Chapter 17:

Chapter 16

A Bloody Methodology


A few days after Osar’s visit to the hospital, he had visited again. He entered the room of the man he had visited before. He had thought that the man would still be unstable but to his surprise, he was sitting upright on his bed eating his meal.

“Ah, Lord Osar.” He placed his bowl down on the table beside him and lowered his body, gesturing a bow. “I apologise for my current state.”

“It’s nothing to apologise for. Now don’t rush yourself as you eat. We can talk while you do so.” Osar reassured the man as he took a seat at one of the empty chairs.

“Yes, Lord Osar.” The man replied and continued his meal.

“Johannes, I will confirm once again.” Osar had a deep tone of voice as he leaned forward and spoke. “Is it true that you have seen Esia speak to the devils in the forest when your team has been wiped out?” He continued

Johannes was the sole survivor of the team that encountered the devils and Esia in the forest that night. Everyone had thought they were all dead, but when inspected closely, they found out the there was one person still alive. He had spikes protruding from his body. One would even think that he could have died the moment they remove the spikes but it was a miracle when he was still breathing as they took him down the tree.

When they brought him to the hospital, magicians were ready to heal people at a moment’s notice. They were able to seal the holes but he still has to completely recover, both physically and mentally.

“Yes, Lord Osar.” He responded in a similar way to Osar’s tone of voice, serious.

“And Esia was talking with the devils while they kneeled in front of her?”

“Yes, Lord Osar.”

“And Veyrr was shouting while asking Esia about her actions, despite his surprise?”

“Yes, Lord Osar.”

“Very well. I will return later after you have finished your food. I will be returning to the Count’s mansion.”

“Yes. I bid you a safe trip.” Johannes made a salute while holding his bowl in his other arm and watched Osar leave the room.

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“Yes, Garthus.” Osar spoke as he placed his cup on the coffee table in front of him.

Osar was in the private study with Zila and Count Garthus, all sitting on separate couches while drinking coffee.

“It’s quite hard to believe that Esia is actually part of this whole incident as a suspect instead of a victim.” Count Garthus sighed as he leaned back.

The daughter of his close friends was part of something that may potentially harm the entirety of the city. Someone who they all thought was just a normal girl managing the orphanage.

“But we can’t just arrest Esia on the spot. We don’t have circumstantial evidence yet.” Zila spoke out, giving his opinions. “I mean, technically Garthus can if he exercises his power, but I don’t think those in the east would silently comply. She’s famous after all.” He continued.

“The investigation team also found nothing last time they were sent, even if it’s with Osar.” Count Garthus added on.

“Even if we send another investigation team, nothing may be found.” Osar suggested but immediately discarded it. “Besides, Esia still won’t come out of her room. It’s a good thing Frianne and Aniem are there to take care of her.”

“I’m relieved as well.” Garthus agreed with Osar.

“So, do we question Johannes more about what he saw that night?” Zila opened a new question and course of action for them to decide on.

“It’s the only thing we can do for now, at least until Esia comes out of her room.” Count Garthus acknowledged the suggestion of Zila. Osar, as well, nodded in agreement.

“Since we would have to wait, I’ll send out some men of my own to monitor any movement from the orphanage.” Osar made a statement. He said so for reassurance’s sake.

Both agreed to his suggestion as well

“There is one thing that bothers me though.” Count Garthus pondered as he spoke his thoughts out loud. Realising he did so, he continued speaking. “The rumours seem to have increased. There are some new ones which didn’t make any sense, but at the same time those that have been spread since before winter even came has expanded to even the eastern district.”

“Like screams being heard, the orphanage being cursed, and... Esia being a devil herself?” Osar and Zila had come to the same conclusion.

After realising one of the rumours surrounded the orphanage related to Esia being a devil, they thought long and hard. On another note, the screams heard from the orphanage decreased over time and by the time the blizzard had stopped, there were no longer any reports about screams being heard. It was indeed ideal and relieving to hear that there are no screams, it just made the three all the more suspicious.

“It may be slightly foolish making judgements solely based on rumours, but Zila, I want you to investigate Esia and Frianne’s background.

“I understand Esia, but Frianne?” Zila questioned.

“Both of them are like sisters. There’s a chance Esia is innocent all along and Frianne’s identity is questionable.” Count Garthus explained to Zila and Zila, then, agreed to his orders.

“And Osar would be investigating the whole orphanage in secret, yes?”

“Yeah.” Osar simply nodded and spoke briefly.

“Okay, we will go with that for now. But first, we need to gather more information from Johannes.”

All of them had agreed to each other’s statements and had things to do on their own. But presently, they needed to get as much information from Johannes as much as possible as he is their largest source.


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*Knock knock*

Someone had knocked from behind the door. As he entered, Osar stepped in slowly to see the doctor and nurse from a few days back and Johannes, who was sitting upright with a calm demeanour. Since he is calmer now and had rested for a while, he was ready to answer more questions from Osar. The doctor and nurse leave the room upon the request of Osar, and so they did. Now it was just the two of them left.

“Johannes, can you tell me what else you saw that night.” Osar sat back but now talked with a more relaxed atmosphere.

Johannes can’t completely calm down due to many reasons such as his superior visiting and interrogating him, Osar’s frightening face, and the fact that the whole case relies on him.

“Relax, nothing bad would happen to you. Rather, you are under the Count’s direct protection, albeit hidden from the public.” Osar reassured Johannes after inferring his panicked look by just a glance.

Johannes took deep breathes at intervals, trying to soothe his fast-beating heart. A while after, he was ready to speak.

“I saw the girl, Esia, kneeling on the ground, caressing the hand of that devil child. It looked like she was broken. The two devils drew closer to her and I wanted to move my body to help, but it just wouldn’t move at all. Then all of a sudden, Esia spoke saying, ‘So, what do you think of my acting?’. The two devils knelt down on one knee with their heads lowered and replied with ‘It was splendid, my Lady.’.” Johannes stopped momentarily to take a drink, then continued.

“Esia said something about meeting up in the dungeon and using the wall entrance. I didn’t understand what they meant about those terms. But I knew that if I moved, I would be killed. They continued conversing about something, terms I don’t understand. But one thing I knew for sure was when they said that your group, ‘Osar’s team’, is approaching so they had to break off contact for now and wait till a few days from then. Even if their figures disappeared, I remained silent until I blacked out. For some time, I always had this dream of being in that situation but in the end, I was always found out and tortured. Then in one dream, I saw your figure there. Then here we are, talking in this hospital.”

Osar was sitting on a chair with one leg on the other while keeping his eyes closed and head down, giving the aura of contemplating on something.

“Have you attained something, Lord Osar?” Johannes asked him after some time.

“No. It just doesn’t make sense. When we found her, her expressions and actions were far too realistic to be even considered an act.” Osar had spoke of the conclusion he had reached. Silence has befallen the room once more.

“I had ignored the rumours about the orphanage for some time now, but after that incident, I think the rumours have some truth in it.” Johannes closed his eyes as he clenched his blanket. “I’m glad I’m bedridden as of yet. If not, then I might have just rushed into the orphanage and kill that Esia.” He continued on.

It was a mix of fear, rage, and anxiety that caused him to feel that way. Seeing a human conspire with devils to cause harm to the city. He knew that it was a human dominant city but still did business with multiple races. It further aggravated his thoughts of killing Esia because of the nightmares he’s experienced.

“Then I’m glad you managed to calm yourself. If not, the I might have to kill you myself.”

“Are you siding with that woman, Lord Osar?” Johannes asked Osar with a slight hint of rage in his eyes.

“I am on the side of the city, of the Count. If anything brings harm to either, then I will point my blade to them.” Osar declared as he stood and prepared to leave the room. “That is why I will investigate more on this matter and if Esia ends up being a threat, then I have no choice but to kill her.”

No one said anything to each other after that. Osar headed towards the door, gave his blessings of a speedy recovery to Johannes, and left.


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Frianne had gone out again to buy food. This was one of the times where she wished she had the strength of Esia, who can pull a cart filled with crates, by herself. As she handed over the little money she had left, she made her way back to the orphanage.

“Anne!” From afar, she can hear someone calling her nickname. And only one person does that.

“Aniem?! What are you doing here? What about the children?” Aniem had called out her name running.

“It’s fine. Quick, let’s hurry back to the orphanage.” He spoke quickly as he pulled on her arm.

“W-what’s wrong? What happened?” Frianne panicked as she asked, thinking something malicious has happened to the orphanage.

She had thought so but Aniem’s expression was that not of fear or panic, but that of excitement and joy. She wondered what it was until she came to a certain conclusion. The event that Esia had gone out of her room and is now back sitting on her desk. She held so much hope that it really was true. She tightly gripped on to the goods and even more so on Aniem’s hand.

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