Chapter 16 THE DEEPENED INTERROGATION
Lysander, the Royal Investigator, stepped forward cautiously. His boots echoed across the floor, each tap sharpening the tension. The council members, ministers, advisers and nobles held their breath waiting.
The Queen sat stiffly beside the King’s empty chair. Adrian stood nearby with his jaw clenched. Athalia maintained her position behind the Queen with her face calm and eyes unreadable.
The truth was within reach, or so everyone believed.
“Prince Eric,” Lysander said evenly, his tone steady, "Who was it?”
Eric’s eyes did not blink. They stared forward at nothing. His voice emerged in a soft, flat tone.
“A man.”
Lysander exchanged a brief glance with the chief adviser and the council members shifted uneasily.
"Is he here?" The Chief Adviser said.
Adrian frowned deeply. “Did the man interact with you?”
Eric nodded faintly. “Yes.”
“What did he say? How did he interact with you?” Adrian pressed.
Eric’s head inclinated slowly. “He… sprayed something I inhaled.”
The ministers stiffened.
Lysander’s pulse quickened. He moved a step closer. “What did he spray?”
“A fragrance.”
The hall exhaled in unison. The cursed fragrance. The one used on Talen. The one that had the power to hypnotize a man beyond his will.
"He must be talking about Talen." A minister said.
"Yes,Yes." Another said.
The Chief Adviser calmed the hall.
Lysander steadied his voice. “Then what did he do?”
“He gave me… a knife.”
The Queen lowered her head. Adrian shut his eyes briefly. Lysander took a breath.
“And after he gave you the knife?”
“I turned toward the King. But then another man came to me and tried to stop me.” Eric said.
“Another? Who? What did this man look like?” Lysander asked.
Eric’s head tilted slightly, as if searching through fog. “His face… was covered.”
A ripple of disappointment crossed the room as ministers exchanged murmurs.
One of them whispered, “Another masked accomplice?”
Another: “Or he’s too far gone to recall.”
Athalia simply listened. The rhythm of the interrogation suited her.
“Let them dig in the wrong direction. Let the truth remain scattered.” She thought.
Lysander continued. “What do you mean by he stopped you? Did this man attack you?”
Eric’s brows tightened faintly. “No. He… tried to stop me.”
“Stop you from what?” The Chief Adviser thundered.
“From hurting the King.”
The Queen gasped softly, though she had already accepted fragments of this truth. Hearing it spoken aloud still cut through her.
One minister muttered, “So he admits it.”
Adrian stepped forward. “So he tried to protect Father?”
“Yes.”
The room fell still again. Even Athalia shifted slightly but not enough to reveal anything, yet enough to show she was tracking every word.
Lysander pressed, “Let's not jump to conclusions yet. He didn't admit hurting the king. He tried to.”
Another countered, “He was hypnotized. He didn’t know what he was doing.”
The chief adviser raised a hand for silence.
Lysander resumed. “Did you know the man?”
“No.”
“Did he say anything?” Lysander asked.
“No. He just struggled, I injured him and then he left” He said.
“How did he get hurt?”
There was a pause which was a long one. Eric’s breath grew shallower, as though the memory resisted clarity.
“I… pushed him. He fell against the pillar and his arm was cut.”
Lysander nodded slowly. It aligned with the blood they had found near the west wing corridor.
Adrian took a step closer. “Do you perhaps know why he left? Why didn’t he stay to defend the King anymore or call out to someone?”
Eric’s voice thickened. “It seems he saw… someone.”
“Who?” Lysander asked.
Eric’s eyes shifted upward, as though recalling the vantage point. “Someone on the tower.”
The hall grew restless. Ministers leaned in and eyes widened.
“The tower?” Lysander repeated. “Which one?”
“The west tower.”
Even before murmurs rose, Athalia’s hand curled at her side in a fleeting, controlled and invisible way to most. But the truth was unveiling exactly to the edge she allowed and not further.
Lysander cleared his throat. “What did this man on the tower do?”
Eric paused again. Silence stretched long enough to make the Queen grip the edge of her seat.
“He… watched. He was probably a guard on watch.”
Watched what?”
“Isn't he talking about the eye witness on the tower that was killed.” One of ministers said abruptly.
The council members shifted uneasily. It began to make sense. Watching for the guard implied knowledge. And that knowledge implied involvement.
“No wonder they took him out.” The Chief adviser said.
“But why? Why did the man see the guard and flee?” Adrain asked. “I mean he was performing a good deed!”
Eric’s answer held a faint echo of fear even in hypnosis. “Because… he was not supposed to be seen.”
Lysander stepped back thoughtfully. The chief adviser signaled the guards to stand alert. The council whispered among themselves.
“Then the King was lying in my arms. Lifeless. The knife slipped from my hand and fell to the floor.” He said
Lysander’s voice remained steady. “Talen never talked about another man. Could it be that he didn't see him”
Lysander took a step back, considering his next question.
Lysander cleared his throat. “Prince Eric… this man who tried to stop you, did he speak to you at all?”
Eric shook his head slowly. “No.”
“Did you ever see his face behind the mask?”
“It was fully covered.” Eric said.
“Do you remember his clothes, his height and anything that could identify him?”
Eric’s voice flattened again. “He had a mark on his forearm and it was not… from the palace.”
A collective gasp spread. Ministers exchanged alarmed glances. If he wasn’t from the palace, they assumed he must have been an intruder or worse, an external enemy.
Only the Queen knew the truth behind those words but even she did not know the entire picture.
Athalia watched Queen Elizabeth's reaction carefully, storing every detail. She had predicted that Eric might recall fragments of everyone he encountered. But she had also ensured the tower guard’s involvement would keep the story twisted and confusing for confusion served her well.
One minister whispered, “An assassin.”
Another muttered, “A conspirator.”
The chief adviser straightened. “This confirms it. Someone orchestrated the King’s attack using multiple agents.”
Lysander did not disagree. “Prince Eric was probably used as a weapon. But we shouldn't be too sure. The mind behind this… remains hidden.”
“Also if he wanted to harm the king, why will he protect Prince Eric from hurting him?.” Lysander said.
The Ministers exchanged glances in acknowledgement.
Athalia lowered her gaze humbly, masking her amusement. Although she didn't know about the masked man who was trying to stop prince Eric, the nervousness of the queen made her suspicious.
“Prince Eric,” he said again, “after the knife fell, what happened next?”