The Prince in Question Is Not Stable-Chapter 41: Price of Mercy [Part - 2]

The woman stopped a few steps away from us.

Her boots resounded with a deep clack as she walked in the hall.

She was shorter than us. Had a golden hilt Katzbalger tied to her waist. Shoulder-length black hair and light blue eyes.

"Captain Selene Neville," she said, calmly inclining her head. "Judicial arm of the Lunar Court,"

"It’s an honour to be in your presence, Count Rile," She said. "Although your attire looks somewhat...interesting."

Selene was commenting on the bathrobe over a formal shirt and pants.

"Would you care to explain, captain...Why’re the court officials interested in the Rile Estate?" I asked.

"Not Rile Estate, but your butler, Elowen. He’s a wanted man, Count," she replied.

"A wanted man? My butler? He’s the most lawful person you could ever meet. What crime did he commit to mark him wanted across the Kingdom?"

Elowen’s job was to send an anonymous tip about a piece of assets being smuggled. However, those assets were to be diverted towards Vahn County, and not cross the borders of the Kingdom.

Assets here are weaponry, magic scrolls, and advanced inscriptions of circuits on crates, swords, bows, canes, raw metals, mana stones, and several other categories.

But if he did tip the officials, they wouldn’t outright find out the informant due to the anonymity of the tip, and even if they managed to find out, pinning the blame on the one handling the dock is not possible.

"We received information that your butler, Elowen, might be stealing from the ships for his personal gains. However, when we arrived here, he already fled. Even if we’re willing to drop the charges, the absence of your butler is not helping him prove his innocence," Selene said.

"So, you’re saying that no one...not a single person in the Rile estate knew when you would arrive?" I asked, and took out the note of Elowen from my pants pocket.

"No, Count, my men are tight-lipped. They wouldn’t inform anyone of our doing, and I didn’t sense any presence of a stalker," she replied.

I read the note again...

"What is tha-"

"Shh!" I cut off her words. I needed silence. This note...it’s the only clue.

"This note is almost perfect..." I mumbled.

’My Lord, Vahn County has fallen. Yet an unseen hand has disrupted your flawless design. To shield the Estate of Rile, I shall bear the blame and place myself beyond your reach, drawing the officials’ gaze to my movements instead. I entrust the estate to Bart, and pray for your swift recovery.’

Alright...let’s analyse this. Elowen is the kind of man who never hides anything from me. He places his utmost trust; he’s old, and a sharp, precise analyst.

’Vahn county has fallen,’ A loyal analyst would open with information, not emotion. This checks. But something’s missing.

There’s no tactical detail or timeline.

’An unseen hand,’ if Elowen were free, he would’ve identified who disrupted his plans. But he masked his words into a warning.

’To shield the estate of Rile, I shall bear the blame and place myself beyond your reach,’ He would not choose to become unreachable.

His words should’ve been - I depart, or I withdraw, or I act independently.

’Beyond your reach’ is separation through force with a constraint of distance.

It reads like voluntary exile, but it’s a coercion disguised as sacrifice.

’I entrust the estate to Bart,’ he knows he will not return. Therefore, he already assigned a successor.

Elowen is doing three things simultaneously. He is preserving his dignity, avoiding using names of the enemies, and subtly signalling to me not to act rashly.

"Theory of mind deployment..." I mumbled.

The same note holds a different meaning for different people, based on Elowen’s personality understanding.

"Theory of what?" Selene repeated my words in confusion and leaned in to look at the letter.

"Here, I believe it’s the letter sent by Elowen," I said, handing her the letter.

"What do you think?" Janus asked.

"This wasn’t written willingly, of course, but I need to check his room to confirm my suspicion. I can’t be sure of anything," I replied.

"I’ll assist you...if you don’t mind, Count," Selene said, folding the note and handing it to the official behind her.

"Do as you please, Captain,"

.

.

.

And here I was, back again after just a few weeks. Back at Elowen’s library.

A vast chamber with its high vaulted ceiling.

Rows upon rows of towering shelves stretched endlessly.

Chandeliers swayed faintly above, casting golden light across the polished marble floors.

Every step that I, Janus, and Selene took echoed through the library.

"Whoa..." She was amazed. Despite the exterior, the library was huge. It covered a significant part of the castle.

"He lives in the library?" Janus asked.

"He’s just like that," I murmured.

As we walked past numerous rows of shelves, we arrived at the desk, behind the last row, in the corner of the library.

Behind that desk was a dark, walnut coloured gate. Its handle was made of brass and was worn smooth.

I opened the door, and the hinges were silent. They didn’t make any noise.

A simple framed bed in the centre of the room. Besides the bed was a table with a kettle that looked pretty old, but was maintained.

He has a second writing table inside.

"Well...he’s not here..." Selene muttered.

"Yes, we’re here to find him," Janus replied.

"Who’re you...again?" Selene asked. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"His best friend, Janus," he pointed at me, and brought his hand forward to shake hers.

"Oh...it’s a pleasure to meet you,"

"Pleasure’s all mine, I never knew court officials were such a beauty. If I were one of your suspects, I would deliberately commit a crime just to be interrogated by you," he replied.

"I’ll take that as a compliment," She didn’t seem that interested in him.

"As you should," Janus murmured and focused back to the room.

"..."

I sighed and looked around.

Blankets are folded in a way that someone leaves them in the morning, intending to return at night.

Liquor decant still holds exactly one evening’s measure, missing.

He drinks one glass per night. The glass beside it still has the faint crescent of dried amber at the bottom.

He did not finish it. A disciplined man does not abandon his drinks.

Opening the writing desk, I noticed three colours of sealing wax; red, blue, and yellow.

The ring with the insignia of Rile had red wax on it. He didn’t clean it before keeping it in his drawer.

The shelf...if he fled strategically, he would take at least one book, blueprint or a map.

Information is survival. He left it all behind.

The window latch is still closed from the inside. Which brings us to the desk.

His chair is slightly angled, not tucked in. Ink bottle remains uncorked, and there’s a faint smudge where a hand pressed too firmly near the paper’s edge.

He was hesitant.

His hesitation was evident because Elowen wasn’t a magician or a warrior.

"The condition of his room contradicts his circumstances," I said.

"True," Janus spoke.

"Can you elaborate?" Selene squinted and looked at Janus.

It seems he was observing the same things I was.

"Blankets, liquor, glass, kettle, wardrobe, study, insignia, the hand print on the table..." Janus began pointing at each and every thing.

He leaned in towards Selene and explained. "He was working, he poured a drink, he likely heard someone enter the library, so he stopped, then he looked at the door, and what he saw was a visitor. An expected visitor, therefore, he left everything mid-continuation."

"He was, however, threatened...he wrote carefully, but he was hesitant about the note, and he followed the person out of the room."

"He was abducted by someone he trusts. Not extremely, but enough to not mark them as kidnappers,"

"Theory of mind deployment, just as Ymi- I mean, Marcus said...he wrote the letter in a way that people close to him would figure out something was wrong, but not the one who’s making him write the letter,"

"He’s not on the premises of the estate; he was taken somewhere far."

"This whole situation is to create a fluke. It’s the last anchor that confirms someone’s doubts."

"Someone’s doubts?" Selene murmured and thought for a while.

"The Vahn County. Krell suspects Vahn of stealing and betrayal; their information could’ve been verified by your butler, who was handling their asset conversions, but now Elowen is on the run, or he’s being portrayed as the man on the run, which turns that suspicion into an anchor of guilt."

"So, Krells became sure that Vahns are traitors, the moment Elowen was marked as a wanted man, but in reality, Elowen was abducted and is nowhere to be found after he’s served his purpose to start an internal war among Krells and Vahns, and now the person who orchestrated the war has probably..."

She paused, realising what had occurred.

"Has probably taken care of Elowen..." Janus completed her words. "And that assassin is hiding in plain sight,"