“All we’re asking from everyone present is a demonstration of their spatial abilities or artefacts,” said Cassandra. The Knight’s words were unhurried, her subtle gestures smooth and flowing. “The eyewitnesses of the events last night will point out if there’s a similarity between your abilities and the one the killer used.”

Someone else stood up. It was the middle-aged man from House Aquitaine, the one Cassandra referred to as Lord Aquitaine. “Naturally, just because you were pointed out doesn’t mean that you’re guilty. I’m here to prevent some erstwhile allies from framing innocents.”

He glared at Cassandra, who ignored the man’s scathing glare to conduct her briefing. She looked around at the small group, and pointed at Gaius. “Gaius, you’re up.”

The boy got up, which immediately drew a harsh bark of laughter from Lord Aquitaine. “You even got a small boy for this trial? Look, if he’s the killer, I’ll also betroth my daughter to him, because why not? Have some sense of shame in picking your suspects, at least!”

Thanks, Lord Aquitaine, but I’m too young to marry. Gaius made sure to blush accordingly, like a child who was suddenly confronted with an embarrassing declaration, which drew even more mockery from the enraged man. Cassandra glanced at the boy, and then glanced back at the man again with a hint of helplessness on her face.

“I’ll be demonstrating my ability, then,” said Gaius. Lord Aquitaine paused his unceasing stream of insults, and looked at the boy, a hint of interest on his face. Gaius rubbed his hands as he focused onto the Astral Wind. This time, less than a second passed, before the strings that exuded out of him appeared in his mind.

The boy paused for a moment. Something had indeed changed. The strings were livelier and more vibrant than before, and Gaius had the feeling that he could create a teleportation marker a lot further than he was used to. Resisting the urge to do so, he tied a knot in one of the strings flowing out of him, and didn’t resist as the newly-formed marker pulled him over.

Reappearing five metres away from his start point, Gaius looked at the crowd. Coupled with his small stature, no one even bothered to raise any hint of suspicion, and Cassandra motioned for Gaius to take a seat beside her. His plan had gone well, and unless there was some poor sod who happened to teleport with the same visuals as an optical illusion being dispelled, this investigation was likely to go nowhere.

“Boy.” Lord Aquitaine looked at Gaius. “You’re talented. Would you like a position in my House? We’re always looking for geniuses like you.”

Gaius hadn’t even gotten around to processing a reply when Cassandra cut in. “Lord Aquitaine, I must strongly protest against the poaching of people from another House. You’ll get us into hot water at this pace.”

The man turned his face to Cassandra, snorted once in disdain, and then turned back to Gaius. “Well, as expected, you’re obviously not any ordinary child. Regardless, if you are driven out or want to join one of the largest Houses, our doors are always open to you.”

“The same goes for House Varita too,” Cassandra added hastily.

Gaius could only chuckle wordlessly at these invitations, but the boy wondered for a moment about their reactions if they learnt that Gaius wasn’t affiliated with any House whatsoever. A more forceful approach was definitely on the cards, although if there were two Houses present, enticing him with promises of power was more likely to happen.

Demonstrations of everyone’s ability or artefact concluded swiftly. Cassandra’s face had grown darker with every candidate that was cleared — no one from the audience could had pointed out any suspect at all from this group. A good number of those she’d called in vanished by rippling out of existence, while the rest simply disappeared from one spot to reappear in another.

“Either you’re not in the know, or you’re truly a great actor. And well, I’ve lived long enough that the latter isn’t going to fool me either.” said Lord Aquitaine. His face softened somewhat as he looked at Cassandra. “I understand that there’s many factions in your House too, but I need an explanation. My son died at the hands of someone affiliated with House Varita. I am sure of this now.”

The boy found it amusing that the utter lack of suspects had softened the man’s stance towards Cassandra, while the others pricked up their ears as more juicy gossip permeated the air.

The Knight took a deep breath. “Lord Aquitaine. I give you my word that neither me or mine have anything to do with this incident whatsoever. It is, however, possible that my…relatives have something to do with this incident.”

“I’ll reflect that when I publicise the news about the murders here.” Lord Aquitaine shook his head, and continued speaking before the Knight could raise an objection. “I’m sorry, but I cannot in good faith hide this news or delay its dissemination to the other Houses.”

Cassandra’s face twisted slightly, as though as she had bitten into a bitter pill. “I understand. Thank you so much for your understanding.”

“Likewise, please forgive me if you took my words as insults intended for you,” said Lord Aquitaine. He clenched his fist. “However, this apology does not extend to the other factions of House Varita. It is on a personal level. That said, please do tell your superiors that murdering the scions of other Houses aren’t going to get them new allies anytime soon.”

“Of course.”

“The Lords of House Aquitaine will pay a visit to the city of Lodium soon enough. We’ll be expecting an explanation there. Maybe others too.”

Cassandra trembled lightly, and then inclined her head. “I will make sure to include that in my report to my superiors.”

“See that you do.” Lord Aquitaine got up from his seat, and motioned at his personal guards to follow him. He paused at the door. “Knight Cassandra, I have noted your willingness to cooperate with me in this investigation, and I trust that you’ll be able to investigate the deputy city lords in a satisfactory manner without my presence. I’ll be taking my leave first.”

The middle-aged man sighed, and for a moment, he looked far older than usual to Gaius. The double doors opened, and flanked by his guards, he left the mansion entirely.

The Knight looked at the crowd of witnesses and cleared suspects, and sighed as well. “You guys are free to go, but before that, please take a token of my appreciation for cooperating with us.”

She snapped a finger, and maidservants bearing small bags walked in. All of them contained gold coins, which didn’t really matter to the boy, but he took it anyway.

After a few more words about being careful — there were probably some deeper political implications to her words — everyone was free to go. Gaius immersed himself into the Astral Wind again, before teleporting back to his room in the Merry Cats.

Nexus toppled out from his clothes. “Did you feel that?”

Gaius forced out a laugh, and waited for the sculpture to explain.