Had to rewrite the entire chapter from scratch. Took me a loooooooong time… And for some weird reason, it also ended being shorter than originally.

Oh, well…

Disclaimer: Nothing, and I mean nothing related to Fire Emblem except for this story and the characters made for it belong to me. It all belongs to Nintendo.

Oh, and other franchises and anything related to them also don't belong to me.

Morgan: Ace Attorney

Chapter 14: Corpse Party?

Outskirts of Ylisstol, September ?, ? PM

"You did what?!"

"It was just a safety measure," the man smiled unworried.

"Safety measure?! SAFETY MEASURE?! For a 'safety' measure, that sounded way too UNSAFE to do!" the voice on the other side of the phone said exasperated.

"Indeed, but it was necessary."

"Necessary?! How?!"

"You know how."

The voice on the phone sighed loudly.

"Do not worry. It is under my control," the man reassured.

"That's hardly the only problem!"

"Oh, my… Did I overlook something?"

"That wasn't part of the deal!" the voice complained.

"I know."

"Then why did you do it?!"

"My good friend…"

"Don't. Call. Me. Friend."

The man seemed a bit surprised at the harsh treatment.

"Such rancor. Are you still upset at me?"

"You betrayed me. I trusted you and you betrayed me. I saw you as a friend, I took you to my house, I even shared secrets with you and what did you do? You stabbed me on the back!"

"I do not recall doing any harm to you or your family," the man said with sincerity.

"What are you talking about?! Of course you have!"

"How is that possible? If my memory does not fail me…"

"I'm not talking about ME or THEM," the voice interrupted.

The man seemed a bit confused for a few seconds, then realized what the voice meant and let out a low laugh.

"Oh, foolish me. How could I forget?" he lightly slapped his own forehead. "It has been such a long time since we last talked I did not remember…"

"Nobody cares," the voice interrupted, clearly unworried about being rude. "Now, tell me why you did that!"

"Because my client said so."

"Your client?!" the voice asked in shock. "You mean…? No, it can't be serious!"

"It is. My client was very clear about that."

"No, I know you. There's something you aren't telling me."

The man laughed a bit.

"You really do know me well, do not you?"

"What are you planning?" the voice asked angrily.

"To follow the plan."

"Follow the plan?! But what you just did already wasn't part of the plan!"

"I had to… be creative."

"W… What?" the voice asked confused.

"Things are not as predictable as I… better saying, WE expected."

"That much I already noticed!"

"Which means you also noticed that sticking to the plan may not work."

"What do you mean?! You just said you'll follow the plan and now you're saying that sticking to the plan may not work!"

The man just giggled.

"Oh, by the love of… Whatever! Continue with your 'plan' or something! But I swear…"

"Do not worry," the man calmly said with a smile. "That part will not be altered no matter the circumstances. I myself do not want that to happen. So, rest at ease, my friend."

The voice grumbled something before finishing the call. Afterwards, the man put the phone on the ground and casted an Elfire spell to destroy it. Very few people had phones or smartphones in Ylisse but being precative was never too much.

With his job done, the man adjusted his clothes satisfied and walked away, disappearing behind a hill. A few seconds later, a black stork suddenly appeared from behind the same hill, taking flight to somewhere far away.

Outside the court room, Ylissean Court, September 26th, 07:25 PM

Due to an unexpected inconvenience in the form of two irate young people who had to be forced out of the court room by the guards and at least nine of the Shepherds and the mess caused by them, the session ended much earlier than planned and the judge delayed the trial for the next day, much to the dissatisfaction of almost everyone in the audience.

The Shepherds were naturally unhappy with how much time it was taking for Lucina to finally be considered not guilty (which many believed to have been already proven), but the other half of the audience made of common people had different reasons to be so upset.

The general opinion on the government became quite poor months preceding the case and that slow-paced trial wasn't helping Chrom's rule any bit. In fact, many people left the Ylissean Court wondering:

"How come it's taking so long to finally end this case when some others were closed without a single proper investigation?"

"Probably because of the princess," many would answer. "If it was someone else from the common folk, they would have thrown the person in jail without a second thought."

That kind of opinion was exactly what the Halidom of Ylisse DIDN'T need in its current state.

However, as much as the royal family's reputation worried her, especially because the royalty's image also affected the Grandmaster's, even if by a lesser extent, Morgan had no time to lose with it. She didn't like the idea of extending the trial by another day, but in her current situation, that was probably for the best.

Yarne's testimony brought up another possibility that neither her nor the prosecution had thought until then: that Nikolai had been fatally injured BEFORE he and Lucina crossed ways.

Was it possible? Without evidence to say otherwise, it surely was, but it also brought up new questions.

When was Nikolai attacked?

Why was he attacked?

What made the marks of swords where he and Lucina were found?

Why were they made?

Why Lucina had a mark of the hilt of Nikolai's sword on the back of her head?

And above everything else, if Nikolai was attacked before finding Lucina, then who attacked him?

To add even more to the mystery, the sudden disappearance of the leaves covered in blood suggested someone tried to sabotage any future investigations, that someone possibly being the real murderer or even an accomplice. However, if that was the case, then why didn't Yarne find any traces of a person there?

There were still pieces of the puzzle missing.

"Dear gods…" Morgan mentally mumbled, putting a hand inside her coat to get the small sack of aspirins she took from her father's office, only to notice she completely forgot to get it before heading to court.

Irritated, with an annoying headache and almost alone in the hall, the girl thought about leaving back home and starting a new investigation the next day when a familiar voice suddenly asked:

"Having a rough time, Bubbles Jr.?"

Morgan turned her head to the left and saw Gaius approaching her, a lollipop in his mouth and both hands behind his head.

"What do you think? Just look at my face…" the girl grumbled.

"Yeah, I see. It's the exact same face your dad makes whenever he's stressed or very tired," the Thief commented with a small smile. "I don't blame you, though. This case is really something else."

"Yeah," Morgan lowly agreed.

"I'll tell you, this entire thing is really messing with everyone, isn't it? I mean, we already exposed some of the most private or worst parts of everyone in the army. Sumia, Henry, Tharja, Cynthia, Yarne… Even the whole story about Lucina's crush on Robin made a triumphal comeback."

"…"

"What?" Gaius asked, noticing his friend's daughter giving him a weird look.

"You don't seem very worried to me," the girl cautiously commented.

Gaius raised an eyebrow in response to the comment. The expression and tone Morgan used were the exact same Robin used whenever he was suspicious of something.

"I'm just taking things slowly and one at a time. Getting too worried about everything at once won't help us any bit," the Thief said casually, waiting to see the girl's reaction.

"Huh… I see…" Morgan said in a low tone, looking away from the man.

Ever since the day the folder was stolen from her father's office, Morgan always had that faint, unpleasant thought in the very back of her head that she always tried to dismiss as foolishness, but at the same time seemed too convincing to be absolutely nothing.

After all, HE surely was a very good candidate for being a suspect.

Versed in the arts of thievery? Check. Could open her father's special lock with relative ease? Check. Knew her father's office well enough to go straight to where the folder probably was? Check. Would know where he hid the pot with chocolates and be daring enough to take some? She wasn't completely sure, but which other thief would match with that last part?

"Bubbles Jr., what is the problem?" Gaius suddenly asked, making Morgan snap out of her thoughts and look confused at him.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing…" she lied.

"You're lying," the Thief shot back.

"What makes you think that?"

"And what makes you think that changing the tone of your voice will convince me you aren't lying?"

The girl twisted her mouth in annoyance. Was she that easy to read?

"It's nothing, seriously."

"I don't think it's nothing and you better tell me," Gaius said challenging and crossed his arms.

"And what? How am I supposed to say that to you?" the girl mentally asked.

"You're worried about saying it to me, aren't you?"

Morgan raised an eyebrow and stared confused at the man's face.

"Is he a psychic or something?"

"And in case you're wondering, no, I'm not a psychic. You and your father just happen to make the same expressions for the same things and I know him very well," Gaius practically read her mind.

After a few seconds of astonished surprise, Morgan shook her head to regain composure and decided it was time to discreetly get some answers.

"Gaius, did you notice any kind of strange things in the castle those days?"

"What kind of strange things?" the man asked back.

"People with unnatural behaviors, going where they usually don't or trying to enter in the rooms… that kind of stuff."

The red-haired man rubbed his chin for a few seconds, then said:

"Nothing that caught my eye. Why do you ask?"

The next move would be risky, but Morgan decided it was worth it and said:

"I don't know. I had the faint feeling that some things were missing, but I'm not sure if that was just my impression."

"Wait, do you think I stole the folder from your dad's office?"

The girl looked horrified at Gaius.

"Where did you get that idea?!"

"I noticed you have been looking weird at me ever since the folder disappeared," Gaius crossed his arms. "Just add this with what you just said and to which other conclusion you expected me to arrive?"

Morgan bit her lip irritated. How could she let her feelings be so visible?

"And I gotta say that the way you were looking at me was starting to bug me a lot."

"If that's the case, then why didn't you say anything?!" the girl grumbled.

"To stress you even more than you already are? We know how Bubbles is when he's reaching his breaking point and you're that but three times worse," the man joked. "Believe me, no one wants to wash your underwear AGAIN."

The Grandmaster's daughter felt a small wish to punch the man for bringing back such an embarrassing memory, but that wasn't the time nor the place for it. Since Gaius already knew what she was talking about and that she was suspicious of him, then there was no need to hold back anymore.

"Thank you very much for being so kind to make the accusation for me. You're so gentle. No wonder Olivia fell head over heels for you," Morgan sarcastically said in response to Gaius joke with a very forced smile, then glared fiercely at him. "As for what you asked before, yes, I have reasons to think you're the one who stole the folder."

"And can you tell me why?" the Thief challenged.

"First, the lock of the office is special and can only be opened with the key father, mother and I have."

"How did I enter in the office, then?"

"I wasn't finished," the girl complained. "Because the lock was intact when I arrived at the office, it means only someone with the key or who knew a way to unlock the door without breaking it could have entered. Guess what? Experienced thieves would be able to open that if they have the time and skill. You had both."

"Time? Which time did I have?"

"The patrols in the area where my father's office is located aren't as constant as other places in the castle. Some turns have up to two hours of difference."

"Which means that another thief could have done that," Gaius rolled his eyes. "I'm not the only person with this job in the world, you know?"

"That leads to my second point," Morgan crossed her arms. "Aside from the folder, absolutely nothing was out of place or missing. The person who entered took only the folder and left without leaving a single trace."

"And what does that mean at all?" the man asked annoyed.

"That whoever entered in the office probably knew where the folder was. Only a handful of people know the layout of the office and where father keeps his things. And who is one of those few people, huh?"

"You just said the person PROBABLY knew where the folder was. What if it was just luck? That PROBABLY could be why nothing else was moved," Gaius smiled challenging.

"Last, but not least," Morgan was clearly irritated with the grin on Gaius's face. "Father has a pot of chocolates hidden in his office. Even less people know where he keeps it and it's in a place nobody would look for, but, despite all that, when I checked the pot, there were chocolates missing."

…

"Are you seriously using chocolates to accuse me?" Gaius almost laughed.

"That by itself may sound stupid, but if we connect everything, we can create a connection," Morgan grumbled.

"Oh, really? How?"

"The person who entered in the office is a professional thief, knows the office's layout, where my father keeps his stuff AND was willing to risk leaving clues behind for a bunch of chocolates," she grinned. "That seems to fit your description, Mr. Sweet Addicted Thief Friend of a Certain Grandmaster."

"Alright, Bubbles Jr., let's say for a moment that maybe you're right," the red-haired Thief put a hand on his hip and used the other to mockingly rub his chin like he was in deep thought. "But why would I do that?"

"That's…"

…

"…what you should tell me!"

Morgan felt her cheeks warming up a bit, embarrassed by her own answer.

"Exactly. There's no reason for me to do that. End of story," Gaius smiled.

"That doesn't mean anything!" Morgan shot back. "Even if I don't know the reason, it doesn't mean that couldn't have happened! Most of the time, we only discover a criminal's intention later in the case! Sometimes only after it's over, for Naga's sake!"

"But even considering that, do you think the evidence you have is enough to build a case against me?"

"Of course it is!"

"And is that enough to PROVE I'm the one who took the folder?"

"Who else could have taken it? Is there anyone else who fits that description?!"

Gaius shook his head disapproving.

"Sincerely, I expected more of you, Bubbles Jr."

"What?" Morgan asked confused.

"You said yourself that the person who entered the office PROBABLY knew where the folder was. The same can be said about the pot of chocolates."

"Ooooh... So you're saying whoever entered in the office ran into the folder AND the pot by miracle?" the girl grumbled irritated.

"What says they couldn't? Everything up to now proves that kind of coincidence is possible. Henry hit Sumia in the exact day the crime happened. Henry fell exactly where Yarne was. Yarne ran to the forest just a bit before the crime happened because of something that had absolutely nothing to do with Lucina…"

The white-haired girl tried to counter the argument but couldn't find the words to use.

As much as she hated to admit, he was right. That entire case was an undeniable proof that coincidences of such cryptic nature could happen and lead to something bigger. What more, even though logic said Gaius was the prime suspect for stealing the folder, she lacked any concrete, undeniable evidence to connect him to the happening. Everything she said was just her assumption.

An assumption based on logic, nonetheless, but still just an assumption.

Unless…

"Hold on… If you didn't steal the folder, then what were you doing that day?"

"I was out," Gaius calmly said.

"Out where?"

"I was in the fields close to Ylisstol, relaxing and enjoying some candies."

"Do you have an alibi for that?" Morgan inquired crossing her arms.

"I told Olivia I was going to chill out before leaving home."

"I mean an alibi to prove you really were in the fields and not the castle?"

"No," Gaius said surprisingly unworried.

"Aha!" Morgan pointed at the man, certain of her victory.

"But you also don't have anyone to prove I WAS in the castle, do you?" the Thief quickly asked with a smile.

"Ah… Shit..."

"Exactly. No evidence, no witness, nothing."

With a large smile on his face, Gaius put the stick of the lollipop he finished in his pocket to throw it away later and got another one from one of his 'secret holes' to hide candy.

"I'll tell you, Bubble Jr., I'm a bit impressed by how much you and your dad are alike," he began. "I always knew you two were very similar, but never thought it was that much."

"What do you mean?" the Proxy asked irritated.

"You make the same expressions, act the same way, think the same things… Even have the same absurd ideas."

Gaius chuckled a bit, making Morgan throw a heated glare at him while a nerve bulged on her forehead.

"Now, if you excuse me, I have to go. I promised to help Olivia calm Inigo down to take him home and I don't want to make her wait anymore. So… see ya."

And with that last sentence, the Thief turned around and waved his hand to the girl, leaving her alone with a cheeky smile still on his face.

"The nerve of that guy…" Morgan crossed her arms and growled angry. "Who he thinks I am? Douchebag… Let's see if he'll still make fun of me when I reduce his payment…"

Angered, tired and alone in the Ylissean Court, Morgan had nothing else to do except end her day and prepare for the next one, so she decided to leave and go straight home. She considered making another visit to the Golden Barrel in the way, but the memories (at least the few ones she had) of the last time she was there made her mind think that wouldn't be a very good idea in her current situation and she ultimately gave up.

Alcohol was good now and then, but her bed was good any time.

Robin's house, September 26th, 10:47 PM

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Huh?! What?! No! No! It wasn't me! It was… Eh?"

Fighting sleepiness and wondering what time it was, Morgan lazily reached her cell phone and checked it. According to the electronic device from another dimension, it was almost 11 PM.

"Are you freaking serious?" the girl grumbled putting a pillow over her head and trying to sleep again.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Go away! We don't want anything!" Morgan shouted angrily.

The knocks not only continued but seemed to become louder.

"Oh, for the gods' sake!"

Noticing whoever was bothering her at that time wouldn't give up easily, Morgan forced herself out of bed, walked to the living room, lit a candle, got closer to the door and yelled:

"Go sleep! It's almost eleven in the night!"

"Morgan! It's m-me! Brady!" the boy's voice sounded from the other side of the wood.

"I don't care! Go away! I want to sleep!" the girl grumbled.

"Didn't you stay 'til the e-early hours of morning playin' g-games or doin' whatever else you do?!"

"I do it sometimes, not every time! Now, scram!"

"No way! I w-went through all the trouble of l-leaving my warm house to come here just for this and I'm n-not leaving until you open that damn door!" a familiar voice shouted irritated also from the outside.

"Hold on just a second… Is that Severa?" Morgan asked a bit surprised.

"Of course it's me! N-now, open the door! I'm freezing out here!" the Mercenary complained before loudly sneezing.

"Hey! Sneeze to the o-other side!" Brady complained.

"G-give me a break! You're the one who made me come here at this hour!" Severa shot back.

Brady appearing at that time was surely unusual, but Severa doing the exact same thing during such a cold night was even more intriguing. Because it was so uncommon for both, Morgan ended opening the door despite a small part of her wanting to shoo them away and go back to bed, finding a Priest and a Mercenary trembling and with their noses a light red.

"F-finally!" Severa grumbled as she rushed inside the house and sat on the couch, desperately rubbing her arms trying to create some warmth.

"S-sorry to disturb you so late a-at night, b-but it's kind of an e-emergency!" Brady apologized before also rushing inside and sitting at Severa's side.

Morgan closed the door, locked it and then went to ask her friends what they wanted.

"All right, what's the problem?"

"Before that, do you have something hot to drink?" Severa asked unceremoniously.

"I already took you in, now you want me to serve you too?" the white-haired girl furrowed her brow irritated.

"I was forced out of my bed at late in the night and had to come all the way over here at foot with a demonically cold wind blowing on my face! Do you think I care if I'm being rude or not?!" the Mercenary shot out.

"Calm down, Severa! Nobody asked you to come here with me! Besides, that's not what we came here for!" Brady scolded the girl, although the idea of having something to warm his body was very tempting.

"Thanks. Now, before I start regretting my decision, can you two explain why you came disturb me so late at night and why couldn't you have waited until tomorrow morning?"

"That's the exact same thing I was asking myself…" Severa lowly complained.

Ignoring his companion's comment, Brady took a better position on the couch and asked:

"Morgan, did you find the message I left in the folder Ma gave you?"

"Of course. Don't you remember?"

"Yeah, but I mean… the OTHER message."

Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"OTHER message? Which OTHER message?"

The girl's reaction was enough to tell both Brady and Severa that she didn't.

POW

"Ouch! What was that for?!" the Priest complained, rubbing the spot Severa hit on his arm.

"I told you to make it simpler to find, didn't I?!" the girl roared.

"I already said why I had to make it the way I did! Did ya forget?!"

"Alright, alright, lovebirds. Stop fighting and tell me exactly what is happening," Morgan intervened, noticing they would continue arguing forever if she stayed quiet.

"LOVEBIRDS?! ME AND THAT… NO WAY!" both Brady and Severa said at the same time.

"Sure. Of course not," the white-haired girl smiled mischievously. "You're even saying the same things in synchrony."

"ONLY IN YOUR IMAGINATION!" they both said at the same time once again.

As much as Morgan wanted to enjoy that moment a bit longer, she decided to press Brady to explain what was happening and know the reason of the sudden visit.

"Morgan, do you remember what I said 'bout believing Chrom just wanted your dad to be Lucina's attorney 'cause he's his best friend and all?"

"Yes."

"Well…" the boy scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "I lied."

Morgan's eyes went wide open before her expression changed to an annoyed one and she facepalmed.

"Of course… What else is new…" she lamented.

"Hey! I don't lie all the time!" Brady said defensively.

"I'm not talking about… Ah! Whatever! Just continue!" the Grandmaster's daughter shook a hand dismissively.

"Different from what I told you, I wasn't convinced of Chrom's explanation. I still had a faint feeling that something seemed off and decided to do some investigation of my own. By the way…" his expression changed to a curious one. "Did ya find something off with his motives?"

Morgan sighed and told:

"My men discovered that father has somewhat of a good image with everyone that would participate in the trial."

"And that's important because…?" the boy raised an eyebrow.

"Because Chrom knew absolutely everyone who would be in the trial beforehand thanks to the law that allows him. Even if indirectly and unintentionally, father's opinions and theories would have greater impact on the audience and even the judge than the prosecution, who, despite being good, lacks the same level of popularity."

"Hold on… Are you saying..." Severa began.

"I can't say for sure because I lack evidence for that, but it's possible that Chrom wanted to use father's influence over the audience and the Ylissean Court to turn the tables at Lucina's favor."

Brady gasped loudly.

"W-what?! But that… that would be abuse of power! Even if it was for Lucina's sake, that would be almost a crime!"

"I know. That's why I haven't told anyone about it until now," Morgan crossed her arms and leaned against a wall. "The last thing I want is even more dirt being thrown on the royal family. Especially now with the political and economic crisis."

"Dirty bastard…" Severa said with disgust. "And mother still thinks he's some great guy…"

"Calm your tits, girl. Like I said, there's no evidence to prove that's really the case," Morgan interrupted. "That's just a theory I made using what I discovered, but I could be completely wrong."

"Do you plan on pressing Chrom about the matter?" Brady asked a bit worried.

"I don't know," Morgan sighed. "While father is out, my authority is the same as the Grandmaster, so I can confront him in almost equal terms, but I think it's something that father would do better. Besides, it's such a small thing when compared to the rest of this mess I'm having doubts if that's even worth the trouble of starting an argument with Blueberry head."

"Blueberry head?" the Priest repeated confused, while Severa let out a short, low evil giggle.

"Father usually refers to Chrom that way whenever he's angry with him and I kind of liked that," the girl grinned mischievously. "In any case, you were saying…?"

"Oh, yeah. The rest of the story."

Brady then resumed his narrative.

"I was still unconvinced of Chrom's explanation and decided to investigate myself, but I didn't tell Ma any of that 'cause… Well, I doubt she would believe he was up to something."

"Of course. Aside from maybe me and a few other people, who else would? The Shepherds blindly think he's the epitome of perfection," Morgan sighed.

"I went to Ylisstol to look for anything that could lead me to any kind of clue, when I ran into Severa. I wasn't plannin' to say anything, but she pressured me 'til I told her what happened. Then, she offered to join me."

"Really? Why?" the white-haired girl raised an eyebrow.

"Because it really sounded like Chrom was up to no good," Severa suddenly told. "Usually, I wouldn't poke my nose in that kind of stuff, but it involved Lucina. That alone was enough to convince me to check myself."

That's what she said, but Morgan knew that wasn't the only reason.

After an entire childhood of being forced to listen her mother singing praises to Chrom almost daily, Severa ended creating a small dislike for the Exalt. Mind you, she didn't resent or hate him by any means, although you could say she wasn't a huge fan of his and always had a tiny little part of her that wanted to find something, ANYTHING to throw a bucket of cold water on her mother's undying passion for him.

Was she worried for Lucina? She surely was, no doubts about that, but that little will of finding something to stain the immaculate image Cordelia had of Chrom probably played a small part on her suddenly deciding to join Brady.

Which was, by the way, the very reason Severa was chosen to be part of the investigation team Morgan made along Priam, Walhart, Yen'fay, Emmeryn, Gangrel, Priam and Inigo. The Mercenary didn't have the best relationship with Chrom, Priam was rarely nearby, Yen'fay and Walhart lived far away, Emmeryn almost never left the clinic and Gangrel avoided Ylisstol for his own reasons, so the chances of anything about the investigation reaching Chrom's ears were very slim, especially the little job of checking the Exalt's actions Morgan gave to the Elite Trio.

As for Inigo, Morgan had a reason to call him, but it probably wasn't a very good one since she forgot what it was just a few hours after the investigation ended.

Back to the main story, Morgan knew Severa wasn't being totally honest, but also knew there was absolutely no reason to bother her about that and asked Brady to continue.

"First, we went to the Ylissean Court to ask for details about the case. The only things they told us were what everyone already knew and the rest was confidential, so it was mostly useless."

"After that, Brady decided to go to Ylisstol," Severa crossed her arms.

"Ylisstol? Why?" Morgan asked confused. "I mean, I can't really imagine what kind of information you could get from the people of the town that would be useful for what you were looking for."

"You just need to know… the right people to ask," Brady nervously told.

"The right people to ask for?" Morgan put both hands on her hips and gave the boy a suspicious glare. "What do you mean?"

Brady fidgeted nervously and remained quiet. It was Severa who revealed what he meant by blurting out:

"People from the Ylissean black market."

Morgan's eyes shot wide open in shock.

"The black market?" the girl inquired, unable to process what she heard. "How do you know people from the black market? When did you know people from the black market? Why do you know people from the black market?"

"I exert my right to stay silent," Brady weakly countered.

"Brady was more broken than a Glass Sword after battle and needed quick cash to pay for the smartphone he asked you, so he did some deals with the illegal merchants out of desperation," Severa bluntly revealed.

If she wasn't a girl and the only person he could trust to keep his secret, Brady would surely have succumbed to desire and punched Severa on the spot.

"Does Maribelle know any of that?" Morgan asked raising an eyebrow.

"O-of course not!" the young Priest yapped. "If she knew, I would be buried alive!"

"You probably would…" the Grandmaster's daughter scratched her cheek. "Anyways, you went to Ylisstol and…?"

With a loud sigh, Brady rubbed the back of his head and resumed his narrative.

"We went to Ylisstol and began askin' some of the guys I know. If there're places where I can discover anything dirty about the royal family, those places surely are the territories dominated by the black market."

"Yeah… Considering most of the people that work for the Ylissean black market despise the government, their areas of control surely are the best place to look for any kind of wrong Chrom did," Morgan commented.

"Weren't they who started spreading around that Lucina was in love with your father?" Severa suddenly asked, to which Morgan nodded.

To be more precise, they said Lucina was super thirsty for Robin, would snatch any kind of stuff that resembled him, opposed the Grandmaster's decision of making Aversa captain of the Pegasus Knights out of petty jealousy and even tried to mix aphrodisiacs in his food.

Unfortunately, only one of the mentioned facts was false.

"But you didn't find anything, right? At least, nothing substantial to what you wanted to know, otherwise you wouldn't have asked me if I found something about Chrom," Morgan concluded.

"Yeah, we didn't find anything… About Chrom, that is. As for Nikolai…" Brady said the last part a bit unease.

"Nikolai? The merchant that was murdered?" Morgan raised an eyebrow. "What about him?"

For some reason, Brady exchanged a quick glance with Severa before taking a deep breath and revealing:

"Morgan, the man wasn't just a regular merchant. I accidentally brought up his name while speakin' with one my acquaintances and he recognized it. We asked what he knew about him and he told us that Nikolai also worked as a merchant in the Ylissean black market. More specifically…"

"The Ylissean drugs traffic," Severa finished for her companion.

"The Ylissean drugs traffic?!" Morgan said a bit more surprised and louder than she wanted to sound. "But why isn't anything like that mentioned in any document or file I've seen about him so far?!"

"We made that exact same question," Brady told. "My acquaintance said they never managed to prove Nikolai's connection to the Ylissean drugs traffic for lack of evidence."

"Lack of evidence?" the Grandmaster's daughter asked confused.

"Nikolai used to be at the bottom of the opium traffic hierarchy when that was still a thing in Ylisse, many years ago," Severa went to explain. "He was small fish, only having to transport the opium between areas controlled by his faction and sometimes handling sales. As time went on, the opium traffic lost its profitability and the government managed to arrest many people who commanded the entire network. Nikolai's faction was one of the first ones to fall."

"Because he had a very small role in the process and barely ever kept any opium with him, he escaped any suspicions the government had of him completely unscathed," Brady added.

"But all that happened years ago," Morgan raised an eyebrow. "The way you said he worked for the black market made it sound like it happened recently."

"That's the catch," the young Mercenary crossed her arms. "After his faction fell and the government stopped paying attention to him, Nikolai returned to the drugs traffic, using all the experience he acquired to negotiate all kinds of illegal substances."

"Opium, illegal tobacco, alcohol of dubious origins… The list goes on," Brady told.

"And more," Severa began. "Nikolai would get the drugs from the people who produced or sneaked it through the borders and sell it to the final customer, but he always made sure to never have any kind of involvement with neither the person from who he bought it neither the people who would buy it from him, keeping his identity a secret and avoiding being put under the spotlight."

…

"What?" Morgan tilted her head confused.

"In other words," Brady grumbled. "he never told his name and kept contact with both the seller and the buyer at a minimum, so if any of them was caught it would be harder to report or discover him."

"Aaaaaah… Now I get it. Sheesh… For someone who keeps complaining about me not being straightforward, you surely know how to word things weirdly."

"Shut up!" Severa shot at Morgan.

"So, Nikolai continued working for the drugs traffic even after his faction was dissolved but remained as small and secretive as possible to avoid being caught, just like it happened when he escaped the authorities the first time," the white-haired girl rubbed her chin thoughtfully, ignoring her irritated friend. "Very clever, I must admit."

"As extra safety measure, Nikolai worked most of the time as a regular merchant, only acceptin' drug deliveries if the pay was worth the risk," Brady said. "He also made sure to let only the people he trusted the most to know 'bout his job in the black market. The only reason my acquainted told me all that is 'cause Nikolai's already dead. Otherwise, he wouldn't spill a single bean."

After seeing the victim's profile once and seeing absolutely nothing wrong with it, that discovery surely was something Morgan wasn't expecting.

Nikolai Loss, the man mysteriously murdered inside Ever Woods in that fatidic night that stained Lucina's reputation (more than it already was after all the rumors related to Robin, that is) wasn't just a regular merchant, but in fact an active member of the Ylissean black market. The drugs traffic, nonetheless.

That seemingly innocent merchant managed to escape the hammer of justice AND continue with his unsavory job right under the government's nose for more time than anyone would like to admit. Surely, a huge failure from the Halidom's part and something that would be a nuke on the royal family's head should it reach the ears of the people.

Well, at least justice somewhat prevailed in the end. Even if he escaped arrestment, Nikolai ended paying the price for his crimes.

"Hold on just a second!" the thought made Morgan realize something.

"Huh? What?" Brady asked.

"If Nikolai worked for the drugs traffic, he could very well have been murdered by someone who works for the black market!"

"That's certainly possible," Severa agreed. "The Ylissean black market is a very treacherous segment to work with and the drugs traffic is probably the sketchiest and most dangerous part of it. It isn't uncommon for people who work with drugs to be killed by the smallest reasons, from the bottom to the very top of the hierarchy."

"That means there are lots of other possible suspects that could have finished him for the most varied reasons! It would lead the entire case on a whole different direction!" Morgan exclaimed loudly.

"Yeah… it probably would…" Brady said in a low tone.

"Then why didn't you tell that before?!" the Grandmaster's daughter asked angrily.

A bit embarrassed, Brady fidgeted hesitantly for a few seconds before saying:

"I wanted to tell, but I couldn't."

"You better have a very good reason for that…" Morgan snapped her fingers threateningly.

With a sigh, the young Priest looked at the girl and, with a worried expression, told:

"We were being followed."

Morgan's irritation immediately dissipated and was replaced by sheer astonishment.

"You were… what?"

"After we finished talking with the guy Brady knows, we noticed someone following us," Severa said.

"Who was that person?" Morgan asked.

"A young boy, probably sixteen years old or around that. Short, deep black hair, big yellow eyes and a dead fish face that freaked me out," Brady described, shuddering a bit at the memory of the boy's emotionless eyes staring at him. "Wherever we went, he would be some meters behind, always spyin' us."

"We managed to lose him in a crowded street, but Brady continued feeling insecure and decided to go back home to discuss what we would do. Which is, by the way, when he had the brilliant idea of hiding a sheet of paper with everything we discovered in the most ridiculous way I've ever seen in my life."

"I was being cautious!" the boy said defensively.

"Yeah, so cautious that neither Morgan could find it!" Severa shot back. "Why worry about someone ruining everything if you just did it yourself?!"

Brady was about to argue back, but Morgan decided to intervene and stop them, otherwise they could probably continue fighting like two old people for hours.

"Urgh… Like Severa said, we lost him in the crowd, but stayin' there with someone that could appear from anywhere at any time would be a horrible idea, which is why I decided to go back home to discuss what we should do," Brady told. "It was a no brainer that we needed to tell you what we discovered, but the boy that was followin' us made me very worried of how and when I would tell you."

"What do you mean?" Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"Brady became too paranoid of someone trying to interfere with him and refused to go tell you face to face," Severa grumbled annoyed.

"I had to find a way to tell you all that without giving any chance of anyone boycottin' it," the boy ignored the girl at his side. "Tellin' you straight away was too risky as someone could follow and hear me. That's when I had the idea of hidin' a sheet of paper with everything we discovered in the folder Ma gave you. Because it was more important and confidential than the other message I gave you, I hid it a bit better."

"And how exactly did you hide it?" the white-haired girl inquired.

"I glued the sheet on another paper. To make sure it wouldn't be noticeable unless you had it with you, I only put glue on the very corners of the sheet."

"I told him to make it a bit more visible, but noooooo! He had to go all…"

"CAN YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH?! I'M ALREADY SICK OF YOU PICKIN' ON ME 'CAUSE OF THAT!"

Both Severa and Morgan looked a bit shocked at the boy glaring at the former. After his mind fully registered what he had done, Brady's expression slowly turned into an embarrassed one and he turned his face away from them as his cheeks became a light pink.

"S-sorry…" he weakly muttered.

"Don't worry…" Morgan scratched her cheek sheepishly.

"Hey! It's me who should say if…"

"I can now understand why you decided to use such a… different technique to hide the paper," Morgan interrupted Severa. "But why didn't you use your smartphone to send me a message? Practically nobody in Ylisse has one, so there's no way…"

"A bit after arrivin' home, we received messages," Brady revealed.

Morgan stared confused at the boy.

"Messages? From who?"

"We don't know the number who sent them, but they read…"

It is still early to reveal Nikolai's past. Of course, you are free to try, but will I interfere?

Who knows?

Morgan felt a shiver running down her spine. The message indirectly told whoever sent it not only knew Brady and Severa discovered about Nikolai, but also that they planned to reveal everything to the princess's attorney. It even mockingly challenged them to try.

"That's why I decided to not use the smartphone," Brady said in a low voice.

"At least with that we both agreed," Severa added. "Very few people in Ylisse have smartphones, so for someone to send us a message after what happened… There was no way it couldn't be suspicious."

Suspicious indeed. After all, they knew Brady and Severa's plan, had a smartphone of their own AND knew the two young Shepherds' numbers. The former two were easier to explain, as they were being followed by a mysterious person, thus meaning someone probably knew what they were doing, and having a smartphone was just a matter of getting one from the Outrealms, but having their personal numbers? Nobody aside the few members of the Shepherds who also had smartphones knew their numbers, so how the sender discovered it?

Hijack? Blackmail? Bought information?

And who would have given them their numbers? Considering everything Morgan knew, it had to be a Shepherd, but who from the army could…

"Wait… Could it be…?"

"Morgan?" Brady asked, noticing the girl's expression suddenly becoming extremely serious. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh? Oh! I-it's nothing…" the girl lied, trying to push the thought away.

"No, it definitely isn't," Severa countered. "What are you thinking?"

Morgan fidgeted nervously. Would it be a good idea to tell them what she was thinking?

"Morgan," Severa said firmly.

Could she even accuse someone based solely on assumption?

"Morgan?" Brady called worried.

Even more, could she accuse a FRIEND based solely on her assumptions and risk destroying the Shepherds' confidence on each other?

"Morgan!" both Severa and Brady called out at the same time.

The Grandmaster's daughter made up her mind, looked at her friends with a serious expression and firmly said:

"I can't tell you."

"What? Why not?!" the young Mercenary asked angrily.

"I'm sorry, guys… I just…" Morgan bit her lip and looked away. "I just can't. I myself am uncertain of what I'm thinking and bringing it up now without proof could make things even worse than they already are."

"You complained that Brady, Yarne, Lucina and everyone else isn't being sincere or is hiding stuff from you, but you're doing the exact same thing now!" Severa said irritated.

"I know. I know I'm being a hypocrite, but…"

Morgan sighed deeply and looked sadly at her friends.

"What I'm thinking right now could destroy us."

The two young Shepherds sitting on the couch looked worried at Morgan.

"D-destroy us?" Brady asked fearfully.

"If it's the truth, then I'll tell it to everyone when the time comes, but now I lack any kind of evidence to know if I'm right or wrong. That's why I can't tell yet. First, I need to discover if it's true, so… Please, give me some time. I'll tell everything, just give me some more time."

Brady and Severa ended even more tempted to know what Morgan was thinking, but her seriousness was a clear sign that they should listen to her. As such, they decided to leave it at that and wait to see what would happen.

"Alright, Morgan. We'll do as you say and wait," Severa crossed her arms and leaned on the couch. "But as soon as you discover if what you're thinking is true or not, you better tell us!"

"Thank you," the white-haired girl smiled relieved. "I promise I will."

"Well, now that we already did what we came here to do…" Brady took a deep breath and got up. "We'd better get back home."

"Are you kidding me?! I'm not going out there again! It must be even colder than before!" Severa complained.

"Which reminds me…" Morgan turned to the boy. "Why didn't you wait until morning? You already waited up to this moment to finally tell me all that. Besides, weren't you afraid whoever sent the message would try to interfere?"

"I can't wait anymore," the Priest said lowly. "What we discovered about Nikolai may end this case at once and the only reason I hid the message the way I did was 'cause I feared someone interferin'. I have nothing to prove it, but the theft of the folder… I think there's more to it than just messin' with Lucina's case."

Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"We were bein' followed, we received a message from someone who knew our numbers and what we planned to do…" Brady gave the girl a serious look. "I strongly believe who stole the folder knew or at least suspected I hid something related to Nikolai there."

Morgan rubbed her chin thoughtful. Now that Brady mentioned, there definitely was a possibility. After all, if the person who texted them knew they planned to tell their discoveries and found out their numbers, then discovering about Brady's message wasn't too farfetched.

And if the person was so determined to keep Nikolai's past hidden, then the motivation for his murder could be related to something from the merchant's hidden life as a drugs dealer.

There was something fishy happening behind the scenes of that crime.

"It still doesn't explain why you forced me to get out of my house at this hour…" Severa grumbled.

"Forced you? YOU are the only one to blame for that!" Brady shot back irritated.

"You mentioned something like that when you arrived. What exactly do you mean?" Morgan asked curious.

"I wanted to tell you everything as soon as possible, which is why I couldn't wait 'til tomorrow. I just happened to pass in front of Severa's house and she just happened to see me passin' nearby when she began interrogatin' me on what I was doin'! Before I knew, she decided to come with me!"

"I didn't decide to do that! You wanted me to come with you!" the girl retorted.

"But I never forced you to come with me!"

"In other words, YOU wanted her to come with you and YOU decided to come with him out of your own free will?"

Both the Priest and the Mercenary gave Morgan a stern glare and threatened:

"Don't you dare."

"ShipPING AS usual, I see!"

"NO! WE'RE NOT!" the boy and the girl shouted angrily.

"Of course not," Morgan giggled mischievously. "Now, Romeo and Juliet, you two better go back home. It's late and I sincerely don't want you two getting in trouble."

"Can you stop…! Ah! Never mind!" Brady grumbled and made his way to the door. "Besides, you're right. We'd better get back home."

"I'm not leaving! It's freaking cold out there!" Severa insisted.

"And what? We both left our houses without permission in the middle of the night. What will happen if our parents wake up and discover it, huh?" the Priest grumpily asked putting both hands on his hips. "I don't know 'bout you, but I don't wanna stay here to let Ma and Pa find out!"

Unwilling to face the cold weather outside of the house, Severa crossed her arms and stubbornly refused to move a single inch. However, the more she thought on the possibility of her parents discovering she left home in the middle of the night and the kind of punishment she would receive, the more her resolve weakened. Eventually, she ended giving up, grumpily got up from the couch and walked to the door.

"Morgan, before we go, I just wanna apologize again for hidin' it all from you," Brady gave the girl an apologetical look. "I really hope you understand why I did what I did."

"Don't worry, man," Morgan gave him a reassuring smile. "I was a bit angry at first, but I know you meant the best. Besides…"

She scratched the back of her head and smiled awkwardly.

"To be completely honest, my hands aren't exactly clean as well."

"Huh?" both Brady and Severa looked confused.

"Long story. I'll tell you later," Morgan tried to dismiss.

The Priest and Mercenary shared a suspicious look before deciding to ignore it for the time being and prepared to return home. Brady opened the door and shivered at the extremely cold wind blowing on his face, almost losing the courage to step outside.

"H-here we go again…" he said clearly not excited to face the weather, gathering all the courage he could and running outside.

Severa just grumbled a few words before forcing herself out of the house and closing the door behind her, leaving Morgan alone once again.

Still thinking about everything she heard, the white-haired girl sat on the couch, exactly where Severa was before, and stared at the ceiling, processing their story and trying to make some sense out of it.

The first thing that came to her mind was the so destructive theory she refused to tell Brady and Severa:

Could Gaius be related to the messages they received?

Like she said before, without concrete evidence it was nothing more than a guess, but the candy addicted Thief/Assassin of the Shepherds was also her primary suspect for stealing the folder from her father's office. If he had the guts to do it, then he surely would have the guts to send the messages to mess with Brady and Severa's plan.

But which evidence Morgan had to prove it? Absolutely none, which automatically put the veracity of such theory in check.

Even if the lack of evidence wasn't a problem, there would still be the mystery of the motive. After all, if that was really Gaius doing, why would he want to interfere with Lucina's case? Why would he want to interfere with Brady and Severa's investigation? Was he even the one responsible for any of those things?

And if he wasn't, then who could it be?

The many questions without answers began pilling one after the other inside Morgan's head, making the same annoying headache that had been plaguing her ever since Lucina's case became much more complicated return with full force. That or maybe her mind was just unconsciously trying to make her stop thinking about Gaius having a finger in that mess.

He could be a bit annoying at times and her opinion of him in the moment wasn't exactly the best thanks to the very unpleasant conversation she had with him hours before, but he was still a friend and an important member of the big, weird family that the Shepherds' were, which made the simple possibility of him having sabotaged Lucina's defense leave a very sour taste in Morgan's mouth.

Noticing it wouldn't be good to continue banging her head on a suspicion she didn't have a single evidence to prove true or false, the white-haired descendant of the Grandmaster decided to think about something else. That something else being…

"Nikolai worked to the black market…"

Morgan furrowed her brow. Nikolai being murdered by someone from the black market was entirely possible, especially because of his unsavory job, but if that was the case…

"Then why he had sword cuts made by Falchion on him?"

On one hand, Lucina claimed Nikolai wasn't in the clearing when she fell unconscious, making it impossible for her to have murdered him. On other hand, only those who Falchion deemed worthy of it could use the legendary blade, so a regular bandit or criminal couldn't just knock the princess out and use her sword to kill the merchant.

"Falchion becomes blunt when wielded by someone unworthy," Morgan thought aloud. "They couldn't have used it to finish Nikolai. Then how Falchion was used to kill him?"

Then, she remembered the testimony Yarne gave in trial.

"Could he have been killed BEFORE arriving in the clearing?" the girl asked herself. "If that's the case, then how did he end in the clearing? They carried him there? They found Lucina and decided to frame her? And the marks… Those damn marks still make no sense…"

The only people who could use Falchion were Lucina, Chrom and Cynthia (the latter wasn't very known for that), but only the older princess would make sense. Chrom wasn't anywhere nearby and Cynthia had Gerome as alibi, leaving Lucina as the only who could have used the sword to kill Nikolai.

But that couldn't be true. Morgan was sure it couldn't have been Lucina and not only because she was her friend, but because all her discoveries said she wasn't lying. Even the most absurd or confusing parts of her testimony began making sense after more witnesses told their sides of the story, but that last bit with Falchion remained unanswered.

Brady and Severa raised the possibility of Nikolai being murdered by someone else who wasn't the princess. However, the marks on the merchant's body contradicted it. They were a clear sign that Lucina was the only one who could have killed him.

"Unless…"

Morgan furrowed her brow as an idea came to her mind.

"Unless it wasn't Falchion."

If that was the case, then it surely could have been someone else. It would fit perfectly with what Brady and Severa discovered. It would open a whole new set of possibilities and probable murderers.

But if it wasn't Falchion, then why did they say he had marks made by it on his body?

Was it a mistake or…

"Could it have been on purpose?"

Morgan got up, ran to her room, took her cellphone and dialed to the only member of the Elite Trio she knew was awake at that time.

"Come on… Come on… Come on… Pick up… Pick up… Pick up…"

It took a few more seconds until her call was answered.

"I already said I don't wanna! I have a job and can't go out to drink every night!"

"Flea?" the girl asked raising an eyebrow.

"Ah! B-boss! Sorry! I didn't see the number and thought it was someone else!" the young boy apologized.

"Ah… It's fine," Morgan scratched her cheek awkwardly, wondering who he thought it was. "Tell me, who made the autopsy of Nikolai?"

"The autopsy? If I'm not mistaken it was some guy called Alphonse Chell."

"Where does he work?"

"He is a specialist in criminal autopsy for the Ylissean Court."

"Flea, get that guy and bring him to me as soon as possible."

"Found something, boss?" the boy asked.

"Maybe, but I need to speak with him before I can say anything."

"Understood. I'll go to the Ylissean Court early in the morning to look for him."

"Good, thank you," Morgan said.

"Something else, boss?" Flea asked.

"Yes, one more thing," the girl said serious. "Is there any way to see Nikolai's body?"

Commercial district, Ylisstol, September 27th, 06:08 AM

"I was expecting a graveyard or something…" Morgan said to herself, staring a bit awkwardly at the house in front of her.

The building was relatively small, made of bricks, had a roof full of holes, an old wooden door and only one window. It was also located in a commercial street, having a candy store to the left and an old antiques shop to the right.

Which made sense; Nikolai was a merchant, so living in a commercial street would make finding a place to build his store or sell his stuff easier.

"If I'm not mistaken, that antiques shop is the one he used to own," Morgan thought.

That also made sense; living close to his shop would make daily life much easier.

What still didn't make much sense to her was the strange custom his family had of keeping the bodies of their deceased in their houses for one entire week before finally sending them to the graveyard.

Even stranger was people deciding to follow the custom of his family even though Nikolai was the last remaining member of the Loss lineage, meaning there would be no one to complain if they just buried him right after his body was returned from the autopsy like they would do for any regular person.

"Well, culture is culture and it must be respected…" the girl awkwardly mumbled to herself in her mind while making her way to the door of Nikolai's house.

When she unlocked the door using the key given to her by Flea earlier that morning and was about to turn the doorknob, a familiar voice from behind her softly said:

"Fancy meeting you here."

Wondering if she heard who she thought she had, Morgan turned her face to look at the owner of the voice without letting go of the doorknob and became a bit surprised.

"Seiji?"

Behind her, the figure of the young prosecutor wearing less formal clothing stood with his hands on his back and an emotionless expression on his face.

"What are you doing here?" the boy asked.

"What are YOU doing here?" the girls asked back.

"I asked first, so you answer me first," Seiji smiled.

Morgan suppressed a slightly annoyed sigh as she let go of the doorknob and said with an exaggerated formality:

"I'm here to check the victim's body."

"Didn't you get a report of his autopsy?" Seiji asked raising an eyebrow.

"I did," Morgan answered.

"Then why check on the body?"

"I have my reasons."

Seiji gave her a suspicious look.

"What about you?" the girl asked.

"Like you said, I have my reasons."

"Oh, come on! I at least gave you a minor idea of what I'm doing here!" Morgan complained.

"That doesn't mean I have to tell anything about my agenda or plans to you," Seiji smiled mockingly. "If you don't mind giving information to the opposing side, that's no skin off my back. Just don't expect me to do the same."

"Seiji, you know we aren't in court, don't you?"

"And you know I wouldn't give any kind of information my rival could use against me in court, don't you?"

"You prick…"

"You silly girl," the boy shook his head and giggled.

Pouting a bit irritated at her rival, Morgan turned her back to him, walked towards the door and grabbed the doorknob. Before she could turn it, she was interrupted once again by Seiji suddenly asking:

"May I join you?"

Morgan raised an eyebrow and looked puzzled at the prosecutor.

"Join me? For what? Look at the body?"

"Yes," Seiji quickly answered.

"You don't want to share your agenda with me, but you want me to let you join mine?" Morgan glared at him. "It doesn't sound very fair to me."

"It just happens that I was about to see the body as well," the boy explained. "Since you'll do the same, I thought it would be faster for us to do it together. After all, we're going to see the same thing, so it isn't like we'll be disrupting or gaining an upper hand over the other."

"And why do you want to see the body?"

"…"

"You won't tell me, will you?"

"Do I really need to answer?" the prosecutor asked back a bit annoyed.

"Sheesh…" Morgan rolled her eyes. "I would usually kick you away just for that, but you're right that it won't make much of a difference if we both are going to see it anyways, so… Whatever, come in if you want."

Saying a quick and almost inaudible 'thank you', Seiji got closer to the girl and waited for her to open the door. With a short sigh, Morgan turned the doorknob and was greeted by a rather creepy scene.

Laying on a table in the middle of the room, in front of a red armchair and just a bit away from a cupboard, a medium sized casket made of wood with a bouquet of flowers on its cover appeared before them. There wasn't anything particularly horrifying with any of that, but it still made a shiver run down Morgan's spine.

"You can always leave," Seiji mocked, apparently having noticed the girl's reaction to the casket's sudden appearance.

"Leave? Why would I do that?" Morgan looked at him with a confident smile. "I've seen dead bodies time and time again while fighting in the war. A simple casket doesn't scare me."

But it did. For some weird reason it did. Even after seeing the lifeless bodies of thousands of enemies, that totally regular casket managed to make a shiver run down her spine.

Morgan wasn't heartless by any means; death wasn't anything to joke about and the horrors of war tormented her dreams for many weeks before Grima fell and peace was restored. It was just that, as horrible as it may sound, she kind of got used to those things.

So, why did that casket make her shiver?

Could it be because it was related to Lucina? Because she knew the casket had a body that could lead to many other mysteries?

Or could it be something entirely different?

"If that's the case, then why are you still there?" Seiji crossed his arms.

"I was just thinking to myself," Morgan dismissed, putting her thoughts aside and approaching the wood casket. "Now, let's see…"

The girl gently took the bouquet from the cover and put it aside as Seiji walked to the other side of the table and looked at the morbid object.

"Alright! All we have to do now is…" Morgan grabbed the side of the cover and prepared to open the casket.

"HOLD ON JUST A SECOND!"

Morgan yapped, startled at the sudden order.

"Hey! Don't scare me!" she complained.

"Open that thing SLOWLY, okay?" Seiji asked with a serious tone.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You seriously don't know?"

The expression Morgan made was a clear sign she didn't.

"Oh, my gods…" Seiji rolled his eyes and suppressed an annoyed sigh. "Morgan, what is inside this casket?"

"Nikolai's body, duh," the white-haired girl said nonchalant.

"More specifically, Nikolai's CORPSE," the prosecutor corrected.

"Of course. He's dead."

"Exactly, he's dead."

"And the problem is…?" Morgan asked annoyed.

"The problem is WHEN he died."

At first, Morgan didn't get exactly why that mattered and wondered what Seiji's point was. However, as she thought about that, she came to realize why the prosecutor hesitated at opening the casket at once.

"Oh… Oh! OOOOH! OH, MY GODS!" the girl took her hands of the cover.

"See? If I weren't here…" Seiji facepalmed.

"Oh, boy…" Morgan bit her lip a bit worried, then looked at the prosecutor. "Open it."

"Huh?! Why me?!" the boy asked surprised at the sudden request.

"Why not?!" the girl shot back.

"You're the one that was going to open it!"

"Yeah, but it was before I remembered the body inside it is probably all rotten, gross and smelly!"

"It surely isn't in the best condition, but that may be a bit of an exaggeration. I mean, it's been what? Five days? Six at most?"

"Then why don't you open it?!"

"B-because…!" Seiji stuttered.

"See?! You're worried about it being all rotten, gross and smelly as much as I am!"

Blushing a bit, the prosecutor facepalmed, shook his head and glared at his rival.

"A-alright! I do admit I'm a bit worried about that! But if I were alone, I would open it anyways even if a part of me doesn't want! It's for the sake of the case!"

"Then open it!" Morgan stepped back and pointed at the casket.

"B-but you were already going to do it!" it was the prosecutor's turn to step back. "Besides, didn't you say that you saw dead bodies many times during the war?!"

"Yeah, but those were fresh bodies of recently killed people! Not decomposing ones!" the white-haired attorney retorted. "What about you?! Didn't you see lots of corpses too?!"

"I saw a few, but they were also considerably fresh," the prosecutor told. "Bodies that are already decomposing are sent straight to the autopsy and I only receive the reports."

Morgan and Seiji found themselves at an impasse. Both had experience with corpses, but none had ever dealt with a body already in decomposition, which probably was the case for Nikolai's. Maybe Seiji was right and it wasn't as bad as they imagined, although none were very willing to open the casket and discover, because if he was wrong and the five days were enough, a very unpleasant surprise awaited for them.

"C-come on, man! You said that you would do it yourself if you were alone!" Morgan argued.

"And you? Weren't you going to do it as well if I weren't here?" Seiji retorted.

In fact, if they were by themselves without the other's company, they would surely do it. However, because there was someone else who could do it for them, none were willing to volunteer for the job.

This may sound a bit ridiculous, especially if you consider what they had already done in their lives and the experiences they had, but I, in my humble opinion as a narrator, think their hesitation is completely understandable. I mean, I for one wouldn't like to open a casket if there was the risk of being greeted by a (borrowing Morgan's words) rotten, gross and smelly body.

"Hey, Seiji," Morgan called.

"What?"

"If we continue to chicken like this, we won't get anywhere, so I had an idea."

"And that would be?"

"We both open the casket at the same time. You grab that side, I grab this side and we slide the cover. What do you say?"

"…"

"…"

"I… think it isn't such a bad idea," Seiji said.

"Alright. In that case…"

Slowly, Morgan extended her hands and grabbed her side of the cover, while Seiji did the same on his side. Despite trying their best to hide their nervousness, it was stamped all over their faces and completely impossible to not notice.

"So, do we open it at once or go slowly?" Seiji asked.

"Ugh… I didn't think about it…"

"I prefer to open it at once."

"Really?" Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"I think it's better to see it at once than see it little by little. It's more shocking, but a bit less disturbing and we won't have time to chicken again."

"Good point…"

Still a bit nervous, both the attorney and the prosecutor firmly grabbed their side of the cover and mentally prepared for whatever would happen.

"Okay, in the count of three," Morgan said.

"Alright," Seiji nodded.

The girl took a deep breath and prepared herself as much as she could before starting the countdown.

"One…"

Seiji's grasp on the cover tightened.

"Two…"

Morgan tapped her fingers on the wood.

"And…"

Seiji bit his lip.

"THREE!"

With one swift move, the two slid the cover away, accidentally using too much strength and launching it all the way to the other side of the room, hitting the wall. Ironically, the cover remained intact while the poorly made wall ended cracking on the spot it was hit.

However, neither Morgan nor Seiji noticed the damage they caused to the deceased's house as their shocked eyes looked to nothing else but the inside of the casket, completely unable to believe what they saw.

"Is… is that…?" Seiji asked astonished.

"How… how can it… Why is it… When did…" Morgan was at a loss of words.

If they weren't seeing it with their own eyes, they would probably disregard it as a poor joke some random guy told at a party after drinking too much.

"I can't believe it!" Morgan gasped. "Wasn't… He should…!"

"Yes, he should," Seiji said, eyes still locked on the casket. "But he isn't."

Morgan stepped back, leaned her back on the wall behind her, put a hand on her head and tried to process what was happening. Seiji also stepped away from the casket but ended sitting on the floor instead.

"How… When… I can't… How could?" the girl asked herself, completely unable to imagine what happened.

What began as an attempt to get answers ended creating even more questions. Of all the twists, that surely was one Morgan wouldn't expect at that point, so late in the case.

However, as much as she and Seiji couldn't process what they just saw, there was no way they could deny the truth that appeared right in front of their eyes, just to engulf the merchant's murder in more mysteries and questions than ever before:

The casket was empty.

Nikolai Loss's body had disappeared.

To be continued…

Author note: I made a research and didn't find anything related to that, so if by any chance the whole thing of keeping a deceased's body in their home for some time before burying it is a real custom any culture has, I didn't mean in any moment to mock, insult or criticize that.

Like was said in the story, culture is culture and it must always be respected, no matter what you think about it.

If I ended offending someone, please forgive me for my foolishness and feel totally free to send me a PM or leave a review saying that, so I can change that part.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope it was worth your time.

See you next time!