Chapter 831

Chapter 831: Bleu Aizo

The returning voyage occurred without much of a hassle. Alta chose silence over pondering the matter they discussed. Her attention greatly scanned a vintage bottle of wine, dated four decades prior. The price on those pieces fetched quite a sum in auction. The endless supply of money made possible via their fingers in many cups, Igna’s call action rekindled the wandering spirits. The outside frames twisted and turned till a familiar arrangement of fences, the gradual slope and cleanly vested bystanders – the noble district. ‘He had to bring old memories,’ pondered Igna casually waiting on the car to stop, ‘-I’ve lost grasp on Leko and his academy, last I remember was the wife taking over, and said wife being responsible for his death, or so I think. Well, I’ve long since buried the hatchet. A tough month stands before us, the friendly visit of Markus will forge the Alrosia agreement in the public’s view, on paper we’re allies.’ Many kindly dressed visitors kept their walks confined in the inner-castle town; the latter became an attraction spot for those wanting to have a taste of nobility. With money to spare, Igna made it vehemently clear that visitors were allowed on the premises. Security, Phantom, the best there is to hire. The reception was warm and friendly, the doors opened with help of an assisting butler, he ducked into the light, heard his name in chants behind at the castle town, he breathed a smile and waved, the watchers reddened. Skip atop the stairs gave onto the massively open reception-hall, men in suits and ladies in formal attire made the trip from corridor to corridor – during Gallienne’s rule, the castle was merely a stronghold used to gather nobles and host gatherings. Igna’s rule spat in tradition’s face, so was the thought of the archaic leaders, old and proud heritages unwilling to break the culture. In classic response, he took heed of their plight and went ahead into the current state, the castle felt more of a massive office. Many rooms, empty and unused, were turned into meeting places, a whole wing, the military area, was striped clean save a few rooms, and overhauled into offices, reception, and file storage for the companies attached to the royal family. Phantom, its subsidiaries – a branch handled by Julius, and Raven – with éclair as the leader. More additions came in the form of space allotment to the Gaien Council, the members were given shelter in the apartment complex owned by Phantom on the outskirts of the noble district.

The old engine altered into a performing beast; the single step inside brightened his mood and day. There was joy on the worker’s faces, the employed retainers, most uneducated with a lot of talent, were granted money and time to focus on what they wanted to accomplish. A new ruler meant changes, Igna’s alteration strongly benefited the workers associated with him, if they weren’t pleased, how could he order them around.

The alchemic tower, the tallest in the castle, was given to the judicial department. On said table was Bleu Aizo and the best the Aizo Academy had to offer. Raide Rosie’s law firm worked solely for Phantom and Raven. The recruitment of Bleu took the world by surprise, for the man reached celebrity status after becoming the youngest attorney in history, he fought one case after the other, turning the narrative and beating the opposition, many of the fights ended before trials via settlements. Somewhere on the way, the young lawyer lost his way.

The night was late, the cloud had settled over the Dorchestrian landscape, castle Garsley lit mildly, he ambled into the inclined line of buildings. On said day, the talented fighter lost his first case – the latter involved a daughter being abused by a visitor from a noble family. He had the facts and argued arduously to naught, the judge was corrupt – the loss meant the victim to be shamed, the scar left her no option save leave. It had been hours, ‘-I need to apologize,’ went across his mind, he paved his imprint on the muddied pathway, took sharp corners into the ‘less’ admirable part of town, drunks laughed, waitresses shook as they stood before the belligerent men. ‘Geol’s tavern,’ was scratched on a piece of wood, the sign hung loosely off a protruding nail.

“Come on lassy, bring us more drinks,” they exclaimed, the foul smell screamed sweat, alcohol, blood, and cigarette. The young waitress had her bottom touched to which the table laughed broadly, the short skirt and skimpy top didn’t help her position. The innocent visage bordered crying, forced to work, she made round for all the nasty crowd. The barkeeper, an older man dressed in thick golden jewelry had his face in a newspaper. Bleu forced himself inside, held his breath, and beelined for the kitchen. The owner stopped to glare over the paper, he rolled his eyes and continued reading. Muffles cries came from the inner room, “-hey, are you ok?” another waitress had her hands tightly around the sink, she hurled blood and sniffled, her nose bled, “-I’m fine,” she pushed his hand away. The crying came from another worker whose feet were spotted under a cubicle, “-I feel bad for her,” she said, “-another innocent face lost to the rough world of town Garsley, the old man took her back a few hours ago. It’s bad,” the blood coldly washed down the sink, “-she’ll get used to the life sooner or later,” she stood, “-if you’re looking for Belle, try her room. She’s locked herself ever since the trial. Sorry we couldn’t be of help,” she patted his shoulder and left.

“Ruby,” he spun, “-I’m sorry for not being able to help.”

“Don’t worry,” said a kind, understanding smile, “-it’s fine, I’m used to the pain. I testified against the owner; my punishment’s deserved.” Sobbing halted, hinge unlocked, the innocent face lass held her head to the ground and walked.

.....

‘Unbelievable,’ he gritted and took the backdoor, ‘-I made Ruby pay the price for my failure,’ direction, the housing building a stone’s throw away. The iron-stairs thundered under the loud stomps, the weight pulled before Belle’s room and tapped. No response came, he tapped louder, nothing. ‘-Screw it,’ he barged in, the doors weren’t so steady; a darkened room exploded an ungodly smell – he choked with the intent on hurling, nose buried into his arm, he ran to a figure hanging from the ceiling fan, “-I quit,” wrote in blood on the wall, “-Belle...” the hopeful smiles he remembered replaced into her horrid last expression. A secondary pair of steps resounded to stop at the door, it entered.

“Bleu,” it said, “-stand up,” warm hands grabbed his shoulder.

“Igna?” he blinked, “-why are y-you?”

“Long story, I had a falling out with my companions. There’s nothing I can do save taking requests from an acquaintance. I need money,” he looked at the body and room, “-I heard a noble was tried for the assault of a young lass, I guess she’s the victim.”

“Why are you here?”

“Don’t raise your voice,” he glared, “-I’m not an outlet for the failure. As I said, I need money.”

“You’re going to blackmail the young noble?”

“Not anymore, the girl’s dead. I’d have hung her testimony over his head and forced the case outside of Garsley, you know, tip off law enforcement. Queen Gallienne hates the exploitation of people,” he pushed the weak-kneed Bleu and opened the blinders, the scene told of a struggle, her body and clothes spoke of her last state of mind. Igna took off his glasses and observed, ‘-the message was painted in blood, her fingers had a thick lingering stain. The chaos is not of her doing, someone rummaged through the apartment, the immaculately clean cabinet and well-arranged decorates tell of the attention to detail. Looking at the wall and floor where the mess hasn’t stained her domicile, the assumption checks out,’ next, he moved to the door and leaned to examine the locks, ‘-signs of breaking. The locks are new and wouldn’t break easy,’ he looked to Bleu, “-did the door open effortlessly?”

“Yeah, I barged and it opened without tension,” he clambered against the wall, “-what are you doing?”

“I know how she died,” he said, “-after losing the trial, she bought a new lock and hid in her apartment. Look at it,” he pointed, “-shiny. I’m sure she wanted to sleep off the trouble, alas, the opposition had other ideas. They broke in her room,” he moved to the body, whereby laid telling signs of her arms being held by stronger grips, “-they forced her onto the bed,” reserving the grueling detail, “-made their dues and left. What puzzles me is the mess, someone had her pinned and another, maybe others, went through her possessions. For a decrepit-looking apartment – she lived comfortably, the bed, the cabinet, and the wardrobe, it’s all-new. The writing,” he paused with arms crossed.

“She ran over and wrote her final message on the wall?”

“Wrong,” the head shook, “-it’s meant to look like a suicide. They want us to believe an assault led to her killing herself. The thickness of the stain doesn’t match. Imagine fingerpainting, the more one strokes, the lesser grows the line, and the stain doesn’t thicken, it lessens considering the medium is blood. She doesn’t have any open wounds or places to draw the medium. The strokes are too gentle and straight, her state of mind, the panic – she wouldn’t have steady hands. Look at where the ‘I’ starts, barely in reach if she tiptoed, why would she ever tiptoe, common-sense says one would write below eye level.”

Bleu’s confused deposition settled, the failure no longer hung over his judgment, “-are you saying she was assaulted then murdered?”

“Yes, and the culprits knew where she lived. The noble might have paid for her silence. Tell me, did you notice anything strange?”

“The owner,” he blinked, “-he owned jewelry...”

“-And I assume he didn’t before?”

“No,” the pieces fell into place.

“They made a mistake by adding the message, the width, and curvature point to a literate female, and it’s wise to use another female to write a fake note. The culprits are those close to her. I’ll take the owner.”

“-And I’ll take Ruby,” he gritted, ‘-she lied to me.’

Later that day, Igna hurled a confession from the owner, a human trafficking racket was uncovered, guards from the capital arrived in armored vehicles, “-what of the full-story?” inquired Bleu, those responsible were hurled into trucks.

“Belle must have uncovered evidence on the racket. The noble’s unrelated, he was made to take the fall. Your arrival gave her a chance to escape and prevent further innocent victims. The ring-leaders are powerful, they were merely pawns. Ruby lured the regulars to barge into Belle’s room and do as they please. Since castle Grasley’s under the Goldberg’s jurisdiction, a noble family who doesn’t care, the lackluster manufacturing of proof would have ruled in favor of suicide. Why wouldn’t they, she lost a massive case, tis natural.”

“Who wrote the message?”

“You know full well,” Igna replied coldly. The culprits scrolled at Bleu, cussing and threatening his life. Shortly after, her body was cremated, they watched dearly.

“My job’s done,” said Igna turning from the non-existent crowd, “-I can still blackmail the noble,” he smiled, “-he’s not out of the woods yet.”

“Igna!”

“What?”

“Can I accompany you in thy travels?”

“Sure, you pay for yourself, I’m broke,” he shrugged, “-don’t expect justice, I’ll do what I need for my survival.”

“I promise I won’t get in the way.” Such was how the duo came to become a team. And in those hard years of fighting against the world, a good relation built, the Aizo Group, mainly by influence from the son, Igna was able to gain funds to further his quest in restoring the family name.

Back to current times, a familiar voice spiraled down the alchemic tower, “-Igna,” cried Bleu, “-welcome back,” he said, “-I need a favor.”

“A case?”

“Yeah, we have information on another lead on the case we fought years ago.”

“One with Belle?”

“Yes, we managed to pin the ring-leader.”

“Count me in,” he smiled, “-send them to the royal court, by Tharis’s name, they’ll have their dues.”