Unlike the ladies, the men cleaned up quickly and didn't waste any time talking or playing silly water games.
Alicia's brows drew together when she realized that Susan was right and the men were approaching. She couldn't help but wonder how Susan knew they were done when they had all been busy with their discussion.
"How did you know they were done?" Alicia asked curiously.
"I heard them approaching. Didn't you?" Susan asked, before remembering that Alicia was human, and then she turned to Luciana, who bobbed her head.
"I did too," Luciana said, and Alicia narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she looked from Susan to Luciana.
"Did you hear them approaching?" She asked Paulina, and Paulina shook her head.
This confirmed her earlier suspicion that the people of the Moon Kingdom seemed to have very sharp auditory abilities. She made a mental note to ask Susan and Luciana about this later. Since Harold was refusing to tell her anything, she would ask the ladies.
They all stood and went to join the men. "That was quick," Alicia said as she linked her arm with Harold's and walked beside him while Paulina, Luciana, and Susan walked beside her. Alvin walked ahead of them, and Harvey followed behind as they returned to the inn.
Harold was quiet the entire time as he thought about what Alvin and Harvey had shared with him, wondering if he should tell the others about it or not.
He would have loved to keep this to himself just like he usually did, but since the others had sworn loyalty to him, he considered involving them.
Once they were inside the inn, Harold stopped walking and addressed the others.
"Let's talk." He said calmly.
As much as Alicia wanted to take a break from all the seriousness, she knew she could not avoid the main problem forever. Besides, they were going to return to the palace today, so she needed to at least know what Alvin and Harvey had found.
A few minutes later, they were all seated on the floor in Alvin's room since his room was the only neutral room and was also less occupied.
Knowing how much Harold hated to beat around the bush and how he hated unnecessary stories, Alvin went straight to the point.
"I'm sure I do not have to remind you all that you swore on your lives to not betray us and keep whatever you learn among us."
Alicia looked at all of them in confusion. "We swore on our lives? When?" She asked before looking at Paulina, who also looked confused.
Alvin's eyes went to Paulina, and he remembered she hadn't been a part of the swearing ceremony. He immediately took out a dagger to conduct her own ceremony when he felt a nasty glare in his direction from Harold, making him pause his action.
Harold looked at Alicia and cleared his throat while waving it off quickly. "It was nothing. They just promised to not betray you. Go ahead." He said to Alicia before turning his attention back to Harvey to inform them about what they had learnt.
"We tried to find any trace of the past royal physician who made the Beta's nightmare. We thought that would give us a clue as to whoever was still using it now." He paused to let that sink in before he continued. "However, the few people who remember the physician claim that he died almost twenty years ago."
"If he is already dead, then how is the medicine still in existence?" Williams asked. "My mother said all of it was destroyed back then."
"What about other members of his family? Maybe there is someone else who knows about it and is still selling it?" Susan asked.
"How did he die?" Alicia asked curiously. "If he worked for the royal family and died all those years ago, you would have at least heard about it, right?" Harold nodded. She was indeed smart.
"According to them, his house was burned down with his family in it. While some people think it was an accident, others claim they suspect it was done on purpose." Alvin said, and all eyes turned to him for more information.
"By who?" Alicia asked.
"The Royal Family," Harvey answered, surprising them all, and all eyes turned from Alvin to Harvey.
"Why do they think so? Did someone see or hear something?" Lance asked curiously.
"One of his house servants, who escaped a day before the attack, told his brother that immediately the physician returned from the palace one night, he overheard him telling his wife that they were in danger and needed to run away," Harvey said, and the others looked at them thoughtfully.
What could have happened?
"And where is this servant now?" Alicia asked thoughtfully.
"He ran away that night after hearing that. No one knows where he is." Alvin supplied.
"How did you learn about all this then?" Susan asked curiously before she remembered she was supposed to be avoiding him.
"There is an old store on the outskirts of the village where people pay handsomely for information. It is believed that the owner of the place gives out genuine information and admits if he doesn't know something, instead of making false statements. We were also able to confirm some of this by visiting the previous physician's residence, which is still in ruins today. We searched for the man who used to live next door but moved away many years ago. He confirmed that he saw two people come out of the residence that night before setting fire to the apartment." Harvey answered.
"When did you have the time to do all this?" Susan asked with a slight frown. When did Alvin catch the pig and also have enough time to go about asking questions and getting information? When did he ever rest?
"How did he know they were from the palace?" Williams asked at the same time as Susan, and immediately, Alvin unsheathed his sword, scaring them all before he dropped it in the middle without saying a word.
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