"Check everything! Make sure there is not a single soul that you will miss!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Josephine leaned behind the door of the king's office when she heard guards making their rounds for the night. After observing for a couple of nights, Josephine learned that the guards who make rounds never enters the king's office. When she knew that the guards were done in the hallway, she passed by the desk of the king.
Papers were scattered in the desk with some newspapers both from the official news outlet and the news from the commoners. Josephine wondered why would the king want the news from the commoners. She dismissed the thought and remembered what Catherine told her to find.
Earlier before the party
"I need you to verify something for me."
"What is it, Your Highness?"
"Find me the name of the initials AU and AC. I want everything that involves that name." Catherine whispered, enough for only Josephine to hear. She continues to scrub Catherine's arm.
"That is the initials of the author of the book I found in Lucas's office. We need to know who they are before they find us."
"What about Ria? When will you tell her?" Josephine asked, worried. She knew that Ria will be helpful in this case.
"I will tell her when we have enough proofs."
Josephine went to the bookshelves and tried to find anything that would fit the princess's description, but all she could find were books about politics, economics, and strategic books. She scanned the shelves from left to right, in an attempt to find a secret door that may lead somewhere but to her dismay, she didn't found anything. She went to the next table and searched on the drawers.
'I can't leave empty-handed.'
Josephine continued to search for anything valuable when the newspaper caught her attention. She took the paper in her hands and skimmed through it.
"Monsters in town? Is this the curse of the Blessed One for having a murderer sit on the throne?"
"Children continue to vanish like thin air! Where do they go?"
"Beast-like humans appeared in town to deliver a message! Take heed and listen! This is a warning!"
"Human trafficking worsening in the north! Will the king continue to do nothing?"
"Take Action! WE need actions!"
"Another sight of the monsters in town!"
"Claws and beast-like humans, are they experimenting on commoners now?"
"The Aristocrats strikes again! Playing with commoners like dolls!"
When Josephine read the newspaper from the commoners, she decided that she needs to find out more about the talk of the commoners regarding the beast-like creatures that they saw in the town. She put the papers back down and headed quickly towards the door. When she was about to open the door, she heard two men talking.
Josephine waited for them leave but she sensed two more footsteps coming towards the office. For her precautions, she stayed at the big window just behind the king's desk and she pulled the window's latch. The footsteps got louder and louder and suddenly the door clicks open.
Josephine jumped through the window and with her ability to control the wind, she stayed on the top of the king's window. A man with light yellow hair appeared in the window and scanned the dark soulless garden. After some time, he went back in and sat on the king's desk.
"You have a rat, Your Majesty." He stated in the air and chuckled.
When Josephine knew it was safe to come down, she landed on her feet without creating any noise. On her way back, she wondered why that man can come to the king's office as he pleased.
Josephine went straight to the kitchen and washed her shoes because the dirt from the ground spoilt her leather brown shoes. She knew that she can't leave any traces that may harm the princess and her reputation. The kingdom certainly can't have yet another noble to be wary of, especially when the people of the Uranbel Kingdom are already on their toes with the king.
After Josephine cleaned her shoes, she went to the maid's chambers.
'Surely, they have some newspapers they could spare.'
She went to the narrow hallway in the east building where the rooms of the servants were built. She knocked on the first door that she saw and to her luck, a young woman in her nightgown opened the door with droopy eyes.
"Yes, what is it?" She asked while rubbing her eyes to try and keep herself awake.
"Do you have a newspaper to spare?"
"A newspaper? At night?" The young maid asked in surprise. She has never thought in her life that her sleep would be interrupted just because of a newspaper. She was about to lose her temper but when she met eye to eye with Josephine, as if her whole body awakens, she lowered her head in recognizing who she was just about to lose temper.
"O-of course, Lady Josephine." She hurried back to her room and gather as much as newspapers she could. It was a good thing that the young maid loved her gossips and maybe it was the only thing that kept her sane in serving such a terrifying ruler every day. When she finished gathering all the newspapers she could find, she hurriedly went to the door where Josephine was waiting. She handed the pile of papers to Josephine and kept her head low.
"I'm really sorry that I have to interrupt your sleep just for a couple of newspapers." Josephine smiled at the young woman who looked at her in admiration. Truly, even in Josephine's early thirty's, she's quite young-looking especially with her blonde locks and blue eyes, anyone would mistake her for being in her twenties.
"It's q-quite alright," said the young maid who returned her smile. Josephine waved goodbye and walked back to her own room. Josephine's room was just next to Catherine's as well as to Ria's. To compare Catherine's room to hers, Josephine's room was a little more empty with only her bed, a table, and her closet at sight.
Holding all the papers in her hand, she decided to go to the desk, and examine it, in order to find at least something worthwhile that she could report to the princess. Josephine took the first one with the title, 'Monsters in town? Is this the curse of Blessed One for having a murderer sit on the throne?' the same one she saw in the king's desk. She looked at the picture that an artist in the town probably drew. In a perfectly shaped box, there was a big man, with claws for hands and fur that covered its body. Its teeth looked sharp like that of a tiger and the creature was foaming on its mouth. She flipped the page to see what the town had written about it.
Many moons before, the first Uranbel bloodline came, defeated, and defended the land, bring prosperity all over the kingdom. People rejoiced and worshipped him by putting a crown on his head, making him rule over us. We were at peace and the Blessed continued to pour down his mercy on us but now that a murderer sat on the throne, killing the bloodline that the Blessed On chose, he has not seen us in a good light.
Now, the Blessed One placed a curse on us, by sending these creatures to remind us that the Blessed One should not be defied!
The other newspaper stated that the nobles were the ones responsible for the monsters, buying commoners and making them their test subjects for whatever they are doing. As Josephine scours through the newspapers she saw that the beast-like creatures change their form. She took all the pictures and gathered them on one side, starting from the oldest date of the newspaper to the latest.
The oldest one was the picture from the 'Monsters in town? Is this the curse of Blessed One for having a murderer sit on the throne?', the next one was a picture of a strange-looking big man with fur on the back, fangs, and claws, another one was a creature with a bigger build than the average man but still with fur, fangs, and claws, and the latest picture was a tall man without fur but still with fangs and claws.
"They really are experimenting!" Josephine exclaimed. "But what for?"
Josephine's deliberation was interrupted when she heard the commotion from the grand staircase. She went outside to see what happened and she was greeted by servants running around the place holding towels and basins. She saw a red-stained Lucas carrying an unconscious, bloody Catherine and a guard helping Catalina who was limping from the arrow she took.
She scanned the place to see where Ria is and she saw her crying and sobbing as she enters the palace. She ran towards Ria who looked at her with pleading red eyes.
"What happened?"
"S-she was shot by an arrow."
