My name is Tris.
My family lives in the capital city Tido. Cool right?
Well, we live in a small house, but still, we used to live in a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig mansion.
I'm not lying you know! My dad used to be the Chief Constable too! He was a big shot!
Well, he is longer one, which is also why we moved to this new house. Lilla was crying because she had to sell many of her favourite toys too.
I don't want Lilla to cry. Which was why I tried to ask if selling mine instead of hers was alright.
But daddy and mommy said my toys are not worth enough.
I'm sorry Lilla, your big brother tried.
I'll spoil you extra hard from now on.
And when I get old enough, I'll make sure to get all the money to buy back your favourite toys.
So why am I awake so late at night? To go to the washroom of course!
Nature calls! And I will gladly answer!
"...SHUT UP! IF YOU DON'T I'LL..."
"...NO!!!!...BR...ER...SA...ME!"
Hm? What's that noise?
It's coming from... Lilla's room?!
Is there something wrong?
I creep towards her room to take a look.
The door is slightly ajar. I peek inside.
Oh. It's just dad.
...?
Why is he holding Lilla down?!
Wait a second...
Lilla is...crying?!
Is daddy bullying her? I'll save you Lilla!
Pushing open the door, I charged in.
Bashing daddy off Lilla, I quickly hugged her and pulled her aside into a corner of the room.
"It's ok now Lilla, big brother is here... It's all ok now..."
I tried to comfort her. She won't stop crying though. Is it because she is not wearing clothes and feeling cold?
I took off my shirt and helped Lilla wear it. It's a little big, but it will do. I also hug her tighter so I can share some of my warmth with her.
I can feel a little wetness on my lap. Poor Lilla. She's so scared she wet herself. I'll help her change into another pair of pants later.
Suddenly, a loud noise can be hurt. It's the door slamming shut.
"You...You dare to resist?! You have been pretty disobedient recently...Is it because that bitch told you something?! She told you something didn't she?!"
Dad suddenly flared up and charged towards us.
Is this another one of his outbursts? Is he going to hit us now?
...
Recently, dad has been raging a lot.
Even mom has been fighting with him.
"You need to stop gambling! Our finances are already really tight!! Can you at least think of the children?!"
"What do you know about it?! I just need a bit more money... Just a bit more and I can earn back everything I've lost!!"
"You won't! Please...just stop before our debts go any higher!"
"Hmph! You are one to talk! Where were you, disappearing the whole day then bringing back suspicious amounts of money?!"
"I...I've been working...for you!"
"If you have been working, why won't you tell me?!"
"Its not...I just wanted to help you..."
Lilla didn't want them to fight, so she decided to speak up for mom.
"Daddy, you shouldn't scold mom! That's being mean!"
"...You dare talk back at me too?!"
As a result, everytime he gets angry, he hits Lilla or mom.
...
Thinking this, I told Lilla to stay put and stood up.
"Dad, you shouldn't do this! Don't you love us? You used to say that you loved us a lot!"
"HAHAHAHA...LOVE? I'LL SHOW YOU LOVE THEN!"
I was pushed aside.
...What's dad planning to do?
"Since you are that bastard's children...I'll just ruin you!"
While saying that, dad grabbed the shivering Lilla and threw her onto the bed.
Is he going to spank her? No! I have to stop this!
"Dad, no! You've changed! You were so cheery and so awesome before! What happened to the old you?!"
"The old me? THE OLD ME?! Hahahaha...what a joke! You think I wanted this to happen?! It's all your mother's fault!!"
I tried to push daddy away, but he overwhelms me with strength and knocks me to the walls while still holding Lilla down.
I can see Lilla in the corner of my vision. She is shivering, still crying.
"Lilla... It's ok, big brother is here with you!"
I talked to her to calm her down while dad seemed to be doing something.
"...hic...big brother...hic...no..."
I can't move my body! It hurts!
"Shh... It's fine Lilla. It's all fine..."
"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
* * *
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
W-what...was...
Was that...my memories...?!
My head...ARGH...
That...wasn't real...right?
...
No. It definitely felt real.
I have to get my bearings here. Calm...down.
Caaaaaaalm.
Dooooown.
Calm.
Freaking out isn't going to change what happened. For now, I need to accept it for what it is.
...no matter how bad it seems.
Let's...analyse what happened.
I was lead here...by myself.
Some kind of flashbacks appeared in my head just now... Stuff that I don't want to remember.
The amount of tiredness I feel everyday... The observations by others...
Does it mean I have two personalities?!
My current self that is active during the day, and another me who comes alive during the time that I'm "sleeping".
Doesn't that make "me" another suspect?!
...I need to rethink everything I've learnt to far.
* * *
Tris isn't normal today.
He seems to be at odds with himself, and his eyes are bloodshot. Not to mention his clothes...
And yet, I can't do anything to help...
Am I just a burden again, just like that time...?
"Tris, are you ok?"
Trying to find out what's wrong, I asked Tris.
He didn't respond.
"TRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!" I shouted as loudly as possible.
His shoulders shook as he seemingly woke up from a trance.
"Why are you still in your sleepwear anyways? Is something wrong?"
Hmph. How dare he ignore me.
"Ah, nono. Nothing's wrong. I'll go change my clothes now, wait for me Eta!"
Stupid Tris.
...
"So what did you figure out so far? You seemed to be deep in thought so you must have found something out right?" I asked Tris.
"Well, yes. I did figure certain things out, but I need to be sure. Let's go check out that couple again." Tris answered with a doubting voice.
Is everything really alright?
Well, asking him again is just going to produce the same answer, it's just how it's always been. I'll just let the matter rest for now.
...
We've arrived at the shop that they live in. Seems like a typical live-in shop with the living quarters at the back and the front of the building being the shopfront.
...just like any other merchant's house.
While on the way, we seem to have passed by a woman who seemed to look like Tris, but he was too deep in thought to have noticed. I wonder who that is?
Well, we headed in after calling out and getting no response. The couple is probably not home?
Grr...just thinking about what the two might be doing right now angers me.
I decided to let out my anger on Tris as usual.
We entered their living quarters while Tris was rubbing his back and muttering something like "crude princess". Hmph. Seems like I need to teach him another lesson.
Dragging him by his ears, we checked the place out.
Something caught my eyes. A ring!
"Tris, look at that!" Haha! I found something before Tris did!
"Oh, that ring? Yea, I saw that the moment we came in."
Stupid Tris.
Tris picked up and ring and stared at it for a bit. Is there something special on it? I don't think I can see anything...
Suddenly, his head shot up as if he realised something big. You hit my head, stupid Tris!!
"We have to go find Duke Douglas right now!"
* * *
Douglas Shine. My uncle and a womaniser to the core. With his good looks and his status as a Royalty, he gets many women to kneel before his prowess.
Detestable.
If he wasn't a royalty, the exposure of his many affairs with others' partners would have gotten him a death sentence by now.
His mansion is about the only thing he has left, since he lost all his land for his crimes.
Tris and I reached the mansion at about noon.
After getting the guard to report to the duke about our arrival, we were escorted in.
I feel very uneasy.
...
"What do you want with me?" The man himself greeted us while seated behind a large table.
We sat down on the sofa provided and I just let Tris do his thing.
"Let's just get straight to the point then, Duke Douglas. Can you tell us more about..."
...
"Eta, I'm sorry for everything up till now, I'm going to have to leave you now."
"No!"
Hm?
Wait. Huh? We are still in the Duke's mansion?
Duke Douglas stared at me bewilderedly. Taking a look beside me, Tris also looks shocked.
"Oops. I...guess I fell asleep?"
* * *
"Have they finally left?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Alright. It's time to put the plan into action then. Call the duo up, I have a new task for them."
"The duo, my lord? But Her Highness is-"
"I know what it means. Just do it."
"...yes, my lord."
Eta Shine. Don't blame me for this.
* * *
Target: A police detective and a princess.
Current location: A certain apartment building.
This mission is a piece of cake. Killing royalty should be hard since the Royal Guards are present, but for some reason this princess seems to have chased away all her guards.
Well, at least that's what Karen told me.
Still, it's still best to remain cautious.
"Karen, go check and see if any Royal Guards is secretly hiding nearby. If there is..."
"I got it, sis."
...
"Kerrie, all clear. We can carry out the mission now."
"Mhm. Make it fast. The money we can get from this job should be enough."
Let's go! This shall be the last mission us sisters ever have to take up!
* * *
"Alright, I think I have this whole case sorted out now."
I stopped Eta.
My doubts were cleared after the chat with Duke. The voices in my head thinking that I could have been the killer were cleared as well.
Phew. Feels much better now that the load is off my shoulders!
I brought Eta to this building here so we could discuss about our next move without anyone watching us.
It's finally time to close the case.
Eta seems really confused as usual, I suppose?
Ouch! Why did she punch me?
"Tell me what's going on, now!" She puffed up her cheeks and demanded.
"Wel-Get back!"
I sensed killing intent.
"Oh? it seems that we have been found out."
2 dark figures stepped out from the shadows. From the voice and their body shapes, they seem to be two female assassins. Hm...
"The Flower Duo? Seems like the Duke has made his move."
The assassins don't seem the least perturbed by my deduction. Is this what professionals are like?
"Less talking, more killing. Let's go, Kerrie!"
"Sure thing, sis! I'll leave that princess to you!"
Both of them suddenly sprinted towards us.
...Is this the end?
...
Warm and sticky feelings on my fingers.
But...the one in my grasps is...Eta.
A knife is protruding from her back.
This...can't be happening!
T...AH...AHHHH...
...
When I woke up again, Eta was clutched in my arms in a literal princess hug, while the two assassins lay in a heap in front of us, unconscious.
What even happened?
Well, that's not important right now!! I can still feel blood dripping from Eta's wound, I have to get her to the Royal Guards quick!
* * *
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