[T/L: The author just gave the secretary a name, it's Irene.]
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Irene charged into Pierre's house with some members of the Maison Gardiennage.
Knock-knock-knock—one of the Gardes hammered on the door.
"Pierre! This is the Maison Gardiennage. Come out and accept the inspection!" Another shouted at the closed door.
Inside, only deathly silence answered.
A bad feeling churned in Irene's gut, but she still ordered her men to force the door.
Bang! The door was ripped from its frame and tossed to the floor.
Most of the team surged inside—only to walk straight into their worst fear.
Pierre laying in a puddle of blood, his eyes close.
"Search his body and the house!" Irene had a gut feeling about this happening but she still clung onto hope that this wouldn't happen.
"Report, ma'am—nothing. We found no traces in the area." A Garde panted after the final corner had been searched.
"So it really ends like this… Two of you seal the area; the rest pull back. Lady Furina should be back any minute."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Half an hour later Furina finally returned to The Court of Fontaine with her retinue. The battle-weary troops were dismissed to rest, so only Furina and a couple of bodyguards came to meet Irene.
"Lady Furina—terrible news! Pierre's been silenced. The place is stripped clean!" Irene's frantic words reached both Furina and Rina.
"I understand. I'll handle it. Keep searching for any leads" Furina replied as her brows knitted.
"Yes, my lady." Irene hurried off.
Back in her room, word has already spread that the new Hydro Archon had wiped out a thousand monsters and a colossal beast in ten minutes. The people truly believe in her and have no need to fear any crisis again.
After all, with the Hydro Archon, everything would be fine.
But among Fontaine's high nobility, rumors were already flying about how some tried to assassinate their Archon. They knew that she must be furiously hunting the culprits.
Panic seized within the nobility. Those with ties to the nobles scurried to cover their tracks and no one dared to bother the Hydro Archon with official business.
'Tch—this is getting tricky'
Rina muttered, eyes downcast. The broken trail forced them to rethink.
Furina silently thought to herself. 'The nobles have gone too far... Without Other Me, Fontaine would've fallen. For Fontaine's sake, I'll uproot them all...'
After a pause Furina spoke softly yet firmly. "Other me, that monster horde was no accident, someone must've herded them straight into our ambush."
'Right—the horde… wait, herded!' Rina smacked her forehead. 'Bringing that many monsters would be chaos; the herders could easily drop something the beasts would carry along. Come on— to the warehouse.'
"Right behind you."
A nod to the guards and Furina pushed open the warehouse door.
The space was vast—befitting a national storehouse.
Supplies lay strewn about; the room was dim and disordered.
'Tch—look how those nobles run Fontaine. Too greedy even to pay for proper storage. One more charge for the list' Rina growled.
She was hating the aristocrats more by the second.
'Dead ley-line branches, black-bronze horns, and broken masks? How did those looters get in here?' Rina's temper flared more when they found nothing after all that digging.
"Other me, what's this?" Furina lifted a tattered coat.
'Hmm, let me see.' Rina studied it from the sofa in the Inner Space.
Furina turned the garment, bringing it closer so Rina could inspect every stitch.
Recognition dawned. 'That cut isn't from the Maison Gestion nor Maison Ordalie . None of our officials wore this.'
"So a noble lackey dropped it while luring the monsters?" Furina looked innocent, but she was quick on the uptake.
'Exactly.'
"Great! Check which boutique designed it and who bought it; narrow the list and we'll nail our suspects."
Furina gleefully ordered a discreet inquiry.
Several hours later
"My lady!" the agent returned.
"Results?" Furina asked, hopeful.
The agent fidgeted, unable to speak.
The news was clearly bad.
"Lady Furina… we're sorry. The coat doesn't match any registered boutique in Fontaine. We even checked obscure hole-in-the-wall shops—nothing."
Both twins frowned at once.
Still playing the Hydro Archon, Furina lifted her chin. "I expected as much. Return to your post. I, The Hydro Archon, Focalors, will settle this."
The agent left, comforted.
Once alone, Furina's proud shoulders sagged.
'Damn—another dead end' Rina muttered.
Dead end.
A perfect dead end…
Slurp—
"fine tea.." a man murmured, cup in hand.
"All traces cleaned?
"Yes, my lord. Every subordinate silenced, every participant locked away, every scrap of evidence destroyed to the best that we can."
"Good." He sipped again.
He was the noble that had proposed to testing the Hydro Archon. While the plan may have failed, they can still enjoy life and their lingering power.
On this chessboard, they didn't win but neither did they lose.
He doubts the Hydro Archon would ever find them.