The Beloved One!

Chapter 22

Before I start, I would like to dedicate this chapter to @Apple_Ai for correctly commenting where the fur-ball Ray was.

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Ashnah almost had a heart attack, her eyelids slamming wide open. After calming her erratic heart by slowly breathing in and out, she sat up and answered. "Yes, I am."

Noticing that she had scared the child, the spirit of the girl instantly apologized, tears gathering on the sides of her gray eyes. "I am sorry!! I did not mean to scare you!!!"

"It's alright." Ashnah said, removing the her hand from her heart. She could have really heard the sincerity from the teen spirit's mouth.

The spirit's voice mixed with loneliness and sorrow as she spoke softer. "It's just ... that it has been a while from since I talked to someone ever since Alice died. When I sensed that you inherited the same side magic, ghost communication, from her I just wanted to talk to you."

'Ghost Communication.' It was just as Ashnah had thought when she had heard about her grandmother from Krynn and when Benjamin had taught about the magical abilities people had been killed for in the past and even still in this day and age would get them marginalized.

Ghost Communication was one of them which had likely been why the child's grandmother had kept silent about it. "In case you do not know my name, I am Ash. What is your name? You seem to know my grandmother well."

The spirit happily smiled, "Oh, I know your name and my name is Maria! And I know practically know about everything involving your grandmother. I used to always help her out a lot!"

'Maria? The friend of grandmother, that Nanny Krynn said she was never able to meet.' Ashnah spoke within her mind. "Maria-san, I have a question to ask you. But you do not have to answer if you do not wish to."

Maria smiled. "You do not have to address me in such a formal way. Just call me Maria or maybe Sister Mari, I always wanted a little sibling.... " Realizing she had said she quickly followed after with, "...but you do not have to call me that if you don't want to!!! Just ask your question away." She was eager to help Ashnah in anyway that she could, especially since this was her only friend's granddaughter.

"Do you know how she really died along with my grandfather?" The brown haired child inquired.

The mood around Maria slowly changed. "....Are you sure you want to know ..... about that?"

Ashnah nodded her head. "Yes, I do. I found her and my grandfather's death suspicious among some other things."

".... Ashnah, your grandmother, Alice and her husband, Charles, their so call run in with a noble magical beast during their carriage ride-" She slowly breathed in and out then continued. "-is not true. They were attacked by assassins and their target was Charles. Their target was never Alice, but she too died due to a mistake on the assassins' part. They later staged it to make it look like a powerful magical beast attacked and killed them."

'So it was not an accident.' Then she asked. "Do you know who were the ones who sent the assassins and why?"

Maria's gray eyes quickly glanced from left to right. She was a little bit reluctant but decided to tell her. This was involving her grandmother's death after all. "... The ones who had sent the assassins were your Great Uncle, Vincent Morley and Great Aunt, Emma Morley. They wanted to dissolve the marriage between Alice and Charles so that they could marry Alice off as a concubine to a wealthy old Count since he already had a wife. They were not able to dissolve the marriage between Alice and Charles, so they hatched a scheme for Charles to be killed off. Then they could have married Alice off as they willed. But ..... in the end she died too."

'Vincent Morley? Emma Morley? The doting grandparents of Kalila?' She always had an inkling feeling about the Morley Family, especially about those two. The Morley Family's past was not as innocent as it seemed. "So my hunch was right." Ashnah dryly smiled. "Then I guess that they are connected with the incident of involving my mommy's family, the Smith Family as well."

She knew about Anzor being quickly married off to Tazanna after her mother's and family's death, then word of the Duchess being pregnant had quickly been released after. She had found that oddly convenient.

When Maria looked into Ashnah's amethyst eyes, she knew they were not one of a child's. What Alice had told her in the past about her future granddaughter being abnormally shrewd and mature at needed times was true. She nodded her head. "Yes, they're the ones behind that abhorrent night as well."

"Hmm." Ashnah looked down, her hands tightening on the silk blanket that covered her lap and legs. 'So that explains the reason why mommy had become an evil stepmother and plotted against the entire Morley Family.' She sighed.

"Oh! But you do not have to worry Ashnah!" Seeing the child's head drop and hearing her sigh, she tried to comfort her. "That's the reason why your daddy 'married' their daughter, Tazanna! To find out and collect evidence on all the atrocious crimes they have committed and to bring it before King for them to be judged! Anzor is currently paving a path for so to occur!"

••••

Inside the grand deluxe bedroom chamber of the retired Duke and Duchess of Morley, Emma noticed something off.

Within one of her jewelry boxes, her most favorite necklace's gem had a large crack riddled through it. This was a sign of bad luck. With everything that was going on lately, she was easily aggravated. "You!!!! Get the maids who were in charge of cleaning this room in the morning and afternoon!!!"

The timid maid who was standing against the wall jumped in fright. She stuttered, "Y-Yes! As you wish!!!"

"You are moving too slow!!! Hurry up!!!"

"E-ep!" The maid moved even faster, almost falling over as her eyes began to warm and moisten.

••••

Within the conference hall of Behemoth Kingdom, powerful magical beasts of the noblest and royal bloodline gathered.

The King of the Wolf Magical Beasts, Ray was in his human form, a serious look in his violet eyes.

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Retired Duke and Duchess Morley has even more crimes that is not mentioned in the story as of yet. But we shall get through them; don't be surprised.