Her heart skipped several beats, making Vivia wonder whether it was even beating at all.
"Different person?" The placid light in her eyes stayed still. "It's only my memory that fails me sometimes after the incident, that's all."
Judith's keen eyes never wavered from her. "One may never know who hides what beneath their skin. Isn't that right, Priscilla?"
It made her jump, certainly not expecting to get dragged into the conversation without warning. She shot Judith a salty gaze.
"Why are you asking me? And what's with that disrespectful tone? I might be younger than you, but I'm the revered Blessed!"
"You were always quite the naughty one, weren't you? Being your sister was so tough for Sierra - always running behind you and sorting out your mess. Right, my dear?"
"I never made any mess!" Priscilla scrambled to salvage her reputation before the women formed any inappropriate impression of hers.
"Younger ones always love to act so innocent and pure. Right Sierra?"
Vivia's gaze shifted between the three. At first, their dynamics mirrored the usual politics and rivalry. Judith's ambition to become the next Queen created crossfire. Yet strangely enough, a different current now pulsated between Judith and Sierra.
For a woman to so openly eye one's husband right before their eyes, Sierra's reaction was far from what Vivia had expected. No insecurity. No jealousy. No distaste. It was jarring because Elvin didn't give the impression of being a faithful or a loving husband for Sierra to be so unfazed by her competition.
Then came Judith, who for all her claims of wanting to replace Sierra, lacked the conviction in her mannerisms. Neither she hated Sierra nor envied her.
Such a strange dynamic between them. One'd think they'd fight like cats and dogs, but it's nowhere like that.
But why does it feel so familiar to me?
"Oh yes, I forgot about you, Princess. You seem to not remember Martin," Judith dragged the old conversation back, making Vivia scowl.
Vivia turned to Claudia. "Apologies. My memories are a little fuzzy."
Claudia was quick to respond. "I understand, Princess. My cousin hasn't returned home in three months now. He works at one of the government offices in Orseth. One day he left work as usual, but never returned..."
Raffert gently held her shoulder, which only made Vivia's stomach churn with disgust. Recalling how he had tried to force himself on Audreya made her blood simmer all over again.
Only if I could claw out his damn throat…
Claudia's quivering voice snapped her from her thoughts. "We inquired everywhere he could have possibly gone, but…"
"Apologies if this may come off as rude, but did he probably fancy someone?"
"No. There was nobody like that. Though he was of age, Brother Martin wasn't quite interested in marriage yet. He was a religious man who devoted himself to the Covenant and his work."
"Any personal enemies, or of his family?"
"Nothing like that."
She noticed Judith's scrutinizing gaze still fixed on her.
One may never know who hides what beneath their skin.
"Lady Sierra has been very kind," she wiped the corner of her eye. "You've been regularly visiting us despite being consumed by your royal duties."
Sierra smiled softly. "It's our duty to help our citizens in distress. I apologize that we haven't gotten any leads as of yet, but rest assured. We're giving this matter the highest priority."
I wonder how much of a priority would a commoner's disappearance get? Vivia pondered for a moment.
Still…For Sierra to visit her personally so often? She might be kind, but does she really have that kind of time?
Judith's arm looped around her neck, much to Sierra's dissatisfaction, though it didn't visibly reflect anywhere in her expression. "Naturally, it'll be a high priority. Sierra would never take a disappearance lightly, being someone who was herself kidnapped at one point."
Vivia stared at Sierra, wide-eyed. A crack formed in the latter's countenance just a little.
When did this happen…?
Studying the crowd, though, the ladies didn't seem to appear shocked, making Vivia conclude that Clairette would be aware of this incident too - only that she couldn't quite remember it at this moment.
"Lady Judith is just too much," One woman audibly whispered.
"That time was so traumatizing to Lady Sierra, yet she reminds her of that."
"How heartless could someone be? Does she not care about Lady Sierra's feelings at all?"
"She doesn't even respect our Blessed. What else can we expect from her?"
Sierra moved her arm off her shoulder, the calm across her features intact. "It happened years ago, Lady Judith."
"But isn't it why you're so sympathetic to Lady Claudia?" She smiled.
The knights returned just then and stood in attention. Benjamin dropped to his knee.
"My lady. Apologies, but it seems that the red-haired woman has escaped…" his jaw clenched.
Gasps and whispers rippled across the room once again. From Judith, their target was now locked onto Vivia.
Priscilla stepped forward with a mocking smile. "Are you happy now, Princess? I don't know what satisfaction you got by abetting a criminal to walk free, but His Majesty, even though your father, won't be able to overlook this blatant mockery of the rules - especially at the hands of the royal princess herself. You should steel your heart to face the most severe punishment possible."
—
This is worse than any punishment…
Zerath thought as they scoured through the dimly lit rooms once again. Though he couldn't sense mana, the eerily silent chambers passed a strange jitter through his fingertips. He didn't need a synergy with magic to understand how terrible the innocent victims must have suffered here.
He walked to the farthest room at the corner, one they hadn't entered before. A few differences caught his eye immediately.
A similar bed pressed against the wall, but with only one set of chains this time - the weaker set of chains. The overall architecture, too, didn't match the rest of the chambers. Some rusty knives and sharp tools lay inside a tray along with some bowls and what looked like towels to him. The old towels looked soaked in traces of dried blood. But what ascertained his nightmare was another smaller bed. Upon closer inspection, his breath caught in his throat.
"It's a crib," Silas whispered from beside him.
Zerath closed his eyes softly, almost as if an invisible force urged him to announce defeat. All this time, he quietly prayed that his theory would be wrong. No matter what the circumstantial evidence pointed to, he wanted to believe in a far less horrifying outcome.
But recognizing the chamber that unmistakably was a delivery room for pregnant demonesses, the truth now blasted at his face with no mercy. Any last hope had now dissolved completely.
"This is an ancient underground hiding place but never once did I read anywhere about an illegitimate breeding ground being built like this."
Silas tapped his foot. "Looking at the age and condition of this cave, it seems like whatever happened here, happened centuries ago…perhaps during the war five hundred years ago? Or maybe even before that."
"What would be the point of forced breeding anyway?"
A thought then occurred to him.
"Were the demons at that time preparing for the future war by raising soldiers? Building an army out of forced breeding?"
"I'm inclined towards that theory as well. Some might've anticipated a war coming and so grew the desperate need for fighters and soldiers on front lines. They'd have wanted to be prepared before the attrition in our army numbers would badly bite them back. You need living bodies to fight in a war. You need numbers. Lots and lots of it."
He then raised a brow. "As to why no one ever knew about this, either this cave was never discovered - or if it was, then the whole story was very adeptly hidden. But with the scale of an operation like this, it's nearly impossible to hide it unless some influential and powerful demons in position had been behind it. And if this was indeed a breeding ground to make soldiers, then the nobles and royalty couldn't have been entirely disconnected with this."
Influential and powerful…
The most powerful symbol of a nation was the royal palace. The King. Was Nefarion aware of this history with his ancestors?
Zerath didn't think so, though the truth could be different. Then again, he knew his father kept many things close to his heart.
Silas sneered. "No wonder we learn from the historical texts only as much as we're allowed to. That's why people know about our glorious victories but not the war crimes against humans."
A long, bleak moment settled in the air. Zerath took a slow, purposeful walk across the room. His palm slithered across the walls, its dry brittleness scratching against his skin. A certain point made him stop. Grazing his fingertips against a particular section of the wall, the surface felt oddly different. He tapped, and a faint hollow sound echoed.
Silas looked up alarmingly from the tray of knives and tools.
"I…don't like that sound."