[Lifespan Remaining: 29 days, 23 hours, 52 minutes.]
After everything went down, Amon had decided to end the party early and asked everyone to leave.
Edward was sent to the dungeons for interrogation while Faust and Vivienne hadn’t said a peep afterwards.
Due to that, Noct’s first morning as an eighteen-year-old was quite pleasant.
Except for the fact that he was currently staring through the window at servants carrying his coffin away.
“What a waste,” he muttered.
“I was starting to like that coffin.”
“Have you always been one to joke like that?”
Aurora’s voice came from in front of him.
The imposing heiress from yesterday’s party was now in bright pink pajamas, drinking tea across from him like nothing happened.
“You seem quite comfortable in my house. I thought you’d be sleeping in the main mansion…” Noct frowned.
“We’re engaged, aren’t we?” Aurora took another casual sip.
“What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine. Besides, I dislike the main manor. It feels too exposed.”
‘She really is trying to act like my fiancée, isn’t she?”
At first, Noct had hypothesized that Aurora had been maintaining the engagement for political reasons.
But now looking at her like this, he wasn’t so sure of his guess anymore.
And since when did she get so…friendly?
This was only their second time properly meeting.
The first had been little more than a formal exchange of signatures, yet she made herself at home quite quickly.
His image of a rigid, strait-laced heroine was breaking down bit by bit.
But before it could fracture entirely, Aurora suddenly straightened.
Even if she was in her pajamas, she exuded a serious aura.
“Now,” she reached into her pocket and pulled out the two letters he had sent.
“Why did you have me stage that entire charade?”
“Someone as smart as you would probably have realized it by now, haven’t you?”
Aurora raised a finger to her chin in thought.
“Well, when you claimed that you would survive, I didn’t believe it at first. But after your maid convinced me, I started thinking about what would be next.”
“Frankly, all the guests were. They just didn’t ask it aloud.”
“And what were they wondering?”
“Now that Ophellia’s branch once again had a viable heir…” Aurora studied him.
“Does Noct de Arcadia intend to compete for the title of duke?”
“Well…something like that?” Noct shrugged.
“Not to mention,” she continued.
“The youngest who they thought had nothing…still possessed the support of House Rosenthal and the Holy Church of Aion”
“You used us as a shield.”
“It was a gamble, after all.” Noct shrugged.
“You could have refused. But you showed up, didn’t you?”
Aurora sighed, taking and eating a breakfast biscuit.
“Do you have any idea how much trouble it was to coordinate with the Pope herself?”
She pointed the remaining half of the biscuit at him.
“Suffice it to say, I expect compensation. And if Pope Johanne weren’t so busy, she would already be knocking on your door and demanding an explanation of her own.”
“Before that, however…” Aurora’s gaze swept over Noct from head to toe.
“I need to know one thing.”
“Was the declaration true?”
Noct glanced to the blue panel hovering beside him.
[Lifespan Remaining: 29 days, 23 hours, 48 minutes.]
“Every word.”
Aurora released a quiet breath and leaned back.
Whether it was relief or something else, Noct couldn’t quite tell.
But before long, she spoke up again.
“According to this, a new mana-crystal mine has been discovered within the Arcadia territory.”
“That’s correct.”
“And in your exact words, you offered House Rosenthal ten percent of its annual yield, free of any levies from Arcadia.”
“I did.”
Aurora then sat up straight and glared straight at him in the eyes.
“Well, some of my people told me that the mine currently belongs to no one? Lord Amon had ordered it to be sealed off…”
“Well, that’s what I was going to go over—”
“So you promised me ten percent of a mine you don’t actually own?”
“I prefer to think of it as an investment opportunity.”
“You described it in your letter as ‘guaranteed compensation’, did you not?”
“It will be guaranteed once I acquire the mine.”
“And if you fail?”
Noct shrugged.
“Then I suppose you’ll have to settle for having saved your fiancé’s life. Goodwill goes a long way, you know?”
“You—!”
But before Aurora could burst into a flaming wrath, the door to their room opened.
Noelle hurried inside, breathing heavily.
“Young Master!”
“What? What’s going on? Are you—?”
“Edward is dead.”
***
By the time the three of them reached the dungeons, everything was already a mess.
Guards had sealed every exit, while the dungeon keepers were separated and questioned one by one.
A physician crouched inside Edward’s cell, examining the body.
Nearby, two mortuary attendants waited beside a covered stretcher, forbidden from entering until the investigation was complete.
Amon de Arcadia was already on the case, speaking to one of the knights as Noct approached.
“How did he die?”
Amon glanced toward him.
“Take a look yourself.”
Noct did just that, and regretted it immediately.
Edward’s blackened body lay slumped against the wall of his cell.
Everything above his neck was simply gone.
Blood and fragments of bone covered the stone behind him, leaving a few possible explanations.
Either his head popped like a balloon…or something chomped it off so viciously that the marks were still there.
“Urgh…” Noct covered his mouth and turned away.
‘Yeah.
Let’s not think about how it happened.’
“What of the dungeon keepers?” Noct turned to ask.
“With a wound like this, surely he would’ve been screaming loudly in pain.”
“They heard nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“No scream, explosion, or anything else,” Amon sighed.
“The guard outside discovered him only after he failed to respond.”
“Anyone seen entering or exiting? Or maybe even anyone who even got close to the scene?”
His father nodded.
“After Edward was confined, only four people entered. The two guards who escorted him, a dungeon keeper who searched him, and a knight assigned to question him.”
“Right, so can’t we just ask them—?”
“Those same four people are dead as well.”
“…What?”
“All four were found dead in their homes just after dawn,” Amon explained.
“The reports reached us shortly after Edward’s body was discovered.”
“Tch…” Noct clicked his tongue.
“They really had to take care of all witnesses…”
“Father, what do you think—?”
But as soon as Noct spoke the words, he realized that Amon was already turning, walking away from the scene.
“This is your business,” he said simply.
“Last night, you proved you could survive. That was a beginning, nothing more.”
He stopped and turned back just enough for his gaze to settle upon Noct.
“Show me your worth.”