The Crown's Obsession

When it was just Calhoun and Theodore in the room, the latter walked towards the room's doors to close it shut. Calhoun was quick to push the blanket out of his way, and he stepped out of bed.

"Where did you learn to act so well?" asked Theodore, walking towards the chair and taking a seat.

Calhoun smiled, his smile stretching from one corner of his lips to another, "Must be an innate nature that I acquired from birth." As much as Calhoun had fainted in front of everyone and was put to bed, the truth was he had only acted to have lost consciousness while he heard every word that had left Laurence, Morganna and the others lips.

"Not to forget, it is also good to have the physician who is ready to lie for us," said Calhoun before taking a seat at the table where the food and blood had been placed for him to eat and drink. "The seed of doubt was placed weeks ago, but the plant has finally sprouted from the ground. Did you hear anything from Morganna?"

"Apart from consumed in rage, I doubt at the moment there's anything she has been able to do. The King is displeased with her. He refused to talk to her this morning," informed Theodore, and Calhoun chuckled.

"I would like to do things quickly, to have her blood on my hands before I inflict pain on my dear father. But then there's something very satisfying in this slow process. I can sense their turmoil, the feeling of being trapped where one loses the ability of control," said Calhoun as he started to eat.

Theodore noticed the way Calhoun's appearance and his demeanour was slowly changing. The smile that didn't reach his eyes previously now looked emptier in his eyes, and it looked maddening on his lips.

Away from the castle, Helena had called magistrate Maki to throw light on the recent cases, including the one where Theodore had been put under the charge of murdering a woman named Madame Fraunces.

"I have told you everything you needed to know, Lady Helena," said magistrate Maki, "What more do you want to know about what happened? We found the woman to have been murdered and some of the witnesses said that they saw Theodore, Advisor Calhoun's bodyguard to be seen with the deceased woman before her death."

Helena sat behind her desk, staring at the magistrate for his inefficiency in sharing information about the case with her.

"Do you think you will feed me with garbage and I will listen to it without any questions or doubts?" she asked him in a stern voice.

Magistrate Maki let out a frustrated sigh, "What do you mean by I am feeding you garbage-"

A loud bang was heard in the room that was caused by Helena banging her hand on the table, "Do you think I don't know how the King's, Queen's, the Duke's and magistrates have been trying to maneuver their way around all the murders they are involved with? Dimitri," she called the man who was in the room.

"Lady Helena?" asked the man, who came forward.

"Charge magistrate Maki for breaking edict number fifty four. He will be put under trial," declared Helena, and this had the man who was sitting in front of her look alarmed.

"What?! What do you mean breaking edict? I didn't do anything and you are going to put me behind the bars?" questioned the magistrate.

Helena stared at the man's face before uttering the simple word, "Yes."

Dimitri had walked forward, writing something in the parchment and said, "This will be handed to the base level in this building. Mr. Maki, you will be dragged behind the bars-"

"Lady Helena, I don't think you understand the severity of this case. You might put me behind the bars but that doesn't mean no ill will happen to you for meddling in something you are not supposed to be snooping your nose in."

Helena seemed hardly fazed by this, and she leaned back in the chair she was sitting in, "I will give you some advice, Mr. Maki. You can either help us and we can charge you with lesser punishment, or you can rot behind the bars before being dragged to execution. So what is it going to be?"

The magistrate didn't know what to pick, and seeing how this brazen woman wanted him in the dungeon, his jaw ticked.

"We don't know where the body is, we only found blood in the house. We tried looking for it, but there has been no body nor bones found in the nearby place of the town," explained magistrate Maki.

Helena stood up from her chair and picked up her coat that she had let hang on the chair she was sitting in. The magistrate noticed the way the woman was clothed as grandly as the Queen but less flashy.

The magistrate didn't know where Helena was going, but he tagged along with her and other High House people who received the order to join them for inspection. When they reached the house that looked darker than the other walls of the houses next to it, Helena pushed the gate that creaked softly and walked to the house entrance that belonged to Lady Fraunces.

Unlocking the door, they stepped inside, and the men started to search for a hidden body.

"This is where the woman was killed," informed Magistrate Maki, looking at the wooden flooring that had dark red marks etched around.

Helena took a closer look at the wooden floor, and she finally sat down, "How many days has it been since she was killed or has gone missing?" She questioned the magistrate.

"A couple of days, probably in weeks now," replied Magistrate Maki. "We were tipped soon enough when they found the lady had not returned to her house."

"You have the crime scene, but you didn't find the body. How can you tell it belongs to the woman. The woman might have killed someone and fled from here," theorized Helena.

The magistrate laughed, "That's not possible, Lady Helena. The witnesses said that they often heard and saw the man misbehaving with the woman. The blood was still fresh when we came here to inspect."

Helena took some time staring at the blood before she said, "Dimitri, get the blood deprehendant."

"What is that?"