A Beast's Tale: Act 1 (His Maid)

Chapter 84

Guards were carrying the two assassins away when Licht arrived at my room. He waited in the hall, watching with impassive crimson eyes as they passed him: one each with a body slung over his shoulder, another pair following with my rolled-up rug. I'd have to replace it later. For now, it had contained most of the blood, which meant I only had a couple of small spots to clean up before I could bathe and go to bed—after I read the letter in Licht's hand. It was a letter from Ivetta, I knew. They hadn't been gone long enough for her to write anything more than a quick note, but as Gilbert had said, she'd been planning her escape for a while. When the tail end of the rug exited the room, Licht stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

"Here. She wanted me to give this to you. She also asked me to pull the guards from her house, but I wouldn't." He paused. "She quit, didn't she?"

The unsealed envelope bore my name and title in her neat cursive. I took it from Licht and tossed it onto my bedside table. "I did not accept her resignation. Make no changes to her guard detail. She's staying home until her mother dies, at which point I'm to be notified immediately. The guards have permission to intervene if she does anything foolish."

He frowned. "Then you think she'll attempt suicide."

"It's possible."

He pressed his lips together, his eyes shifting from me to the envelope and back. "I don't want her to hurt herself either, but you can't force her to continue working here."

"I don't intend to."

He studied me a moment longer, then nodded. "Well, the first assassin cracked already, so we have the person who helped them get past security. It was a servant Emidio brought with him. He said Silvio paid him off to do it. Emidio claims he knew nothing about it, and he put Silvio under house arrest while he searches for evidence. If he finds anything, he's shipping Silvio to the embassy and notifying the king. Silvio refused to talk."

"There is no point when Blue will manufacture definitive proof by morning. Double the little rabbit's guard."

"What about Rio?"

"Blue will target her first."

Licht tilted his head to the side. "You expected this."

I allowed the left corner of my lips to tip up into a smirk. "Have you ever known the Jangler to hold his tongue?"

"I thought that was odd. So, you two have a plan."

I nodded. "The Clown has business tomorrow afternoon. You'll accompany him."

Licht frowned. He and Nokto often resisted working together. "Why can't Clavis do it?"

"He and Green have their own investigation. Black will handle security in your absence. You'll be gone a day or two."

He sighed. "Fine. What about sparring practice? Nokto won't go anywhere until the afternoon." He glanced at a patch of blood spatter on the floor. "Are you sleeping in, too?"

I'd be lucky to get any sleep tonight. "No, I'll be there. It will be Jumbo and us. Clavis and Green are leaving first thing in the morning."

"Then I'll see you there." He turned to go, but paused with his hand on the doorknob. "It's probably for the best that Ivetta won't be here for all of this."

That was my thought as well.

I hadn't spoken with Clavis or Keith since Flandre's interrogation, but going to Flandre's estate was the next logical step for them to take in the matter of his treason and the poison. Depending on the importance of what they found, they might also visit Clavis' territory to check on the latest batch of refugees before they returned. Jade shared a border with both Clavis' jurisdiction and Obsidian, and it saw its fair share of refugees as well. Keith and Clavis often discussed the issue and coordinated their efforts. They'd be gone for a couple of days. That was four fewer people for me to manage here at the palace: Licht, Nokto, Clavis, and Keith. Five, when Emidio produced evidence to frame Silvio.