Arasila, who had trouble sleeping last night, rubbed her forehead with a haggard face. Due to lack of sleep, she had no appetite and had rarely refused breakfast.

Demian, who was in no better state than her, was changing clothes in the dressing room. Arasila, who had finished getting ready early, sat on the sofa waiting for Audrey to arrive.

From the moment they woke up in the morning, the two avoided each other’s gaze as if planned, and took different routes to avoid facing each other as much as possible.

This was because they were both troubled by the conversation they had in the bathroom last night.

Arasila, who was pressing her temples, glanced alternately between the dressing room and the doorway. The busy noises coming from inside were diminishing, but there was still no sign of Audrey.

It seemed like quite a while since she had left saying she would bring warm tea. She had been gone for an unusually long time.

‘Why isn’t she coming back? Did she get lost?’

Of course, she knew that possibility was slim, but as the waiting time grew longer, her patience reached its limit.

It was just when Arasila, unable to bear it any longer, was about to get up to go look for her maid.

“Ma-Madam!”

Audrey burst in with a pale complexion. She had run so hurriedly that her neatly tied hair had become disheveled.

Arasila, who had stood up awkwardly to greet her maid, asked quizzically.

“Audrey, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Something terrible has happened!”

“What’s so terrible?”

With a face that looked like she was about to faint, Audrey replied, raising her voice to the highest pitch.

“They say Young Master Vandermir passed away last night! And he was murdered!”

Arasila’s eyes widened. Young Master Vandermir was Oscar, wasn’t he? He was killed and died last night?

Her head reflexively turned towards the dressing room where Demian would be.

Demian, who had just finished changing and was coming out, stood there with a hardened expression. He too had heard Audrey’s words.

“Audrey. Calmly, tell me more details.”

“Yes, yes.”

Audrey swallowed dryly, took a deep breath, and calmly began to speak.

According to what she had heard, Oscar had been found dead just an hour ago.

The first witness was a servant of the Duke’s family. He had gone in to wake up the young master when there was no sign of him after the usual waking time, only to discover the corpse and faint.

The servant, who had practically crawled out, immediately informed the Duke and Duchess of this fact, and while Arasila and Demian were busy with their grooming and bathing, the imperial palace was turned upside down.

“Right now, the Imperial Knights are guarding the front of the room. They say the Duchess fainted after wailing, and the Duke is meeting with His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Are they sure he was murdered?”

“Yes. They say although the murder weapon wasn’t found, there were clear stab wounds.”

Arasila’s expression turned serious.

Oscar’s sudden death felt somewhat unsettling. An inexplicable sense of foreboding began to creep up.

She opened her mouth heavily and called out to Demian.

“Demian, don’t you think you should go too? After all, it’s a family matter.”

“…Yes, I suppose I should.”

“Shall I go with you?”

Demian slowly shook his head.

He didn’t particularly want to take Arasila to a place where someone had died, and he didn’t want her to get involved unnecessarily, not knowing how the Duke’s family would react to seeing him.

‘Of all times, I fought with Oscar yesterday.’

Demian felt the same ominous feeling at the exquisite timing. But without showing this, he spoke calmly.

“You stay in the room, wife. I’ll go alone.”

“Alright. If you need my help, make sure to tell me.”

“Yes.”

Demian, who had answered briefly, opened the door and left. Arasila sat back down on the sofa, trying to suppress her churning stomach.

Who could have had the audacity to kill someone during the New Year’s festival, in the imperial palace?

And Oscar Vandermir, who was in an antagonistic relationship with them, at that.

That fact bothered her, making her anxiety greater than the shock or sorrow over the sudden death.

‘Usually, when a murder occurs, they first investigate people with grudges, but are there any participants who had worse relations with the young master than us?’

A sigh escaped Arasila’s lips. The answer was ‘no’. She thought with a troubled face.

‘Oscar Vandermir was originally destined to die for treason. Then why did he die now?’

In the future she had glimpsed, Oscar committed suicide after inheriting the Duke’s position and becoming greedy, then finding himself cornered.

But the current Oscar had neither that power nor that influence. It meant he couldn’t plot treason even if he wanted to because he had nothing.

So for what reason, and by whom, was he murdered?

On the last day of the New Year’s festival, the eldest son of the Duke’s family was found dead.

This fact spread quickly through the mouths of the imperial servants. It was natural, as a murder had occurred during a national event opening the new year.

As a result, the atmosphere in the East Palace was chaotic and unsettled.

While the Captain of the Knights, who had controlled the area around the room where the Duke’s family was staying, went to report the incident to the Emperor, someone who heard the rumor came out.

“What on earth is going on? The Vandermir young master was murdered!”

The knights immediately bowed their heads upon seeing the Crown Prince, who came running with a surprised face.

Frederick entered the room without giving them even a glance. Although the Captain of the Knights had ordered not to let anyone in, the knights couldn’t stop him as he was the Crown Prince.

Leading three of his own knights, Frederick headed towards Oscar’s corpse.

He was lying spread-eagled in the middle of the room, dead.

There was a thick pool of blood around his body. It was because the killer had stabbed his body multiple times.

Frederick stood with a solemn face showing deep sympathy and said.

“Vandermir young master, I don’t know who took your unfortunate life, but I will certainly uncover the culprit and resolve your resentment.”

He turned his head and ordered the Duke’s family servants who were guarding the young master’s body.

“Cover the young master’s body with something.”

“Yes, yes, Your Highness.”

While the servants hurriedly stripped the bed sheet to cover Oscar, Frederick, who was slowly scanning the room with his hands behind his back, asked.

“Is the room preserved exactly as it was when the young master was discovered?”

“Yes, that’s right. The Duke told us not to touch anything and just stand here guarding the young master.”

“Besides the Duke of Vandermir, who else has entered this room?”

“Only the Duchess, her maids, the servant who first discovered the young master, and us.”

Frederick nodded with a strange expression. Then he waved his hand and said.

“That’s enough, you should go about your business. We need to investigate the young master’s death, so you may leave now.”

“Understood.”

After the servants left, Frederick began to thoroughly search the room with the knights.

“There must be clues somewhere about who killed the young master. Search every nook and cranny.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The knights moved around, examining the floor and every corner of the room.

Frederick moved leisurely. He soon entered the dressing room and rolled his eyes.

Despite it being a schedule of only three or four days, the clothes Oscar had brought were incredibly numerous. It seemed he had more luggage than most noble ladies.

‘He said he put it somewhere around here…’

He searched for something, checking the pockets attached to each piece of clothing one by one. But all he found were a few gold coins, buttons, and small pieces of trash.

Frowning, Frederick carefully scanned the dressing room again and discovered a partially closed suitcase next to the wardrobe. The edge of a paper was slightly protruding from the bag’s opening.

He pulled out the paper without hesitation. After checking the contents written inside, Frederick smiled slightly with satisfaction.

Having found what he wanted, there was nothing more to see.

Just as the outside was becoming noisy, Frederick tucked the paper into his bosom and left the dressing room.

“You cannot enter now, Lord.”

“Are you saying that as a family member, I can’t even confirm my dead brother?”

“Even if you say that, it’s difficult for us. We are in the middle of investigating the murder of Young Master Vandermir…”

Frederick’s eyes narrowed as he spotted Demian arguing with the knights at the doorway. He approached, pretending not to notice, and said in a low voice.

“What’s all this commotion?”

“Your Highness, well… Lord Vandermir says he needs to come in and confirm the young master’s body.”

“Stand back.”

The knights stepped aside. Demian and Frederick stood face to face.

After a moment of silence, Frederick spoke.

“As far as I know, I heard the Captain of the Knights had restricted entry, but you managed to come this far.”

“And Your Highness is freely roaming this room.”

“Well, I’m different from you.”

Demian’s eyebrow twitched at the somewhat strange nuance in the words. It didn’t seem to simply mean the difference in position between the Crown Prince and a knight.

“Are you saying that Your Highness has more authority than family?”

“Well, rather than that… Well, won’t that meaning be revealed gradually?”

Frederick patted Demian’s shoulder with an unsettling smile. Frowning, Demian carefully observed the interior of the room visible beyond him.

Oscar’s body covered with a white cloth and a room cleaner than expected.

‘It seems there wasn’t much of a struggle when he died. Judging by the wine bottle rolling around… Was he attacked while drinking? Is that why he couldn’t resist much and died?’

Demian’s frown deepened as he noticed the unlocked balcony window. Seeing a few leaves fallen inside and outside the door, it seemed that was the intruder’s route.

Frederick, realizing that he was inspecting the room with his eyes, stretched out his arm to block his view.

“Go back, Lord Vandermir. We will uncover the unjust death of your brother.”

“…How can I leave a family matter entirely to others?”

“You weren’t even that close as brothers. I know you even had an argument at yesterday’s banquet.”

Demian’s lips twitched. Frederick looked down at him with his chin raised.

“There’s nothing good for you in causing a disturbance here. Go back and wait.”

“…”

“It’s an order as the Crown Prince.”

When he said that, there was no choice but to comply. Finally, Demian was forced out of the room.

Instead, he immediately went outside to look for traces of external intrusion.

But nowhere could he find the intruder’s footprints. Either they were meticulously erased, or…

‘It means they intruded through the balcony from inside the same building.’

For example, if one moved between balconies from the rooms near Oscar’s, they could avoid leaving footprints outside.

Demian raised his head. Immediately, his golden eyes darkened.

First, he saw the window of Oscar’s room, and two rooms away, their room was visible.

A crow perched on a tree branch let out a sharp cry and flapped its wings.

A leaf fluttered down in front of Demian’s eyes. It had fallen from a tree artificially planted by the imperial family to maintain a colorful landscape even in winter.

Demian pressed his chest, which felt as if something heavy had settled on it.

It was not a good omen.

Meanwhile, Arasila was pacing anxiously in the room. She was still pondering the reason for Oscar’s sudden death.

As she was exploring the unanswered question, Demian returned to the room with a hardened face.

“Demian, you’re back? Did you get any information about the young master’s death?”

Arasila hurriedly approached him and asked. Demian shook his head after firmly closing the door and strode towards the balcony.

His face hardened even more when he saw that the balcony door was unlocked.

“How long has the balcony door been open?”

“Huh? Well, I’m not sure. Audrey, do you know?”

“Uh… I locked it the evening before yesterday, but I don’t know when it was opened.”

Audrey replied with a perplexed face. Demian flung the balcony door wide open.

A branch stretching out from the tree that remained green all year round was poking its head into the balcony. Leaves that had fallen from it were strewn across the floor.

Arasila looked bewilderedly at Demian, who was standing still like a statue.

“Demian, what’s wrong?”

“…What were you doing when I was taking a bath this morning, wife?”

“I was getting dressed in the dressing room.”

“If someone had sneaked into the balcony or room at that time, do you think you would have known?”

“Hmm… No, I’m not that sensitive to subtle movements.”

Arasila was excellent in offensive power as a magician, but she didn’t have highly developed senses like Demian.

Without casting any magic, it wasn’t easy to notice someone’s intrusion while being defenseless.

Demian’s expression darkened rapidly. In a situation where there were no traces of external intrusion, if the same leaves were found on two balconies… it was obvious what kind of suspicion they would face.

Gripping the doorknob so tightly that his fingertips turned white, he opened his mouth in a low, sinking voice.

“Wife, it seems that I…”

Bang!

At that moment, the sound of someone roughly opening the door cut off Demian’s words.

Both of them turned their heads towards the doorway at the same time. Heavily armed imperial knights were pushing their way in without hesitation.

They surrounded the two as if blocking escape routes. It was a very disconcerting action.

“Lord Demian Vandermir, you’ll need to come with us.”

The knight at the front demanded with a solemn face. Arasila furrowed her brow and glared at him, showing her displeasure.

“What is this rudeness? Not only did you enter the room without permission, but why are you trying to take Demian away?”

“Do not interfere, my lady. We have come to arrest Lord Demian Vandermir as the prime suspect in the murder of Young Master Oscar Vandermir.”

Arasila’s eyes widened. She had thought he would be the first to be suspected, but she didn’t expect him to be labeled a suspect in less than half a day.

With Arasila at a loss for words before him, the knight declared sternly.

“This is also by His Majesty’s order. If you do not cooperate willingly, we will forcibly take him away.”

The blue eyes trembled slightly. Arasila looked up at Demian with a helpless expression. Demian also lowered his head to meet her gaze.

He slowly shook his head. Understanding his meaning immediately, Arasila bit her lip.

“Let’s go, my lord.”

The knights held Demian’s arms on both sides. He didn’t resist. Arasila also didn’t try to block or interfere.

She just stood there as if nailed to the spot, watching Demian leave with the knights.

For the first time in her life, it felt as if everything before her eyes was turning pitch black.