PORCELAIN ── men of the harem

𝟎𝟎𝟒. the palace of lions

          THE PALACE OF LIONS, though they do look like normal residences from the outside, the basement of the homes house all the bodies of past emperors and impresses. As Araminta, Latil, and Sir Sonnaught stood before the house with the large black symbol painted on it, Latil was fuming in anger. "How long has it been like this?" Araminta asked

"It happened during the changing of the guards. The shift change was at six o'clock in the morning," one of the guards replied

"And did you not see anyone suspicious at the time?" Araminta questioned

"No, Your Imperial Majesty. There was approximately seven minutes when no one was around,"

"Who was assigned to this post before you?" Latil finally spoke

"It was I, your imperial majesty," another guard piped up

"Was this here when you were guarding the area?"

"No, your imperial majesty,"

"Did the culprit leave behind any evidence?"

"No, Your Imperial Majesty,"

Latil exploded, "SO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THEY PAINTED THIS AND GOT AWAY IN THE SPAN OF SEVEN MINUTES!? Walking around with a pail of paint should have maid then noticable enough!!" 

"Your Majesty, please calm down," Araminta chimed in, placing a hand on Latil's shoulder. Almost instantly, Latil calmed down and Araminta turned to the guards who were now on one knee, "Did you really not see anyone strange or did you just not notic them?" Araminta asked coldly

Araminta sighed, "Captain!" she said, waving her hand as Sir Sonnaught bowed, "Determine the culpability of everyone involved here,"

"Yes, your majesty,"

──── When they returned to the palace, Sir Sonnaught, the captain of the imperial guard, and the Lieutenant of the first guard regiment were called to the emperor's office. 

"We must find out who the culprit is," Latil said, pacing back and forth as Araminta had to look away in fear of growing nauseated at the emperor's constant movements. 

"This is a disgrace to the dignity of the imperial family and an insult to the late emperor," Araminta added

"Lieutenant, what are your thoughts on this?" Latil asked, finally sitting down, "Do you think this has anything to do with the assassination of the late emperor?"

"Your Imperial Majesty, I think I may have come across that symbol before. Though I cannot say I am sure of it ── I believe it is a symbol used by an assassin's guild,"

"An assassins' guild?"

"He is speaking of the black forest," Sir Sonnaught spoke up

"You know of this guild, Sir Sonnaught?" Latil asked

"Yes, your majesty. It is quite notorious,"

"I've never heard of it before,"

"They may be notorious, but their notoriety only has weight among other assassins, so it makes sense that you have never heard of them before,"

Araminta held back her quick remark, and just listened, "They are skillful, but they became most famous for the symbol they paint after killing their marks,"

"If their symbol was painted on father's tomb, it likely means that they were behind his assassination,"

"I believe so, your majesty. The strange thing is──"

"Why did they leave their mark only now, after so much time has passed?"

"Perhaps it has nothing to do with them at all," Araminta chimed in as everyone turned to look at her, "If it is a well-known symbol with a simple design. Anyone could've painted that,"

"Your Majesty is correct,"

"Sir Sonnaught, has anyone ever used the symbol of the black forest without being one of their assassins?" Araminta asked as Latil could see a light bulb go on in Araminta's head. As Araminta's eyes brightened and she snapped her fingers. 

"Lieutenant, we will use this to catch the culprit," Leaving behind their trademark after each hit signifies that they are proud of their handiwork and wish to flaunt their prowess. That pride also means they would hate being impersonated. With said logic, the Black Forest will surely track down any impersonators, kill them, and draw their symbol upside down on the corpse as a warning to others. 

"Your Majesty?"

"Make this incident public while keeping a close eye on the assassins of the black forest," Latil understood immediately and clapped her hands while the two guards seemed to be lost

"Are both of you that dull-witted? If the culprit in question is not a member of the black forest their corpse will eventually turn up with an upside-down symbol," Araminta snapped

"If they had nothing to do with this, they will find and kill the impersonator, catching the culprit for us. It would also let us know that they were not involved in the assassination of the late emperor. ── Minty, you are a genius!"

"Ah! I see!" The Lieutenant exclaimed.

"But please double the guards throughout the palace as a precaution,"

The lieutenant bowed, "Yes, Your Imperial Majesty," and as the guard left, Latil's face grew grim. 

"If my father was assassinated by professional killers, someone had to have hired them to do it. Do you two have any suspicions about who that might be?"

"Not at the moment, your Majesty," Sir Sonnaught sighed

Araminta frowned, "No idea,"

Latil groaned, "Assassins don't even cave under torture. If the black forest is really involved, this doesn't bode well,"

The trio stayed silent as Latil began to open the letter left behind by the culprit. Suddenly, Latil let out a laugh, "How ridiculous!" she laughed, crumpling the paper and slamming it into the table, "This Motherfucker!" she said, startling the other two.

"What does the letter day, your majesty?" Sir Sonnaught asked

Latil laughed and handed the crumpled piece of paper to Araminta, "You will also be shocked by this load of drivel.

Araminta scowled as she read the letter before handing it to Sir Sonnaught. You're the one who killed your own father.

"What are your thoughts?"

"I'd like to cut off the head of the miscreant who wrote this. Their greasy little brain will oil my sword quite nicely," Sir Sonnaught said darkly as Araminta gulped ── it was moments like this Araminta found herself quite drawn to the man. 

"That is quite violent," Araminta said flatly

"I like it very much," Latil snickered, "The more I think about it, the person who wrote this letter and the person who descrated my father's tomb seem like two different people,"

"I have been getting that feeling as well, your majesty," Sir Sonnaught agreed, "If the person who descrated the tomb was indeed the assassin, this letter would be a contradiction,"

"Right. Someone who wants to show off their work wouldn't make this kind of accusation, and let someone else take the credit," Araminta nodded

"For now, we will just have to keep looking into the matter," Latil sighed

"I agree," Sir Sonnaught nodded

"Either way, we'll get to the bottom of this," Araminta confirmed as she got up and left.