It was faint, but it was there. First, the brawl site next to the road bore traces of his and his unknown companion's Energy, and now here. The fort they had infiltrated was small. The Energy Arts of this Realm's residents were not developed enough, meaning they lacked the proper measures to defend against such methods. As a result, no one even noticed the four shadows heading into the fort's dungeon.
Half of the cells were filled with roughed-up humans. The four shadows scattered to investigate further. Since most of these humans bore traces of their prey on them, some surely held the information they needed. The shadows reached out, penetrating deep into their brains. They quickly infiltrated the prisoners' simple minds without encountering any resistance. How could they resist when they didn't even know what was happening?
Their bodies spasmed unconsciously. Not wanting to waste any more time, the shadows were a little too rough. The spasming bodies soon stopped moving, lying there and staring into emptiness. Mind manipulation should have been handled carefully; otherwise, side effects were inevitable. Not that it mattered to them right now.
One of the prisoners' most recent memories was of the brawl the shadows had noticed along the way. Their prey had been there, locked inside a cage for who knows what reason. There was also a young woman, likely his companion, who had fought the owners of the memory. Her movements and Energy Arts were sketchy at best; she was probably a beginner. She was no threat, just a convenience that would make him easier to track down.
The four shadows left as silently as they had come, meeting the other two who were searching for traces in the area. They shared the information they had gathered and began tracking the traces along the road to find their prey.
***
"Is there anything less... fancy?"
Elise looked at her reflection in the mirror. This time, she wore a blue dress prepared by the maid, and it was horrendous. It had a stupidly wide skirt and an unreasonably tight waist. Useless arrays of frills covered it entirely. They had even been forced to remove the sleeves because they were far too tight around her arms. It looked completely ridiculous on her.
"Is it not to your liking, my lady?" the young maid asked with a troubled expression.
"It is just a bit... not my type, I guess." Why did this dress have to be so tight across the shoulders? It was incredibly uncomfortable. At least her arms were free.
The young maid also noticed her discomfort. "I am sorry, my lady. The tailors only had your old measurements, so there was nothing they could do in such a short amount of time. This is the best they could prepare for tonight's dinner."
"Why this much preparation? I am only having dinner with my father."
The maid paused in the middle of her jewelry selection. "My lady, you are not only having dinner with your father, but with the royal family as well."
"...What?! Why?!" Why would they even want to see her after everything that had happened and all those rumors?
"As to why, I have no idea, my lady. All I know is that Lord Vandenberg and the young Lady Vandenberg are invited to dine with the royal family and their closest attendants."
Oh, this was bad. This could end terribly. She had thought she would just stay in her chambers and be summoned when the royal court gathered. If they started questioning her in the middle of dinner without the Traveler present, she would have to do all the explaining and defend herself. She needed more time to think. What was she going to do now?
The maid must have realized her panicked state and tried to soothe the situation. "I am sorry, my lady. I thought you knew. I would have told you if I had known. But please, don't worry; you look more than ready."
It was a useless attempt, because Elise knew she was not ready at all. There was only an hour or two left; she needed to get her thoughts straight before the dinner. While the maid attempted to cheer her up by showing her various jewelry options, Elise had already gotten lost in her thoughts.
***
They were highly suspicious. None of the reports about the Fort Licarus incident made any sense. Avir Fortis, Commander of the King's Guards and military aide to King Arteon Alethani, was investigating the situation in the Fort Licarus dungeons from his office. The curtains were drawn open, and moonlight was starting to illuminate the room. He was never fond of the new, bright lights placed all over the Royal Castle; his good old candles were enough for him.
The reports had arrived at dusk, stating that eight prisoners had gone mentally disturbed out of nowhere. There was no known cause, no evidence, and no eyewitnesses. Nothing. Eight bandits, healthy as bulls, had suddenly been reduced to vegetables.
The rest of the bandits had already been questioned regarding their assault on the Investigation Bureau officers and the daughter of House Vandenberg. They confessed to being hired by the man currently held in the Royal Castle's dungeons, along with his men. After further investigation at the fort, it was discovered that someone had even bribed two guards of Fort Licarus to let those specific men out on the night of the event.
There were too many traces leading nowhere. Who were those bandits? What was their purpose? Who hired them? And what had happened to them?
Even Lord Regory had come to him, asking about the bandit attack and the spreading rumors concerning his daughter. They had known each other since their youth, having trained in the same division for years. But Avir couldn't say anything to him about the current situation. There were simply too many unknowns...
He suddenly stood up, reaching for the sword resting at the side of his desk. He focused his gaze on the windows, certain he had just seen a shadow move. As the best swordsman in the Kingdom, and a Blessed one at that, he had his fair share of enemies. Was someone actually mad enough to attack him right in the middle of the Royal Castle?
He scanned the room without drawing his sword. A blade was not meant to be drawn unless absolutely necessary. However, he couldn't find anything related to what he had just seen. He relaxed, rubbing his face slowly. He must be getting old; his mounting responsibilities were exhausting him more these days. He had even started seeing things.
He called for his squire, gathering the reports to send them over to the Investigation Bureau. Even if this was a matter concerning a military fort, the Bureau would be better equipped to solve its mysteries. He handed the reports to his squire for delivery and headed out to attend the dinner with the royal family.