My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 270: Dishonoured (1)

Kace was stunned as he finally caught sight of what was creating the strange aura in the palace as he entered the room. 'I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this.' He cast a grave glance over the pair of skeletons. The aura the woman's remains was given off had an intoxicating feel to it. Like it was trying to infect his mindset with rage and grief.

Kace frowned as he tread closer to the throne. Death had become a constant for him in this new world, so he had become quite blunt to the effects it could have on people. He took his time in studying the remains close up. Even going as far as to pull back the blanket that covered the baby. Although, he did this gently and with great care.

He was determined to show the most tremendous amount of respect for these remains while he conducted his investigation. The woman's remains showed no apparent signs of what had caused her death. Just based off of the aura her skeleton gave off, Kace assumed she had just died from grief. 

The child was another matter entirely. Some of the bones looked to be deformed and blackened. Almost like they had been held over a hot flame. Kace's scowl grew deeper as he took note of this. 'Phillip is a fire wielder. Don't tell me' Kace felt sick to his stomach. It was the only conclusion he could come up with for now that explained the markings and Phillip's strange presence within the palace.

He did not want to narrow his perspective by just settling on his first hypothesis. Although it sounded reasonable, he could be overlooking something right now. He might not even have all the necessary information to hand either. Often, a situation can be deceptive. You can take a few pieces of evidence that suit you and make them fit your own scenario. However, if you take the whole picture into account, then something else entirely might appear.

Having satisfied himself for now with the remains, he began to inspect the room. It was extremely lavish with its other furniture. 'It's a nursery.' Kace sighed as he spotted a crib. 'This was meant to be this child's room. From the layout alone, you can tell its mother put a lot of care and attention into setting it up.'

This said to Kace that she had obviously been excited at the prospect of having a child. 'She must have been looking forward to watching it grow. But that happiness was stolen from her.' As far as he could see as he rummaged around the room, there was not anything else that spoke towards what had actually happened. 

'The system is remaining quiet as well.' Kace tried to figure out if this was because he had not gathered enough information for it to reveal more. Or if it just would not update until he finished the quest. 'We need to scour the entire palace and the grounds. I need to know everything. For all I know I might need to find the location of the murder to spark something.'

Since the baby's bones were charred, he expected that there had to be obvious signs of an extreme fire somewhere. As he thought about it, something else dawned on him that made frown again. 'The location might not even be in this city!' This would make the quest exponentially harder to complete if he had to find the scene of the crime.

The only thing he could think of to expedite the investigation would be to retrieve Phillip's actual body and make him talk. 'That will take too much time, and it goes against our primary reason for being here in the first place.' Kace quietly left the room and closed the door behind him. Leaving the remains to their solitude for now.

'The only other option just now is to find and interrogate the palace's staff. Regular civilians might not even be aware that their ruler is not at the helm anymore. The situation was already difficult as it was. Never mind adding in the fact that he would have to be discreet. 'But how can I draw out whoever is pulling the strings.'

Kace was lost in thought, to the point that he took no notice of his comrades approaching him as he descended the stairs to the main hall. While Kace had gone off on his own, the Tu'Thrag that had witnessed the room had filled the others in on the details. None of them was eager to see the scene first hand. 

"Kace?" Sophia asked with a stern voice. "What can we do?"

The determination in her voice seemed to be echoed on the others' faces as Kace scrutinised them. 'What can we do? That's a good question.' Kace remained silent. He had half hoped that one of them might be able to suggest something. For now, there was only one thing that Kace could commit to. However, the chances of obtaining results should be slim.

"I'll have all of the Tu'Thrag monitor the entire city. Keep an eye on every citizen you can. I know it's a tall order." Kace declared as he caught Lorget returning with Shadow out of the corner of his eye. "Pay close attention to the subjects they talk about. Note anything about a fire or when the ruler became absent from the public eye. See if you can find out where she was last seen before her disappearance as well."

"As you command, My Lord." Shadow gruffly replied as he bowed his head.

"Another thing. See if you can track down any trails that lead to anyone who worked here. It would even be better to find any details on what is supposed to happen in an emergency. Especially who would be responsible for everything."

Both Shadow and Lorget bowed their heads and silently disappeared. Leaving the others to stand alone in the entry hall. Kace looked at Grugda, Sophia and Lilly. 'What would be best for each of them to do for now? We also have the army to consider'