"Come inside, Lea. Oh, you are already inside."
Leahlya nodded and closed the door behind. She walked towards her father and stood right in front of him. She asked, "What's the challenge that you were talking about?"
Victor gave her a look and turned towards his file cabinet. Taking out a file, he handed it to Leahlya. He said, "Read it."
Leahlya immediately opened the file and started reading its contents.
[The accused name is 'Mari,' a maid. She is suspected of stealing a jewellery from the late Marchioness Argaentine. She was caught by Susie, the head maid of the mansion.]
"Someone has stolen my grandmother's necklace? Why haven't you told me this before, Father?" asked Leahlya. She still remembered her grandmother very vividly. Kind, strong, and warm. Both of them were really close with each other. A sense of nostalgia passed through her when she remembered her sitting on the very place, where her father sat now.
Victor replied, "I wasn't sure if I should tell you or not."
"You should have! This is something I should have known!" yelled Leahlya.
"Is that so? Well, now you have. So, if you can keep your head cool... I will tell you, your challenge."
Calming herself, Leahlya asked, "Fine. Tell me everything I need to know."
"Mari, a maid in our mansion, stole your grandmother's necklace two days ago. The head maid found this and informed me. She was very quick, in fact it didn't even took an hour before she found Mari, red-handed."
"You suspect a foul play?" asked Leahlya.
"I do indeed. It's kind of baffling to find the necklace this quickly. She is not someone with calibre. Lea, your job is to find out the truth. If you succeed, I will talk with the emperor about your wish. And if I got the permission, I will let you have your office."
Leahlya smirked, "Well, you just talk with the emperor. I will find out everything you need to know."
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Father said that both of them are currently detained in the mansion's dungeon. So, let's first talk to them.
Nodding to the guard, Leahlya entered into the first cell, where Mari was detained.
Seeing Leahlya in her cell, Mari jumped on her feet and asked, "My Lady?! Why are you here?!" Her face was full of surprise.
With a blank face, Leahlya said, "Mari, right? I am here on behalf of my father, which means I will be the one who find if you are an innocent or, a thief. And let me warn you. The jewellery which you stole belonged to my grandmother. So, it will best for you to tell everything you know. Or, else... it won't be good." Her last words held an edge to it.
Mari's face paled in fear. She stuttered, "B-but... I-I..."
"It's not helping, Mari. The more you are like this, the more are your chances of going to jail. So, I would like you to start talking."
Mari nodded frantically. "I-I will t-tell... y-you e-everything... My Lady... so, p-please... I r-really... didn't d-do a-anything."
Leahlya titled her head and smiled. She said, "Just details, Mari."
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22, an orphan, did the laundry stuff, and is currently single. Mari told me that Susie is the one who stole the necklace, and framed her. That's all I got. Now, it's time to question Susie.
"Susie. Mari has said that you have framed her. Do you know the consequence of trying to accuse someone falsely?" asked Leahlya.
Susie, who was in her forties, had a very rough look. She kind of looked like a hooligan, or maybe a drug dealer. With a gruff voice, she replied, "Don't listen to her. She's... pardon my language, a 'bitch.' She is the one who stole the jewellery. Not me."
"I will decide that. Also, please keep language in check. I, for one, doesn't want to hear curses, unless something unexpected happens."
"Yes... My Lady."
"Good. So, let's ask you some questions, shall we? First, answer my question. Where did you find the necklace?"
Susie replied, "I found it inside that... er, Mari's drawer."
"Hmmm... why did you search the drawer? I mean, what made you think she has stolen the necklace?"
"I have always thought Mari to be a bad news. Like something bad will happen if I left her unchecked."
Leahlya raised a brow at this answer. "A divine revelation, I suppose. You just doubted her? Since when? The start?"
Susie nodded and scratched her hands. Leahlya observed her carefully and found her to be sweating profusely. One thing that got highlighted was her continuous averting of eyes.
"Do you have some grudge against her?"
"No," replied Susie.
"Well, tell me what happened that day."
"That day? Ah, right! I was supervising some maids in kitchen and that's when I realized Mari to be missing. When I went to her room, I found her drawer half-closed. Having some doubts, I opened the drawer and found the necklace."
"What prompted you to open the drawer? You just thought something was inside the drawer?"
"Yes."
Nodding, Leahlya said, "Okay. That's all that I need to ask."
"When are you going to release me?"
"Soon enough." Leahlya faked a smile, and left the cell.
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"So, did you find anything?" asked Victor.
Leahlya replied, "I did. Their stories are inconsistent. Mari, for one, didn't know how the necklace mysteriously appeared inside her drawer. As for Susie, she is a 'nightmare' on her own."
Victor put down the quill and asked, "What type of 'nightmare' is she?"
"She is very strict. One mistake, and you land in her radar. She likes to issue punishments. Everything should be under her control. On the other hand, Mari's submissive in nature. One thing, I found when I asked the other maids was... the two of them were very close to each other. So, why the sudden bad blood between them now?"
Victor laughed loudly. He was surprised by his daughter's evaluation. He always knew Lea was an intelligent girl, yet she tended to act foolishly. Maybe it was because of that 'bastard,' his daughter's brain was clouded with 'love.'
"Father, don't laugh!!"
"Fine, fine. I will not... hahaha... I am happy. So, when will you give me the results?"
Leahlya smirked, "At night, when we will be having our 'father-daughter' time during dinner."