As much as he didn't want to, Luca had been invited for breakfast. He'd already denied dinner yesterday, so he had no choice but to accept the breakfast invitation. He was already on his way to the breakfast hall, as Cory wasted no time interrupting the little sleep he had managed to force upon himself. Cory had insisted on bathing him and clothing him, so Luca had to deny it with all his power—and it almost didn't work.
Luca had worn a simple dress shirt with one of his favourite red ties and simple dress shoes. It was all he needed to look somewhat professional without overdressing. He didn't need to impress anyone; his only focus was working.
As soon as Cory pushed open the grand doors to the breakfast hall, Luca was met with dead silence. The people looked lively, but no one made a sound. In the very centre of the room sat a large table topped with a lush purple tablecloth and a broad variety of breakfast foods that Luca had never seen before, and yet, no one seemed to be eating.
At the very far end of the table sat Scovina in a breathtaking, off-shoulder tailored-to-perfection deep violet gown.
It clung to her like dark water, but the light reflected on it in an unusual way, and it swished as if it had never once known stillness.
She sat straight and composed to near perfection, but not a single pair of eyes lingered on her, except for one. Luca's. He looked away quickly after noticing and bowed his head slightly as a sign of respect.
"Investigator Sterling," Scovina said, her words landing heavy, wavering with the vocal device she used.
A few nobles paused mid-motion, but no one dared to lift their gaze.
"Right, no one can speak… literally," Luca remembered. Then how come Corey had not lost his voice?
"Sit, Sterling," Scovina broke the silence once more.
Luca wasted no time moving, and when he looked around, every chair was filled but one. The one right next to Scovina. Luca swallowed and sat down as quietly as he could. He remembered in "The Siren Duchy Rule Book" rule 304: Never speak to the duchess unless spoken to, or lose your head.
He had memorized at least half of the book, and it was well over four hundred pages.
Scovina set one ashen hand on the table, and Luca could've sworn he felt it in his soul. Once again, her dress swished like water, and Luca couldn't help but stare at it.
"I didn't anticipate... such punctuality from a human being like you," she said. It was something incredibly backhanded.
Luca tried his best not to furrow his brows; in fact, he wasn't quite sure if he was allowed to look her in the eyes as she spoke. What he did know was that she didn't want an answer.
"As you know, the Elves have polluted my Coral Estate with their forbidden scent and have greatly hijacked our ability to restore our Eternal Chorus, hence the loss of our voices."
An unsettling hum filled the room, but Luca paid no mind to it. "Yes, your grace. I swear to do my best to uncover thetruth in my best efforts," he said with a smile.
Luca also hoped to leave as soon as possible, because even he knew something horribly unsettling lay beneath the very tiles he walked on. Everyone, especially the nobility, had secrets, but Luca was certain that he didn't want to interfere with anything.
"I picked you for a reason, and I sure hope that you will not disappoint," Scovina added quietly.
Luca nodded; he could tell she was letting him know that he was on a tight leash. If he messed up, TSL would be accused of his mistakes. But he wasn't quite satisfied. He wasn't being given much information other than Scovina accusing the Elves of a sovereign crime, and he wished to know more. Another thing he noticed was that no one was eating. The food looked bizarre, like candied starfishes, which was a siren delicacy, but there was no way that it was made for him… right?
A cheeky noblewoman to his left glanced over at him, her red hair a contrast to her ashen skin. She then started to flail her hands and move her fingers in odd ways as if trying to get a reaction out of him.
"What the…" Luca thought to himself, quickly looking away from her. He didn't want any problems, especially not when he'd just arrived. He was glad that Scovina hadn't mentioned his refusal for dinner the other day; he wouldn't have known how to respond.
When he finally gained the courage to look up from the table again, Luca realized that every set of eyes on that table, save from Scovina's, was on him. They were all looking at him as if he were some unwelcomed parasite for not even trying the food. He was the guest… and he was eating nothing. He was a parasite, a germ, a human.
Luca could only imagine all of them washing their hands and showering after being close to his presence—not because he smelled but because they might catch his inability to make himself eat, or his worsening social anxiety or his clumsiness or—
"Mr. Sterling, earth to Mr. Sterling!" a familiar voice cut his train of thought.
Luca glanced around, and the breakfast hall had already been emptied—he hadn't even realized it. In fact, he'd been zoning out far more often than usual.
"Oh—Corey, sorry… I must've zoned out or something."
"A bit unusual for an investigator, don't you think?" Corey said without hesitation, pushing out his chair. "Her grace is aware that you must be curious about how she came to her conclusion that the culprits are the Elves," he motioned for Luca to follow along.
"You're supposed to meet her tomorrow morning in a meeting room, as you know; she is a very busy woman," Corey informed.
"Right, I'll keep that noted," Luca answered casually, walking along with him.
The path they took today differed from the one they took yesterday. Everything seemed normal until Luca noticed a hallway he had never seen before, despite the fact that he thought he had explored the entire estate. It was dark, which was obviously not the case in any other hallway, but Luca didn't have time to look closer because he needed to keep up with Corey.
"I do hope that everything went well in the breakfast hall; valets aren't allowed there unless they are escorting someone out."
"Oh, yeah, everything went well," Luca answered quickly.
"Isn't our food the best?" Corey asked slyly.
"...You could say that," Luca muttered. If not for Zayn's counter sigil magically fulfilling some of his nutritional needs, he'd have already collapsed. "Care to fill me in on details of the upcoming ball?" He quickly changed the topic.
"Of course, Mr. Sterling," Corey said, opening an unfamiliar door. "The coastal ball is an annual event that happens to celebrate the Sirens' success of having a thriving population for centuries. But it isn't only for the Sirens; we mermen and mermaids are also allowed to attend."
Luca wrote that down in his notebook. "May I ask you a question, Corey?"
"Ask what you please, Mr. Sterling."
"How come only the Sirens have lost their voices? You haven't lost yours."
"Because the mermen do not rely on the Eternal Chorus. The Sirens swore an oath millennia ago to restore the Eternal Chorus for eternity, but upon failure, it cost them their voices until its restoration."
Luca nodded slowly, processing the information. His pen hovered over the page, though he knew much of this wouldn't make sense without seeing it firsthand. "So the loss… isn't universal. It only affects the Sirens?"
Corey's expression was unreadable, though a hint of something—concern? Amusement?—flickered in his eyes. "Precisely. It's complicated; the Elves' interference—or whatever Her Grace claims—only disrupts the Sirens' particular resonance. The mermen maintain theirs because we do not have a chorus, as we do not specialize in vocal activity like the Sirens; we only live in tranquilly together."
Luca noted everything. He could almost feel the vibrations of those unseen strings beneath the air, though whether that was imagination or the result of his lack of sleep, he couldn't tell.
"Do you know why she insists so much that it's the Elves fault?"
Corey paused, shrugging. He leaned in closer so no one else could overhear. "Her Grace believes what she must. Nobility is… delicate about appearances. Blame what must be pointed, clear, and politically convenient."
Luca felt a prickle of unease. "Convenient. Or contrived." His eyes flickered away.
Corey's voice dropped lower, almost to a whisper. "She has a lot of power, as you've probably seen in the breakfast hall. I'm sure she wants to see if you can keep pace." He then resumed walking.
"I can keep pace. Always," he said, forcing a calm nod.
Corey smirked faintly, pushing open another door. Beyond it, the hallway stretched toward the grand garden. "You can always lounge out in the garden, whether it's to work outside or to feel the breeze. And tomorrow, don't underestimate the meeting with Her Grace… and watch your step. Not everything in this estate is as it seems," Corey said slyly, almost sounding amused.
"Noted," Luca said, slipping his notebook into his jacket. He kept his eyes forward, but his mind raced. Already, the pieces of the puzzle—Scovina's accusation, the strange behaviour of the nobles, the silence, and the unnatural scents—were weaving together in a pattern he couldn't yet name.
The garden stretched before him, a carefully curated chaos of dark greenery and flowers that smelled faintly of the sea, as if the ocean itself had been distilled into petals. It was prettier in person than it was from the window view of his room. Every fountain trickled into perfect rhythm, and in the very centre was a stone statue of Scovina, looking powerful and elegant, her dress long and fierce, but the way the light glinted off of it gave Luca an eerie vibe.
Luca stepped in, notebook clutched against his chest, and stood near a pond, his body shivering slightly against his will when he noticed how still the water was. Just as he was about to walk away, he noticed something nudging at his foot. He looked down slowly, and it was a vine that had begun wrapping itself around his foot. Luca yelped, trying to shake it off, and when that didn't work, he grabbed a rock and hit it until it gave in and trickled off of him.
"What the…," he whispered to himself.
All around the garden were hedges: spirals, crescents, and symbols that seemed almost… deliberate. His pulse quickened. Were some of these purely decorative or markers meant to be followed?
A ripple of movement caught Luca's eye. A pair of sirens who were draped in pale silks passed between the flower beds, their heads bowed, voices absent but eyes sharp. They avoided him entirely, though he felt the weight of their attention on his shoulders.
He settled on a marble bench beneath an archway of lilac vine, though he was still wary of vines. Pulling out his pen, he jotted more notes: "Fountains are unnervingly symmetrical. Hedges may be symbolic. Creepy moving vines." He paused, glancing toward the horizon where the water met the sky. The dukedom felt alive, and it wasn't just in the plants or the architecture or the people living in it. Something beneath it pulsed with intention. He knew, with that familiar investigator's instinct, that the garden was more than a place for leisure.
The dread of what lay ahead pressed against him like the weight of the heavy violet curtains that lined the windows, and yet, beneath it, a spark of curiosity burned. He had to know more, because whatever secrets the siren dukedom hid, he was the only one who could uncover them.