The Crown’s Entrapment

As soon as Gideon dropped her off at Cordon’s Infirmary, Aurelia immediately went inside the mortuary located in the dungeon, where the former Great Justiciar’s dead body had been transferred.

Making herself look as professional as possible, Aurelia kept her composure in check. This was a very important case according to Gideon, so she must look at it with utmost precision, leaving no room for any mistake.

As soon as she was inside, she proceeded with her usual work, the three physicians working under her already having made the necessary arrangements while waiting for her. They made sure that the prison guards assigned to guard the dead’s prison cell were present for her to begin questioning.

“Initial reports from the guards said that it was suicide,” Nelly reported.

Aurelia didn’t waste time as she started analyzing the body of the former Great Justiciar. Opening up the body with a scalpel, she didn’t bother looking at the guards as she spoke. “He choked himself to death and you two saw him doing it to himself, correct?” she bluntly asked. “Or did you all simply assume that he choked himself to death?”

“We assumed that was the case milady, because when we heard a thud and turned around, he was already on the ground with his hands wrapped tightly around his neck,” one of the guards answered.

Aurelia tilted her head to look at the two guards. Both of them looked nervous, and she could tell how anxious they were just by the sweat drops trickling down their faces. They also stuttered as they spoke as well.

Well, they should be, since all this happened under their watch. They had to face the wrath of the king if negligence on their part would be proven to be the cause of death. Their heads were now in her hands, so she had to make sure that she had everything checked and analyzed properly.

Looking at her assistants, she asked, “Do we already have the results of the last meal he took? Including the utensils he used?”

“Yes, Physician Aurelia,” Nelly answered. “All is cleared from the presence of poison.”

With her other two assistants agreeing to the report, she continued with her dissection of the body to check on the real cause of death.

She was in the middle of her work when the door suddenly swung open, and a young man barged in with an arrogant aura around him.

As much as she hated his presence, Aurelia showed no reaction, even after she had noticed the uniform and the emblem on the cape he was wearing… They all screamed of belonging to a high-ranking official. If she was right, he was wearing the uniform for the Great Justiciar.

‘So he’s the new Great Justiciar who replaced this dead man…’ she mused with a frown.

“Arrest those morons!” the man authoritatively barked at the guards behind him as his eyes darted at the two guards sitting in front of her. He stepped forward, only to halt and freeze as his eyes searched the surroundings. His eyes roamed across everyone inside the room before they eventually fixated on her.

The man looked passingly familiar. He had the same build as their king, and she could also see some similarities between the two beyond the fact that this man had a shorter dark red-purplish color hair, unlike their king.

Aurelia ignored the piercing gaze of his hazel eyes. Looking at the guards approaching, she firmly shouted, “Stop right there!”

The guards who knew her instantly stopped. She then looked at the man before her with a dim expression on her face as she said, “I am not done with my investigation yet. These two prison guards will remain at my disposal until I’m done questioning them.”

The man frowned at her, and she couldn’t tell whether or not he was actually displeased with her words.

Meanwhile, the head of the prison guards approached her. “Lady Aurelia, he’s the new Great Justiciar who is personally handling this case,” he informed her.

Aurelia’s eyebrows lifted up as her eyes darted towards the man who stood like a pole, his eyes still keenly staring at her, sizing her up from head to toe.

With her coldest countenance, Aurelia gave him a quick glance before dragging her eyes towards the two prison guards. “You can have these two MORONS as soon as I’m done with what I’m doing,” she coldly scoffed.

She shifted her attention back to the new Justiciar and said, “If you’re in a hurry for a proper and reliable report on the cause of this prisoner’s death, then please leave us and let me do my work properly without any disturbances, milord. Your continued presence here might just delay our report.”

Without bothering to look at the official, Aurelia got back to work without minding whoever it was that remained inside the room. So long had the subjects she needed with her, she didn’t care. The dead body of the former Justiciar and the two guards were all that she needed inside the room.

“Who is she?” she heard the new Justiciar murmur.

“She’s the head physician in this infirmary, milord, Lady Aurelia Everett.” the head prison guard replied.

“Everett of House Everett?” the young Justicar questioned.

“Yes,” the head prison guard nodded. “She’s Commander Gideon’s sis-“

The head prisoner guard stopped talking as soon as Aurelia’s eyes landed on them. “If you two can’t keep your silence while I’m working, then please leave this room this instant,” she coldly snapped. “You two are distracting me from my work!”

The two froze, and Aurelia held a poker smile as she added, “Thank you for cooperating, milords. Please make sure that I hear no noise for the remainder of your potential stay.”

Aurelia heard the man named Calypso curse under his breath, so she threw him a sharp glare for good measure. She promptly shushed him, even making a gesture for silence just to make sure that this arrogant brute would understand her laughably simple instructions.