Dominic motioned for the two maids to follow him, and then looked down at the bodies on the floor.
Technically, they were staff as well. So, he stuffed them in his storage cube.
The Royal Guard led them through the Keep, down to the second level, where confused staff scattered as they marched through with their blades drawn. Dominic could see that some were following them for a moment, wondering just who the Princess and her guards were going after with such determination, but none dared to go as far as openly following them to their destination.
That was probably best for their health.
Royal Guard Colonel Wilkes turned right and kicked a solid oaken door, breaking the latch and swinging it open to reveal a very shocked Marquis poring over paperwork in an otherwise empty office.
"Princess. What happened?" He asked, more shocked at the intrusion than angered or anything else.
"Where are your dungeons? We’ve got a failed assassin with us, and we will need to speak to your kitchen staff. All of our meals were drugged, and this man attempted the assassination when he thought I should be unconscious." She explained.
The Marquis nodded, and motioned to his right.
"Down the hall, turn left. That stairwell leads into the basement levels. Should I accompany you, or should I have the guards gather the kitchen staff first?"
"Take my Advisor and gather everyone who was in the kitchen or handling food today." Princess Alexis decided, then had her guards drag the unconscious assassin out of the room, leaving Dominic and the two maids behind.
"Are these two suspects?" Marquis Burton asked.
Dominic shook his head. "No, they are the two most likely to not be suspects from among the staff. First, we need to know who delivered the food to both the Princess and the tower.
But don’t let anyone from the kitchens leave yet."
The Marquis entered the kitchen and spoke quietly to the head chef, then nodded and stepped into the hall.
"I believe that we have a manhunt ahead of us. Neither of the delivery boys returned to the kitchens afterward. I will send the guards to find them now. What else do you need right now?" He asked.
"I will speak to the head chef before we do anything. There is a chance the food was drugged after it left the kitchen. The drug that they used was a poor choice, and an experienced chef should have known that." Dominic answered quietly.
Marquis Burton nodded, and Dominic stepped back into the kitchen.
"Chef, do you have a moment?" Dominic asked the aging woman in a white coat.
"Royal Sorcerer. What can we help you with today?" She asked, still clearly flustered by the Marquis’ question earlier.
"Today has been a bit stressful, and I was wondering if you could make a bit of comfort food for me from my home. A Dragonberry pie."
The chef burst out laughing, then covered her mouth and shook her head.
"Those don’t grow within five hundred kilometres of here, and they’re illegal to sell in Cygnia in the first place. You must be from the far west somewhere." She replied.
Her genuine confusion and amusement told Dominic what he had wanted to know. She wasn’t aware of what poison was used on him and the Princess.
Dominic sighed dramatically. "Such a shame, done right, they’re the perfect combination of sweet and tart. But if you do happen to come across some, let me know. I’ll make it worth your time.
But for now, I must assist the Marquis. It appears that our missing delivery boys are in some real trouble, and the longer we have to search, the less lenient the Princess is feeling."
Dominic could already hear the running outside, the distinctive clanking run of armoured guards searching for someone. And so could everyone else in the kitchen.
"Did they mess up badly?" One of the kitchen workers asked.
Dominic nodded. "Pretty badly. However, if the guards have to drag them in kicking and screaming, it’s going to get much worse for them."
The cook lowered her voice. "What did they do?"
Dominic lowered his voice, as if he were telling her a great secret. "They swapped the food deliveries. I had a rather odd lunch request, and the Princess suspects that they might have been trying to poison her."
The cook looked horrified, and motioned for one of the others to come over.
She explained the situation, and the man nodded.
"Follow me. I believe I know where they might have gone to hide."
Dominic followed him out of the room, leaving the others behind in the halls outside the kitchen. Telling just enough of the truth to get everyone concerned, but phrasing it as an accident worked much better than hurling potentially fatal accusations around.
They went down a narrow stairwell, down a dark hallway barely lit with magitech lights, and then to what looked like a common room, which was completely dark, with the lightbulb orbs inactive.
Dominic sent a bit of mana to the lights, and the room lit up, revealing destruction.
The sofa was overturned, there was blood all over the cushions, and two bodies lay on the ground.
"Go get the guard. And maybe a doctor." Dominic ordered.
What was he supposed to do in this situation? Make notes? That seemed like the most obvious choice. He just had to make sure that he didn’t get too close and make a mess of the blood.
But there were some obvious answers. First, one of the boys was holding a coin purse, much more stuffed than Dominic would expect for a minimum wage employee. Second, there were coins on the floor under the low table, which had been split in half.
That almost felt like a setup, as if they were being framed for the crime. Anyone in their economic position would immediately put those coins somewhere safe, and not keep them in their hand or anywhere where they risked losing them.
Then, the fact that the coins were left behind out in the open after the fight.
If they were set up and killed by someone else from the staff, they would have taken the gold before they fled. So, it was most likely their mysterious assassin who set them up.
Hopefully, the Princess and her men were having some luck getting answers.