Shane sighed deeply, "I don't have anything planned," he lied, "but for the first time we're talking, you're very straightforward."
"I'm always like this," he explained, "princes spend their whole lives talking slowly, picking up, spying on each other...if it weren't for me, they wouldn't have a proper conversation to this day. Prince Nielle is the most direct of the princes. I think you noticed."
"I did," he remembered the yesterday´s moments, "so when you started, I also want to ask a straightforward question."
"Do as you wish." Iuwin said slowly.
"How did the king punish Prince Nielle when he took your luck?" He wondered.
Iuwin was silent for a moment before thinking, "If you want to know, ask Prince Nielle."
Shane sighed in disappointment, "Not the best idea."
"Not a good either," He nodded.
They walked side by side in silence for a few more streets before turning towards the part close to the palace where the buildings gradually thinned out. When they entered through the smaller walls into a part that was not yet part of the gardens, but everyone knew they shouldn't cause trouble in it, since only a group of people close to the royal family lived in it, Iuwine stopped at one of the nicer houses.
It took a while before a tall man of about thirty-five years old in a long white bloodstained cloak, opened the door. His black hair, which would have been down to his shoulders, was tied back in a short ponytail, but Shane could still see a few light streaks of a brownish-orange to pinkish color in it that didn't match his appearance. At first glance, he would have guessed he was Lacrisan, but his strange eyes, sometimes pale brown, sometimes black, made it clear that he wasn´t.
"Can I help you?" he asked before realizing who knocked, "Iuwin, long time no see."
"Hello, Elyan," he greeted and let himself in, followed by Shane, "I'm carrying a couple that was murdered near the arcade, you must have heard."
"I did," the doctor nodded and closed the door, "throw them on the table at the back to Brelle."
The Lacrisans walked through the book-filled rooms to the back, where their eyes suddenly fell on the long white hair. The man was standing at a metal table that was stained with blood in one part and filled with books in the other. Brelle, with his back turned to them, looked around in surprise, as he didn´t expect that the doctor would really let someone in. He smiled gently at them:
"Iuwin, hi." He placed the book he was studying on the table.
Iuwin threw one guy onto a large metal table and Shane followed suit, giving Brelle a look.
"Greetings, Your Highness," Iuwin said.
"And you are," Brelle looked at Shane who just bowed slightly as if he didn't know what kind of prince this guy would be.
"Shane, Prince Nielle's new Lacrisan," He clarified.
"Oh, yes, I heard," he smiled, "you are younger than I thought," he said, "you look like Iuwin." He looked at the other Lacrisan.
"How many times did you say that?" Iuwine asked.
"So many times you looked alike," Brelle laughed when Elyan entered the room.
"There´s too many of you," he looked at them, "all the kids out." he sighed.
"Elyan," Brelle frowned.
"You don't," the doctor said, looking at the Lacrisans, "all the Lacrisan kids out."
"Kids?" Shane didn't understand, as no one over the age of seventeen was considered a child. And none of them were younger.
"Ignore him," Iuwine said and walked out.
"Can't we stay?" Shane asked. He wasn´t interested in Nielle's wishes but was quite attracted to getting to know the other prince he had yet to meet, "Prince Nielle said you'll have the results today, if you could give us something brief right away he would be pleased."
Elyan looked at him and laughed loudly: "As Lacrisan," he took a metal tool resembling a knife and flipped it into his other hand, "you follow Nielle's instructions too much," he pulled back the sheets from the guys and looked at them carefully, ,"but if you don't mind the sight of blood, boy," he laughed, "stay."
"Elyan," Brelle sighed unsatisfiedly, "I came today because you promised me a demonstration of new procedures, do you really want to show such inappropriate things to someone who just arrived in the country?" he dismissed and looked at the Lacrisans, "Shane, go see Nielle and tell him he's getting a report today. If you don't want to go to him, don't, I'll tell him you were with us," he smiled, "you don't have to be here though, go eat something with Iuwin. I don't believe my brother gave you anything to eat at all." He sighed.
"We'll do just that," Iuwin said, pulling Shane out of the room.
Shane, who was beginning to be surprised at how nice Nielle's brothers were to the Lacrisans, unlike him, hesitated for a moment before actually walking up to Iuwin. As they walked outside, Shane looked at the front door and remarked:
"Prince Brelle is friendlier than the rest."
"If you think so," Iuwin didn´t answer.
"Am I wrong?" Shane wondered.
"No, he's really the nicest to us, he's not interested in royal things and spends all day reading books or helping Elyan." He clarified.
"Sympathetic," Shane nodded.
"The prince shouldn't behave like that...but the king isn´t bothered by that and we aren´t in the place to say anything." Iuwin clarified.
"Really strange people...in Lacris, all the princes are fighting for the throne, while with them I feel like Prince Louis has no competition," He said.
"He doesn't," Iuwine agreed.
Shane thought for a moment before changing the subject, "Where are we going?"
"Where would you like to go?" He wondered.
"What about some meal?" Shane asked.
Iuwin nodded at the proposal: "At least we agree on something."
***
Nielle interrogated one of the bartenders at the gambling den where the men worked. He knew what this business was, he knew what kind of things everyone was doing illegally here, but the truth was that if he really had a problem with it, he would have resolved it a long time ago. However, seeing no reason to overprotect the Lacrisans in the city when they were stupid enough to come here, he didn't shut down similar businesses. However, when he listened to the guy, he wanted to make an exception and at least beat him.
"I didn't ask if they worked legally, I want to know what kind of customers came to them, or who they were with last time, if they did anything to them," He explained.
"I-I know...Your Highness...I'm saying that...that their work was legal," the barman looked at the tent from the side, as he didn't have time to hide all the containers of drinks he was offering to the Lacrisans.
"He's not listening to me," Nielle sighed, nodding at his guards standing next to him.
In seconds, the men grabbed the guy from behind and slammed him onto the table with a force that nearly stunned him. One of them hit him roughly in the stomach with the blunt side of the sword, and the other pounded him harder on the table with his face. The guy cleared his throat and as soon as they let him go, he looked around in alarm, although there was no one in the business today because of the case.
"I know you work illegally and I really don't care, I want to know the description of the last customers, hair, clothes, accent, anything you can think of," Nielle said more slowly.
A few rough jabs at the guy's stomach brought his tongue to life, after which Nielle finally learned something normal.
"They didn't have regulars...only one-offs...sometimes two at a time," he chatted, "last time...yesterday...yesterday they had two."
"Do you have any details, or do you find it more tempting to talk to us in the dungeons?" Nielle supported his chin.
"No...no...I know...wait...I know what they looked like...one had blue, very blue eyes...red hair," He recalled.
Nielle, who didn't consider blue eyes to be very rare and red hair wasn't such a specialty in Lacris either, sighed deeply, "Anything else?"
,,Yes! One had black hair," he began, but as Nielle tapped his fingers impatiently on the table, he added in horror, "and golden eyes...golden..."
Nielle noticed and blinked in surprise: "Golden? Lacrisan?" He couldn't believe it.
The guy nodded: "Black hair, strange orange strands...and golden eyes...really...I'm not lying...he was all weird."
Nielle sighed deeply as he had just described the Lacrisan he had recently met at the camp. He wondered for a moment if it was a coincidence or if it was really related to the case somehow. However, having obtained the information he wanted, he got up and left the game room.
He let out a soft sigh as he walked out. He wondered if it was appropriate to have a manhunt for Lacrisan given that he knew who it was despite the poor description. He had no idea why he was even hesitating, as normally he would have immediately found suspicious Lacrisan, locked him in the dungeons, interrogated him, and within a day would have reached a resolution.
However, Nielle felt a special sympathy towards the individual from the camp, not allowing him to really suspect him. Yet he knew that he must and couldn´t overlook clear evidence for subjective feeling. But first, he intended to go somewhere to eat.
He walked through the streets of the city, ignoring people's stares and thinking about those golden eyes that attracted him so much. He had never had the luck of Lacrisan, who possessed golden irises, but he knew it would taste unique and be worth it because only his presence radiated something special. And yet he didn't want to take it from him. As if he knew he couldn't dare. Nielle found it all strange.
As he thought about what Lacrisan actually looked like, how he felt about him, and where he might be found, he went around a corner towards the food stalls. However, he suddenly stopped in surprise when he heard a familiar voice that he was trying to remember.
He looked towards one of the establishments, in front of which stood a black haired Lacrisan with orange streaks. His familiar black-gold robes, matching the overall noble appearance he had once seen, made it clear to Nielle who stood before him. No matter how much he said to himself that he was only dreaming, that such a coincidence wasn´t possible, the moment the Lacrisan looked in his direction, Nielle knew.
Nielle could notice even from a distance the golden glint of his eyes, which he didn't have to search.
However, no matter how much he thought about it...about how this Lacrisan, right after being suspected of theft, had just become involved in suspicion of murder, the situation didn´t make any sense to him.
After all. How could the golden-eyed Lacrisan be so incredibly unlucky?