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Surely not.

I approach the lock fastened across the doors with growing trepidation. He couldn’t possibly. It’s unhygienic and likely full of spiders andwhy is he making me go into the cellar?

My skeleton key fits into the lock without so much as a whine as I turn it. Darkness lurks far below, where the sun doesn’t reach. It’s the one part of the manor that wasn’t updated with electricity. There was little reason for it.

But I spot a lantern hanging on a hook just inside. The interior is full of oil while the exterior hasn’t a speck of dust anywhere to be seen.

Someone is certainly using the room.

I light it, then begin my careful trek down into the cold area. Rows and rows of shelves house wines and food storage. Most of it is coated in dust, though a path has been worn along the ground. Evidence of foot traffic.

The room keeps going and going. I’ve never had cause to come through here before, and I really hope this is my last visit as I spot a fifth cobweb.

I try to orient myself as I imagine what the floor above me looks like. The servants’ quarters would be back that way. Then here are thekitchens. Yes, I can hear a slight commotion above me as the staff work to clean breakfast and prepare lunch.

That means the library would be about…

I round a corner and come to a standstill.

Someone has laid out floorboards on the ground to cover the dirt. A plain mattress with a white comforter rests right on the ground. And as I step into the space, I catch a smell.

That of the earth after a storm.

He’s been living here, between two shelves of canned fruits. I am horror-struck. I wouldn’t dream of letting one of my servants sleep in such a place, yet he has been hiding down here in an attempt to keep me from learning his secret. Were his accommodations in Dimyros better or worse than this? Why do I care?

A broom lies off to the side, to keep the floorboards clean. A small chest nearby reveals another pair of pants and a handful of shirts. Next to a bucket of water, I find a handheld mirror, a razor, and soap.

Good gods.

And then, as I survey the far side of the room, I find a single piece of parchment, staked to the wall with a dagger similar to the one Eryx keeps sheathed on his person.

When I approach, I’m able to read the scribblings.

BEMUS ANDRIS

TARASIOS KAZAN

URIAN STRATOS

TYPHUS VALIS

CALLISTUS LIAKOS

KYMUS PANOS

The first two names are the lords who have gone missing, the ones mentioned in the paper, as reported by Karla and Tekla. Has the kingmanaged to cover up the rest? I try to recall if I saw any of these men at the ball. I don’t think I did, but it’s hard to be sure. I continue to read.

ORESTES SARKIS

GENERAL KAISER

The next two names stand out in stark relief. I know them. Sarkis is who Eryx assumed poisoned him. It’s the man who has been blackmailing him. And I just met the general last night at the ball.

His name has been crossed out, the line of ink darker than those before it.

Because it was struck out last night.

This is a hit list.