Irene was back at the palace, this time in one of the drawing rooms that had been set up for interviews with the staff members who were there during the 300th-anniversary ball. 

With Irene was the head maid Lilith, now in her simple but nice-looking grey uniform. Her brother, Lucas, was busy looking for a magic expert to check if magic was involved in the princess’s room so he asked Lilith to help assist with the interrogation in his stead. 

“Thanks for taking the time to help us interrogate the servants.” Irene turned to Lilith.

“The king ordered me to narrow down who was here the night before to help you get one step closer to the truth. It’s him you should be thanking,” Lilith simply stated.

Irene smiled, feeling grateful to the king for doing this, as well as her brother for getting her to help her out. 

The first servant who entered the room was an average human man with scruffy brown hair and brown eyes that were darting left and right nervously. Lilith stands to greet the servant. 

“Thank you for coming, Mort Douglass.”

The man named Mort nearly jumped when Lilith greeted him, causing him to squeak, “Yes, Madam!” He scurried towards the couch before stopping in front of it, he hesitated before turning around. “Is it okay for me to sit on this couch?” he asked.

“Yes you can,” said Lilith. “And don’t worry. We are just trying to piece together what happened last night, that's all. You're not in trouble.”

The poor servant sat down, clearly nervous that anything could happen if he overstepped. Especially since Lilith, his boss, is in the room watching him like a hawk. 

Irene noticed this and so spoke up. “Mr. Douglass, how about we do a breathing exercise before we start?”

Mort looked at Irene, “Breathing exercise?”

“It's something my father taught me whenever I'm nervous or overwhelmed,” Irene explained. 

She put one finger in the air, “This one is known as the box breathing exercise, you trace a line in the air as you inhale for four seconds.” Irene demonstrated by moving her finger to trace a line. “Exhale as you trace downward for four seconds, then trace up as you inhale for another four seconds, and then trace to the right as you exhale for four seconds.”

Mort looked confused, he’d never seen or heard anything like this. “This helps?”

Irene smiled, “It worked for me whenever I’m stressed and overwhelmed, but everyone is different in how they handle stress. I do know other techniques, if the box one doesn’t work for you we can try something else.”

She then spent the next few minutes teaching Mort a few other techniques to help him relax, even making sure lavender tea was served to help relieve stress. Soon, Mort felt calm enough to answer some questions.

Lilith was the one to start. “Can you describe where you were the day of the princess’s death?”

“I was cleaning up a mess that I made with the champagne. And you were there berating me for the mess and threatening me to run five hundred around the palace.”

Lilith nodded, “Yes, I saw you cleaning up after our little training.” Lilith often subjects her staff to military-style training, likely to whip them up into shape.

Irene asked the next question. “You weren’t at the scene of the murder, but can you remember anything before the crime? Any detail will be most helpful.”

Mort’s eyebrows raised as he tried to remember that night. “I think… I remember seeing Prince Alexander arguing with the princess about something before they both left.”

Irene readied her pencil and notepad. “Please tell me more about that.”

“When I was cleaning a table, I saw the royal twins having a heated argument nearby.”

“Did you happen to overhear what the argument was about?”

Mort thought for a bit before speaking again. “I believe they were arguing about how the princess is an attention hog. That’s when he accidentally stepped on the dress, and the princess backed up, and the dress ripped.”

“And that was when the two went upstairs?”

“Yes, the prince would not stop apologizing for accidentally stepping on his sister’s dress, as well as for his angry outburst.”

Irene found all this peculiar, so she asked. “Why would Prince Alexander say his sister was hogging the attention?”

Mort shrugged. “I figured it’s just siblings being siblings. Royal or common, siblings will fight each other”

He wasn’t wrong. As much as she loved them, Irene couldn’t deny that her siblings got on her nerves. Not even Lucas, whom she was closest to, was exempt from that. Still, minor or not, the information is useful for connecting the dots.

Closing her notebook, Irene tells Mort, “I believe we are done for now. You may return to your duties, but I may call upon you later or have additional questions, in the future.”

Relieved that it was over, Mort got up and bid the two ladies farewell. “Thank you, I hope this helps in finding who killed the princess. I can’t imagine who would hate her enough to do something this deplorable.”

“Rest assured, I will find the culprit and bring him to justice,” said Irene.

Mort bowed to Irene before leaving, but not before saying to her, “Thank you for those breathing exercises earlier. It helped me out.” 

Irene smiled, clearly happy that she was able to help. Lucas then opens the door to let the next servant in. It was Jessica, the maid who helped with Irene’s hair earlier. 

She smiled and curtsied to Irene. “Greetings your Ladyship, I’m glad your hair is still in fine condition.”

“Only thanks to you,” said Irene, flaunting her hair a little. “Have you ever considered opening your hair salon? With a talent like yours, you’d be successful for sure. I’ll even invest if you need money.”

Jessica simply bowed. “I’m flattered by your offer Lady Irene, but I prefer my duties here in the castle.”

Irene could not understand why, but it was her life, her choice. “If that is what you wish, Miss Ylva,” she said before she invited Jessica to her seat and offered her some tea. 

“Okay, first tell me about your occupation in the palace. I am aware of what it is, but it’s important for our investigation,” Irene informed the maid.

Jessica hesitated a bit before she turned to Lilith and asked, “Is it okay to tell Lady Irene my true occupation?”

True occupation? What was this about, Irene wondered.

Lilith sighed “I know this is supposed to be between the two of us, but this is a dire situation and we need every detail we need to find the culprit.” She then turned to Irene. “Will you swear you will not reveal Jessica’s real occupation outside this room?” Lilith gave her a strong, hard look as expected of a veteran. Clearly, this wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

Irene raised her hand, “I swear in the name of our Great Mother, my lips will be sealed.” 

Satisfied, Lilith turned to Jessica. “You heard her. She has invoked the sacred promise. You can trust her.”

Jessica nodded before turning to Irene, “On paper, I am a maid of the castle. But my real occupation is a guard and spy working incognito within the palace walls”

To say Irene was surprised is an understatement. “Really?”

Jessica nodded in confirmation.

Irene could not help but jump up and run up to her. “Really?! A real spy!? This is so exciting!” she shouted, making Jessica a bit uncomfortable.

Noticing this, Irene noticed and walked back to her seat embarrassed. 

“Sorry about all this I’ve always wanted to meet a spy since I was a little girl” Irene apologized feeling embarrassed.

Jessica giggled as she replied, “Don’t worry about that. I’d probably be excited too If I were in your shoes.”

Irene was relieved that she didn’t offend the Lupo maid, so she proceeded with the interrogation. “So why are you working undercover as a maid?”

“I’m the one that hired her, actually,” Lilith spoke up. “I figured an employee with her skills could be useful in making sure that the servants are doing their jobs, spot any assassins, or stop any forms of harassment.”

Irene could not help but be impressed by Lilith’s idea. “That could be useful.” 

“Yes, but that’s not what’s important right now. We need to get back to the interrogation,” Lilith reminded her.

“Right, let's get back to it.” Irene quickly opened her notebook before asking Jessica, “Where were you on the night of the incident?”

“I was going up and down the palace checking each room to ensure no one other than the royal family and some overnight guests were inside.”

Irene was confused. “Why would anyone be in those rooms when the ball was going on?” 

Jessica simply replied, “ You can be surprised what people will do.” She paused a bit, before continuing. “Some like to sneak into rooms to do lewd things.”

Irene made a face. “Lewd things?”

Jessica nodded. “It happens quite a lot, believe it or not. And it’s not just nobles, but servants as well.” She huffed in annoyance. “If only they know how annoying it is to clean up after them, I just don’t understand why they do this.” 

“I guess that the danger of getting caught excites them, making their little moment enjoyable?” Irene suggested.

Jessica shrugged. “Who knows, but now’s not the time for theories.”

Irene nodded in agreement. “Right, back to the interrogation.”

“As I was saying, I was going from room to room, up and down, making sure no one was there. That’s when I heard screaming.”

Irene jotted down notes while listening to Jessica. “What did you do after you heard the screaming?”

“I ran towards the screams and saw Ms. Fluffington on the floor at the entrance of the princess’s room. She looked like she saw a ghost.”

“Did you look into the room by chance?”

“I did, and saw Prince Alexander at the balcony shouting below and Ms. Fluffington muttering that she’s dead.”

There was a long pause as Irene reviewed Jessica’s statements in her notebook. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but l have heightened hearing and smell, right?”

Jessica nodded. “Yes, but it’s not just us who have those abilities. May I ask why you’re asking?”

“Well, if there was anyone else in that room you would have heard or smelled them, am I right?”

Jessica looked thoughtful. “Well, you're not wrong. I would have noticed if there was someone else, but there was no one else but the princess and the prince.”

Irene made sure to write down this information. It was getting clearer that there was no one else other than the prince and the princess within the room. But what was Loply the rabbit maid doing up there?

She asked Jessica, “Any idea why Ms. Fluffington was at the door of the princess’s room?”

“Not sure, probably because she was Princess Aoife’s maid before her unfortunate death and she was checking up on her.” 

Lilith spoke up once again. “Pardon me, but I sent Loply to check in on the princess since they were taking a long time.”

“Appreciate that information,” said Irene as she jotted that down in her notebook.

Lilith simply nodded before turning to Jessica asking her “Anything else?”

Jessica got up. “That is all that I know. If there’s nothing else I’d like to return to my work.”

Irene closed her notebook. “You may go. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Jessica simply curtsied. “Good luck in your investigation,” she said before leaving the room.

Irene spent a few minutes looking through her notes from Mort and Jessica’s statements. Lilith noticed this and asked her why she was being quiet. 

“I’m formulating some theories to figure out what happened that night inside that room. But it looks like I need more information and evidence before I report to the royal family.”

Lilith nodded in agreement. “It’s always good to be thorough, be it cleaning a room or investigating a crime. Anywho, let's continue with the interrogation.”

“Agreed.” Irene nodded feeling quite tenacious about the mystery and excited about what comes next.