"A villain must be a thing of power, handled with delicacy and grace. He must be wicked enough to excite our aversion, strong enough to arouse our fear, human enough to awaken some transient gleam of sympathy. We must triumph in his downfall, yet not barbarously nor with contempt, and the close of his career must be in harmony with all its previous development."
― Agnes Repplier
~A week before Oblita's death~
Thaddeus and his servants looked around the empty little hut that Oblita was in. "She just recently left". Thaddeus said staring down at a bowl on the table. "It looks like it was against her will too". A servant said looking at a broken vase on the ground.
"Yunick ask the villagers if they've seen the girl that was here". Thaddeus said. Yunick nodded and left out of the hut. Thaddeus sighed. The hut wasn't run down but the outside of the hut made it seem like it was. For what Thaddeus could tell the girl was well kept here.
"She knew how to write". A servant said walking over with a couple of diaries. "Do you think she might be dead"? The servant asked. Thaddeus shook his head. "I don't know". Thaddeus said, opening one of the diaries. "Her name is Grace Undertyne". Thaddeus said.
He read more of the diary; most of the diary was about her growing up in Whitehill which was the Whitewoods territory. How her father had died at sea and left her and her pregnant. That it was people coming around asking weird questions. That was the ending of the first diary and Thaddeus had to open a new one.
With the opening of the new diary it started out that soon after hearing the news that her father had died her mother had given birth. Her mother being pregnant and them not having much food made her sick and fragile. The death of her husband was the final blow and her mother passed away and the child died soon afterwards.
The next entry was dated long after the entry of her mother and sibling dying. With saying that marchioness Whitewood had promised her that she would take care of Grace. That she would properly bury her mother and siblings. But she soon realized that what Marchioness Whitewood told her was a lie. She buried her mother under the huge oak tree in their backyard and with her sibling she didn't know what she did but she didn't bury her.
Grace didn't know what she did with her sibling's body. What Thaddeus read next was pure horror of Grace describing a woman who seemed to be Alexia's handmaiden cutting off her tongue. If that wasn't enough to horrify Thaddeus it was what he read next that made him stop reading. "Tristin". Thaddeus said suddenly. Tristin looked at Thaddeus and the expression on Thaddeus's face also made fear sweep over to him. "My lord, what is it"? Tristin asked. "Yunick, is he still over in the village"? Thaddeus asked. "Yes". Tristin asked. "What is it"? "Grab your sword now". Thaddeus said, pulling his sword out of his sheath.
Him and Tristin ran outside along with the other servant. A crowd of people were in a circle at the center of the village and in the middle was Yunick pointing his sword at them. All the villagers had weapons in their hand and everyone except for Thaddeus and Yunick (who had just figured out what was going on) we're confused.
"What's going on"? One of the servants shouted. "These villagers aren't villagers". Thaddeus said, tossing one from the crowd. "What are they then"! Tristin yelled. "Hired bandits"! Yunick yelled from the crowd striking one down. Thaddeus and his men began striking down the bandits one by one until eventually when they had saw that they had lost this battle the bandits began to run away. "Catch one alive"! Thaddeus shouted.
"How did you find out"? Tristin asked. "The graces diary". Thaddeus said. "She said that marchioness Whitewood had hired bandits to imprison Grace in this makeshift village". "No wonder there weren't any children in the village". Yunick said. "Should we report this to the authorities"? Yunick asked. Thaddeus shook his head no. "A strange village like this couldn't have gone unnoticed". Thaddeus said. "No someone had to have known about this other than Alexia".
"Let us get back to the mansion". Thaddeus said. "Find somewhere to hide these diaries and search and see if there is any more evidence in there if Grace is dead this might be all that we have left to go against Alexia". Thaddeus said. His men agreed and Thaddeus returned to the Longwood Estate alone.
He appeared as if nothing had happened. Only Letitia had known where he had went. This situation was a blow to their case. "How shall we move now"? Letitia asked. Thadeeus sighed and looked at Grace's diaries. "For now we will interrogate the bandit we caught and separate the evidence we found in these diaries". Thaddeus said. "We will have to reform this plan for a fear we arne't the only ones involved in this". Thaddeus said. "What are you saying that this is bigger than just a kidnapping"? Letitia asked. Thaddeus nodded.
"A village like that couldn't just go unnoticed by the crown unless they were choosing to be blind". Thaddeus said. "And now this welcoming ball and the sudden appearance of a foreign crown prince and that fire things are changing in the capitol and I fear house Whitewood is at the center". Thaddeus said. "Housw Whitewood"! Letitia shouted. "Quiet". Thaddeus said. "The walls have ears and far more these days". Thaddeus said.
"We shall continue this conversation at another time". Thaddeus said. "For I am tired". Thaddeus said.