Gilded Cage~ Shapeshifter Rebirth

Chapter 29 |Past~Arina|

"I really don't know, Master Carlisle." The woman in front of me sobbed. She was kneeling in the backyard, shivering non-stop in the cold weather. 

Master Carlisle was leisurely reading the book in his hand, not even looking up. The woman has been kneeling in the cold weather for many hours. She was the servant who last saw Lady Rosanne before she died. According to the other servants who had seen Lady Rosanne that day, Lady Rosanne was alive and well. She was even planning to cook a dish later that day and dine with Master Carlisle. The servants were ordered to prepare the ingredients in the kitchen. When they returned, Lady Rosanne was found lying on the floor unconscious. The servant we were interrogating now, Diane, was standing next to Lady Rosanne. She of course was the most likely suspect. 

"I really don't know, Master Carlisle! I don't have memory of that day! Before I knew it, I was in the prison." She sobbed uncontrollably. 

"I did my homework, but my dog ate it." Carlisle drawled. "I wonder who still believes in such excuse these days. Do you, Arina?" The smile hanging on his face was as cold as ice and extremely frightening. 

I hesitantly shook my head. 

"If you have something you want to say, say it. I can't hear your thoughts, can I?"

"Master Carlisle, can I ask her some questions?" I had a vague hypothesis, but I needed more evidence. No use getting Carlisle's hope up. 

Carlisle scrutinized me and then finally nodded once. 

"Diane, aside from the day... of the incident, is your memory still intact? Can you remember what you did the day before the incident?"

Diane closed her eyes and furrowed her brows, after awhile she finally opened her eyes and said, "Yes, but it's a bit fuzzy."

"What did you do that day?"

"That morning Lady Rosanne said winter was coming, she wanted to make a cape for Master Carlisle." Diane shot a glance at Carlisle and then continued, "She ordered us to bring in the cloth and fur we had in the manor, but she was not satisfied with them. I once worked as a seamstress, so Lady Rosanne always trusted me with things such as choosing cloth and fur. She sent me to the capital to buy some cloth and fur for her."

"Did you find the things she wanted?"

"Yes." She nodded her head vigorously. 

"Then did you meet anyone when you're in the capital?"

Her attention drifted and looked at us with an empty expression. 

I looked at Carlisle to see if he had any orders. He was in deep thoughts and then he whispered something into Janus' ears. Janus soon returned with a bucket of water. Carlisle dipped his finger inside the water as if testing the temperature and nodded. Janus then poured the water over Diane. Diane immediately began to shiver, but her expression looked much clearer. 

I immediately asked, "Who did you meet in the capital, Diane?"

"A... woman in a cape, a huge hood covered her face. She said something but I couldn't remember. All I knew was there was a sweet scent. Very sweet." 

Carlisle then waved his hand gesturing the guards surrounding Diane to bring her away. Diane began to cry hysterically and cried she's innocent over and over. 

"Master Carlisle," Janus said. 

"I know she's innocent. Someone charmed her. But who?" He drummed his fingers on the table in front of him.

"Master," I said, "do you know what kind of power does Lady Sabrina possess?"

I was not sure if it's really her, but I remembered that day when I was staying as a bird in the Duke's study. When Lady Sabrina came over in the hope to talk to the Duke, something sweet wafted from outside the door. And the Duke immediately covered his nose when he was talking to Lady Sabrina. 

"So it's her again," Carlisle said without any emotions and then he started to laugh in the most chilling manner. "Just you wait." The tea cup he was holding cracked into many pieces. 

Someone ran into the backyard, clearly short of breath. He was the servant under Lord Atherton. "Master Carlisle, the... the Duke sent over this letter." 

"Burn it." 

"Lord Atherton said you must read it. He said it's very important." 

He grabbed the letter from him and he began to chuckle. "Whoever get hold of the Sword of Fate get to become the next Duke. What an interesting proposal. I guess my dear brother has already received secret tips from the Duke?"

The Sword of Fate was a very famous sword. It once belonged to the first Duke of Cregan. Back then Cregan was suffering from famine and drought. Plagues spread over the whole country. A lot of people died. People were dissatisfied with the Emperor at that time. Riots and rebellions were appearing everywhere. The first Duke of Cregan, then just a normal nobleman, appeared with the Sword of Fate. He suppressed the rebellions and defended the  kingdom. Legend had it that wherever he went, plagues disappeared and rain began to fall. He saved the whole kingdom. He had the chance to overthrow the Emperor, but he chose to respect the Emperor. He earned a good name among the citizens of Cregan. He was then named the Duke of Cregan by the Emperor. To this day, most of the power of Cregan was held in the hand of the Duke, not the Emperor. 

But no one knew where the Sword of Fate had gone. Some said it was stored in a vault deep under earth. Some said it was sealed inside a cave in Cregan's highest mountain. Some said it was buried with the first Duke of Cregan. Some claimed to have found the sword, but said they could not take it out. A beast guarded the sword. They said even if you could get past the beast, there's no way to pick up the sword. Your hand would start to rot as soon as you touched the sword. 

"No, I want you to get it." A deep voice cut in. It's the Duke. He looked like he had aged in just the few months since we last saw him. 

Carlisle snorted. "This is not somewhere Your Grace should be. Janus, lead Your Grace back to where he's supposed to be."

"Carlisle, I didn't want to betray your mother. I was forced and charmed by that Sabrina. Her power makes others her puppets. And she poisoned me and said if I didn't follow her commands, she would kill me!"

"Your Grace, there's such thing called healer in this world. And I truly doubt her power is strong enough to allude your mind every single second of your life. See, you're thinking for yourself now! Not wanting to use your brain is not an excuse for betraying my mother. If you'll excuse me, I have a sword to find." 

Carlisle then dragged me away, leaving behind his collapsed father.