Dust and Whispers in the Archives
Far from the entrance of the first-floor archive, tucked away in a corner where the shelves rose high overhead, discovering that particular file had been pure coincidence. Ellyse Bertman had been scanning the spines with mild disinterest, her head tilting at the peculiar but unappealing titles, when her eyes landed on it by accident.
[Cloud Terror Incident]
Ellyse Bertman blinked. For some reason, today felt like an endless string of unexpected encounters. Everything seemed connected to Demian Cloud lately. It wasn’t even past nine in the morning yet. She wondered if she’d run into him again on her way out. Surely not. The ridiculous thought made her snort softly as she reached for the file.
The folder was coated in a thick layer of dust. Even though the outer case was plastic, its worn edges suggested it had been stored here years ago and left completely neglected. Like an antique, she thought, pulling it free. A cloud of dust billowed up from beneath it. Ellyse instinctively held her breath, but she still inhaled a little. She frowned and coughed.
“……Cough! Cough! Don’t they manage this place at all?!”
She had known the archive was poorly maintained, but the sudden irritation made her resent the unknown caretaker. After clearing her throat for a while, she finally looked down at the file in her hands. It was a Special Affairs Division investigation report titled Cloud Terror Incident. She flipped open the cover and checked the first page.
It felt a bit like she was digging into Demian Cloud’s past while on duty, but in truth, this case was one of those open secrets even someone from her generation knew about. She didn’t need to see the black-and-white photo of the young couple to recall the famous story of his parents’ deaths.
─Bruce Cloud (42) deceased.
─Misha Cloud (38) deceased.
Though the family had experienced a period of decline, the Cloud lineage had been one of Westania’s most powerful noble houses long before the war. Unlike the Bertmans or the Dolorenses who dominated politics, they were a major force in the business world. After the war, they had swallowed not only the domestic market but the entire continental one. Had that catastrophic loss of its head not occurred in a single instant, the company would have grown into something unimaginably vast.
Yet instead of focusing on its former scale, Ellyse found herself staring at the bright smiles of the couple in the photograph. With a bittersweet expression, she gently brushed her fingers across the image and imagined it.
……What would it feel like if Dad and Mom died?
Would she cry until every tear in her body ran dry? Or would the shock freeze her in place? No matter how old she was at the time, it would be unbearably sad and unfair. Why did you leave so soon?
She didn’t know how strong a person Demian Cloud truly was, but surely even he had felt that grief. The moment that thought crossed her mind, Ellyse Bertman caught herself and pressed a hand to her forehead.
……I don’t even know if it’s really him yet!
She shouldn’t be projecting her emotions like this. Just because their atmospheres felt similar didn’t mean she could equate a hero with a ruthless businessman. What she needed right now was the mindset of an inspector—cold observation and relentless suspicion. Ellyse slowly wiped a hand down her face and returned her gaze to the file.
The smiling couple. Their deaths were famous, but she knew almost nothing about what came after. Maybe there was a clue here. Carefully, she turned the pages and scanned the next section.
Photographs of the road and vehicle where the Cloud couple had been caught in the explosion, along with traces of the blast. No wonder she hadn’t seen any autopsy results—the reason was obvious. The overpass had been almost completely obliterated in the middle. Ellyse unconsciously grimaced as she flipped to the next page.
This section contained CCTV footage from the area, vehicle and pedestrian movement logs, and profiling based on days of tracked activity. There was so much material that she couldn’t absorb it all at a glance. After skimming through it with a mental note of I see, she turned the page again.
This time it was financial ministry statistics on how the Cloud family assets had been redistributed. The following page was a narrative-style report on the couple’s personal relationships and enmities. Surprisingly, it stated that the Cloud couple had no notable private enemies. Whether that was true or not, she couldn’t say. But the lead investigator seemed to have concluded that the attack was business- or politically motivated. In fact, it looked like they had treated it as all but confirmed. The investigation had clearly narrowed its focus in that direction. Thinking it made sense, Ellyse turned the page.
……And the next page had been viciously torn out.
Ellyse frowned at the archive’s shockingly poor management. This was ridiculous. Clicking her tongue, she flipped further. The report skipped straight to the conclusion.
When she read the final verdict, Ellyse Bertman stared in blank disbelief and muttered,
“……Huh? What is this?”
……The head of Westania’s top corporation was killed by a bomb made by three college students? And all the suspects conveniently committed suicide in prison?
What kind of idiotic ending was this? It seemed far more plausible that the investigation had gone wrong somewhere in the middle. Ellyse went back and carefully re-examined the sections she had skimmed. Had the investigator accurately tracked the suspects’ movements? Had they truly manufactured and detonated the bomb? Were they really the culprits?
According to the report’s materials, the evidence clearly pointed to them. But every detail about the interrogation process and the exact circumstances of their suicides was missing. There was no record of how they had been questioned, what the prison guards had been doing at the time of the suicides—nothing.
At this point, it was reasonable to suspect either deliberate omission by the police department or sheer incompetence on the part of the investigator. Only then did Ellyse realize she still didn’t know the lead investigator’s name.
……Seriously? They even left out who conducted the investigation?
She was just about to take the entire file to Inspector Ellyna to ask when a sudden chill ran down her spine. She couldn’t explain why, but her instincts screamed at her to move. Quickly returning the documents to their original spot, she walked forward as if she had seen nothing at all.
Creak—
The archive door opened. By then Ellyse had already moved a good distance away. She turned her head with feigned nonchalance to see who had entered.
Her eyes widened slightly. A sturdy build befitting an officer, an intelligent face she recognized. The moment Inspector Butler Kimbrey spotted her, he broke into a warm smile and waved.
“Inspector Bertman, are you feeling better? You look a lot healthier than when I visited you in the hospital, but maybe you should still be resting a little longer?”
“……No, sir. I’ve recovered quite a bit, and Inspector Ellyna had so much to say that my poor complexion back then was probably her fault.”
“Hmm? You seem to have gotten quite close with Inspector Ellyna. Well, sharing a battlefield does tend to build that kind of bond.”
Watching Butler nod thoughtfully, Ellyse Bertman swallowed hard. Thump. Thump. For some reason, her heart was pounding violently just from standing in front of him. It definitely wasn’t some perverse attraction to a married man. Even she couldn’t understand why she was reacting this way toward the only sane member of the operation team, but she recognized the feeling for what it was—threat.
And then there was the strong scent of peppermint at the tip of her nose.
“Inspector Ellyna said you’d have a hard time finding what you need alone, so she asked me to come help. This place really is a mess… …Hm? Inspector Bertman, you’re suddenly sweating. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“……N-no. I’m fine.”
“No, you should really go to the medical team—”
Watching Butler worry about her instead only made Ellyse more certain. She was terrible at acting. If she stayed like this, he would definitely notice how tense she was.
“No, I’m really fine.”
She answered firmly and quickly turned away to hide her face. Maybe he’d think she had bad manners. That worry crossed her mind, but what concerned her far more was her racing heart and the magic power that refused to listen to her.
What is this? Where is my magic power gathering? Why did it activate? Or did I just catch a scent of something Butler used elsewhere? I heard he still can’t use Mystery…?
Ellyse wiped the sweat from her forehead. Pretending to browse the shelves so Butler wouldn’t suspect anything, she tried to organize her thoughts. She imagined possibilities. While she was wondering who the lead investigator on the file was, Butler Kimbrey had walked in—and her magic had reacted. Was it warning her that he was the investigator? That she shouldn’t let him see what she was looking at? That something bad would happen to her?
……No, that couldn’t be it. The terror attack had happened fifteen years ago, and Butler had only been assigned here five years ago. The timelines didn’t match.
Then what is it? Is it all just coincidence? The sudden chill, Butler walking in right after, the magic leaking out… And why is my heart pounding like this?
She couldn’t see any answers. Ellyse Bertman squeezed her eyes shut and scolded her foolish self. She didn’t remember thinking she was this stupid back in her school days. Why was she like this lately? With no clear guesses, her suspicions were latching onto the strangest details.
“Inspector Bertman, I know it’s not polite to say, but this place is just a dumping ground. Everything’s completely disorganized.”
“……Yes, I know.”
“Right. So let me help you find whatever’s in decent condition.”
“……No, that’s okay.”
“Come on, don’t be shy.”
With a kindly smile, Butler Kimbrey approached and began examining the nearby shelves with her. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Her heartbeat only grew more violent, and it felt like nothing but a terrible omen. Ellyse forced out a dry laugh and secretly took a step backward. Instead of standing right beside him looking in the same direction, she decided it would be better to check the opposite bookshelf and turned around.
“……Huh?”
And then Ellyse witnessed a bizarre sight.
A file that seemed to glow as if coated in luminous paint. It was so bright she couldn’t understand how she had missed it before.
[Doppelganger Ecology Report]
The scent of peppermint grew even stronger. Ellyse wondered if her own eyes were glowing blue and tapped at the corners of them. The title didn’t sit well with her, but she reached out anyway. It was the only clue she had right now.
Yet some instinct made her frown as she slowly opened the cover. The first page, like any other investigation report, contained someone’s personal information. It would have seemed ordinary—if not for the words shining as if painted in green luminous ink.
───Save me.
They dripped downward like blood.