SPEAK UP OR DIE

He was seated in the room's centre. Judy and Cecily were on the far end of the room, speaking in private, surrounded by butlers and groundsmen.

Cecily tightened the belt on her robe and inquired, "Are you sure nobody followed you?" Judy took a moment to react, her mind wandering back to her visit to the Ethel estate. She was careful enough to ensure that no one had followed her.

“I don't believe anyone followed me. I got here on my own, and this road is lonely at night, and I believe I drove up here alone,” she finally said.

Sparkles was lying down on their side. She slipped back to sleep as if nothing had happened when the ache of the kick ad dissipated. The quick motions of the butlers and groundsmen were the only things that jolted her awake. They recognised the lady of the house and saluted her as she down the stairs.

Mrs. Barbara Ethel moved slowly down the flight of stairs, her eyes heavy, black rings had formed under them, and her eyelids were half open. She had just awoken.

“What's all the commotion about?” ” she inquired as she neared the bottom of the stairs.

“A trespasser, madam. One butler replied, "We found him trying to poison the guest, and Cecily managed to catch him before he escaped."

She finally entered the room and sat down on the couch. She repositioned her feet in the fluffy flip flops and started heading towards Cecily.

“Are you all OK, my dear?” “Did he injure you?” she inquired, reaching for Cecily's hands. ”

“No, auntie, I am fine,” Cecily said, a smile accompanying her remarks. “I recognise you,” Mrs. Ethel said, turning her gaze to Judy and giving her a long blank stare. Aren't you the lady reporter from the Inter-Kingdom News? ” She inquired, convinced that her suspicions were true.

“Indeed, lady. “My name is Judy Ben Mor,” she said, stretching out with her hand, expecting a handshake. Mrs. Ethel gave her a brief look before lightly shaking her hand. She eventually shifted her attention to the man seated in the middle of the room, bound to a chair.

“Couldn't you have chained him somewhere else?  You're destroying my carpet! ” She exclaimed, her hands flailing in disdain as she looked at the man.

“Butler!” She said. One of the butlers stepped closer to the lady, stomping his boots.

“Yes, ma'am! ” he exclaimed.

She took a seat next to the fireplace and said, "Get me my husband's rack of vials from the basement."

Judy began questioning herself, wondering why they had to call Cecily's aunt as the butler dashed away. She had had enough of her questions and decided to turn to Cecily for answers.

“Why did we have to call your aunt down here again? ” she inquired.

“Don't you know? I assumed you were a reporter who knew everything there was to know about us. “This is Barbara Ethel, my aunt,” Cecily explained.

When Judy heard the name, it brought up a lot of memories. She appeared to have a hazy recollection of the name. Cecily had had enough of waiting for her to figure things out and had decided to speak out for herself.

She said under her breath, “Barbara Ethel, the psychiatrist.”

Judy had finally remembered it. Barbara was a well-known psychiatrist who married a well-known detective from around the world. Barbara's family publicly refused to accept the wedding because her spouse, though being prominent and well-known, was not of Noble lineage. His family had always insisted that when one of their daughters married, she marry into another noble family, and despite the fact that this tradition had been followed for decades, Barbara decided to defy it since she had fallen in love with a man of no noble lineage.

She was quickly disowned by her family. And Judy could see why Barbara took Cecily in after her family expressed displeasure with her decision to withdraw from the trials. She had been in her shoes and knew exactly what she was going through.

Mrs. Ethel received the rack of vials that had been brought along by the butler.

“Bring him over here,” Mrs. Ethel snatched one of the bottles from the rack and ordered, "And take off the tape around his mouth." She stepped over to the man and uncorked it. She took a step back after placing a few drops on the man's tongue. The man began to stir and became increasingly afraid of the gathering that had collected around him.

Mrs. Ethel halted him just as he was about to exercise his lungs.

“You will not shout like a lunatic in my house!” She snatched another vial from the rack and muttered, "Quiet down." Before opening the stopper, she shook the blue liquid inside. Sparkles was startled awake by the ruckus and raised her head to see a man chained to a chair in front of her. Sparkles began growling at the man, occasionally barking, as she remembered the kick he gave her. She wasn't fully matured and was a Border Collie. Cecily rubbed her palm across Sparkles' back to soothe her down, and it appeared to work.

“Okay, all of you. Take a step back, you don't want to breath this unless you want all your secrets revealed,” she stated as she mixed chemicals in a vial containing the blue potion and another carrying a transparent liquid. She ran over to the man, shielding her nose with the end of her robe as the two liquids began to combine, causing a strong reaction and a cloud of blue sparkling smoke to emerge from the vial. The man tried his hardest, but he couldn't hold his breath forever, so he breathed the smoke and began shaking violently.

“You've just inhaled a truth serum that my spouse created. He isn't much of an alchemist, but this is his best work to yet. I'll ask you a question, and if you don't answer honestly, the serum will activate your nerves, leading you to experience excruciating pain! Do you get what I'm saying? ”

With hatred, the man returned the stare.

“Can you tell me your name? ” The man made a concerted effort to ignore Mrs. Ethel. Soon after, he was hit by a powerful surge of pain that only grew stronger. His body felt as if it were being slowly crushed by a hydraulic press. He was soon unable to take the discomfort and began yelling in agony. Mrs. Ethel was his last hope for relief, but she appeared unconcerned about his cries, so he ultimately gave in.

“Tomas!  My name is Tomas! ” he eventually said, the anguish dissipating as he sank back into his seat.

“Thomas? You only have one name?"  Mrs. Ethel made a remark. Mrs. Ethel felt convinced that he was telling the truth because the pain was not provoked.

“All right, Mr. Thomas. Now it's time for the tough questions. Who brought you here? And why? ” she inquired.

Thomas sensed the pain approaching and didn't want to experience it again.

He explained, "I was assigned here to spy on Lady Cecily." Sweat was flowing down his cheeks, and he was panting like a dog who had spent too much time racing in the field.

“By whom, exactly?” Mrs. Ethel inquired again.

Before responding, Thomas took his sweet time. The anguish inside him was erupting, and he didn't want to go through it again, so he spoke up.

“Mr. Starkridge! He was the one who dispatched me to observe her! “I finished talking and took a big gulp of fresh air,” he remarked.

Cecily and Judy approached him more closely.

“And why did you attempt to assassinate me?” Judy, clutching her purse, inquired.

“Isn't that self-evident?  “He doesn't want the world to know what happens behind the veil this kingdom keeps over his people,” Thomas cynically answered. " Things worse than Nelanian's tragedy have happened, and they've all been done in the name of the kingdom and to defend its people! “Thomas stated.

“So, are you the one who actually does these things? Mrs. Ethel inquired.

“I am just one of many agents who monitor this kingdom. And I've promised my life to Mr. Starkridge, because if you kill me, he'll find out, and you'll never be able to rest in this kingdom again. You'll be hunted like sheep till you're all six feet under,” he continued, his words firm.

“It appears that your allegiance is sworn to a dead man,"  Judy looked at her phone and stated, "I don't think a dead man's name will provide you safety from inside a grave."

“What exactly do you mean? Cecily inquired. The entire room's attention had been drawn to her.

“Mr. Starkridge is dead, according to my staff that I left behind in IAA. It appears that an assassin killed him while he was in his office,” she explained.

Thomas' eyes widened with surprise. “You think you can fool me?” he asked, laughing. ”

“Cecily, go to breaking news on your computer there and show him what I mean,” Judy said to Cecily.

Cecily took out her laptop and opened the lid. She frantically typed, then navigated through the pages, until landing on a news website that was live-streaming their footage from the school's gates.

“Horror has struck the school grounds. Mr. Starkridge, the school's director, was found deceased in his office, according to reports. When the tragedy hit, he was in his office, getting ready to fly to Sunset City. His assailant broke into the school and assaulted him in his office, eventually poisoning him and fleeing to the west side of the school's perimeter wall. The culprit was dressed in black and wore a mask, so witnesses were unable to recognise him; however, he was injured during their contact with the school director. Witnesses say he was injured, with a fractured left arm and a sprained right ankle, and police are on the lookout. Forensics are on the site, and blood samples will hopefully be recovered and examined in order to identify the offender. We'll be able to update you when more information becomes available, but...” Cecily paused the video and returned her gaze to Thomas.

“You no longer have a master. You have complete freedom. All you have to do is tell the authorities everything, and they will protect you. Nobody is going to harm you,”

Thomas seemed to be in a daze. “You people didn't seem to understand me the first time,” he said as he jerked back to reality, " They're everywhere, as I already stated. Even if you contact the cops, I won't make it to the station alive, and if I do, I won't make it through the night. So, please, I am free. Just let me go, and I guarantee you won't see me again!”

“It's too late; I've already contacted the authorities. Mrs. Ethel responded, "They're on their way."

“Then you can kill me since you've already condemned me to death,” he added.

Judy and Cecily exchanged awkward looks. Mrs. Ethel stood up and told one of the butlers to take the rack of vials down to the basement. She returned upstairs and went back to sleep.

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION

“No, you are lying!” Nelanian said, trying hard to bottle his emotions.

The sinister voice was deafeningly silent. Nelanian was on the verge of crying, but he worked hard to keep his emotions in check.

He said again, "Did you instruct me to kill Rhaizen Gale?"

“As I already stated, that was the very first name on my list. I am death list. I have the names of the people you're supposed to assassinate, and...”

“Enough already! That is something I am aware of. What is the purpose of this list? Did you come up with the names on your own?” Nelanian inquired. He had a hunch he had asked about it, but he couldn't recall. Maybe he really did want his memory to be wiped.

“Other Watchers have given me the names. I'm also the one who chooses the names. You also have the option of adding names to the List, but you will not be the one to carry out the assassinations. This is simply a backup plan if you aren't on the same level as your opponent or if you're too weak or damaged to defeat him. You can only use this failsafe thirteen times,” 

“And how many times have I used it?”

“Only once,” 

Nelanian suspected he had used it to assassinate his own master. He couldn't deal with the guilt, so he went back to the voice and asked, "And who erased my memory?"

“It was me who erased your memories on your command,” 

“After this encounter, I want you to erase my memory again,” 

“I'd like to remind you that you only have thirteen chances to request a memory wipe,” 

“How many have I used so far?”

“Three,”

“Then erase it after this meeting is finished,” Nelanian said after a little pause.

“Very well then,”

Nelanian was all set. He felt a massive rush of manna engulf him, and he was light on his feet. He knew it was the Watchers' power working against him. But he needed to be certain about the question that was plaguing him, and while he knew he was about to have his memories erased, he decided to ask it anyway: “Wait. I'd want to ask one last inquiry. You mentioned that if I wasn't powerful enough to assassinate someone myself, I may make a request to have him killed. You also stated that I had used up one of those requests.  Who did I use it on?”

“You placed your request on Rhaizen Gale!” said the voice after a little pause.

Despite the fact that the voice confirmed what he had suspected all along, he took careful to double-check.