ukimiya | Third Trial

THIRD TRIAL

Saturday, Week 3

UNCOVER THE GUILTY PARTY

No one can resist the tug that urges them forward and into the Great Hall. There's no point in lingering within the safe confines of your bed or loitering in the castle halls. Neither will shield you from these tedious trials nor will they keep you from witnessing the ghastly scenes that follow. Most of you have reluctantly accepted this as your reality. Right now, it probably feels like there's no stopping the course you're on. All you can do is hold on tight and wait for Sunday to come. If you can just get through this trial, surely next week won't end in disappointment and tragedy.

It's only when all twenty-two of you are present that the doors in the Great Hall fly open, allowing everyone to enter into the trial room. The only surprise here it is if anyone's still shocked by the display.

As soon as you enter, it's easy to see that the only difference from last week is there are less of you to fill the seats around the table. Likely because of how spacious the room is, with so many of your number missing it's starting to feel a little lonely. With a quick glance, you can see the profiles still lining the walls. Their presence serves as a grim reminder of those whose lives have been lost, just in case the absence of their voices wasn't enough.

When everyone settles into their respective seats, The Sage's cold voice seeps in through their pendants.

"It is time, my warriors, to meet the challenge head on. Thus far, your quick wit and perseverance have prevented these trials from meeting an unrighteous end. As you come upon your third tribunal, I can only ponder if this trend will continue.

May you be blessed with only the best of fortune. You will need it."

As soon as the Sage finishes speaking, five images flicker into sight as if brought to life by a projector. Seeing how there's no such device present, it may not be a stretch to consider magic is at work here.

Soldier on, Warriors.

22 REMAIN

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Kurosaki-kun already pointed out he thinks that she planned everythin', but I guess she coulda asked someone ta help supply her the poison. Like, "hey potential murderer-san, I wanna be outta my mind when ya do it, what should I take?"

Well, uh. I saw her cooking earlier this week. She didn't really know how to handle normal vegetables. I-- also wouldn't put it past her to mess up a simple salad.

So, yeah, maybe she knew the mandrake. But I think anything outside of her princess duties was probably not something she was exceptionally familiar with.

I wouldn't put it past her to put something like that in it just so....

[SHE BAD.]

... Do you really think that could have been an accident? Like that someone told her that was a good vegetable to go with salads?

I mean... you saw her cooking, right? She could have gone looking for an herb to go with the salad and had no idea what she was doing.

[It's not like she likes talking crap about the dead but-- their cooking is another thing.]

....

That really sounds plausible.

So, it's just as likely that she wanted to be alone when she wrote those notes. But that doesn't explain the extra plate setting.

Someone might have run into her by chance. Or maybe she made two and messed up one.

[The number of possibilities are wild.]

That opens a whole other line of inquiry. We probably need to stop and take stock of all the evidence before moving on.

So ya think it's important ta keep in mind someone with both cookin' skills and poison?

Poison more than the cooking skills.

But the person who knows the most about the poison doesn't fit your tarp theory.

It's a theory. Nishi-han said he figured one of us could have pretended to be weak... so maybe that's possible.

Tarp could've just been more convenient, a way of keepin' blood off the grass. It was probably cleaned with lemon before bein' given ta fire-chan. I think it can still go together - someone with the poison knowledge an' bigger than the girls.

Most of the lemon was in the salad, though. I found both.

Hm, but the burned thing still smelled like lemon, didn't it? Why put lemon in the salad at all?

Maybe to mask the taste of the poison...? Not that I would know what it tastes like.

Guess that depends on whether or not we believe she was usin' it ta help with the wound.

I've been trying to figure that out. If the mandrake actually tastes fine, it doesn't make sense to put anything in the salad to cover it up.

Especially if it was all part of a set up.

[he nods.]

Right, my thought would be Georik by way of him knowing so much about the mandrake but... Why would he tell us everything we need to know about that? It's pretty implicating.

He literally said he wouldn't tell us if he was the murderer, though. An' him bein' helpful's what got Hiyono tellin' me ta back down so he can keep bein' helpful. Playin' the good doctor's a good way ta go about castin' off suspicion.

... True.

[He knows that type of evasion tactic, all too well.]

I do think we're not taking into account the height problem, though.

For him to drag her to get her to the front door, he'd have to hunch over the whole way. If he can pick her up, I don't get why he wouldn't.

[but he sounds-- really annoyed.]

Still. He has the knowledge.

Yeah, that part I can't figure out either.

Look-- maybe you don't need advanced knowledge of the mandrake.

Maybe you just need to know it's dangerous.

So back to not needin' ta know if they knew how ta poison?

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