do you guys ever thought what is ashveil like when kronstadt is still a prospering civilization and before operation zulo. this detective who presents himself as unserious could be once a confident gentleman with a strong sense of justice.
not necessarily high and mighty about himself, it's more of a down to earth but still know your worth kind of confidence? he might used to be chivalrous too. what if, he used to wield a sword before his cane? and when he fights you can clearly tell he is the leader of the galaxy rangers. la mancha's only goal is to strike down his opponent and make justice prevail along with his companions.
i really think la mancha is self-sacrificing as well. as the lead hunter, he rather harm himself than the rest. or one must break the rules to bring the greater good.
outside of the battle he's popular with women. goodness sake maybe most of them are in their late 30s because mothers warn their daughters in their twenties not to engage with the galaxy rangers because they are dangerous and cruel group of people only for the effect to become a complete opposite. because they still think about their charming la mancha saving them from danger.
okay now how he treats women in his time...you'd understand their sentiments. it's not impossible that he gave someone a flower as a gesture of affection. he treats women with high respect.
whenever the tavern's atmosphere is looking for a dance la mancha would offer his hand to you. when the music goes fast you'd spin around with him, smiling at each other enough to create tension. he'd catch you when you're going to fall. finally when the music ends he's still going to hold you, carrying like you weigh nothing.
his life is good in his time. though there are shortcomings ashveil could only think about it as a distant past. planarcadia welcomes him with whimsical life, but that doesn't mean he's not drowning in regret when he can. he is not what he used to be; tougher but at what cost?
The doors to the study flung open, causing all of the bickering inside to hush. Standing there was Ashveil and you, a triumphant smile on your face. Ashveil looked less enthusiastic, but still had a satisfied smirk on his face.
Dan Heng crossed his arms over his chest. “And what are you two doing here?”
“They’re probably here to kill us.” March 7th mumbled, clutching onto Dan Heng from behind.
Ashveil frowned. “No, we’re not the murderers. But I do know who did it.”
“Is that why you two were out scampering around the mansion while the rest of us were trying not to get killed?” Sunday snapped.
“We were trying to save you all, thank you very much.” You shot back.
As Ashveil nodded, he stalked towards the table everyone was crowded around before throwing down a bloody knife and noose. Himeko and Pom-Pom scooched their chairs away from him. Welt Yang folded his hands, placed them in his lap, and looked away. Silver Wolf raised her eyebrow before nodding her head for him to explain himself.
“Before I reveal who the murderer is, I would like to present my evidence.” Ashveil explained.
“You mean besides the knife and noose?” Silver Wolf questioned.
Nodding, he continued. “My little Watson, also known as Y/n, and I have been all around this mansion while the rest of you have been fighting like cats and dogs, gathering clues. In the end we have figured out who did it.”
“Who did it and how?” Himeko inquired.
“And how did you solve it so fast?” Dan Heng added, his lips pursed into a small frown.
Your smile grew. “First and foremost, we examined the first body of the butler. As you all know there was one entrance wound and one exit wound. Obviously it wasn’t the knife or the noose, so it had to be the .38 snub nose revolver. The one to receive that from the blackmailer was you, March.”
“Me?” March cried out. “But I didn’t do it!”
“Of course you didn’t.” You assured her as you took off your gloves. “You have a weak stomach, which is why I’m surprised you haven’t thrown up by now.”
She sniffed. “I’ve been trying not to look at the “evidence” on the table, I’ll have you know.”
“Understandable.” Ashveil waved off the concern like it was nothing. “So that’s why it wasn’t you, March. Not only did we rule out you, but we ruled out Himeko as well. She was with you the whole time. The two of you were practically inseparable the whole time you’ve been here. Until now. This is the most space you two have had between each other this whole night.”
Himeko and March 7th glanced at each other, before March latched onto her shoulders, keeping away from the weapons on the table. Dan Heng scoffed and Pom-Pom snickered. Nevertheless, March squeaked out, “So? That doesn’t prove anything.”
“You’re right again.” Ashveil piped up. “So Y/n and I went to check on the second body, the cook. Knowing she was killed by the noose that was given to Welt, we had our suspicions. However when we checked the strangulation marks, Y/n deduced that it was done by someone who didn’t prefer the left or the right hand, as strangulation marks tend to show. This person was ambidextrous.”
Himeko gasped. “So that means, it was-”
“Yes, it was Dan Heng who killed the cook.” You stared him dead straight in the eyes, but he didn’t flinch.
“But dinner wasn’t that bad.” Silver Wolf muttered with a smirk.
Dan Heng scoffed. “So? Yes, I killed the cook. But I did it under orders. Like Silver Wolf said, dinner wasn’t that bad. Besides, she was a good friend back when she still worked for me. Then she had to walk out on me like I was nothing. Who wouldn’t be mad about that?”
You nodded though you were still frowning. “After deducing Dan Heng as our first killer, we knew he wouldn’t have willingly killed her. As part of your blackmail, you two were caught in flagrante delicto while he was dating his future fiance. The reason she walked out on you was to protect her marriage and his relationship. However, what she didn’t know was that he was willing to give up his now fiance for her if she would have just given up on her husband.”
Sighing, Dan Heng nodded. “Yes, I would have. It pained me to have to kill her, but as one always says, it’s best to bury the past.”
“Not literally.” Welt muttered.
“He has a point.” You stated. “Finally, Ashveil and I visited the third body, the maid. There isn’t a person here, save for myself and Pom-Pom, who hasn’t been at least acquainted with her. Everyone knows the most famous call girl on this side of the country. She had three entrance wounds to the chest and no exit wounds. So it was the knife that killed her. That weapon was given to Pom-Pom, but as previously stated, she had no idea who she was. So it wasn’t her.”
“Of course not.” Pom-Pom mumbled, as if still trying to clear his name.
“It had to be Sunday.”
Sunday balked at your accusation. “And why, pray tell, was it me? As your little Watson as you call them said, everyone besides them and Pom-Pom knew her. Why, you yourself knew her as well.”
Ashveil nodded. “Yes, I knew her. But I knew her a lot better than everyone here, even you. And she told me all the stories about you. About how much she loved you and told you every time she saw you. Yet all you did was lead her on before saying you were involved with someone else and you didn’t want to see her anymore. She was heartbroken. She was inconsolable for weeks. So when she saw you tonight, she was all but frozen.”
“I noticed that too.” Himeko concurred.
“When you had left to go to the bathroom, Welt made a comment about how long you were taking and went to find you. Afterwards there was a sound of a struggle and the next thing you know, she was dead. If my hypothesis is correct, she told you she loved you yet again and, under orders like Dan Heng, you killed her, even though you were hoping to see her again to tell her you broke off your fling to be with her.”
Sunday paused, as if recalling the memory, before nodding slowly, still in a haze. “Yes, I did. I didn’t realize how much I loved her until after I lost her. So I broke up with my girlfriend to be with her, but by the time I tried looking for her, everyone said she moved away. Seeing her tonight, I thought I had a chance. But no one can know about my relations with her prior to my breakup, and if I didn’t kill her, I was going to be exposed for what I did. I had to go through with it, even though it broke my heart.”
You sighed, before nodding. “Both Dan Heng and Sunday killed under orders and I believe the rest of you had orders to kill as well. Anyone wish to share who?”
“I’ll go first.” You announced, and turned to face Ashveil. “I was told to kill you.”
“I was told to kill March 7th.” Himeko mumbled, making March gasp and let go of her.
Clearing her throat, she mumbled, “I was told to kill the housekeeper. But I wasn’t going to do it!”
“My target was the cop.” Silver Wolf added.
“The blackmailer told me to kill the groundskeeper.” Pom-Pom mumbled.
Welt sighed. “I was to kill the delivery girl.”
All eyes were on you. Welt spoke again, “And you?”
Ashveil smiled. “I wasn’t told to kill anyone. I was just told to find the murderer.”
“And you did.” Dan Heng huffed. “Besides Sunday and me, who was the blackmailer who orchestrated these killings? You said you figured it out! Who’s responsible?”
Chuckling darkly, Ashveil smirked. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“It’s you?” March 7th mumbled, practically trembling.
Ashveil scoffed. “Wha-NO! I’m not the murderer, you imbecile! The murderer is whoever still has the .38 snub nose revolver. So, everyone turn out your pockets and reveal your true identity. Whoever has it, killed the butler in the billiard room with the revolver.”
With a low, evil chuckle, the woman at the head of the table stood up. Whipping out the revolver, Silver Wolf aimed it straight at you. “Very clever, little Sherlock.”
“BOO!” March 7th groaned, throwing her cards onto the game board.
“Yeah.” Pom-Pom whined. “Remind me why we decided to play Clue with the detective again?”
Welt shrugged. “I don’t mind the plot line he comes up with, but he has to win every time. It's not fair.”
“And I would never kill anyone!” Sunday cried out. “I’m not that kind of a guy!”
"You also always make me the bad guy." Silver Wolf scoffed and rolled her eyes. "It gets boring being typecasted all the time."
You pouted. “Aw, c’mon guys! I thought we were having fun!”
Dan Heng scoffed before muttering under his breath, “It’s like Dungeons and Dragons night all over again. You take the story way too far.”
Your bottom lip jutted out further until Ashveil wrapped his arm over your shoulder. Kissing your cheek, he whispered in your ear, “I thought it was a fun game, babe. You know I love having you as my adorable little Watson.”
A small smile wormed its way onto your face. “Thank you, baby.”
“Ew, get a room.” March 7th teased, wrinkling her nose.
With a laugh, you gathered up all the cards. “So, does anyone want to play again? The next game is afoot!”
• the first week of the separation was tough to overcome. ashveil had a case by the next morning but he can't get out of the freezer. mister narrator stopped knocking after calling him three times. it was an enough signal not to disturb the detective for now. although, ashveil managed to stand by himself by afternoon yet received a reprimand from his client for being late.
• for others, planarcadia feels the same: the ever whimsical with neon lights flickering at the billboard, the road is just as busy, and the sky is clearer than the past days. with this kind of city where everyone always smile, ashveil barely lift both ends of his lips nor his eyes express anything but solemn. his hat is lower than usual while his focus is only on the ground. mister narrator recommended a walk in duomension city because dovebrook district is a little gloomy. unfortunately it didn't work either.
• these days he can't keep his hands away from his phone just to check on you. ashveil is not so sure if you blocked his number because he doesn't have a plan to block yours. yet the urge of calling you is always strong. he just wanted to hear your voice again, the one that he would hear when you always to him. all in his mind is that the tone he's not used to to hear. he would only hear your serious tone when necessary, whenever you have misunderstandings, and then the break up.
• and then your social media account. ashveil is not the kind of person who is always on his phone 24/7 because he has important matters to do. he only uses it for clients and to you. every now and then he would visit your profile that has little to no post. you used to share a lot in your account, but your last post was the day before everything happened.
• ashveil now finds it difficult to pass by your favorite store. seeing your favorite food only adds a heavy weight in his heart. the last food you ate together only brings back a lot of memories. it was so bad that he found a new food that he haven't shared with you, which turned into his comfort food in an instant.
• some of your personal belongings you forgot on his office table. no one dares to touch them. as if it's frozen in time now.
• sleeping without you gave him a hard time to rest. he's been restless thinking about you, how much he misses your hold and your affectionate voice. ashveil lost track of counting wolves in his head because his mind tend to recall his favorite memory of you. some things that you did he regret not cherishing enough.
• in the back of his mind he always wish to see you in the crowd. ashveil would not hesitate to embrace you even if it means you'd pull away instantly. perhaps the elation is making fun of him or simply protecting each other's peace by not crossing paths.
