Chapter 1:

Case file No. 0: Pandora (Part 2)

Pandora's Case Files



The Imperial Police of the Royal Empire was known throughout the continent as a competent organization that acts as a shield that protects the people from the malice of others. It was a proud fortress of intelligence and strength that showed the strong sense of justice that the people of the Empire have...

And now, that very same fortress was now being put to the test after a certain event, The Bombing of the Imperial museum

"...The moment we find out who is the prick who did this during tea hours, I'll skin them alive!"

The middle-aged man screamed as he briskly walked down the marble stairs. The man obviously felt frustrated, as if the stacks of paperwork and management he does on a daily basis wasn't enough, there was now a supposed terrorist attack near the literal heart of the capital

"Ahaha, well they'd certainly face execution for the stunt they did...But it's strange, why would someone bomb the museum in the first place?"

The young-blonde woman asked as she arranges the papers in the folder that she was carrying. She exudes a hint of intelligence and charisma that is plain to see by all who look at her

"Either for the heirlooms or they're just anarchists who really just wants to cause as much panic. Either way, their sin towards the royal family is unforgivable! Let's hurry, Charlotte"

The blonde woman, Charlotte, nodded along as they opened the wooden doors in front of them. Upon entering their sight saw the busy and panicked state of the office. Many were at the phones calling multiple departments to aid the injured, While others were at the typewriter as they diligently inputted the information they've gathered so far

"Alright hit me, what's the situation?"

Upon saying this, one of the officers signaled the man to sit down on a wide, wooden desk. And after doing so both of them were immediately given a brown folder

"Alright, Sir Marcus this is what we've got so far. The bombing happened at around 10:55 in the morning, the bomb was located at an Empty building that was across from the museum, and the owner is unfortunately not found yet. Forensics that arrived at the scene first described the bomb to be specifically designed to be loud and noisy."

"Hm, Loud and noisy? What do they mean?" The man, Marcus, stated as he browsed at the papers

"Well apparently, while there are gunpowders and a few more explosive materials, It seems the primary design of it was to just create a thunderous shockwave, a sort of illusion that makes people think that there was a bomb"

"Haha, annoying little rats...So there weren't any casualties?"

"As of the moment we've only received reports of people getting grazed by the glass shards that were spread throughout when the shockwaves occurred, but other than that there were no serious injuries"

Both of them immediately let out sighs of relief after hearing this.

"Hmm, was anything in the museum stolen?" Charlotte asked with a confused expression

"Reports from the local guards stated that all artifacts and heirlooms were accounted for, nothing was stolen"

"Huh?... Then what was the point of this..."

She couldn't understand. If the semi-fake bomb was just to cause as much panic as possible, then it'd be normal for it to be used as a distraction and for them to swoop in and take the items. After all, the paper stated that everything was in such a chaos earlier that even the local guards were in a bit of a panic

"...Was it some sort of message?" She asked herself as she adjust her glasses

"Whatever the case, the person who created this stunt need to be put on trial. Have we got any suspects so far?"

"Well...about that"

The officer seemed to hesitate for a bit, which made Marcus a bit confused

"Why? There something wrong?"

"...As of now sir, there are no definite suspects yet, but the local guards did caught someone who might be a person of interest. She was a young woman who supposedly went there as a tourist and...During the attack, she supposedly sat down on the throne of the First Emperor"

"'Huh?!"" Marcus and Charlotte couldn't help but utter in unison

"I-Is that woman serious? That could result in capital punishment! What the hell is she thinking?!"

Charlotte reluctantly agreed to what Marcus said. She had heard a few reports of people getting sentenced to over twenty years in prison for just accidentally touching one of the heirlooms. And those were just the unpopular ones...

The one she sat on was basically a natural treasure of the Empire, it could warrant a life sentence if she'll be lucky

"...That's not all, apparently knocked out a guard and fired a shot..."

"...Well, I pray for that foolish and oh so unlucky soul...Was she brought here? What's her name?"

"She's already detained, but about her identity...We're still confirming but...She called herself Pandora"

"""".....""""

Everyone in the room suddenly went silent upon hearing the name. The very same office that was in chaos a while ago was seemingly stuck in time after hearing a single name, and it was for a good reason

"...Pandora?...Do you mean the Pandora?"

Marcus asked, trying to control his hands that were shaking

"From what she said...Yes-"

"Put out a gag order in the entire first division. That Information shall never leave this office, everybody clear?!" His fellow colleagues were caught off guard but managed to give a nod, albeit nervously

"Take me to her!" Marcus slammed his fist on his desk so hard that the officer nearly squealed. The other officer on the other hand realized their state and continued back to working

"A-Ah y-yes! I'll speak with the detention center!"

After the man returned to his desk Marcus immediately fell limp on his chair as he controlled his breathing. Charlotte on the other hand gave him a glass of water as she adjusted her glasses

"...Sir, You need to calm down"

"You have a good poker face Charlotte, I'll give you that. But it won't work now, even I know you're excited. If she turns out to be the criminal who she says she is then we basically caught the biggest damn whale out there...and we can finally get justice for him..."

"Yes...Yes, I know..." She replied as she clenched her fist

"Sir, They've got her at the interrogation room, she's ready for you"

As the officer said this, Marcus quickly stood up and ran. He was recently diagnosed with minor arthritis, but his will to see the detained suspect as soon as possible far exceeded his worries of feeling a minor pain, Charlotte on the other hand followed from behind

[---]

"Ugh...This...This is absolutely horrible..."

The woman muttered to herself as she placed down the cup with a pained expression. As of the moment, she was now on the heavily guarded detention center of the Imperial police, sitting down at the interrogation table

And yet the white-haired woman showed no signs of any fear, as she patiently waited, staring at the cup of tea with a disgusted face

"Is this what you guys drink all day? This tastes like horse piss, what kind of leaves are you using? Doesn't the government fund you with any Darjaaling's or something like that?"

The woman turned to the single police officer who was intently watching her from the corner, It's been a few hours since she was brought from the museum to here, and yet the man continued to watch her with an immovable dead-pan expression

"Fufufuf, I already knew you to be a strong and quiet type the moment I was brought here, but damn are you too serious. Come on, you can least make a few small talks with me right? I'm already bored out of mind here..."

He didn't show it to his face, but the woman knew that he was annoyed. She could smell his searing anger in the air, to which she laid back and let out a smile

"...Hmph, I don't need to talk with scums like you"

"Oh my, you sure have a deep voice. You know I once knew a friend down at the republic with a similar tone of voice like yours, I asked him one time how he cultivated his to such a frighteningly deep and intimidating degree, and he says that he just swallows every time he and his husband are in bed. I assume you do so too?"

"You think this is funny?!" Clearly annoyed, he slammed his fist into the table. She on the other hand let out a fake cry of fear as she continued to show a smirk

"Oh come on don't be such a stick in the mud, it's just a small joke to ease the atmosphere. You know I think you're acting a bit cranky because you're working too much, My old grandpa used to tell me that our bodies are like machines, that they should be carefully maintenanced and well-rested, you clearly haven't done anything like that to yours"

She says to him as she stared at his eyes that had bags, It's clear to her that he wasn't having much sleep based on those and his messy clothes

"...That's none of your business"

"Oh, but it is...It pains me as a fellow human being to see you suffering like this, Of the three memorable and long hours that we've spent together just looking each other in the eye, I've felt a sort of bond that's formed between us, don't you?"

"You're crazy"

"So I believe as a person who shares that bond with you, you should go home and relax, kiss your wife and hug your daughter or maybe play with your dog"

"Wha...How do you even know I have a dog?"

"Well, because you look like a man who owns one, and because of the hair stains in your pants"

The man panicked, as he whipped his pants with a nearby napkin and brushed off the hairs. Before he could return a response, the door to the Interrogation room suddenly opened and revealed the two officers

"Ah, what a sight for sore eyes. It's been like what? Five? Seven years?"

"Depends on who's asking..." Marcus said as he showed a grimace, he signaled the guard to leave the room, to which he immediately did after giving a salute

"Oh come on I we were just getting to the good part. Hey, can you promise me that you'll send him to guard me again I can already see myself breaking through his tough shell of a persona"

"Enough games" Charlotte stated as she placed down a brown folder on the table, and revealed a few photos that made the woman smile

"Let's start with the simple questions, shall we? What's your name?"

"Ah, I really hate it when you cops ask us something that you already know"

"Your. Name. Please"

Marcus tapped his pen to the table a few times as he stared at her with an expression of pure seriousness, one that is different from what the other officer was showing earlier, this one was from the pure determination he had in his work

"Pandora. I'm well-known in these places as Pandora"

"...Is...that an alias or something like that?-"

"Oh, come one Marcus are we really gonna continue on with this farce? You know that this is me. Or do I have to reiterate the sweet moments the three of us spent together at the republic or at the federation playing cat and mouse, the times where I would just watch you scurrying around finding traces of me that were practically non-existent and...Oh...Maybe you'll remember Brad? "

"You Btich!" With one swift motion, Charlotte slapped the face of the woman, Pandora, which caused her to tumble down to the ground

Marcus on the other hand quickly held off Charlotte's attempt to punch her, before he tackled her to the wall

"Fufufu...I'll give that a ten-out-of ten, I could really feel the hatred in that one" Pandora stated before picking herself up while rubbing her cheeks with her small hands

"I don't know exactly why you pulled that stunt and allowed yourself to be caught, but mark my words! I will make sure that by the end of the week you'll be sent to a firing squad!"

"Charlotte! That's enough..."

"But...sir..."

"I said that's enough"

Charlotte was still angry, and she looked like she wanted to say something, but held herself back anyway. She grabbed one of the chairs and went to the corner of the room

"Dear me, You two should really just get married already"

Marcus turned to Pandora with an annoyed expression. He clenched his fist tightly, before letting out a sigh and sitting back down. He took a sip from a nearby teacup before turning back to her,

"If you really are who you say you are...What's your game here? Why attack the Imperial museum and not take anything?"

"Attack? I didn't attack that crypt, I just let out a bit of noise so people would get rowdy"

"Point is you still caused trouble, now answer my god damn question before things get ugly"

"Ooooh, how frightening"

Pandora let out an amused smile as she laid back in her chair, with her arms closed

"Well, It's mostly just to make a good entrance. But other than that, it's because I want to speak with you as soon as possible, Marcus. I know that causing an International incident like that would automatically place my care in your capable hands"

"Can't you just make an appointment like a normal person?"

"The word normal hardly applies to me, and I'm quite the selfish woman you see. If I talk to someone I want to make sure that they have their full attention turned to me~"

Marcus suppress his urge to punch her in the face and turned to her once more

"If that's the case then here I am, talk. I'll hear what you'll have to say at least before you get executed"

"Fufufuf, executed. What a funny word, for as long as I remember almost all of the government officials I've run through always really wanted to toss that around in my face. Of course, nothing really happened to me though"

"Hmph, Talk"

"Well, this is actually where your part ends, Marcus. I just wanted to speak to you to call in someone, do it and I'll tell the message to them"

"...Are you serious?" Charlotte couldn't help but mutter to herself

"....Haha...Hahahha!"

His loud laughter echoed throughout the room, seeing this, Pandora couldn't help but smile because she already knows what exact lines he'll say next

"Go to hell, If this is all then have fun with your execution"

"Hmmm, then I guess this is it for me then. It's been a bit anti-climactic but I guess all journeys have an end. It was fun, Marcus"

"Hmph"

Saying this both of the officers stood up went to open the door, but before they could do that...

"By the way Marcus, allow me to say this to you in advance just in case the time inevitably comes that you do feel guilty about it. The death of the third prince wasn't your fault, It was mine for not telling you"

"...What?"

Marcus turned to her with a confused expression before going back to his chair

"You...Is this some sort of game to you?"

"I generally don't like that analogy, but for this case then yes. We're about to play a game Marcus, with the life of the Third Imperial Prince at stake. If you don't want to repeat the same mistake that you did which caused the death of Brad, then I suggest you carefully listen to my word and take them to heart like the gospel"

"That's enough! Sir you don't have to believe-"

"Charlotte, Shut up for a bit"

His tone was heavier than before, which not only surprised Charlotte but Pandora as well

"...Who should I call in?"

"Fufufu, that's the spirit. Just follow my guide and you'll win this pretty easily. Now, I want you to call in a detective of the seventh district that goes by the name of Chris MacQuoid. I'll be explaining the rest of the situation through him"

"Chris MacQuoid?...Why him?"

"Because of reasons, Marcus. Now call him, and if you want your little prince to remain alive by the end of the week, then I suggest you do it now"

The two of them clearly looked displeased, but they remained calm and uttered nothing as they exited the room

And after this, Pandora took a sip from the cup of tea at her side

"Hmmm, Now that I taste it again, cheap leaves do have their own appeal to them..."