Edwin slipped the paper out of the book and laid it on the desk. He scanned over the words on the page and sat back.
When his father ordered him to investigate this, he had thought he was crazy. Who cared about one noble girl, dead, much less the daughter of Marquis DeVille? It was obvious what had happened. Marquis DeVille finally crossed the wrong person and got his daughter killed. His other sons would probably die soon, too. He would probably have to divorce his wife and make a new child with a younger bride. Or have her killed. Either one worked.
But... The situation was getting more complicated. The information broker had gotten him the information he needed, and he was finding the situation was far more complex than what Marquis DeVille was letting on. No wonder he wasn't allowing the Imperial family to investigate the murder. She had been studying life and death magic. Edwin had called it dark arts, but that wasn't necessarily true. It was more archaic, more old than simple dark arts. It was... complex. It was very complex.
Who had killed her? And what kind of research had they stolen? That's what he wanted to know. You could do a lot of damage with life and death magic. It was a double edged sword. Life and death mages wreak untold havoc on the empire. They only showed up every few hundred years or so, and they were dangerous. Their magic was complex and vast, and could easily be disguised as something else.
So, Georgina DeVille was a life and death mage, and had presumably been working with another life and death mage. They didn't know what was missing, so it made sense to assume that something was. He didn't know the full details of what they had uncovered, but...
But.
Somewhere out there, there was a life and death mage on the loose, and they were someone that was already a murderer. They had already killed for their knowledge, and it stood to reason that they could do further damage.
This was a threat to the empire.
Furthermore, something had been buried in soil, and whatever that something was, it was missing. So, not only was the research possibly missing, but whatever the results of that research was definitely missing.
He was not happy.
Marcus DeVille, the second son, had arrived in the capital today. He was here to represent the family for the social season. The rest of them were missing. Augustus was apparently investigating his sister's death, and Caesar was quiet. Caesar was very, very quiet, but a guard had been killed already in his rage. The other had been imprisoned, and likely wasn't going to see the light of dawn anytime soon.
Edwin rubbed his hand over his mouth as he read over the information presented to him. What was Georgina researching? What was she doing? She was only fifteen, so it was hard to believe she had managed to make something truly dangerous, but the DeVille family had always been made of overachievers.
He was bothered, and he still had to make an appearance at the festival.
With a sigh, he came to his feet and made his way to the door. He needed to change and get ready, change his hair. He was going to color it tonight, and he wondered if he was going to see Artesia at the festival. He kind of hoped he did. She had made something of an impact on him. He didn't know what it was, but she was decidedly not what he expected of her.
He had expected... hm. He had expected her to be a commoner girl who was treated well for the first time in her life and didn't know how to act. High and entitled, drunk off of the power that had just been handed to her. Of course, she didn't know how to act. She was entirely too familiar with that adventurer and unaware of her station as the Saint. She was above the nobility now, and that came with specific rules and stipulations. But... It was refreshing. He was glad to see her sudden story of rags to riches hadn't corrupted her.
Even so, she needed to not be so casual with commoners. Especially suspicious ones like Mally Mack. He had never heard of fungal magic before. Sure, there were a lot of weird magics out there, but he had certainly never heard of something so niche. And a fifteen year old should not be so casual about killing people. He should have panicked. Edwin was used to it due to the demon beast incursions from the northern mountains. But them? They were perfectly calm and composed. Which meant they were accustomed to death, and no one adjusted that quickly in six months. Edwin had been killing demon beasts from the age of thirteen and he still wasn't used to it.
Furthermore, it was very different to kill a monster versus a regular human being. They had obviously killed before. Killed people before. Of course, it could be something as being waylaid by bandits. That was the obvious solution. But, he always assumed the worst. Assuming the worst was for the best, and the Saint seemed obsessed with them.
It was concerning.
It was very concerning. He even heard she requested that she be there when the prince offered them their reward. Hopefully, they received something extravagant that they accepted and exposed her to their true character.
He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew a liar when he saw one.
"I don't think I should be celebrated for being able to kill easily."
Those words bothered him. Did they regret their dark past, or were they simply saying that to throw him off his rhythm? What was their game? He found it suspicious that they simply found themself at the inn where the Saint might be. It was kept closely under wraps for a full year that the Saint had been found, but...
He didn't trust them.
Their eyes were too trusting.
With a grunt, he pushed open the doors to his bedroom and closed them behind him. His head hit the back of the door with a thunk, and he stared up at the ceiling in silence.
Mally Mack was going to bother him for a while. He did not believe that they didn't have ulterior motives.
If the Saint fell in love with a commoner...
It would be worse than a scandal. It would be a problem. If the Saint tried to run off with them, it would spell disaster. The Saint was a fifteen year old girl, and fifteen year old girls were silly, vapid things, Saint or not. A pretty face was enough for them. Well, Edwin had a pretty face. If he had to get the Saint to fall for him to prevent a complete disaster, he'd do that.
He would have to do that.
His father would be disappointed in him for actually chasing a woman, but it was for the greater good. Anything to get her eyes off of that dirty little adventurer.
Yes, he would do that, he decided, and made his way to the clothes set up for him on the mannequin. He started to strip and got changed into the clothes he had commissioned for the evening. He didn't entirely want to go to the festival, but if the Saint was there, he'd have to go.
Changed into the black outfit, he turned for the vanity and swallowed down the potion that changed his hair color. It tasted faintly of strawberries and cream, and he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth as he looked at himself in the mirror. His hair shimmered and slowly bled to black, and he put the mask over his face and secured it in the back. He was ready to go.
The Saint would probably hover around the guild hall with the intent of meeting Mally, and probably changed her hair. He would head there first. With a swish of his coat, he turned for the door and walked down the hall, his shiny boots flashing in the lamplight. The butler was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with his gloves, and he nodded as he picked them up and slipped them on.
"Have a good time, young master," the butler said, and Edwin hummed.
"I'll be sure to," he said, and turned for the doors. "Thank you for watching the estate, Alfred."
"You're welcome, my lord," Alfred said, and the two footmen pulled open the double doors. Edwin clattered down the stairs to the unmarked carriage waiting outside and climbed in, pulling the door shut behind him as he relaxed in the comfortable plush seats. The coachman snapped the whip, and the carriage took off.
"Where to, my lord?" the coachman called, and Edwin tilted his head.
"Tenny Square," he called, and the coachman turned down the appropriate corner. The horse hooves clattered on the ground, and Edwin took a moment to compose himself.
Really, the Saint had absolutely no sense of propriety. It was amusing, and he liked her quite a bit, but he didn't like her taste in men... people. He did not like her taste in them at all. She was sweet, though. A little airheaded, but sweet. He liked sweet girls, he was pretty sure. He had never put much thought into looks, but he liked personalities. Personalities were very important.
He supposed she was beautiful. He didn't really care about that point, though. She had a good personality, and good temperament, and that was more important in a wife. Though, he doubted she could run a dukedom. That was something you trained to do from a young age, but he didn't intend to marry her. He just wanted to turn her attention away from that dirty little adventurer. It would be a catastrophe if she ran off with them.
The carriage soon reached the square, and he climbed out of it and looked around. The guild hall was just ahead, and two people were waiting outside of it, talking to each other. Her hair was colored brown, but he would recognize those golden eyes anywhere.
He took three steps forward, and then he stopped. Red hair. He didn't recall any nobles with red hair that had met the Saint, so he assumed it was a color change potion. But, what really stuck out was the facial structure under the mask. It was so familiar, and he struggled to place it, before green eyes turned on him.
Green.
Imperial green.
Now what on earth was the first prince doing hanging out in front of the adventurer guild hall?
Confusion welled. He was planning on running into Artesia naturally, strike up a conversation, but...
No, the prince would pick him out immediately. It was better to approach them directly. And, so, he did, walking across the square and taking up place beside them. Artesia looked at him in alarm, and he tilted his head.
"Your Holiness. Your Highness," he said quietly, and Artesia blinked.
"Hey! We're incognito right now!" she protested, and Edwin crossed his arms.
"Well, you're not doing a good job of it, seeing as I could pick the two of you out immediately. Why are you waiting in front of the guild hall?"
"We're meeting someone," she said, weirdly hostile. "It's not---I mean, are you keeping track of who I'm meeting now?"
"No," he replied flatly, and then he looked over their heads. There was a familiar puff of brown curls approaching them, honey brown eyes scanning around under a green mask, and Edwin tilted his head. They had cleaned up. They were in a clean linen shirt, cream colored, embroidered with bright yellow flowers. Tight brown pants with matching flowers embroidered down the sides, high waisted, with a waistcoat on with those same little flowers embroidered around the buttons. They had a brown jacket on, embroidered as well, dancing around their legs, and they were---
Well. It was true, and part of the problem. Mally Mack was an attractive person, in a sweet, delicate way, with full cheeks and freckles dotted across their skin. They were short. Artesia was taller than them. And that should have dissuaded her, but it seemed to encourage her even more. It was a problem.
Mally came astride them and blinked up at Edwin.
"Oh, did we invite Lord Harwith?" they asked, and Edwin twitched, because what? How did they recognize him so swiftly? He didn't like them, not in the slightest.
"Uh..." Artesia said, and Edwin thought to chide her, because a lady didn't say uh.
"Edwin's going to be joining us!" Jacques said and wrapped his arm around Edwin's shoulder, much to Edwin's chagrin. "To make everything easy, I give you permission to call me Jacques, just for tonight."
He shot Mally a wink, and they flushed.
"Oh... Alright," they said, and turned. "Let's get something to eat."
"Excellent!" Jacques said and clapped his hands together. "Let's go, Edwin!"
Edwin didn't like Jacques. The other boy was entirely too gregarious, and Edwin didn't trust Jacques's eyes. They were suspicious, to put it mildly. Always shifty and calculating, which was a good quality in a prince, but not in a friend. He always knew what to say and how to say it, and he knew how to subtly use his authority. He was dangerous, and Edwin fully intended on supporting him as the next Crown Prince, no matter if the current Empress hated him or not, but...
But, that didn't mean he trusted him. He'd trust him with the running of the country, but he wouldn't trust him with his men.
Him hanging out with the Saint was cause for concern.
Edwin was glad he had shown up.