Three Lies, All True || ONC2021 Longlister

Chapter 3: Finally, Common Sense

It wasn't exactly surprising to see Adrien become silent when he saw the body on the ground. After a while, he let out a sigh. A very deep, long, and perhaps stressed sigh. He lifted his glasses from his face and wiped the lens before turning to her.

"Do I even want to know?"

Petra shrugged. "Depends, how much do you want to know?"

Adrien's eyes narrowed down to a glare as he crossed his arms. "What, who, and why."

"What? We're burying a dead body. Who? A Nuryynian soldier. But if you're asking whose idea, it was Peter's. Why? Because according to him, we should 'trust the stars'"--Petra stifled a laugh when her brother started chuckling--"and see what they say. Like always, Adrien, I am simply a victim of fate here."

"I can clearly see you're burying a dead body. Unless, of course, that's not a dead body but rather another innocent rookie you decided to prank by burying them alive." Adrien paused, as if he was waiting for them to say yes. When his only answer was silence, he sighed and looked down again.

"It sounds stupid at first," he continued. "But I understand why you think hiding them instead of reporting is a good idea. Apart from the fact that it's what the stars wanted, they're also Nuryynian."

Peter nodded. "And if Nuryyn finds out that one of their soldiers died--in Royisa's Castle, moreover--they might break the Declaration of Peace and wage war again."

Petra shivered at the thought of another war. She endured a hundred and fifty years of fighting, the last thing she wanted was another century of discord.

In front of her, Adrien knelt down. His eyes narrowed again as he scanned the body below. Silver aura of his magic followed his hands, circling and tracing the body below them. After a while, he finally stood up and dusted his hands.

"We need a proper autopsy."

"But a proper autopsy means rushing the body in the castle." Peter turned around before looking back. "And I don't think we want to alarm everyone about... that."

"I understand that, but there's something in their body that I'm detecting. My magic alone isn't strong enough to know what it is." Adrien placed his hand on his chin and hummed. "I don't like what it is. If I continue investigating and push my magic further--no, I do not wish to risk it. We have to get them in my lab so I can investigate more properly."

"If we don't have any other choice, I agree with Adi," Petra said as she turned to her brother. "I already told you that I'm rusty with my 'star magic' or whatever you want to call it, and burying the dead body seemed to not have been the best choice here. Stars or no stars."

"You sure about that, Defakt?" Peter raised a brow and crossed his arms. "I mean, it was a stupid idea, but it was still the will of fate, isn't it?"

Adrien scoffed and waved his hand in the air. "Fate, shmate. I suggest not relying on your divination too much. They're not always accurate. And if we're supposed to rely on them, then they should have shown us how to live peaceful lives instead of centuries of disasters."

She didn't know why, but the last part of Adrien's sentence made Petra's chest twinge. But with a quick shake of her head, she swallowed the pain and turned back to her brother. "Adi's right. As always. We need to be more sensible with this."

Peter opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, and three times Petra thought he was going to say something. After a while, he finally groaned and nodded. "You know what? Fine, fine! But let me remind you that there's still the issue of sneaking the body in the castle and in Adrien's study without getting caught."