Chapter 20
Aurora rose from her seat, "Follow me."
Without waiting for a response, she walked toward the entrance and picked up the leather bag she had dropped earlier when she rushed to save her mother.
The others exchanged curious glances before following behind her.
She led them around the manor and toward a separate stone building near the training grounds. The dungeon. A cold wind swept through the courtyard, causing several torches to flicker.
Standing outside the entrance were Sir Turner and Sir Alistair.
"My Lady.", Both knights bowed as Aurora approached.
Neither man questioned her anymore. The young lady they had known only days ago would have been crying, demanding answers, or hiding behind the Crown Prince.
This Aurora was different. Frighteningly different.
Aurora acknowledged them with a nod before descending the stone staircase. The air grew colder with every step. The faint smell of blood lingered in the corridor.
Isaac grimaced, "I suddenly regret following you."
"Too late now," Brian muttered.
Aurora continued walking until she stopped in front of the first cell. Inside lay three bodies. The former head cook and the two kitchen boys.
The silence that followed was unsettling.
Lucian, Brian, Charles, Anton and Isaac stepped inside to examine the scene.
After several minutes, Isaac shook his head, "There is nothing here."
Brian nodded in agreement, "No clues. No evidence. We can transport the bodies to the palace for burial."
"It seems we've reached a dead end," Charles added quietly.
"The perpetrator never left any evidence," Anton added.
The five men began moving toward the exit.
Then Charles noticed Aurora had not moved. She was crouching beside one of the bodies.
"Wait."
The others turned. Aurora opened her bag and removed a pair of white gloves. Since proper medical gloves did not exist in this era, she had improvised with finely tailored cloth gloves.
The sight alone confused everyone. What was she doing?
She handed the bag to Sir Turner, "Pass me the ruler."
Lucian blinked, "The ruler?"
"Yes."
The knight obeyed. Aurora slipped the gloves on and carefully examined the wound.
The room fell silent.
"What exactly are you doing?" Lucian finally asked.
Without looking up, Aurora replied, "Looking for evidence."
She inspected the wound, measuring its length and depth. Then she searched the victim's pockets and clothing. The men stared in disbelief. There was not a hint of hesitation in her movements.
No fear...No disgust....No trembling.
As though she had done this hundreds of times before. Because, in a way, she had.
Back in her second life, this had been part of her medical training and daily practice.
Brian finally broke the silence, "My Lady..."
Aurora looked up.
"A lady should not be touching another man."
Her gaze immediately turned cold, "Duke Brian, are you volunteering to do it instead?"
Brian opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
"I don't see anyone else searching for evidence."
Isaac nearly laughed
Charles and Antone quickly looked away.
Even Sir Alistair struggled to hide a smile.
Brian silently surrendered.
Aurora returned to her work. She instructed several knights to move the bodies and lay them side by side.
The men exchanged puzzled looks but obeyed.
Once the bodies were aligned, Aurora stood back and studied them carefully.
Her eyes moved from one wound to the next, this way she also determine the height of the perpetrator, depending on the wounds.
She is hoping she can profile the perpetrator this way.
The person was definitely right-handed by the wounds.
Then to the walls. Then to the floor. Looking. Calculating. Thinking. Trying to see what everyone else had missed. The dungeon suddenly felt unnervingly quiet. Finally, Aurora reached into her bag again. This time she withdrew a knife.
Several people visibly tensed.
Isaac's eyes widened, "What are you planning to do with that?"
Aurora looked at him as though he had asked a foolish question.
"I'm cutting their shirts.", The room collectively froze.
"What?"
Before anyone could stop her, Aurora carefully sliced through the fabric around the wounds.
"Stop!" , Lucian's voice echoed through the dungeon. The sudden outburst startled several knights.
Aurora looked up, "What now?"
"You cannot simply undress dead men!", Lucian snapped.
Aurora blinked. Then clicked her tongue. A very unladylike sound.
"It's not as though I've never seen a man's body before."
The statement only made everyone more uncomfortable.
Isaac and Anton looked horrified.
Charles looked intrigued.
Brian looked confused.
Lucian looked like he had developed a headache.
Ignoring them all, Aurora removed a sketchbook and pencil. The men watched in stunned silence as she began drawing.
Carefully. Precisely. Every wound. Every angle. Every detail.
She measured the victims' heights and noted the placement of each injury. The scratch of her pencil seemed unusually loud inside the dungeon.
No one interrupted her. No one knew what to say.
Lucian simply stared. The girl kneeling before him looked nothing like the Aurora he had known for years. The Aurora he knew chased his attention. This Aurora chased answers. The realization unsettled him.
When she finished, Aurora moved to the second cell. Inside lay the former head maid.
The process repeated. Measurements. Observations. Notes. Sketches.
Unlike the men, Aurora paid attention to every tiny detail.
The angle of the wound. The direction of the attack. The height of the blade's entry. Everything. Finally, she closed her sketchbook. Silence followed.
Aurora turned toward Brian, "Duke Brian."
Brian straightened immediately, "You may arrange for the bodies to be released."
She handed him several pages, "I hope you paid attention. This information may help us catch the murderer."
Brian stared at the notes. Then at Aurora. Then back at the notes. He was speechless.
Never in his life had he seen a murder investigated this way.
The kingdom questioned witnesses.
They searched belongings.
They followed rumours.
They did not study the bodies themselves.
Aurora had done more in an hour than most investigators would do in days.
Without another word, Aurora walked toward the exit.
The others followed in silence.
The atmosphere had changed.
The only witnesses were dead.
The murderer remained unknown.
And yet somehow Aurora seemed more determined than ever.
As they emerged from the dungeon, a troubling thought settled into everyone's mind.
This was no ordinary thief. No ordinary killer.
Whoever had committed these murders knew exactly what they were doing.
They had silenced every witness, but why?
Removed every loose end and vanished without a trace. For the first time since the investigation began, Aurora felt a chill run down her spine. They had reached a dead end.
Or perhaps...
That was exactly what the murderer wanted them to believe.
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