Chapter 873: Framed

Quinn rubbed his eyes a few times, and even pinched himself to check that he wasn't asleep. It was safe to say none of it worked, because the scene in front of him didn't change. After realising it was all real, he still couldn't believe his eyes.

'Hey, you're also seeing this, right? The one on the table is Dwight, isn't it?' Quinn asked the only other person who could see the same thing as him, hoping he wasn't going crazy.

'It certainly looks like Dwight, but we can't be sure until we check. Make sure you lock the door behind you, Quinn. There is obviously something very strange going on here. Hurry, there's a chance we might be able to still save him.' Vincent stressed.

'Still save him?' Quinn thought those words were a long shot since he was unable to hear a heartbeat. Of course, there was the possibility that the scene in front of them was fake, but the smell of blood at the scene certainly made it seem real.

Quinn approached the body carefully, he didn't want to disrupt the possible evidence, yet at the same time he was listening outside, to see if the others had already noticed. Based on how the other guards had reacted, it would appear that he was the first one to find him like that.

If they were to storm in and see him with Dwight like this… it was clear who their number one suspect would be.

'It's too late.' Vincent said in a sad voice. 'There were cases of recently impaled vampires that had been saved by an injection of human blood directly into their hearts. Their brains had still been intact, so the next important organ would be the heart, but from the way the spear is stuck in his body, his heart is clearly pierced beyond repair. Whoever is behind this wanted to make sure Dwight would remain dead.'

Vincent had claimed to have done research on many different subjects many times before, and Quinn had experienced certain types of research even. Some of them had seemed cruel, but there had often been a sincere desire to help behind them.

Checking a bit more, there were no indications of who the weapon belonged to, no markings and such, and surprisingly there were no indications of a struggle either. There was blood but only Dwight's, while the rest of the room was in perfect condition.

'How? Just who could kill someone like Dwight this perfectly? As important figures, I thought the King's Royal Knights were supposed to have roughly the same strength as a leader?" Quinn pointed out the condition of the room.

'I find this difficult to understand as well. Dwight was a cautious person, whoever it was, it had to be someone he trusted. Maybe there was a meeting set up before yours? That would explain why he looks so calm in his seat, and then at the worst time he had been stabbed by that person from behind?' Vincent theorised.

Quinn wanted to touch the spear but at the same time didn't want to either, as it would just confirm the reality of the situation. Time and time again it looked like his allies were getting killed.

'Dwight you only wanted to find out the truth and help the vampires and this is what happened to you.' Quinn thought, looking at his body.

At that moment, Quinn could hear the sound of footsteps coming towards the door and some light knocks on the door. In order to conceal himself he used the Shadow cloak and hid in the corner of the room. After a while, the person on the other side slowly opened the door.

It turned out to be another leader, Muka. The look on his face was nearly as shaking as Quinn's had been. He quickly closed the door behind him, and went up to Dwight's body, making sure he did not touch anything. It was almost a repeat of what Quinn had done, until he looked into the corner of the room.

"Quinn, is that you there? I can sense your presence." Muka asked softly.

Of course the cloak was not as effective against other leaders.

"The guards told me that you were already in a meeting with Dwight. I was meant to have one after him, so I thought it could save us all some time if I were to join you. What happened here? Was it…" Muka paused before finishing the sentence.

"Of course, it wasn't me!" Quinn replied back in an angry whisper. "I came in only a few moments before you. Besides, do you really think I would be so stupid to announce myself to the guards and stay behind, waiting for someone like you to come in and catch me?! Before you interrupted me, I tried to inspect the scene just like you were right now."

Muka thought about it for a while, and started to inspect the room at the same time, seeing the same things Quinn had seen.

"It has to be Bryce! Who else could go this far, not to mention be able to kill Dwight? He was a strong Vampire Royal Knight. He might have weakened since he is past his prime, but barely anyone would be able to finish him so… cleanly." Muka claimed.

However, Quinn wasn't convinced. Bryce should be as hurt as Quinn currently was, meaning he should be recovering right now. After their encounter, Bryce was no longer on the top of his list of suspects.

Still, it would have been easier for Muka to just frame Quinn right now, but it looked like he was genuinely trying to figure out who it was. Was someone really pulling the strings behind Mala's back making him think it was Bryce or was it something else?

Both of them turned their heads towards the door, as they started to hear a large commotion and the look on Muka's face was now one of shock. Something had happened, only they both were unaware what.

"Quinn, I'm sorry…" Muka said. "But as a leader I must do my duty. They are accusing you of a possible assassination attempt on Dwight's life. Based on what I see here, I must bring you in and you shall be held until a decision has been made."

"What?!" Quinn shouted back. "What nonsense are you spouting? I VERY CLEARLY am being framed. I just told you that I came in right before you. You are literally the first person I see enter after me, so whoever is accusing me must have already seen the outcome of this and is trying to pin the blame on me!"

Muka stayed silent for a moment and had his back held against the door. It sounded like there were those trying to rush into the room from the outside but Muka was stopping them.

"Quinn, this is a message that everyone has received. I can only advise you to not resist. If everything really is as you claim then there is nothing for you to fear. Just let us get to the bottom of this, I promise our side will help you! We promised to help you, didn't we? If you act out now, it will just complicate things and might bring danger to your family."

Not understanding what was happening, and now being accused of a crime he didn't commit, Quinn was angry. As the doors burst open and the Royal Guard rushed in. He quickly used his Shadow travel to escape through the castle walls outside to the front of the castle.

However, he didn't get far, as a large explosion hit the ground where he was, kicking Quinn out of his shadow, making him skid across the floor.

When he looked up, he broke out in laughter at the absurdity of the scene.

"So everyone thinks I've killed Dwight? And now SOMEHOW all of the leaders JUST HAPPEN TO BE here at the same time?" Quinn pointed out the 'coincidence'.

In front of him were six of the family leaders, who were closest to the castle.

Jin, the 4th leader, Prima the 12th leader, David the 11th leader, Kyle the 7th leader, and Susan the 3rd leader.

"Quinn, we have just been made aware of a possible assassination attempt on Dwight. We need to go inside and confirm it's true. Please come with us quietly!" Jin shouted.

A few seconds later, the Royal Guards ran out of the room. "We hereby confirm that Royal Knight Dwight has been killed!"

This certainly wasn't looking like a good situation.

"Look, I know we don't get along, but don't you think it's at least a LITTLE STRANGE that you guys come here right now and just happen to find me right next to Dwight's body?!" Quinn questioned.

"It's not strange at all!" Susan replied. "We were informed of your meetings and have evidence in regards to your plan to kill the Royal Knight Dwight! We just amended to catch you red handed. Unfortunately we were one step too late and you've already committed your crime!."

It was clear that everyone had already agreed that Quinn was the murder without an investigation. They probably wouldn't even attempt one and just directly put everything on him.

Now it was up to Quinn whether he would trust in his allies who might insist on an investigation which might clear him… or whether he would attempt to fight his way out of this mess.

*****

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