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“Milaird,” the first guard addressed him.
“I had an unexpected delay. Did you check the house? Is someone inside?”
"Based onour information, Thelma had a daughter, and she should be inside the house right now. But we have notheard or seen any movement," the second guard explained. He silently hoped that the daughter would be present so that they could get some answers. The absence of the daughter could only mean one thing: there was hostility toward the family, and some secrets were undoubtedly lurking beneath the shadows.
“Let’s go inside,” Ronin said and briskly walked towards the door; the guards following behind him. He knocked on it lightly.
There were no sounds from inside, so Ronin knocked again, a little louder this time. There was no response once more, and hefelt as if all of his worst fears had come true. He had a queasy feeling about the situation. He finally decided to kick the door open because it was obvious that no one was inside, and if they were, they were no longer capable of opening the door.
“Should we break it?” another guard asked.
“Yes,” Ronin nodded.
Ronin was the first to enter, and his eyes widened. The entire house was in shambles, as if someone had torn it apart in search of something. When they entered the living room, they discovered that every single shelf and drawer had been thrown open, and all books and papers had been scattered around. Someone had come before them, and whoever it was, there wassomething they desired.
“I’ll check the other rooms,” Ronin said and turned towards the corridor. There were two small bedchambers in this small cottage. Ronin went through both and noticed that they had also been thoroughly searched. He continued to wonder what they were looking for, but his mind provided no answers.
All he knew was that Thelma, like several other women in the clan, was a healer and a midwife. She was not affluentso she lacked wealth. Ronin had no idea what secrets she might be hiding behind these walls, secrets that someone knew. He also knew whoever was after her was a formidable foe. He needed to find out who was behind this because he was certain that whatever was going on would hit close to home.
He stood in the second bedroom, which he assumed belonged to Thelma's daughter, wondering where she was. All of his fears led him to believe only one thing: she was dead. But he didn't want to believe it just yet. He wanted her to be alive so she could help him solve the mystery. He had no doubt that whatever had occurred in this house had been carried out by the same person. If Ronin could discoverwhat the killer wanted, solving the case would be much easier.
“Milaird!” Ronin immediately turned as he heard the first guard call out his name from below. He exited the room quickly. The living room, to his surprise, was empty. He entered the hallway and noticed a small back door that probably led to the yard. Ronin moved in that direction and noticed three guards standing, their gaze fixed on something in front of them.
“What is the matter?” he questioned hesitantly and followed their gaze. In front of him was a well-kept yard filled with various herbs and flowers. A rectangular spot had recently been dug in the middle of it, where grass should have been growing in its lush green exuberance. When Ronin realized what it was, he felt a wave of shock run through his body. He had no doubt that it was a grave. One that had only recently been dug.
He continued walking and noticed a few flowers accumulated onthe slightly wet sand. The guards quickly followed suit, gathering whatever tools they could find to move the dirt. They all dug for a few minutes until the mud was finally removed, revealing a young girl's body inside. Ronin recognized Thelma's daughter. All of his fears had come true.
“This can’t be happening,” he whispered and backed away from the grave slowly. He knew that if word of this spread, it would only cause trouble among the people and spread more fear. Ronin could not let that happen. His people were already suffering far too much, and he would not allow them to suffer any further.
“What should we do, milaird?” the second guard asked. Ronin knew he needed to make a rational decision.
“Bury her again, first of all,” Ronin nodded towards the body, and they worked to make a more proper grave. Ronin made certain that the ground was flat and deep. When the grave was finished, they set the shovels aside and returned to the cottage. "Right now, the most important thing is to understand that this news must not leave this cottage.Only the four of us should know about this. The clan's members are already concerned, and I don't want to add to their fears. The perpetrator was clearly looking for something specific, so this was not by chance."
“Ye are right, milaird. We won’t tell anyone. What about the lairdess?” the first guard reasoned.
“I will tell mother myself. I simply want you to ensureno one finds out about this. We will conceal thisfor as long as possible, or at least until we find the murderer," Ronin replied. The exhaustion of the day had worn him down, and discovering the body had made his mood even worse. He knew he had to find a way out, and he only had one person in his life who could make him forget about every single problem that arose.
“Of course,” the guard nodded. Ronin realized it was time to depart — hecouldn't stand being in that cottage any longer. Whatever the murderer was looking for had already been found.
"You should all go back to your homes. Wemeet tomorrow and decide what to do next," Ronin said before quietly exiting through the main gate.
He sat atop his horse, watching as the guards followed suit. Heknew he had to see Edna right away or risk losing his mind. The events were weighing heavily on his mind, and he needed to tell someone he trusted with all his heart, or else the situation would bring him down even more than it already was. He watched as the guards vanished into the woods, their cottages located on the opposite end of the castle.
Ronin moved slowly and silently through the deserted forests into the night. All he could think about was what the murderer needed so desperatelythat he killed two innocent people to get it. He couldn't understand how someone could be so heartless, so callous. He could never have predicted that he would be confronted with such a vexing and heinous situation so shortly after returning home. He needed to get this resolved as soon as possible or else things would worsen, and he couldn't bear the thought of any more murders.
When he got close to Edna's house, the thought of being with her filtered out everything else in his mind. For him, her presence defied logic, and he felt as if the world had been restored. She was his heaven in a world that was spinning out of control and dragging everything with it. He needed her to steady him right now. He dismounted his horse and tied the beautiful chestnut mare to a nearby tree, keeping her hidden from onlookers.
“Edna, please be awake,” he whispered as he picked up multiple small pebbles from the ground and stationed himself outside her window. He threw the smallest pebble he could find in order to avoid alerting the neighbors or waking up hermother.He threw another pebble when there was no reaction, and he thought he heard it hit something inside the bedchamber. Soon after, a displeased Edna emerged from the window, clearly awake from a deep sleep.
It took her two seconds to register the scene, but her eyes opened as soon as she saw Ronin waving his hands at her from below.
“Come up,” she whispered and motioned with her hands so he would understand what she was saying. Ronin initially wondered how to climb up, but sheappeared with a small cloth rope and threw it to the ground. Hegripped it tightly and carefully climbed up. He finally made it to the window and entered the room quietly, fearful of knocking anything over.
“Edna,” he whispered before moving forward and enclosing her in a hug. She returned his hug, and they remained in that position for some time. With Edna so close by, hefelt as if his entire world was finally returning to normal, and nothing could go wrong.
"Are yealright?" she muttered as soon as they parted. Ronin gave her a sad smile before picking her up in his arms and carrying her to her bed. He laid down beside her on the soft bedding, still holding her hand. “Ronin?”
“Yes, love?”
