Kitanna
Chapter 66: DECOY

Chapter 66: DECOY

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION:BREATHE ~ LEE HI]

Inside the holding prison, Axilla sat on the ground. Her whole body was still stained with blood, and nobody had moved to help her clean up. She was in great shock, having never seen anyone die before, and her whole body trembled due to the trauma. Tears dropped from her eyes each time she blinked.

After some time, she inhaled deeply, muttering to herself, "It didn’t happen. It didn’t happen."

Bareea and Misam, also in the same cell, sat on the floor without saying anything. The three of them wondered how they got there and what their fate would be.

Bareea felt a little discomfort on her side, she moved closer to the wall to rest her back. The whole event was also taking a huge toll on her and she was just stressed. All she wanted was to leave the prison and go back to her room.

Misam wished everything was just a nightmare, she couldn’t believe she will be tagged a murder suspect. The shock of the incident also left her looking tired.

The prison door opened, and Queen Larel stepped inside.

"Axilla, Axilla, are you okay?" Larel rushed to where the girl was sitting.

Axilla turned, her eyes dull and tired. The once vibrant and bright girl now appeared lifeless.

"Queen Larel, I didn’t do it," she muttered.

"I know you didn’t. I trust you. Don’t worry; investigations are being carried out now. I’m sure the real culprit will be found soon," Larel reassured, glancing at the other two maids who were also suspects. In truth, she knew them well and doubted any of them was capable of taking a life.

Larel smiled at them, rephrasing her words, "Don’t worry; the real culprit will be caught soon. I’m sure there’s a mix-up somewhere," trying to calm them down.

Misam and Bareea nodded, but Axilla still stared blankly into space. Then she turned to the queen.

"What about the princess?" Axilla asked. If anyone would be on her side it will be the princess and the white Lord. But she couldn’t risk speaking that she knew who the white Lord was, it will only lead her to be further investigated.

"She is fine. The shock was too much for her because apparently she spoke with the head maid the same morning," Larel replied. She took out an embroidered piece and took Axilla’s hands, attempting to wipe the blood on her hands and face.

Axilla wanted to say something but paused her lips. She then whispered, "Please tell the princess I didn’t do it." She wished the princess will come around to see her at least. Axilla was just scared inside the dark prison room.

Larel nodded, folding the piece into Axilla’s hands, she patted her shoulder before leaving the prison.

Meanwhile, inside the princess’s quarters, Kitanna lay on her bed, frustrated with the pretense of being a maid. She angrily pulled a button from her collar.

The door to her room opened, and she jumped up to see who it was, expecting news from Nix after the interrogation.

Larel entered the room, noticing Kitanna’s disappointment. "I can come later if you don’t want to entertain visitors for now," Larel said politely.

"No, no, you’re welcome. You’re not the problem. Please come, sit," Kitanna said, feeling bad for making the queen feel like she was disturbing.

"I was expecting to see the guard who was in charge of the investigation. I wanted to get positive news," Kitanna explained.

Larel nodded understandingly, knowing everyone was anticipating news about the shocking incident.

"I’m just coming back from the prison, and Axilla asked for you. She wanted to say something but was being hesitant," Larel said the reason for her visit.

Kitanna nodded, aware that Axilla would want to speak to her. However, she couldn’t risk being associated closely with her at the moment, given the suspicion around her.

" I know she will be waiting for me. But I can’t risk her being associated as someone very close to me. You saw what happened during the interrogation, all hands pointed at me. And they made it seem like I was the one who threatened the head maid, if I should go closer to any of the suspects it’ll confirm their doubt that I ordered the maid to finish my dirty job." Kitanna said with worry marred on her forehead.

She didn’t want to cause Axilla to be at disadvantage any more than she was already in. All eyes were on her and most especially anyone the princess was going to visit first.

"Don’t worry about her; I’ll be checking on her. Just focus on finding out what happened," Larel assured Kitanna.

Kitanna nodded, giving Larel a grateful smile. Then, she raised her eyes to look at Larel.

"Do you know the other two maids personally?" Kitanna questioned.

Larel gave the question some thought before answering, "I have met with the one named Misam a few times when she was assigned to help me dress up and serve me food. She doesn’t come off as someone shady. She’s just normal. Then the other beautiful maid, Bareea. I only know she’s popular among the ministers and officials because of her beauty. But I have never had any strange encounters." Larel replied, finding it difficult to point out the main culprit.

Kitanna nodded, "They say you can never know the murderer sitting next to you. It’s not a problem; I’ll figure something out," she said in a tired voice.

At the same time, Larel let out a yawn. She got up from her seat and left the room, allowing Kitanna some time alone to think.

Kitanna sighed, feeling there was a pattern she couldn’t pinpoint. She had met the three maids the night before, and at the same time as the murder, it was still the three of them.

Axilla, was someone she knew well. Misam, a regular maid, who never had a stain in her reputation throughout her stay in the palace and Bareea, known for a shady lifestyle.

In all the statements made by some of the witnesses, they made it look like she threatened the head maid earlier when they were alone, and then proceeded to silence her out of hate using one of the maids.

But why would anyone do such a thing? Kitanna asked herself. She paced inside her room, trying to get the answer of why? Then something clicked.

"This whole thing is just a decoy. They’re trying to cover up something," Kitanna thought, recalling what Lady Aggie had wanted to tell her. If Aggie was killed because of what she was going to say, then there was more to everything that happened that morning.

Kitanna changed her dress and left the room.