Declaration

Aion had let Sam return to the ballroom, leaving him with the servants.

“I only need two servants with me,” Aion said.

“Two?” Aria asked for the group.

“One to make sure that I’m not tampering with the crime scene, and a second to make sure I don't get killed by the other.”

“Wait, killed?” Aria looked shocked.

“Of course, there’s a murderer on the loose, and I have no idea who it is. So, I’d rather not be alone with one person.”

“Ah…well, that’s fair…”

“So who will stay?”

“Ah, how about Noah and I?”

“That’s fine,” Aion said as he walked over to the window and stared out of it.

Outside the window, the full moon was in full view. Thus, he was able to see the snow below. The snow was undisturbed, meaning that eliminated jumping out the window. Feeling around the window, he found the latch and tried to open it. But it was locked.

“Hey,” Aion called out. “Can this window be locked from the outside?”

“Uh, no,” a male servant, presumably Noah, said.

Noah had a judgmental look on his face over the question, but Aion didn’t react.

Next, he looked under the beds and found that they were built into the floor, meaning there was no way to hide under them.

And now, he checked the bathroom. Inside there was a bathtub and shower along with a large sink and a toilet. However, no one was inside.

“Aria, who was here when the door was unlocked?” Aion asked.

“Ah, there was Aira, Noah, Cassie, James, and I,” Aria answered.

“How many servants are there in total? Also, what are their names, if any were missing?”

“If you count every servant, there was Alton, the chef. Dorothy, who is madam’s personal maid. Sebastian, who is the master’s personal butler. And Mark.”

“Thank you…” Aion said as he contemplated the situation.

Dorothy and Sebastion not being present was fine; more than likely they were with the masters of the house when the lights were out. The chef was problematic; they could’ve easily found a way to sneak around in the dark. And then there was Mark…

“Mark, was he with you guys when the lights went out?”

“Yes, but when the lights were back on, he was missing.”

“Hm…”

“Wait, is Mark the killer!?” Noah spoke loudly in surprise.

“Probably not,” Aion said.

“Huh? That’s quite confident of you…”

Mark wasn’t the killer. There was no way he could be. A case that could be solved instantly like that wouldn’t be hailed as greatly as it was. Thus, narratively speaking, Aion could eliminate Mark as the killer.

“I’ve gotten all the information I need here. Let’s go,” Aion said.

“Already?” Noah looked shocked.

“It’s a small room,” Aion said, with a disinterested expression.

The three walked back to the ballroom. Instead of turning back the way they went, Aria led them down the path Aion hadn’t taken. This led to the two staircases and the entrance to the ballroom.

Once inside, Aion looked around and saw the situation was in chaos. Several nobles were yelling and shouting while the servants were trying to calm them down. Aion saw that Juno was with Alphonse, seemingly trying to comfort him.

Upon Aion’s entrance, several eyes turned toward him.

“What’s the situation?” Sam asked for the crowd.

“The room was completely locked from the inside with no one else inside,” Aion said.

“What? How!?” A haughty-looking nobleman spoke up.

“And you are?” Aion asked.

“Ha! That’s a funny joke!”

“Mr. Cornelius,” Sam started, “Aion comes from outside of Magna, so he’s not familiar with everyone here.”

“Not from Magna? Then doesn’t that mean he’s the killer!?”

“You can have that hypothesis if you want,” Aion said. “However, I will be having myself monitored at all times as insurance.”

“Oh? No denial?”

“It’s not like I can prove anything right now. So, I ask again, what’s your name?”

“William Cornelius,” William said with a look of pride.

“William, got it,” Aion repeated his name.

“The audacity!”

Aion ignored him and continued saying, “Since the room was in such a situation, there’s not much that can be done right now.”

“What!?”

“Are you just telling us to let this slide!?”

“How dare you!?”

Several lines like that were thrown out by the nobles and some of the servants.

“Right now,” Aion started again. “We have a killer on the loose. So I believe it’s best if we all stay put.”

“What if the power goes off again!?” Noah complained.

“Then what do you suggest we do?”

“Ah…”

“Right now, staying in a large group is power because if anyone does anything, it can be caught by the majority. So, I suggest that everyone stay here.”

“I can’t believe a commoner is ordering us about!” A blonde woman complained.

“Look, I’ve tolerated you explaining the situation, but ordering us around is a new low!” William spat.

Aion just walked to another part of the room, ignoring everyone’s complaints that continued to prattle out.

“Where do you think you’re going!?” A man yelled at him.

“I can’t order you around, so there’s nothing to be done,” Aion said.

“You cheeky brat!”

The situation was unfavorable. Especially since Aion just learned that the nobility was going to be uncooperative. In the beginning, he had thought he could perhaps handle the investigation a bit, but after seeing the crime scene in detail, he figured it would be a multiple homicide case. Whether the killings would continue here and tonight, he couldn’t know right now. Furthermore, if they did, and the power went out again, there wouldn’t be anything they could do. Aion may have acted like it was viable for them to stay together, but that wasn’t a certainty.

“We should just leave!” One noble declared.

“Yeah!”

Aion’s mouth fell open a little. He hadn’t even considered leaving. In all his experience reading detective fiction and murder mystery fiction, there was always some sort of reason to block off any escape attempt. At least, that would be the case if the murders were to take place in one location. If the killer didn’t strike again until later, things would be fine to escape.

However, soon Aion’s answer was found. It was only a minute before the nobles who marched out returned and started to cause a commotion.

“The door is locked!” William was the first to speak.

“The door is locked?” The butler under the head of the Magnatiums, Sebastian, asked.

“Yeah! So open it!” William spat with a glare.

“At once, sir.” Sebastian bowed and walked out of the ballroom to the entrance.

Aion, curious about the situation, followed unnoticed by the others, who were busy complaining. Out and down the stairs, he saw Sebastian insert the key into the front door. But when he tried to open it, it wouldn’t budge.

“Is the door moving at all?” Aion asked.

“Hm?” Sebastian turned to see who was speaking. “Ah, well, it seems like it isn’t budging at all.”

“Hm…” Aion made a noise of interest and kicked the door with all his might.

“Sir!” Sebastian was flabbergasted at the action.

“Nothing, huh?” Aion mused.

It wasn’t like he was all that strong, but he wondered if any force would do anything.

“How about the windows?” Aion asked.

“I’ll go check,” Sebastian said as he left.

Aion looked around the foyer, and his eyes latched onto the portrait of Lunalis. Her eyes seemed to be staring right at him, which made him quite uncomfortable. He was about to go where Sebastian had headed until he caught something. Or rather, something moved in his peripheral vision.

Looking down, he saw an envelope.

It appeared someone slid it from under the door. Aion bent down, and Sebastian returned.

“What’s that?” He asked.

“Someone slid it in from under the door…”

Looking at it, a full moon was on the red wax as a seal. On the other side, it read:

Read While Everyone Is Present.

“It appears that tonight is going to get more chaotic,” Aion said as he turned toward Sebastian. “How were the windows?”

“None of them would open.”

“I thought as much.” Aion sighed. He wasn’t looking forward to having to quell the nobles.

So he walked up the stairs and into the ballroom. Immediately, several eyes were upon him and Sebastian.

“I’m afraid escape is impossible. Whoever has started these killings has blocked off all escape,” Aion announced.

“What!?”

“How could you let this happen!?”

“Does this person have any idea of who they’re dealing with!?”

Lines such as those were thrown out to various servants or even the masters.

“Second off, a letter for everyone has arrived.”

Several people’s faces twisted in confusion at the announcement.

Aion scanned the crowd and found that everyone he’d seen from the party was present along with someone in a chef’s outfit.

“Is Mark still missing?” Aion asked.

Aria nodded.

Aion didn’t want to wait any longer, and he didn’t care for someone who was probably already dead.

Aion opened the letter, and there was a page written in clean handwriting.

“‘Welcome, guests of Magnatium to the Winter Solstice,

On this night blessed by Lunalis, I challenge you all to a battle of elegant wits.

As you have already seen, any escape attempt is utterly fruitless, for all exits have been sealed completely through the power of the divine.

I have already begun my killings, and from here on out, I will continue.

If you wish for any chance at life, discover my identity, and I will willingly accept defeat.

But if you fail, your life will be reaped in the name of purity.

Come one and all and witness absolute nobility.

And for those who cannot match my challenge, pray to Lunalis that your souls may be redeemed.

From,

Pride’”

Aion finished the letter, and the ballroom was deadly silent. But only for a second.

“Who does this person think they are!?” The first to speak was William.

“Oh, Lunalis!” Then it was Cassie.

However, soon, Aion couldn’t differentiate the voices as they all cried out over each other. It all blended together into a cacophony of despair and rage—leaving nothing but disorientation in its path. Pride had already destroyed all rationality in the mob.

Aion walked away from the scene after flicking the letter away.

Pride. One of the seven deadly sins, the one held by Lucifer. Of course, the being known as Lucifer was probably completely unknown in this place.

“Aion,” Sam had rushed over to Aion in a panic. “What—what are we going to do!?”

“There’s nothing we can do. Based on my investigation of Esme’s death, I have no way of figuring out how the murder was performed, let alone figuring out who was responsible.”

“But…” Sam tried to voice a protest but came up short.

“Until another murder happens, my hands are tied,” Aion said.

“But we can’t just wait around! We could all stick together and—”

“That’s not going to work,” Aion interrupted him. “Everyone was around during the party, and then the power went out, giving the opportunity to strike.”

Sam bit his lip as his eyes swam with fear.

Yes, this was the reality. In detective fiction involving multiple murders in a row, the detective usually can’t figure much out with only the first murder. This was the burden of a detective; they were bound by needing tragedy to occur before being able to act. It was a position that Aion loathed because of that. Tragedy was inescapable because it already happened.

And that was something Aion could never be happy with.

“With Mark’s disappearance, that likely makes the second murder,” Aion started again.

“Huh?” Sam was shocked.

“The fact that he hasn’t returned to the ballroom at all speaks volumes. Now it’s just a matter of where he is.”

Sam grimaced. He looked pale and about ready to faint.

Still, Aion thought, Mark disappeared while the lights were out, and Esme was murdered also while the lights were out. That meant two victims in the span of about two to three minutes.

Considering the clock had hit 7:00 on the dot the moment the power went out, and it had returned at 7:03, it seemed like an impossibility to commit both murders in that time span. So, was Mark truly just wandering around at a time like this?

Aion supposed there was only one way to find out: find Mark’s body, whether alive or dead.