Chapter 165 - 165 Finding the real culprit (Part 4)

165 Finding the real culprit (Part 4)

“What’s this?” Justice said to the others. He pointed at the piece of fabric in his hand of Hector. Xavier retrieved the fabric carefully from the deceased and handed it to Justice. “Strange, I know this fabric, but where?”

Vale warned Justice by giving him a glass jar. “Better keep it for now. We need to take these poor people back to the capital.”

“You’ll go back with your team, let the knight and the huntsman stay at the encampment with me, we are going to hasten the process and when the sick people are getting better, we could all go back to the capital, hopefully in a few days,” Justice commanded Vale, while he looks at Henry and Xavier who were going around helping to collect more evidence and clues.

Vale agreed with him. “Justice, it is probably best if we kept this a secret for a few days until you go back. We don’t want to alert the culprit.”

“What? what do you mean?” Justice looked at his friend, baffled by his request.

Looking around the area, Vale explained everything by whispering to Justice, “Whoever the culprit was, this was probably have something to do with the founding of the cure and also the news about the misinformation of the new variant.”

“You’re right, probably it will be best if you use some cloaking spell for the bodies,” Whispered Justice back to Vale. “Can we trust your team, then?”

“I will make sure they shut their mouth, don’t worry.” Said Vale while he gathered the mages in preparation to be discreetly back to the capital.

“Oh, and Vale, one more thing.” Justice called him before he goes away with Henry and Xavier, “Please treat their body with the utmost respect manner.”

.....

“Of course, stay safe, my friend.” He said to Justice while he look at him riding away with Henry and Xavier.

“Primary captain, are you sure we are going to be safe doing this on our own?” Even Brom wasn’t convinced that the mage group alone can handle this situation.

“Don’t worry Brom, we are going to be discreet, you heard me earlier, right?” Said Vale to his former subordinate. He stared at Brom and saw him get distraught a little. Even the people like Brom could be quite disturbed by this scene, “By the way, how many teams that we have here?” He asked Brom, calculating the best way to transport the death while not making it so obvious.

“There are three teams, including mine, something that you want to share?” Asked Brom curiously.

Let out a sigh, he smile and patted Brom’s back, “You know, Brom, sometimes you don’t even know the situation where you should be a bit appropriate to your superior, and this is one of them.”

Brom was in shock, “I… I am sorry, primary captain, I don’t mean to…”

“No worries, I need to warn you about this because not everyone would treat you like me and my best friends were. You were lucky that there was no one else in that tent.” Said Vale with a hiss. Henry told him about Brom’s reckless behavior in front of Justice.

Remembering his brash behavior in Justice’s tent, Brom finally realized that Vale was trying to warn him about his rank in front of the royalty. “Understood, primary captain. I will keep that in mind.”

He grabbed Brom’s shoulder and smile at him. They walked back to the crime scene, handling the dead bodies with the utmost care, and planning their secret entrance to the capital. Meanwhile, after the exhausting journey back to the encampment, Henry was rushing to go back to the tower, trying to enforce another lockdown.

“Are you sure that is wise, Justice?” Xavier looks into the encampment, concerned by the crown prince’s plan.

Justice gave him a nervous look. “I don’t know, but this is the best we can do for now. We need to be discreet, so the culprit would think that everything was going smoothly for them.”

“Why?! We should chase them as fast as we could, I’m a good tracker, you know.” Xavier looks so frustrated by it.

“It will be a futile effort, Xavier, they will be long gone, and trust me, they were not the real culprit.” Justice tried to remain calm while the two of them walk to the healer’s tent.

“Fine! I trust you right now. Hopefully, your instinct wasn’t wrong.” Gruntled, Xavier while he walked inside the healer’s tent.

Inside the tent, there were healers who tried to get some rest and there was Nathan, Anne, and Leo, sitting on the other end, probably waiting for any news. When Justice and Xavier enter the tent, the three of them stand up in unison. Their faces were pale, and they look disheveled.

“Anne, do not tell me that you don’t get some rest?” When Justice looked at her, he tried to get closer, but the healer retreated, trying not to be so close to him.

“I’m fine, your majesty, we got some ample amount of rest.” She awkwardly smiled at him.

Xavier look between the two of them, “Shall we continue here, your majesty?”

“Ah, yes, my apology. Let us all be comfortable now.” He tried to smile after his rejection from Anne, but it failed to reach his eyes. He was hurt by her treatment.

The three healers were sitting on the large sofa, while the crown prince getting comfy in another set of sofa in front of them, Xavier saw a caftea pot and asked one healer to brew some for them, the long journey already takes some toll on their body. Anne saw their tired faces and put two tonics on the table.

“Please, drink these, it will be good for your body.” Said, Anne.

Xavier drinks the tonic and gratefully smiles at Anne.

On the other hand, Justice, who was still hurt by Anne’s rejection earlier, ignored her offer and begin to explain the situation. “We found all of them, and the mages are going to bring them back to the capital.”

Nathan was crying, and Leo even need to console him, while Anne asked them more questions, “What should we do now?”

Justice and Xavier never expected Anne to ask such a question. “For now, we need to make sure that the patients could get better soon, so we could go back as soon as possible. Also, we are going to keep quiet about the incident.”

She understand the procedure and gave them some reassurance, “Don’t worry, because we already know what we are dealing with here. In two days, even the critical patient will be able to sit comfortably on the carriage.” Informed Anne, the two of them.

“Good, now, it’s best for all of you to tend to the patients. Let us handle the investigation.” Said Justice before he excused himself.

Anne watched the two of them go out of the tent, behind her, Nathan finally calm himself and asked her for the next shifts.

“It would be me and Leo.” Said, Anne.

Nathan cleared his throat and take a deep breath. “Good, the two of you should take a breather now.”

“Excuse me, senior Nathan.” One healer came to them with a sheet for Nathan to check.

Nathan read it and asked the healer, “So, two healers were going back to their village before the group goes to the capital?”

“Yes, they were in a hurry to go back. Cassius’ village was in need of more healers, to prevent the moskeet fever, and Rosi also went back after she saw Cassius.”

Nathan then curious, “What was her reasoned?” The healer panicking, admitted to Nathan that he never asked her reason to go back as soon as the gate was open. Nathan tried to smile at him and warned him to be careful next time. “we lost two healers on the incident, please. If any of them wanted to go back, tell them to come to me.”

Excused himself by Nathan, the healer tried to go away as soon as possible, but before he go back to his duty, Anne grab his arm and asked him, “Which gate Rosi took to go back to her village?”

The healer was confused by her question, but still answered her question. “She was getting out by the west gate.”

Anne’s eyes grew wide. “Are you sure?” She asked him again.

“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes.”

“Oh, no…” She rushed to the outside of the tent, ignoring Nathan and Leo, who called her.

She goes straight to Justice’s tent. When she walked inside, Justice, Henry, and Xavier were discussing something on the war table.

“Anne? What is the matter?” Justice, who saw her first, asked her and was curious about her sudden appearance.

“It was Rosi. She was the one who caused this to happen.” Shouted Anne to everyone.