Sleeping castle

The sun rose beyond the castle walls, bathing everything in its golden glory.

The rooster crowed. The milk delivery arrived. Supply boxes were piled outside the castle doors.

But the whole castle was sleeping.

Yes, sleeping.

Except for these four.

A doll.

A princess.

A teacher.

And her servant .

"It's ten in the morning, and nobody is awake yet."

Elena, who hadn't been able to sleep a wink, wandered through the castle corridors looking for Helen and the others.

"This has never happened before."

Even Sammy began looking around with growing confusion. Sybill simply shrugged.

Silvi blinked her button eyes.

"We must do the investigation of the crime scenes."

Elena's mind was racing.

"Yes. Silvi, Sybill—you check the Grandmaster's wing and Rowland's room. He might be in danger."

She turned to Sammy.

"Sammy and I will check the area around my room and the staff residence."

---

Sybill found Rowland curled up like a fetus in his bed, mumbling in his sleep.

"Miss Sybill... stop the... haunting... stare..."

"...lemme go..."

Silvi smiled.

"She is haunting his dreams now too."

Sybill examined the room.

Weapons. Clothes. A few bottles of thick, sticky substances labelled hair gels.

And the black insignia of Duke Longbottom everywhere.

It was almost as if the duke were far more important than the king himself.

There were several letters as well. Silvi was reading them now. Sybill had placed magic over the papers, causing them to shuffle whenever Silvi jumped on them and reveal the next one.

The letters repeatedly emphasized how important it was for Rowland to take over as king—for the family's honour, status, and future.

The idea had been bombarded into the poor soul's mind so frequently that it made even Silvi's doll brain hurt.

Sybill opened a black box beneath his bed, revealing several tiny figures while Rowland snored loudly in the background.

Inside were a heavily armoured knight, a mage holding a wand, and a green dragon with enormous skeletal wings and a long, lizard-like mouth.

Sybill recognized the dragon immediately.

She had fought one just like it years ago, when she was twelve. She had beheaded the creature after conjuring a fiery sword powerful enough to penetrate its scales.

She looked from the tiny dragon to the sleeping Rowland.

"He is the having a mind of the baby but looks like the scary angry man."

For once, Sybill's assumption was surprisingly accurate. Her mind was beginning to comprehend humans a little better.

"Silvi, he is the waking up. We will be taking the leave now"

Sybill quickly put the figures back inside the box and moved it exactly where it had been.

The evidence of their espionage had been removed.

---

Sammy and Elena patrolled the corridor leading toward the staff accommodation.

Elena kept secretly glancing at him as they walked. She was holding back a flood of emotions.

He was back. He was back.

She kept repeating it in her head.

But even Elena knew his life was still in danger.

When they entered the kitchen, a bizarre scene unfolded before their eyes.

The cups and saucers were still drying on the dish rack. Pots and pans lay unwashed in the sink.

Phillip was sleeping peacefully, resting his head against the kitchen island.

A bowl of soup sat nearby. Only a few spoonfuls had been eaten.

"Such disregard for duties," Elena said angrily.

Sammy laughed.

"This is coming from the most irresponsible person ever."

"You don't know, Sammy. I have become very responsible."

Sammy gave her a look.

"Yes. Silvi told me that already."

Further investigation revealed Lucien and Rob asleep in their uniforms. On the table they shared in their room sat bowls of the same soup Phillip had been eating.

Chef Mario lay sprawled across the chairs in his room, snoring loudly. A plate of the same soup sat nearby, with only a few spoonfuls eaten.

After searching the remaining rooms, the pattern became impossible to ignore.

Helen, Madam Florence, and the other maids had all eaten the same soup.

Sybill and Silvi soon joined them, and the four compared what they had discovered.

"Hmm. The soup is the suspicious," Sybill said, holding her chin the way Silhvester did whenever he examined evidence.

But there had been no soup in Rowland's room.

"Let's search the kitchen again. It might have been a poisoning attempt," Silvi said.

"Yes. We need to look again," Sammy agreed.

Further investigation led them to empty the rubbish bins and examine the dishes, pots, and pans.

Sybill, however, suddenly stood there smiling.

"I have the solved two mysteries with the one bird."

She was holding a familiar bottle.

Elena froze.

It was her missing night-blooming nightshade.

The bottle had somehow ended up among the ingredients Chef Mario usually arranged neatly for Phillip.

And Phillip had added it to the broth.

Elena laughed nervously.

Then she remembered.

She had left the bottle there while munching on berries from the cake. Phillip must have mistaken it for one of the ingredients and emptied the entire bottle into the soup.

It was a quantity Elena would normally have finished over the course of two months.

Even diluted through the broth, it had been enough to put almost the entire castle to sleep.

Sammy stared at her.

"What was that about being responsible?"

Elena avoided his gaze.

"But why is the Rowland sleeping? He did not have the soup," Sybill asked.

"Oh, he's a snob," Elena said casually. "He never wakes up until several people beg him to."

She shrugged.

"Or pour a bucket of water on him. Or threaten him with Grandmaster's fury."