Inheritance of Shadows [Hugo Vlad x Fem!OC]

Chapter 7: The name that flowed into mine will forever be etched

The morning light filtered softly through the blinds, casting lines across the cold surface of her desk. Yukari stared blankly at the existing files in the screen of her computer, her thoughts tracing back to the messages exchanged with Yurina the night before.

The names didn't make sense.

Different sources, different jewelers... yet something felt too precise. Too intentional. Her gut screamed it wasn't a coincidence.

She was still worried about Hugo, his hugs, his cries, and the way he... just left. She couldn't shake off the uneasiness she felt from that day.

Yurina popped her head into the office, breaking her racing thoughts. "You ready?"

Yukari looked up, nodding once. "Let's find out who really made those jewels." Though her heart was still feeling heavy from that day, she had to move forward.

Yurina plopped down on her seat, cracking her knuckles and soon clicking through an array of sources behind these names. None of them really linked to one another.

"Hmm, no good, maybe the internet is not a good source to find these things out." Yurina frowned.

Yukari furrowed her brows, tapping a pen against her chin. "Try older records. Government patents, auction catalogs... something that traces ownership or origin."

Yurina's fingers danced across the keyboard. "Good idea. I'll filter through registry logs for private jewelers."

The screen flickered. After a long moment, something caught her eye.

"Okay, here's something weird," Yurina muttered. "Two different jewelers—Lucien Grey and Arturo Valen—are credited with both the emerald and sapphire... but there's a matching symbol on both entries."

She enlarged the screen. A minimalist crest, almost faded from age. Yukari squinted.

"That looks like a raven?"

"Exactly," Yurina nodded. "And both of them were tied to a now-defunct workshop. It's barely even mentioned—just listed as Ravenlock Atelier. No location, no owner info."

"Ravenlock..." Yukari repeated quietly. The name didn't ring a bell, but something about it unsettled her.

Yurina scrolled further. "Looks like they specialised in luxury gem crafting. Their records just... vanished about fifteen years ago."

Yukari's gaze hardened. "So whoever's making these jewels—whoever started this—is deliberately hiding behind aliases."

Yurina leaned back. "Think it's connected to Mockingbird?"

Yukari didn't answer right away.

"...I don't know yet," she said finally. "But I'm going to find out."

Yurina leaned back, arms stretched behind her head. "Ugh, no leads. These names don't match up to anything verifiable."

She clicked through another page, then huffed. "Maybe the internet's not the best place to dig up forgotten ghosts."

Yukari stood up, brushing her blazer from the chair's back, crossing her arms. "Then maybe I'll try something more old-fashioned." Her voice was calm, but something in her eyes flickered with determination. "I'll ask the people who live and breathe this trade. Jewelers."

Yurina's tail and ears perked up. "Good idea Yukari! No wonder you're so cunning!"

Yukari gave her a deadpanned look. "Yurina... we're detectives, we're supposed to be sharp."

Yurina gave her a faltered laugh. "Haha... right."

Yukari eventually packed everything she needed and left the office, letting the inspector know about a mystery she's going to discover. Though the Inspector didn't care much because Yukari always did whatever she wanted to, it was too good to remove her even if he wanted. Truth is, she's the one that's keeping the department intact throughout the two years she had worked. It would be foolish to fire her.