Stolen by the Rebel King-Chapter 535: Hoity-Toity Disagreements

The four of them decided to split up to cover more ground in the investigation. Daphne and Cordelia would interview Yael’s neighbors, on the off-chance that somebody could have seen something useful.

Judging by how the men were basically falling over themselves to fulfill Daphne’s requests earlier, Daphne believed that she and Cordelia would be proficient enough in squeezing secrets out of them. Atticus didn’t like the sound of it, but he saw the wisdom in her argument.

Besides, that left him and Jonah scouring the palace for the culprit’s possible hiding places. He definitely wasn’t letting Daphne duck and scurry among the walls looking for a rat. That honor went to Jonah.

"You could stand to be a little more useful," Jonah muttered peevishly under his breath as he clung to the side of the wall. They had found bloodstains on the windowsill, possibly hinting that the culprit had escaped through it.

Unfortunately, said window was at least three stories above ground and it overlooked the ocean.

"I’m already here as backup, ready to catch you in case you fall," Atticus pointed out, floating in the air with his powers. "Besides, the whole point of this exercise is for you to demonstrate how a regular human being could get away from here. If I took your place, it wouldn’t be accurate. Now step further to your right, there’s a tiny ledge you can balance on."

Jonah grumbled but continued to follow the path. There were splatters of blood along the outer wall, small enough that no one could have noticed from such a height. Unfortunately for the murderer, Atticus’s powers meant that he could float next to the wall and take his own sweet time mapping a course downwards.

And Jonah was, of course, the poor sad soul that had to test it out so that they could get a rough idea about the culprit’s height, weight, and physical condition.

"Whoever this man was, he’s as fit as a fiddle and probably part monkey," Jonah wheezed when his feet finally touched solid ground.

He half-expected to see someone’s dead body lying on the floor, but the ground was clean. He leaned down the cliff and yelled.

"Atticus, any luck on your side?"

"He’s not hanging under the cliff either, and the sea swept all traces of blood and any footsteps," Atticus yelled back in response as he floated up and down the steep cliff. "I think he dropped into the ocean."

"Just great," Jonah lamented. "So now we’ll have to wait for his dead body to get caught in some fisherman’s net then. Unless you can part the oceans?" His tone was hopeful.

"Fat hope. I’m only a mere man." Atticus shook his head, disappointed in himself. He was now the most powerful man in the world, but that moniker didn’t mean much, not when the rest of humanity was effectively declawed thanks to the ritual.

"Not even Nereus can perform such a feat, and he’s a magical creature," Atticus added.

"Darn," Jonah slumped on the floor. "Guess it’s a dead end on our part. I hope Daphne and Cordelia are having better luck with their investigation."

***

Unfortunately for Jonah, Cordelia and Daphne were not having much luck.

Oh the men were obliging alright, but there was only so much they could offer when none of them were in their rooms when the incident occurred.

"So none of you heard anything? Anything at all? Did you see any suspicious people entering the grounds? Someone you do not recognize?" Cordelia pressed, leaning forward with her fist on the table, two guards looming protectively over her.

The young man on the other side of the table shook his head frantically. He was Luka, Yael’s neighbor.

"Your Highness, the only stranger I saw was the scary dark-haired man that accompanied Queen Daphne― and it turns out he’s her husband!" Luka insisted with a shudder.

"I wasn’t in my room at all― it was in the middle of the day! And the weather was lovely― why would I want to spend my time in my room? I went out with some of the other guys, you can ask Samrid or Malteo. We went to take a walk by the pier to chase the seabirds, then I came back and saw the guards blocking the way."

"I see," Cordelia said, making a mental note to question those men.

"In that case, do you have any idea why Yael would want to stay in his room on such a good day?" Daphne asked, keeping her tone friendly and non-confrontational, and was promptly rewarded with Luka’s bright blush sweeping across his cheeks, making him look even more boyish.

"Oh, well, to tell you the truth, I heard coughing sounds coming from his room the night before," Luka said, leaning forward to whisper conspiratorially. "Maybe Yael was ill. Can’t blame him though. That man didn’t even have money for an extra coat when the night got cold."

"Hmm, thank you for keeping an ear out," Daphne said, and Luka sat up straighter, preening at her praise.

If Yael wasn’t feeling well, the murderer would have found it easier to kill him, compared to someone else.

"Had Yael spoken to you about his life back home? Did he have any enemies?"

Perhaps Yael ran afoul of moneylenders in his bid to enter Cordelia’s matchmaking tournament, and now they decided to demand another form of payment. If he couldn’t afford a coat, things must have been dire with him.

"Back home, it’s just him and his ma," Luka said with a shrug. "It’s the same with me. He didn’t say anything about enemies back home, but here... there are a few hoity-toity nobles that don’t like us riffraff entering the contest. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got someone to take us out one by one. Like that fucker Waylen. His nose is so up his ass, all he can smell is shit. No offense, Your Highness."

"None taken," Cordelia said, a frown forming on her face. Daphne was similarly troubled. It was highly unlikely that a noble would dirty his own hands by killing Yael, but it was perfectly reasonable for them to hire a mercenary to get rid of those that they deemed unworthy of sharing their space.

If so, Cordelia would have her hands full. Accusing and punishing a noble was a lot more difficult.

Questioning Yael’s other neighbor led to a similar conclusion. There were people who were unhappy with Yael’s presence, as well as the presence of other common men in the contest. There were gripes between people, but Daphne doubted commoners would risk expulsion to settle a petty grudge. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

The likelihood that a noble was responsible was starting to look more likely.

When they dismissed Luka, Cordelia leaned against her chair and groaned.

"How are you doing?" Daphne asked.

"Just peachy," Cordelia threw her hands into the air. "You know what, before I forget, you can go tell that prince you picked up that there’s a spot for him now. Since someone is dead after all. And depending on how the investigations go, I might have to arrest Duke Waylen too."

Daphne sighed. At least Nikun would be happy to hear the good news.