Rumour has it Mlle. Harri got caught sneaking out of the dorm at midnight. The school said Mlle. Harri has not been paying her school fees, and they found several sachets of opium in her bedside drawers.

Trouble's coming.

Eh, that's all? Mme. Antonnia catches Marriette baking when she's supposed to be studying, and she gets hit by a baking tray, but Harriette gets reported to be smoking opium, and all she gets is a "don't you ever do that again"???

M. Louis, do something!!!

Today, Mademoiselle Harriette was seen drinking with some guy in Hoxwell Classic Bar and Restaurant. Madame Antonnia personally went to pick her up. Mademoiselle Marriette stayed lock up in her room, probably to not add to anything anymore. I doubt she can do anything wrong at the moment, but Madame Antonnia seems to always find something wrong with what she does and what she does not do.

Monsieur Louis looked exasperated. When Mademoiselle Harriette and Madame Antonnia got home, Monsieur Louis could not help (finally) scolding Mademoiselle Harriette. And Madame Antonnia.

Madame Antonnia burst to tears. Then demanded where Mademoiselle Marriette was. Apparently, she was supposed to be there "especially during our family's hard times."

heard louis is sick. he called in a doctor 3 days ago. today a lawyer came in and out of the room. its that bad. he prob

Mme. Antonnia just got home from the funeral. Harriette wasn't there. Marriette stayed in the cemetery. The lawyer came in to give out M. Louis' will.

Can you believe it?

EVERYTHING GOES TO THAT STUPID HARRIETTE!!!

We're leaving.

Today, many of my fellow housekeepers left. I too can't believe Mademoiselle Harriette got everything, when it was Mademoiselle Marriette that he always took with him. I think Madame Antonnia did something. It doesn't se

only staying for the drama. i wanna see what happens. its been months since louis died. patiseri's falling, antonia's in debt.

good thing mari

Past all these partial diary entries is a contract from long ago. Written there is "Strawberries and White Patisserie, officially blessed by Señor Zeus." It's the Chapel! Strawberries and White Patisserie was, it turns out, protected by the Chapel. A business protected by the Chapel means that no one can ever touch the business, not even the lack of investments. However, if the business falls to a loss, the land, the building, and all the rights to the property will be surrendered to the Chapel. It is not an uncommon happening, especially in Hoxwell where business either boomed or fell. No in between. And with Harriette as described by the former housekeepers, the Patisserie definitely fell, closed, and all the rights to the property went to the Chapel. This is why I never heard of it.

The final document contained the Chapel's information on how Harriette became Mother Heidi. Priest Miguel's handwriting detailed that Harriette came to the sights of the Chapel after the Patisserie closed when she was 24 years old. At that time, the bankruptcy forced her to sobriety, while Antonnia was forced to close her estate and surrender it to the Chapel. The Chapel first took Antonnia in and she eventually became Mother Anya until she died of old age. Harriette worked her way in the streets and proved to be good at interacting with people, negotiation, and manipulation. Thus, Señor Zeus offered her a seat in the Chapel. Who is this Señor Zeus? If he's been recruiting members, he should be high up; but I've never heard of him.

Proving her negotiation skills, Harriette asked for her mother's former estate to be trusted to her so she can turn it to "a grand den of prosperity". One way or another, this was granted to her. She eliminated all her competition, and proved her den to be the most prosperous of all. Hers was not only a den of prosperity, but also of flowers where, weirdly, she took care of lilies rather than poppies. Good for her. Then at age 28, she accepted Señor Zeus' offer and officially became Mother Heidi.

There is not much that can implicate Mother Heidi in the Poppy Contract. She, too, seems to benefit in being a part of the Chapel. If she is upset by the closing of their business and the their estate, well, that is part of the blessing contract. But she also does not seem to be the logical type...

Finally, Cardinal Suarez, himself. Because he is a Cardinal, there is not much information about him that can leave the Vatican room. Even his previous life was not included in the documents. There is nothing here that I do not already know, for they are merely newspaper articles about his issues and achievements, like his involvement in some altercation in Birrough; and his successes in Birrough, Celwin, and Windfour. He never really involves himself in Dimmertown, huh. There is nothing new here. I cannot help sighing as I clasp my hands together and lean my forehead on my knuckles. Guess I'll have to visit the Vatican room.

I set back the documents in the folder, take my coat to wear it, and put the folder in my innermost pocket. I walk out and head first to the Hoxwell Classic Bar and Restaurant for dinner. It is past dinnertime but the restaurant is still packed with people. The bar at the basement is a hotspot for drinkers and partygoers, so there is no mystery to the comings-and-goings of people down below. I enter the restaurant, and the waiter, Priest Thomas, greets me, "Ah, welcome back!"

I nod, "Packed tonight?"

"Yeah, quite the bustle. They're a whole batch from the boarding school, apparently. Says they're having a field trip and staying at the Royal Skyrise." He does his best to keep from rolling his eyes. "The richer ones already got the restaurant there. Good thing we're bigger and better." He grins.

"Any chance that I can take my usual seat?" I ask, looking around.

"Of course!" He gets around the restaurant and speaks closely to the students sitting at the corner near the cashier. They nod. He immediately grabs extra chairs from the storage room and places them orderly at the bigger table at the center of the restaurant. The students high-five each other and continued their fun by ordering more buckets of beers.

Thomas gestures for me to come after he cleaned the table and set the menu. "There you go," he says as I take my seat. He switched to his Timmy the waiter persona and smiled, "What can I get for you?"

"Just the ribeye steak with salad and mashed potato on the side, please"

"Ah, the usual. Always the fancy guest, are you," he winks as he writes the order and takes the menu. "Ribeye steak with salad and mashed potato. Our serving time is 15 to 30 minutes. I am your server for today, Timmy. If you need anything, please just call for me."

I idle for a few minutes until Timmy the waiter comes back with a small basket of freshly baked bread with a slice of butter in a small cup. "Our complimentary bread, sir. Please enjoy."

He immediately heads toward the entrance as new customers enter the restaurant. The students, on the other hand, starts talking about school rumors. They are already drunk, so they are talking and acting like no one else is around.

Perfect.

The boy with straw-colored hair carefully lowers his voice when their school mates at the other table roars with laughter. "Keep it down, will you!? We're tryna talk here," he yells.

The other table does not seem to hear anything, but it seems they are through with whatever it is they laughed about anyway.

With this, the boy with straw-colored hair seems to have forgotten his quest to keep his gossip out of anyone else's earshot. "...the cake!"

The dark-haired girl looks at him like he is crazy. "What cake?" She addresses the rest of the table, "Why's he suddenly talking about cake?"

"You know, when Headmaster celebrated her birthday at the cafeteria, they had this giant three-tiered cake," the straw-haired boy explains.

"Yeah, and?" the honey-blond boy lazily says. I notice he has been spinning his drink in his glass for a while now.

"When the faculty finished singing 'Happy Birthday' to her, they huddled in the kitchen room. Thought they had another surprise for her, like an expensive gift or something, so I took a peek."

"You creep!" the girl in a bun exclaims.

The whole table roars in laughter. The dark-haired girl says, "That's the Headmaster, you idiot! Even if you're older, you don't stand a chance with her." The table roars in laughter again.

The straw-haired boy is already standing up, trying to explain. "No!" The whole table was still laughing, but he continues, anyway, "It's not that!"

"It's okay. We know your type," the honey-blond boy says, and he finally drinks his glass.

"I heard them! The Headmaster was disappointed." To this, the table quiets down a bit. "She said something about not needing the cake and wasting money. She's grateful, she said, but she's sorry she won't be having it."

"...Why?" There is silence before the girl in a bun broke it.

"Something about 'nothing else being good enough' because she 'only wants it done by...'"

The whole table waits. When it was clear the straw-haired boy is done, the honey-blond boy already looks visibly annoyed and says, "By what?"

"I don't know. That's all I heard."

The honey-blond boy slaps him at the back of his head. "Then what was the purpose of that story!?"

"Hey! I just wanted to share what I heard, okay?" The straw-haired boy reaches and smacks him in the head in return. "Maybe Ms. Marie's just really ungrateful," he shrugs.

"But that's not how she is," the boy in a hood says. Throughout the conversation, he has been downing bottles after bottles.

"Gimme that!" the girl in a bun swipes a bottle from the hand of the boy in a hood.

The straw-haired boy says, "We never know. We don't even know her outside of the boarding school."

"I do!" the dark-haired girl chimes. Everyone looks at her; she seems to enjoy the attention. "When I first went to Windfour, to the boarding school" —Hm? —"our housekeeper took me to the school. My parents wanted my room there to be as comfortable as my room at home."

"Spoiled." The honey-blond boy snorts.

The dark-haired girl shoots him a look, and continues, "I did not know the Headmaster greets new students at the gate on the first day of moving. I was scared."

"Who wasn't?" asks the straw-haired boy.

"Right? Our housekeeper, having the ever-proper manners, greeted her. The Headmaster looked at her funny!"

The whole table gasps. "She has other expressions!?" the boy in a hood suddenly seems to have found sobriety.

"It's the only time I ever saw her look different!" They all move closer to her. "When our housekeeper heard the Headmaster acknowledge her, she introduced us. When the Headmaster said, 'Yes, I know you,' our housekeeper almost burst to tears!"

The whole table is listening intently, you can hear them all breathe.

"'Mademoiselle Mari—!' but the Headmaster asked to talk to her in private, so I went to my room alone. When our housekeeper arrived, I asked her about it, but she said it's her own little secret."

By this time, Timmy the waiter comes to my table with my steak, salad, and mashed potatoes. "Your food, sir. Enjoy."

"Thanks."

The students' table looks at mine as they smell the food. When they notice me observing them, they suddenly keep their eyes on their table, murmur, and laugh. The straw-haired boy says, "Sorry, sir! Your food smells great!" They all laugh.

The honey-blond boy says while laughing, "What the fuck was that!? 'Your food smells great.'" He burst into another fit of laughter.

"At least I said something!"

In a moment, they forget ever noticing me. At another table, one student lit a cigarette. A waiter immediately leaves his task and heads to the table, "Excuse me, this is a no-smoking area. Please head outside with your cigarette."

That whole table awkwardly shifts. One girl from that table shyly whispers something to the waiter, and the waiter nods. The student with the cigarette gets up and allows to be escorted outside.