So far about the 'as early as possible'. I'm late as ever, my apologies. However, I'm confident the clues to the mystery which are revealed in this chapter will make up for it.
Enjoy~
~Chapter III~
Jana was looking at the list in his hand.
It contained the names and some details about everyone, which he had gathered in the last minutes. He had talked to one after another, and now possessed basic knowledge about everyone that was currently in this mansion.
It wasn't much yet, but he had to start somewhere. Still, he was frowning.
'At this point, it could damn well have been everyone', he thought.
He put the paper in his hand to the side and looked at the one beneath it. A floor plan was drawn on it, and names were written in the rooms. Matsuri had made the map while he had questioned everyone and now he was looking back and forth between the map and the list.
At a certain name, he stopped.
'Claims not to have heard anything', was written as a note besides the name. Sure, everyone had that note, but this one...
He checked the map again. The name he was looking for was inserted in a room at the end of a corridor. It was the exact corridor the murders had happened in. Across from the room in question was another room, the name in which had been crossed out.
Jana smirked and looked up.
Slowly, he let his eyes wander from one person to another, only stopping briefly at a certain person.
For a moment, his gaze met the boy's.
'You're lying to me, and I know it. Just you wait, I'll get you sooner or later,' he thought to himself, before shifting his gaze again.
"Alright, you're all dismissed for now. I want you to return to your rooms and not do anything stupid. I might come and ask each of you some questions later."
With that, he turned around and left the room, Sana following behind him.
On the side of the room, Matsuri turned towards the gardener.
"Miss Valentia..."
The red-haired woman looked up at the maid.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of her."
The maids gaze shifted from the red-haired woman to her own twin that was staring at the floor expressionless. Then she nodded.
"Thank you..." she said in a small voice, before leaving her place at the wall and following the detective that had just left the room.
Valentia looked after Matsuri as she left, then put her arm around Nobu's shoulder, urging her to stand up.
"Let's go, Nobu. You'll feel better soon, I promise."
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"You didn't want to tell them about the pieces of paper we found?", Sana asked Jana as they walked through the hall.
"No need to tell them every detail. It's better for the investigation if they don't know, so let's keep it that way. It's bad enough we had to let this hobo-doc help us..."
Jana frowned for a moment.
"But... if what he said is true...", Sana answered hesitatingly.
"I don't know... would something like that be available in this mansion...?", the detective replied, lost deep in thought.
Then he turned around to the glasses-maid that had been following the two of them silently ever since they had left the room.
"Do you have any business with us?", he asked.
"I am merely following my Master's orders to help you in whichever way possible.", Matsuri answered without any emotion in her voice.
"In that case, I have a request. Take Sana here to the kitchen and let her search for clues there. Sana, I expect you know what I'm after, right?"
"Yes. Leave it to me.", the girl replied energetically.
Jana smiled a bit.
"And don't get lost."
"Uhh...."
"Anyway, that okay for you, Miss Maid?", Jana asked, turning back to Matsuri.
"I shall do as you wish. Miss Sana, this way please.", she gestured towards a set of stairs that led to a lower floor of the mansion.
Jana watched the two girls leave, then directed his attention towards another staircase in front of him that led upwards. He smiled grimly.
"Let's pay that guy a visit..."
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The sounds of whispering filled the Dining Room. The initial shock of Jana's message had faded and given way to suspicion, concern and paranoia. Glances of distrust and worry were shot around, many were gathering in groups with the people they knew and trusted.
Then, as the first person turned to leave the room, it was Fightest that finally raised his voice in an announcement.
"Listen up, everyone. Don't just leave, stay here and listen for a moment!"
Bofh, who was already reaching for the door, stopped and turned around.
"What do you want? There's nothing to discuss. There's been murders, and one of you guys is the culprit. Just gotta find out who.", he smirked.
Fightest sighed.
"Calm down please. Getting divided by suspicion is not what we should do now. Everyone of us will be an easy target if we are alone."
"Huh, who said there will be any more murders anyway? Or do you know something we don't, Fightest?", Chaore stepped into the dialogue.
Fightest turned his head and stared at Chaore with calm anger in his eyes.
"Stop that, at once."
For a moment, the two silently stared at each other, then the bunny-girl gave in and averted her eyes.
"Tch...."
After taking a deep breath, Fightest continued.
"Yes, if we are lucky, this is already over. Maybe whoever did this is already done with their work, or that detective will have caught them by tonight. But that's just a possibility. Let's be prepared for the worst."
"So, what do you suggest?", Benny asked.
"That some of us change rooms. Staying alone is dangerous, but the rooms are big enough to be used by two people. So we should form pairs that will then stay together as much as they can, especially for the night. I know that will mean that one of us might pair up with a murderer, but it is still more likely to prevent any more tragedies than if we stay alone. Do you agree?"
As he finished his suggestion, Fightest took looked around the people gathered in the room, waiting for any kind of reaction.
For a moment, there was silence, then whispers set in and some began to nod in agreement to what they had just heard. Soon, everyone in the room had accepted the plan, and pairs were being formed.
Standing a bit away from the others were Kilga and Ruro.
"What do you think about this?", Ruro asked.
"I'm honestly not sure. This whole thing is just too unexpected.", Kilga asked, her expression showing that she was deep in thought.
"Do you think it was.... really one of them?"
Kilga sighed.
"I'd like to say no, but... I'm not sure. We don't have any information at all. From what we know, it could have been anyone here, even you or me, hell, even that detective guy."
She looked annoyed.
"I don't like this. I can't imagine why anyone would do this....", then she fell silent.
Suddenly, someone grabbed Ruro's wrist.
She jumped in surprise and quickly turned around. Standing behind her was Rou, looking down to the ground and muttering.
"....re a room?"
"Huh?"
"Can we.... share a room....please?"
Ruro looked puzzled at the sudden and unexpected question.
"Uhm... I.... "
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but... please?"
The girls voiced almost sounded pleading now.
Ruro looked at the girl, then at Kilga, who looked just as confused as her, then back to the girl, before she answered with a gentle voice.
"Of course, no problem. You know where my room is? Just bring your stuff over later."
She smiled a bit as she put her hand on the girl's shoulder.
"It'll be alright. Nothing more will happen, I'm sure of it."
Rou heaved a sigh of relief at her superior's answer.
"You're right... sorry."
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The sound of a fist banging hard against the door resounded loudly through the Study.
Helepolis, who was currently reading a book about the importance of charisma in political affairs, looked up.
This was unexpected. The maids had not informed him of anyone wishing for an audience, nor had he ordered them to invite someone. They wouldn't bang on the door like this either, which could only mean one thing. It had to be one of the guests.
Helepolis sighed as he closed the book and put it back onto the shelf. Then he set down the plushie he was carrying next to the teacup on the table, before he walked to the door and opened it.
Standing on the other side, fist raised for the next knock, was a man in a brown trenchcoat and a hat. He looked surprised when the door opened, then his expression changed into a grin.
"Ah, so you are here after all, Mister Scarlet."
"Indeed I am, Mister Coppola. I take it you have business with me? I would have preferred it if you had asked my employees for an appointment. I am, as you might know, a very busy person."
"Oh, don't worry, it won't take long. Just a few questions, and since I happened to coincidentally pass by here, I thought I'd use the chance. If you don't mind..."
After those words, Jana stepped forward and pushed his way into the room. Helepolis looked displeased at the sudden intrusion, but stayed silent as he closed the door again.
"Would you like a tea?", he asked the guest politely.
"Oh no, thank you. Won't take that long.", Jana responded as he examined the room carefully with his eyes.
"Nice Study. A lot more classy than my office, that's for sure.", he shrugged.
"And nice paintings you have there on the wall. A bit small though, aren't they?", he continued, sounding slightly more serious.
Helepolis' eyes narrowed at the sudden change in the atmosphere.
"It's like that everywhere in the mansion. All the pictures and paintings on the wall.", the detective stated.
"Does this have any relevance for your investigation?"
"I don't know, tell me. Does it?", Jana replied, looking back at the mansion owner over his shoulder.
"...."
"There's only one thing I'm sure of. Nothing is a coincidence. As such, everything special about this mansion is of relevance to me."
For a moment, Helepolis closed his eyes in thought, then he spoke.
"Sixty-four centimeters wide, fourty-eight centimeters high."
"Hmm?", Jana turned around at the answer, looking slightly confused.
"That's the maximum dimensions of any painting or picture in this mansion."
"Huh, never heard of anything like that. Any special reason for that?"
"There is. The reason... is my maid. If she finds any picture going over those measurements, she will go into a rage and snap her broom.", Helepolis continued his explanation while walking through the room charismatically.
"Your maid, huh.", Jana showed a grim smile at the new information. "That's not something you hear everyday. Why did you tell me that much?"
"Because I'm concerned."
The mansion owner had stopped in front of the window and was now looking out onto the sea.
"I'm concerned it might have been her. I want to believe she would not be capable of an act like that, but if something awoke 'that' side of her, then I'm not sure...", he stopped talking, looking at the dark sky outside.
"You're suspecting your own servant? That was unexpected."
"..."
"So, which one of those two is it, the one on the left with the glasses?"
Helepolis abruptly turned around at those words. As he realized what the detective was looking at, his expression darkened. He had been careless.
There, on the bookshelf, was a small, framed photo. It showed what looked like a family picture. Two small girls were pictured on it, along with a young man. It was obvious that the three persons were Helepolis and his two head maids, Nobu and Matsuri. One of the girls, Nobu, was holding a plushie representing a winged girl in her hand.
"That doesn't look like your typical master-servant relationship now, wouldn't you agree.", Jana stated.
He shot a brief glance to the plushie sitting on the table, then looked back to the photo.
"Hmm, something's off there... I feel like something's missing...."
He reached out to the photo, when suddenly Helepolis raised his voice.
"May I ask you to leave now, please? You are disrupting my studies."
He was clearly looking angry as he walked towards the door and opened it, gesturing to the detective to leave.
Jana looked displeased at the sudden outburst as he drew back his hand, but he didn't object. He had gotten more than he had expected. As he passed by Helepolis, he stopped for a moment.
"You're hiding something, and I will find it. Trust me on that.", he mumbled before he left the room and disappeared into the dark corridor...
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Behind the mansion, in Valentia's shed, the gardener was sitting on a chair next to a small bed.
She reached out with her hand, gently stroking the cheek of the girl currently sleeping peacefully. The girl's large pet-snake had rolled itself into a pillow and was resting under her head right now.
Valentia turned the chair back towards her desk and opened a large book lying on it. As she turned the pages, every page displayed a neatly conserved flower that had been put on it, together with some text, numbers and formulas.
Finally, she reached what seemed to be the most recent page. A flower had been put onto it, but there was nothing else yet.
Slowly, Valentia reached for her quill, filled it with ink and started writing...
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Just as she closed the book, the gardener heard a sound behind her. She put the book away, then turned around to the bed.
Nobu was slowly opening her eyes as she awoke from her sleep. Quickly she sat up and stretched, the flower on her head bobbing back and forth as a result.
"How are you feeling?", Valentia asked the girl.
"Wonderful~ ", Nobu responded with a bright smile.
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~Chapter III End~
