LUCIUS' POV
"What do you mean by that?" I asked him, but he shook his head.
"It's nothing, just the number of people who come here daily on different errands. Servants and noblewomen alike, I can sense some kind of energy," he said and smiled.
"But all that is long gone now. All I smell is the dungeon," he said, and I stared at him.
"You know who is possessed?" I asked, and he laughed.
"Am I a sorcerer? How could I possibly know? I think you're mistaken," he said, and a low growl escaped me.
"You're already a traitor against the Kingdom, so I understand if you will not play according to my rules, but... Step out of line once more and I'll have you executed," I said and made to leave. But when I noticed Dusk wasn't following, I turned and saw her staring at Ethan.
"Dusk," I called, and she looked at me.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said and left Ethan to come to me.
"Are you okay?" She asked me, and I nodded.
"We only need to prepare for tomorrow," I said, and we stepped out of the dungeon.
We hadn't gone far from the dungeon when Ariadne popped up in front of us.
"Alpha, I saw the invitation, and I would be delighted to join the music lessons. I didn't know you had such an interest in music," she said delightfully, and I smiled.
"Yes, I do," I replied, and she looked at Dusk.
"Are you also coming?" She asked Dusk, who looked at her and nodded.
"I thought you only loved painting," she said, clearly displeased that Dusk was also taking the class.
"I took an interest in it," Dusk replied with a smile, and Ariadne frowned.
"I really doubt you'll be good at it. It's not something that's so easy to play," she said and turned to me. "So, I'll be looking forward to seeing you? At least if you're not joining, you could supervise us?" She asked, and I smiled.
"I'm actually joining, so I'll definitely be there," I said and her eyes widened.
"You're going to be playing the harp with us too?" She asked.
"Yes, it's a weird hobby for an Alpha, but I'd love to learn it," I said, and she smiled. "I'll see you there tomorrow," I said and left her standing there.
"Why's it so bad for an Alpha to learn the harp?" I said to myself.
~
The next day, we all sat in the hall facing Esperanza, who was going to teach us the basics.
"So, have you spotted anyone who seems suspicious?" I asked Seline.
"No, not yet, but I've been working on a potion that's going to be quite helpful. I just haven't gotten it right," she said, and Dusk raised a brow.
"What does the potion do?" She asked.
"Oh, it gives the possessed one a severe headache. I found it out in the library yesterday, but it turns out the potion is a bit hard to make," she said.
"Do you think I can find more facts about this Naomi and her underlings in the library?" I asked her, and she seemed to be thinking.
"Well, yes, but not exactly her. You can search up beings like her," she said, and I stood up.
"I'll be right back," I told Esperanza, and she bowed before I left.
I went to the library and started searching for information on water beings. It took quite some time, but I decided not to give up until I found a book that had descriptions of water creatures that were exactly like Naomi. They, like Naomi, were overprotective of creatures around them. They had an excess of love for revenge and lots of underlings they sent on errands. I sat and began to read. It was through reading that I found out the underlings had special powers, and that they didn't possess people. They shifted into the exact replica of the person and hid the real person away in places that couldn't be thought of. And they also had an ability to influence dreams.
"Who has been hidden away?" I asked myself as though that would provide the answer I needed. I racked my brain in the library but finally decided to wait for Seline's potion.
~
"Did you find what you needed?" Seline asked me as I sat next to Dusk.
"Let's discuss later," Dusk said, as she played the harp according to Esperanza's directions. She seemed to be enjoying the lesson, and Seline looked at me.
"It's okay, we'll discuss later," I said, and watched Ariadne, who seemed to be having difficulty in playing.
~
Later, after the classes, Seline brought the unfinished potion to me in the garden.
"Here it is. It's still unfinished, but..." She said, and looked around.
"Are you looking for something?" I asked, joining her in looking around.
"No, I just thought Dusk was with you," she said.
"Oh, she left a while ago," I said, and she nodded.
"Ah... That's fine. So here's the potion, it's still unfinished. I just can't figure out how to use the last ingredient. It's really confusing," she said, and I took the potion.
"So, when it's completed, what do we do with this?" I asked, and she took it and poured a little out of it on her hand, sprinkling it around.
"We sprinkle it," she said, and I spotted Ariadne coming towards us from afar.
"Will she ever relent?" I heard Seline murmur.
"Alpha, I came to thank you for the music lesson you helped us have. It was delightful, I hope you enjoyed yourself," she said, and I nodded.
Then she closed her eyes tight.
"What's wrong?" Seline asked, although I could tell she felt Ariadne was faking it.
"I think I'm going to have a headache. I was fine a minute ago," she said with a confused look. "Maybe I need to get some rest," she said and bowed.
"You may leave," I said, and she left.
"What do you think? She says she has a headache, your potion gives the possessed one a headache," I said, but she shook her head.
"It can't be. My potion isn't completed yet, and Ariadne still acts like herself," she said, and added. "I think I should work harder on the potion before she claims whoever life it is totally." She said, bowed and left.
I was suspicious of Ariadne, and my suspicions were confirmed the next morning when I was called to the Physicians' quarters.
There was Seline lying on the bed.
"What's wrong with her?" I asked, and the Physician looked at me.
"She's sleeping, but won't wake. It seems she has been locked in a dream."