Release that Witch

Upon arriving at the Sheep Tavern, the group promptly obtained Maans’ address through enquiry.

”I’ll go in first to take a look. You guys enter from the front door afterwards. Summer, keep an eye on Lightning and Maggie. Don’t let them in.” Nightingale entered her Mist and vanished after delivering the order. In her world of black and white, the lines that constructed everything started to twist and distort. She soon located a crack invisible to the naked eye and glided through the wall effortlessly.

The man’s abode was as humble as Shovel’s. It appeared that Maans had been destitute since losing his job as a patroller. She could see clearly so she knew that there was no God’s Stone of Retaliation in the vicinity. Nightingale soon spotted her target in the bedroom. The man was sound asleep beneath the blanket. His coat hung at the bedside with blood smears still on its sleeves.

Nightingale returned to the drawing room to open the door. The police swarmed in. They pushed Maans, who had just woken up with a start, back on the bed and tied him up.

”Who are you? Let me go!” He yelled with horror.

”You’re under arrest for murders!” Rene silenced him with two loud slaps. ”How dare you plot against His Highness. It’d be merciful even to have you hanged at the city gate!”

”No, I, I didn’t...”

”You didn’t!?” The slaps turned into punches. After a few muffled sounds, Maans gasped in pain, his mouth full of blood and his front tooth falling out. ”We saw you murder Shovel last night. Do you think we’ll believe your cunning excuses? You used Dreamland Water to knock him out. Then, you strangled him to death before cutting his throat to avoid getting blood on you. That was pretty smart, eh?”

Maans did not say a word, but his eyes were filled with shock and terror.

”Who gave you the order to kill Rats applying for jobs? Who instructed you to draw a crossed crown with blood at the crime scene?” Nightingale picked up a glass bottle from the night stand, it was filled halfway with light blue liquid. ”Dreamland Water isn’t cheap, and it isn’t easy to get a hold of it now that the gangs have been eradicated.”

”I...”

”We might exempt you from death penalties if you spit all out.” Rene clasped his hands. ”Otherwise, I’ll make you fully understand the consequences of infuriating a noble.”

Nightingale did not stop his threat, even though she knew the Earl of the Elk Family was lying. Like His Highness had said, security was the top priority, and anyone who posed a threat to it should be punished severely.

Maans hesitated, more punches landed on him.

The knight, who had received professional combat training, hit him between the abdomen and the ribs with just the right amount of strength to inflict excruciating pain, but not enough to cause death.

”Mercy! Mercy! I’m sorry, my lord! It was a guy from the inner city, he told me to do it! He’ll pay me four gold royals for each person I kill. He said by doing this, people will nurse a grudge against the police and think those black uniform guys are incapable of protecting the public. In this way, we can reassemble the patrol party!”

Maans collapsed. He was not a strong-minded person. A person who stood firm in his spirit would never choose to be a patroller and benefit himself through robbery and pillage, and certainly would not take four lives for just a few gold royals. Nightingale believed he had probably never expected to be tracked down by the Ministry of Justice so soon after committing the crime, and definitely never thought he would be found out in a city of 20,000 people in merely four days.

Maans confessed everything tearfully, smearing blood and snot all over his collar.

”I don’t know how he found me. Our first meeting was at a tavern. He handed me that bottle of Dreamland Water and told me as long as I did what he asked me to, I would get a big chunk of money. I didn’t have any savings at the time, and the police had rejected my application. I was feeling bitter and resentful. So, I agreed.”

”The police department will never hire a scumbag like you.” Rene coughed out a spit.

”Do you know the man’s name and identity?” Nightingale questioned.

”I don’t know.”

”You’re lying.”

”I really don’t know!”

Nightingale looked toward Rene who immediately took the hint and delivered a few more punches. ”The lady here is a witch. She can tell whether you’re lying or not. It’s indeed very stupid of you to lie in front of her! Don’t test our patience!”

”No, my lord, I’m just... just not sure.” Maans cried in his shrill voice. ”Because he has never told me his name or identity!”

”What did you mean by ’not sure’?”

”I’ve also wondered why he pays so generously, as he doesn’t look like a noble at all. When we met a couple of days ago, I could tell he was in a hurry and his attire looked a little weird too, like he layered one coat on top of another.” Maans panted. ”But he seemed to wear a uniform inside, and I also saw an emblem shaped like a petal on his collar.”

”An emblem of a petal?” Nightingale and Rene exchanged a look. ”Isn’t that the emblem of the Honeysuckle Family?”

”That’s why I’m not sure. Everybody knows the Hulls are the lord’s supporters, and they would never plot against Lord Wimbledon.” Maans said, hanging his head.

”It can’t be Petrov, it must be someone else,” Rene said firmly. ”Since they meet each other on a daily basis, why not set up a trap to catch the guy?”

This appeared to be the only feasible way. They would arrest the man when Maans met with him and ”asked for compensation”. By then, everything would be cleared up. Nightingale nodded, but still felt something was missing.

Maans wasn’t lying, and what he said was all true. What had gone wrong?

”Nightingale, are you guys alright?” Lightning shouted from outside.

”They’ve almost finished the meeting, coo. We have to head back now, coo!”

Nightingale had asked Lightning, Maggie and Summer to wait outside because of the violence that might have occurred during the arrest. A flash crossed her mind when she heard the word ”meeting” from Maggie. His Highness was now in a meeting with the nobles, discussing the details of founding a new City Hall!

This meant there was not a single guard with the prince to protect him, and the closest one would be outside the hall.

If this person was really a member of the Honeysuckle Family, he could go straight into the castle and enter the hall on the first floor without raising any suspicion, though he would be forbidden to access the second and third floors, which were exclusive to His Highness. Yet she happened to be away from Prince Roland at this very moment!

”Lightning!” Nightingale had no time to explain to Rene and Maans, she dashed out of the room and grasped Lightning’s shoulders, yelling, ”Take me back to the castle now! His Highness might be in danger!”

”Huh? OK... Hold on tight.” Lightning was very surprised, but she carried Nightingale on her back at once. She did not raise any unnecessary questions and flew straight toward the castle. When she was loaded, she flew much lower but still maintained a speed around 100 kilometers an hour. It would take her only half a minute to reach the destination.

Nightingale hoped she was wrong, but felt her terror grow as she further examined the details. The murders started three days ago, which was exactly when Petrov’s letter for help arrived at the Border Area. If this man’s real purpose was to distract everybody with several murder cases and put Roland in a defenseless and vulnerable position, it would be the worst-case scenario.

When they were close to the castle, Nightingale stepped into the Mist and entered the hall from the air. Her heart sank when she saw the meeting room in chaos. The nobles seemed to be petrified and were all standing by the wall murmuring. The guards were blocking off the scene. The host seat at the end of the long table, where Prince Roland should have been, was vacant. A man was lying on the floor. Nightingale could not tell whether he was alive or not, but could see his body was covered by the black curtain created by the God’s Stone of Retaliation.