In a room next to the main hall, Liora leaned against the wooden frame, trying to catch more of the conversation taking place in the room next door. Her heart thudded with excitement; her fingers were tightening on the folds of her khaki dress.
She had anticipated they would discuss politics, war, or maybe Lucien's wounds. But instead of that, it was all about
"A woman?" Liora mumbled, her brows furrowed as she was in confusion.
'Hadn't they said earlier that the injured person was a man?'
While she was pondering her thoughts, Rowan's voice carried through the thin air vents, and his tone was frustrated. "Come on, it was just helping a woman; what else could we do?"
Lucien remained silent. Looking at him, he shifted a bit on his chair. Lucien knew it would take a little time for Rowan to get an answer to his own question.
Liora ears were up to the wall; she could hear the faint creak of a chair as someone shifted, perhaps. She imagined him sitting forward, elbows resting on his knees, his fingers supporting his chin in her thought.
Samuel spoke next, as he was a little uncertain with what Rowan said. "But wasn't there another way to help her?"
Rowan frowned and exhaled a sharp breath while looking at Samuel. "She would have been killed. that was all I thought and so I rushed in."
Liora's eyes widened slightly as new information was added to her bag.
Her fingers clenched around her braid; her thoughts were racing. 'Had she misheard earlier?'
Previously, she had assumed, just like the rest of the people, that it was a man, but now as she knew it was woman, 'Why did not they let Madam Beatrice go and see her?'
She leaned in closer, rolling her eyes, to get more of the conversation. Liora even closed her left ear while her right ear was on the wall to hear it clearly.
Rowan's voice grew firm. "Haven't you seen her yourself, Samuel? She could barely stay conscious."
"..."
Then, Rowan continued; he added a little softness as he glanced at Lucien while he spoke. "Even Master thought she was on the verge of giving up. Weren't you Master?"
Samuel's voice cut through, shattering Rowan's puppy-eye scheme, as he was more practical than concerned about anything else than his work. "Okay, okay… But why did we bring her here? We could have let her rest at any center between the roads," he shrugged.
Rowan scoffed, shaking his head. "Hah.. do you think we could stop anywhere along the road?"
"..." Samuel blinked, but Rowan's lips twitched into a crooked smile, though the frustration in his voice was real.
"Why is it hard to explain anything to you?"
He took a slow and dramatic glance at Samuel, scanning him from head to toe before letting out an exaggerated sigh.
"Honestly… How did you even pass the scholar's exam, huh?"
Samuel narrowed his eyes. "Just like, how did you become Master's right hand? You act like a child half the time."
Rowan placed a hand over his chest, pretending to be wounded.Rowan laid a hand across his chest, feigning hurt. "Ouch. That hurt."
Before their bickering could resume, Lucien finally broke his silence.
"What is done is done; we will let her rest here for now. We'll decide what to do next."
Lucien's spoke again but quieter this time. "But first…"
Lucien's hands slipped into the pocket of his robe and he pulled out the paper that Helia had given him during there meeting.
Samuel's eyebrows lifted; he walked toward Rowan, giving him a sharp nudge on the shoulder. "What's that?"
Rowan barely glanced at him before responding, "A letter."
Samuel's lips parted slightly in realization. "From Helia?"
Rowan nodded. "Mm."
Samuel let out a long, exaggerated oooohhhh, dragging the sound as he gave Rowan another pat on the shoulder.
Lucien, unbothered by their antics, extended the letter toward Rowan. "Open it."
Rowan hesitated. "But Master, you should open it."
Before he could finish, Samuel hit him lightly on the back again. "Clumsy clown. Master is asking you to open it."
Rowan scowled, rubbing his back. "Would you stop hitting me?"
Samuel smirked, "No."
Rowan let out a long sigh, reaching for the dagger strapped to his belt, the blade gleaming faintly under the lamp's light. With a swift motion, he sliced through the wax seal, the clean cut splitting the emblem in half.
Lucien watched in silence, arms resting on his knees, his fingers interlocked. Samuel, standing slightly behind, leaned in closer. Rowan unfolded the letter, but before reading, he did something that made Lucien's eyebrow twitch.
He lifted the parchment to his nose and sniffed it.
"All clear, Master." Rowan announced,
Lucien exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "I didn't ask you to sniff it. It's from Helia, not the court. If it were a message from the court, then sniffing would make sense."
Samuel hummed in agreement, nodding along. "True, true."
Rowan chuckled, waving the paper a little. "Force of habit."
Ignoring him, Lucien took the letter from his hands and unfolded it properly. His sharp eyes scanned over the words, his frown deepening the more he read.
It wasn't a formal letter. It was just a vault receipt, which was an official document listing goods set for deployment to the southern city of Wangxion.
Attached to the receipt was a small note; it was hastily written,
Lord Forshire has been newly appointed as the goods in-charge.
He has promised Lady Agatha that they will be wed next month.
Surprisingly, he wants her to elope with him on the 14th of next month.
He claims to have enough property to support her well.
That was it and nothing else.
Lucien's frown didn't ease. His fingers tapped against the edge of the paper, Rowan, however, As soon as he grasped the context of the letter, he let out an irritated noise.
"So that man has no information?"
Rowan's frustration grew, and he pointed toward the letter in Lucien's hand, waving his finger aggressively.
"This...this is a waste! We traveled all the way there for this, Master? This guy has turned into a love-struck fool! And what are we? The court's errand boys?"
He threw his hands in the air, exasperated.
Samuel brought his nails to his lips, absentmindedly nibbling at them as his mind worked through the information. His dark eyes flickered between Lucien and Rowan before he spoke.
"Rowan, didn't you mention last time that when you and Master were at the court, thefts were one of the matters discussed?"
Rowan, arms crossed, nodded. "Yeah… and?" His lips curled slightly, already questioning where this was going.
Samuel turned to Lucien. "Master, what if Forshire is the one aiding the thieves?"
Lucien let out a slow breath, his fingers rubbing his temples. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he dismissed the thought.
"We're reaching nowhere with these loose connections. The food vault and the southern city have nothing to do with each other."
He leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "I trust Helia, but asking him directly won't be easy. The brothel is unreachable for now, and it hasn't been long since I sent him there."
Samuel hummed. "Then we wait."
Lucien didn't respond immediately. Instead, he pushed himself up from his seat, signaling the end of the discussion.
Liora, still hidden in the adjacent room, did not know that Lucien was leaving.
Barely a second later, she heard Lucien's voice. "I'm retiring for the night."
A sense of panic rose in Liora; she thought of the situation as Lucien was going to his room, then he would pass by the room she was eavesdropping on them.
If he found her here, alone, in a locked storage room adjacent to the main hall, there was no way she could make an excuse. So her feet moved before her mind did.
She sprinted to the door and, just in time, twisted the lock shut from the inside.
Rowan's reply was immediate. "Master, the physician will be here soon. Let's get your wound checked before you leave."
Lucien had already started walking, his boots clicking against the stone floor. "Have him come to my chambers instead."
Rowan exhaled, shaking his head as he and Samuel followed after him, leaving the hall.
The sound of their voices slowly faded into the distance.
Liora swallowed.
Then, with cautious fingers, she reached for the door handle, only to find it wouldn't budge.A shred of panic slithered up her spine.
She twisted it again. but nothing happened as the door had locked from outside.
No wonder no one stayed in this room.
She was stuck.
"God…" she whispered under her breath, pressing her forehead against the wooden door. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her.Again.
Now what?
She couldn't make noise.
If Lucien..or worse, Rowan and Samuel, would hear her, they would immediately figure out what she had been up to.
Liora spun on her heels, scanning the room for another way out.
The storage room was cluttered with wooden crates, rolled-up carpets, and old furniture covered in dust. The only window was pathetically small, no bigger than the size of a book.
It was useless.
She let out a long sigh, pressing her back against the door.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the estate, Mira and Lily were wandering through the hallways, their faces filled with growing concern.
"Where could she have gone?" Lily mumbled.
Mira crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against them in thought. "You don't think Beatrice gave her too much work and she fainted somewhere, do you?"
Lily gave her an unimpressed look. "That's stupid."
"Well, do you have a better reason?"
Lily pursed her lips, clearly at a loss.
They had already checked the kitchen, the courtyard, and the back hallways.
In the dark room, Liora's heart pounded against her ribs.
Panic swirled in her stomach as she pressed her back against the door, realizing that this...all of this, was because she couldn't keep her curiosity in check. She slapped her forehead,
God does punish people, she mumerred bitterly, scratching the back of her head. Somehow today she felt like the old-mischievous her,
Taking a deep breath, she tried to look arounf for a way out. The room was small, filled with dust-covered crates and discarded furniture. The windows, if they could even be called that, were no help at all. Tiny slits in the stone wall allowed barely enough light to slip through. There was only one proper window, and it faced the hallway.
Too small...
Liora turned on her heel, eyes darting around for anything useful. She had to find a way out before someone found her first.
A broken chair sat in the corner, its legs were uneven. Without thinking, she dragged it toward the door and climbed on top, reaching up toward the hallway window.
It was still too short.
Liora exhaled sharply, biting her lip as she scanned the room again. Her gaze landed on a small wooden box wedged between old sacks.
"That should do."
Carefully, she stepped down and crouched to pick it up. But just as her fingers wrapped around the edge of the vox... She heard a faint noise...
SQUEAK. SQUEAK....
"..." Liora froze...Her eyes opened wide and horrified, snapped toward the dark corner of the room..
A rat scurried toward her foot, its tiny claws scratching against the floor.
Liora screamed Ear-piercing, Loudly.And a sound like that definitely did not belong in a storage room, her hands flew to her mouth, but it was too late.
The footsteps outside the door stopped and a knock was on the door,
A voice followed. "Who's inside?"
Liora's blood ran cold and her pulse pounded in her ears as she stood completely still, her hands pressed against her lips to stop another sound from escaping.she had to say something, anything, before the door was forced open.