Whispers suddenly erupted in the hall, rippling across the faces of the elves seated at the long, ornate table. Their eyes flicked toward the humans, distaste clear in every glance, as if silently judging their very presence. Edward instantly understood the unspoken accusation.
"Someone dies just as we arrive... we couldn’t look any more guilty," he thought, reading the expressions like an open book.
The elven King, however, remained unfazed, his gaze calm and measured.
"My apologies, everyone, but I believe our dinner must be cut short," the King announced. At his words, all the elves rose in unison, bowing politely before leaving in an orderly, silent procession. The rustle of silk and the soft echo of footsteps filled the hall.
Arthur, Edward, Aeris, and Seraphine rose as well, but before they could follow, the King spoke again.
"Please, don’t mind them," he said, halting their movement. His green eyes swept over the remaining humans, calm yet piercing. "Their distrust of humans runs deep, but I already know none of you are responsible."
He paused for a moment, letting the weight of his words settle, then continued. "There have been a lot of deaths in our kingdom lately... well, a lot by elven standards," he added, his tone implying far more than his words revealed, a shadow of concern hidden beneath the surface.
"I’ve heard about it before my arrival," Arthur admitted. "My sources suggest it’s highly likely the Church of the Crimson Oath is involved."
The King raised an eyebrow. "Church of the Crimson Oath... I haven’t heard that name in decades," he paused for a moment before continuing, "But why would they come to the elven kingdom? They never once left human territory."
"That... I do not know," Arthur admitted. "They recently took over one of our towns. It took the royal army to reclaim it. A man called Auren was behind it all. He managed to escape alive, and we believe he may be plotting something far worse."
"Man called Auren..." the King murmured, a soft chuckle escaping him, catching everyone off guard. "Every time humans visit, there is always... something happening," he said, though the smile vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"No matter," he continued, his tone turning serious. "We have more urgent matters at hand now. Thank you all for coming. My people will take you to your chambers. We have a death to deal with."
Everyone except Arthur began to leave. He paused, lost in thought, before speaking up.
"Actually..." His words snapped the hall’s attention back to him. "I have someone who may be of use to you."
He grabbed Edward by the arm and drew him forward. "Edward here is a highly skilled hunter. He has worked under multiple town chiefs to find killers for murders that otherwise could not be solved."
All eyes locked onto Edward. He stood awkwardly, unsure of how to react. Elarien’s eyes, however, pierced straight through him, as if trying to determine whether Arthur’s words were true.
The King lingered for a moment before speaking.
"Elarien, if you wish, you may take this young human with you to help solve the murder of your brother."
"Brother?" Edward echoed the word in his mind.
That explained the fury he had glimpsed beneath her calm facade—but how could she remain so composed after learning of her brother’s death?
Elarien bowed gracefully. "Thank you, Your Majesty." Then she turned to Edward. "Follow me."
And without another word, she left the hall.
Arthur mouthed "Do your best" to Edward, but no words left his lips. Seraphine pouted at the sight of him leaving with someone other than her, while Aeris simply stared, her mind caught on the mention of the Crimson Oath.
Moments later, they arrived at the crime scene. In truth, it wasn’t far from the chambers Edward shared with Arthur, maybe a few minutes walk.
"Was he attacked on the way to fetch us?" Edward wondered briefly, brushing the thought aside to focus on what lay before him.
Thin, dark droplets led a few steps ahead, scattered unhurriedly, as if the victim hadn’t even realised he was bleeding. The drops widened into a pool near the body—that was where he had collapsed.
Edward studied the body for a few moments. It lay on its side, leaning slightly forward, knees bent, one hand curled under the chest as if reaching for support.
"Single puncture..." he murmured, raising his brows. "Just below the ribcage... straight into the liver. No other defensive wounds. Clothing intact."
Elarien watched him, her expression unreadable, as he circled the corpse, muttering observations she couldn’t hear.
To snap him out of his haze, she tapped a fist to her mouth and coughed.
"Huh?" Edward turned to her, realising she was waiting for him to speak.
"He most likely didn’t even realise he was attacked," he said, gesturing toward the wound. "Single strike, very precise. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing."
Her expression remained unchanged. Around them, the other elves avoided the scene, hesitant to interfere in Elarien’s grief.
"I need to know who, not how," she muttered to herself.
Edward glanced around. Three elves lingered nearby.
"If I could extract the soul and ask, maybe we could get a lead..." he thought. But how could he get rid of everyone? And there was also Elarien... could he even trust her?
He stepped closer, catching her off guard, but she did not move.
"If you make the others leave, I might have a way to find out," he said, his voice low and steady.
Her expression twitched, as if she were about to strike him for speaking nonsense, but the seriousness in his eyes seemed to convince her. She hesitated, then approached each elf. One by one, they left, disappearing until only Edward and Elarien remained.
Edward waited, ensuring the others were far enough away.
"Well?" Elarien asked, her tone neutral but impatient.
Edward didn’t answer. Instead, he extended his arm toward the body and whispered a single word.
"Extract"