking towards her while carrying a book in his hand!
Reaching to where the head members were, the officer bring forth the book and handed it to the red eyed man! Anneliese's blue eyes went wide when she saw the book closely.
On seeing the book which the officer has found, the heads of Conclave exchanged a mystified look! And Vincenzo asked the girl, "Is this the precious book you lost?"
Ann was too stunned to listen or to say anything! She lived in a world of supernatural creatures but she was not one of them. She was just a human who loved her simple and uncomplicated life. Since the moment, she came across this book, strange things are happening to her which she is unable to grasp or understand!
Noticing the girl not making any efforts to answer, a look of annoyance appeared on Vincenzo's face and he irritatingly remarked, "You don't love your life very much! Do you? considering your lack of efforts to cooperate with the Conclave's inquiry!"
Managing to step out of her shock, Ann replied, "Yes! This is the book I lost." In an attempt to leave this place quickly, She continued speaking, "Thankyou for finding my book! I'm very grateful to the Conclave. Now that, it's proven I was not lying! With your permission Can I have my book and leave for home before it gets dark?"
Ignoring her question, King Archimedes questioned, "Do you know, what is this book?"
Tired of making up lies, Ann answered honestly, "Yes, I know. It is the dormant Book of Spells created by fairies and witches ages ago."
Ann heard another question thrown at her, "From where did you acquire the book in the first place?"
Not wanting to lead the Conclave to Mr. Herondale, Ann lied again, "I found the book in the forest when I was little but I don't exactly remember where."
"And you didn't thought to inform about it to the Administrative Board?" Envoy Egnatius who was also the head of Administrative Board of Sicilian Empire asked.
Ann answered, "I had no idea that it was the Book of Spells as I was very little when I found the book! It was just a few days ago, I read about the book in the town's library and learnt that It's the Book of Spell!"
Too much has happened in the span of just twenty four hours! Anneliese has no energy left to think about what is going on with her. Right now she just wanted to reach home as quickly as possible.
To get rid of the strange book, Ann said to the Conclave members, "You can keep the book if it is that crucial for the Conclave. I have no use of it! I kept the book just because of it's unusual appearance."
Feeling responsible that the book was in his empire, Envoy Egnatius said "The Conclave was searching and trying get hold of the book since forever and you kept it to yourself for so long! You have committed a felony and will be charged under the unlawful act of Sicilian Empire."
"Easy there Lightwood, Don't try to hide your incompetency by charging the poor girl who had no idea about the significance of the book and merely kept it out of fascination." said Vincenzo
Egnatius's face turned red by being embarrassed in front of his subject. He turned to Vincenzo and stated, "She is the civilian of my empire and I am the head of human kind, so I will deal with her as I see fit."