"Suspicion of murder? What?" Ann asked in confusion.
She kept a stern gaze and a cold demeanor, so Aden and Alain wouldn't panic.
"We're sorry, Miss Ann, we can't disclose the full details at this time, but we need to take you in for questioning."
---
In the priests' conference room, a tense and urgent meeting was underway.
No one was seated, everyone stood and began shouting.
"Eyewitnesses said one of them was decapitated," one of them declared.
Apparently, Tamiel's guards had been found by passersby, and the priests were now forced to investigate all possible suspects.
"I can't believe it happened in the building I live in!" one of them exclaimed in shock.
"We can't let the witch from Gaia's Kingdom go just yet. A murder like this, right after her arrival... we need to interrogate her."
"Does anyone know where their last shift was before the murder?"
"They were two of my men," Tamiel said seriously. "I sent them to deliver a message to you."
"What message?" one of the priests asked, curiosity cutting through the tension.
"That doesn't matter right now. It can wait until we find the killer. We need to detain anyone who might be involvedת even the eyewitnesses who discovered the bodies."
"Hmm. I completely agree."
One of the priests immediately instructed the guads in the room to arrest the eyewitnesses.
"Tamiel, we trust you to handle the witch from Gaia. If you find even a shred of evidence linking her to the murder, don't let her know. We don't want her realizing we suspect herת she could flee and cause chaos."
"No problem. I'll take care of her," Tamiel said with a grave look, then exited the room.
---
Ann was taken into custody to await questioning.
Aden and Alain were left behind, helpless.
Before Ann left, she told them to stay exactly where they were so she could find them quickly after her interrogation.
"Are you two planning to wait here for your mother?" asked one of the soldiers who remained behind.
Aden stayed silentת he was cautious and didn't want to share unnecessary information.
"Do we have a choice?" Alain grumbled in frustration. "I don't even know who was killed, but Mom was with us the whole time."
"A ridiculous argument. You're suspects too."
Aden's heart skipped a beat when he heard the soldier's words.
He started imagining the worst-case scenarios, what if they had to flee before the soldier decided to arrest them too? Would they even need to fight?
"Then why aren't we under arrest?" Alain asked, part irritation, part genuine curiosity.
"There's no need. Compared to your mother's rank, you're irrelevant."
"Her rank?"
"Yeah. She's the witch of your kingdom. If she's the killer, this could spark a war between nations. You two don't matter in that context."
Alain didn't fully grasp the logic but kept pressing for more information.
"Is Mom really that important to our kingdom?"
The soldier gave him a confused look.
"What are you talking about? She's your kingdom's witch, how could she not be important?"
"A witch here, a witch there… what does that even mean?"
Aden tried to signal Alain to stop asking questions. They could get answers from their mother later. There was no need to reveal how little they knew.
But truthfully, Aden was curious too. He had heard the word "witch" several times now, ever since Zaya's house.
And he had recognized his mother as the witch at first sight, even though she wore no unusual robes or anything that would suggest magical status. She looked completely ordinary.
"You don't know what a witch is?" the soldier asked Alain, clearly baffled. "It's the title given to the strongest warrior in each kingdom."
"!!"
Aden and Alain hadn't expected that answer.
Awe filled them as they realized just how high their mother stood.
"So Mom's one of the sixteen strongest fighters in the world?" Alain asked, grinning with pride.
"You could say that, if you don't count a few exceptional individuals."
Immediately, Aden and Alain thought of one such person: Zaya.
"Seriously… I can't tell if you're joking or not, but how do you not know your mom's role? Did she raise you under a rock?" the soldier laughed.
This time, Alain didn't respond. He just stood there, deep in thought, considering what they should do next.
---
Ann sat inside her cell, surrounded by five elite guards.
The prison bars were made of solid light, as were the shackles on her wrists.
"How long until the interrogation? No, forget that what about my children?"
The guards remained silent at first, But after Ann threatened to escape and refuse cooperation, one of them finally spoke up.
"We don't have the exact schedule, The priests are handling that. Your children are still where you were taken, under the watch of one of our soldiers."
"Tell him to leave them alone. I'm willing to fully cooperate, but no matter what happens, my children must stay out of this."
"We can't make that call ourselves. We'll have to send a letter to the priests and wait for their decision."
---
Night deepened.
The priests had decided to leave matters until morning, getting some rest to regain their strength.
Ann's letter reached them at the last moment.
One of them agreed to her request,on the condition that she truly cooperated during questioning.
He sent an approval letter back to the guards at Ann's cell, then headed home to sleep.
The room was empty, it was supposed to remain closed until the early meeting the next day.
But someone was there.
Someone who wasn't supposed to be.
He looked through the papers scattered across the desk, They were full of the priests' plans, kingdom expansions, infrastructure projects, the ongoing war against the Kingdom of Darkness,and even notes regarding the murder that had led to the recent wave of arrests.
The man skimmed the pages, Then laughed.