requested by @ScreechieLucifer
Running away—you were running away. You didn't know from what, or from whom, but you were running nevertheless. It was exhilarating, the feeling of your heart pumping rapidly in your chest. The night creaked uneasily around you as you jumped over another tree root which came out of nowhere, for the third time in your sprint.
A cold hand and overwhelming force tackled you to the side, causing a nasty crunching sound to come from the branches you landed on. You looked up, there were two glowing eyes staring straight at you. It was hard to see past them, but in the corner of your vision you had a view of their hand above their head, coming straight down to your—your eyes popped open.
You woke up gasping and in a cold sweat. You sat up so quickly that your head swam immediately after. Here you were in Nadia's palace, in the comfort of her luxuries. All around you were calming walls; you were surrounded by long curtains. Soothing colors floated on the floor around your bed, all of them coming from various parts of stained glass. Your feet hit the ground with a slight thud when you got up.
Well, that was certainly interesting, you thought to yourself. You dressed yourself quickly. The second you were about to finish brushing your hair was when you heard a knock on the white doors of your room.
"Countess Nadia," you smiled; she had a troubled look on her face. "Please, come in."
"Greetings, MC," she took off her scarf and you closed the door behind her. "I have returned from last night with some interesting developments." She led on and walked to a seat in the tarot card reading room. "It appears that regarding the case of the doctor Julian Devorak other evidence has appeared."
"What do you mean?" You asked.
"It seems that other... claims have come up. Asra has been looking into the past and has discovered that Lucio's death is related to the plague in some manner, though I myself am not sure how."
"Oh." Was all that managed to come out of your mouth. "Is there anything you want me to do about it?"
"You do have a delightful train of thought," Nadia smiled. "Yes, I need you to investigate the connection between Lucio and the Red Plague."
"Alright, where do I start?"
"There is one condition, though." She stopped you from getting too enthusiastic. "You see, since it is related to the plague, you will have to be diving into the topic with one of the courtiers you met yesterday."
Was it? Is it going to be? You weren't sure. "I'm sure that whoever I will have to be working with will not affect me badly, so who is it?"
"I love your enthusiastic behavior," she paused, as if unsure about her words for once. "You'll be working with Quaestor Valdemar to investigate it."
Ah, you knew it.
"You're alright with that, aren't you?" She asked with a concerned face. "I'm aware that they have an ability to make others uncomfortable."
"No, I think it's fine. When would you like me to start?"
She smiled, relieved. "I've scheduled a meeting with them this afternoon," she said calmly. "Until then, try to get as much information regarding the Red Plague as possible. I have a feeling that this connection is larger than it seems."
You've always enjoyed libraries. The tall, thin windows letting in small amounts of light just added to the ambiance of the large room. The desks were each beautiful and ornate, you paced around looking for something on the Red Plague that you haven't already read. By this time, you've already picked out three books regarding the Red Plague, but each of them had no connection to Lucio whatsoever.
Maybe, instead, you thought, you should take a different approach. After all, there would be no such item directly connecting Lucio to the plague, a person with power probably wouldn't have allowed that. There was a possibility for you to cross reference some things. With all of the things you've heard about the former Count Lucio, you wouldn't be surprised if there was an entire section devoted to his life.
You walked into one of the darker corners toward the back of the library. The shelves towered over you; your eyes scanned the books carefully. One of them intrigued you. You reached out and heard someone behind you; you spun around and had to look up to meet their gaze.
Quaestor Valdemar.
