Draconia Offline vol. 1

11.1. The Leaker Uncovered - Part 1

"W-wow!" I can't help it and stare when we arrive to Liana's private rooms. Erik carries me in his arms again which I thoroughly enjoy this time.

"It's as I've always imagined a super rich person's apartment to be like," Erik agrees.

The room is unbelievably spacious and it's only the entrance lobby. My whole apartment would fit in here! Everything is meticulously clean and super modern. I don't see any stuff lying around like in my place. I admire the way Liana is able to show off her wealth by total minimalism.

"You're finally here," Ingri appears in the door opposite to us.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake up Ryuuto too early," Erik says. "Did you have breakfast already?"

"Not yet," she shakes her head. "Liana refuses to eat until we confront the leaker. Follow me."

She leads us through two rooms into the study. This room is quite different from the rest of the mansion—full of antique furniture and paper books. Liana is sitting in the armchair and looks tired even though we've just woken up. Fefnir is sitting near her, browsing the news on his tablet again. I notice strange formations on his hands.

"Fefnir, your hands...!" I exclaim.

"Yeah, real scales," he nods and lets me touch them. "They've started growing properly overnight. There's one unpleasant side effect, though."

"A side effect?" I don't understand.

Fefnir sighs and ruffles his hair. Quite a lot of them fall off.

"You're losing your hair!" Erik is shocked.

"The Dragonkin are all scaly," Fefnir explains to him. "I guess my horns should be growing soon as well."

I'm glad the only difference in your case are the wings, Erik is relieved.

And hollow bones... altered digestion... stronger lungs probably... golden eyes... mana, I name.

But you stay pretty, he insists while sitting down into the armchair to Liana's right. He positions me on his lap, giving Ingri an eye candy.

Beauty is subjective, Erik, I insist. We aren't human anymore so our perception of beauty will most probably change over time.

"So... the leaker?" Erik asks aloud. We can't speak telepathically for too long because then we make unnaturally long pauses.

"Two of them actually," Liana informs. "One of them dumb, the other more cunning."

"Two?" I'm surprised. "Is it one of the maids then?"

"It is," Liana nods. "The information that I was the Celestial viceroy ingame appeared online almost immediately. But I suspect she didn't release it on her own and rather gossiped to other people in my mansion. What a bonehead."

"And the other?"

"I strongly suspect one of my bodyguards," Liana sighs, disappointed. "We checked the security logs that overlapped the time the information was released with respective work shifts. Only a handful of people fitted those criteria and even less talked to the maid in question that day. Besides, I've been having problems with tiny leaks for over a year now, especially when travelling, so it must be one of the people I take with me."

"So we have our main suspects and just need their confession," Fefnir concludes.

I knew it, Liana was on the task almost the whole night. No wonder she looks so worn off. After the incident is over, we'll have to insist she rests even if I have to talk to the doctor about it. Where's Dr Stein anyway? I guess Liana doesn't want her to witness it.