After the song ended, Amy and Rufus turn to Leon almost immediately. People were all cautious around Leon and the fact that he didn't make an even bigger entrance was quite the surprise.
"Why are you here?" Amy asked.
Leon has a condescending look, "And miss the fun? I have something for you."
He gave her sheets of paper. Amy opened it to see detailed instructions, images and preparations. She pats Leon on the back. "Thank you. I owe you one," she was about to leave.
"But" he stopped her, "I had to ask that prince for the spell since it came from Hekaton. He wanted to meet you in person."
Amy could see by his expression that he made some sacrifice to give this to her. "Why and when?" she asked
"After this party is over." he answered, "And I think you know why."
She nodded then look to see Theseus approach her to dance and she took his hand. Rufus and Leon then started talking.
He whispered in her ear, "Careful, you are being watched." Amy looked around and noticed more people staring at her. She looked at Viola who is dancing with Sabina and Melissa. They don't get the same looks.
"Oh, dear god."
*
After an unknown period of time and dancing with almost every guy who asked to dance with her, she finally left the ballroom and head to the quiet garden where there are only a few people in the same position as her. She closed her eyes to take in the lovely breeze.
"Are you having fun?"
Of course, I am. Amy thought. She recognizes Alina's voice. It has been some time since she heard from her. With the Ripper situation, it makes her situation busy.
There was a giggle. "I never understood the glamour of high society, but I understood the hard work put into this." Then her tone became serious. "I have been busy. But I got you the information you asked for."
The Barbarian tribe has their own traditions and while they rarely use magic like everyone else can, theirs is more shamanistic in nature. They have more knowledge involving the dead than anything of the norm. She had let Alina on her quest to capture the spirit and hopefully find the owner.
"There are seances that would let you communicate with the spirit. I actually focused on evacuating everyone and setting up for an exorcism which requires me to close my mind off."
You communicated with the ghost?
"I tried to, but it does not wish to speak. I am unsure why, but it will not stop until it is either eliminated or released."
Amy nodded. Communicating with the Ripper is not an option.
"However, I discovered two things. The first is how old the spirit is."
Amy is listening attentively.
"The spirit is over a five hundred years old."
Over five hundred years old? That's insanely old for an existing spirit.
"The spirit originated near the border of Karnei, but its origins are still unknown."
Can you get a drawing?
Alina nodded in response.
I'll speak to you later.
Then her mind focused on Boris who seems anxious for the past hour.
What's with you? Why are you so nervous all of a sudden?
"I did a DNA test on the bodies to see if I could find some sort of connection."
"All the bodies?" Alabaster inquired.
"Most of them. I categorized and analyzed them all by region. All of this to figure out especially with this many people. For example, there is Yusof province in Damat. This is the region whose nobility was hit hardest. It is easy to figure out nobility because there are records to their family tree. All the victims there are genetically related."
Related? That isn't a surprise.
"But their common ancestor wasn't from Damat. Yusof is a royal Sanjak, a royal province where the territory is managed by the royal children. All the nobility there were related to the shezade of that time. He had one full sibling, a sister. Guess who she's related too."
Both were anticipating.
"Cicek Kadin is her great-great-great granddaughter."
Amy and Alabaster are not surprised to hear that.
"It is too early to tell but if I trace back their lineage far enough, I might find answers. So far, I only covered Damat. Getel is quite messy and scattered. Hekaton never released any information about this. Karnei and Solin didn't suffer from this as much." The information is useful, but it doesn't explain much on the Ripper. "I will update you if I find anything new."
Amy spoke up, Trace their lineage back at least a thousand years. If we can a common ancestor or ancestors, then we might be able to solve this. Also prepare another clone for me. I need to lure the spirit.
"Don't worry about it and this time, I will prepare something for portable this time."
Alright, Amy thought before leaving the garden to return to the ballroom.
All three of them figured out that the spirit has to have some sort of grudge as a vengeful spirit but do not know who the grudge is at nor its origin. Eliminating a spirit is not easy if they cannot put together a story. Now they know the age and are going back with barely any records.
Amy looked through Dead man's net. It will take weeks to prepare it, but she can do it in far less. She smirked and walked confidently as she heads back to the ballroom. To catch the spirit, the hardest ingredient to acquire is growing in her room, the moonflower.
But before she could go, someone grabbed her hand.
*
"What did you offer?" Rufus asked Leon who began stuffing his face the moment Amaryllis is out of sight.
"Not much. He just wants a meeting with her. He's probably gonna try to coax her into going to Hekaton. I bet that's the real reason he's here." Leon said.
"Didn't you remember what happened last year?"
Leon stopped chewing and looked at Rufus with a serious look, "This is not last year. Nothing's gonna happen."