It was only the break of dawn, but already a group of knights was huddled before the front gates. In the center of the circle was a naked man kneeling against the wall. His hair was golden, his face handsome, his body muscular. There was a beautiful blue rose tattooed on his neck, and the ghost of his last laugh was etched on his bloodless face.

The coroner wore his gloves and pulled the victims eyelid up to observe the pupil. Simon Patrigadin. A twenty-eight year-old male. Vice-captain of the Order of the White Rose. Time of death: six hours ago.

The scribe wrote down everything the coroner had said, and then the coroner tensed up and pulled out a springy, cylindrical item from Simons tongue. It was white, fleshy, and bouncy, then the coroner glanced at Simons lower body and smiled eerily. The victims genitals were cut off cleanly by a sharp item. Said genitals were stuffed into his mouth.

The knights roared into the high heavens. They couldnt believe a handsome and ferocious knight would be killed and castrated before getting laid out for everyone to see.

That bastard! How How dare he humiliate a knight of the order?! Cleveland gnashed his teeth, his fury boiling over. And this is not the first time he has done this! Now hes crossed the line! I, Cleveland, swear on the knights order that I will make him pay tenfold for this humiliation!

His comrades shared his sentiment, and they were flushed with anger. Well avenge you, Arthur, Simon!

Calm down, knights. Dont get in the way of my work, the coroner said quietly, but it was enough to calm the knights down. He went around the body and stared at the second wound for a moment before poking around. The victims back was cut open by something sharp, he explained calmly. Crassly and violently done. There was a pair of fan-like flesh on the back of the victim.

His lungs were pulled out and hung on his back. If you look closely, youll see that these resemble a pair of wings.

Roy squeezed through the knights to see what was happening. The victim being Simon caught him by surprise, and it raised more questions. What is going on? Francis isnt the killer, and Simon isnt either? The ritual of the Seven Deadly Sins has officially ended at this point. I hope Im right, or Lethos in big trouble.

The victims elbows and wrists are slightly bruised. The killer twisted them, but its not obvious at first sight. Francis was slightly confused too, then he took his gloves off. The cause of death is obvious, so Ill skip that. Simon suffered no wounds aside from the one on his back and lower body. I posit that the killer pinned him down in some way, sedated him, and performed the surgery on him. The victim showed almost no signs of struggle, so he mustve been out cold. Since were on the topic, lets talk about the killer. He should be experienced enough at this point, seeing as he killed six people, but his skills are still as crude as ever. Right. Thats all I have to say. Thoughts? Francis looked at the knights, but all he got was silence. Nothing? Right. Ill have to take the body back for autopsy, then.

The knights still kept quiet, obviously sorrowful about their comrades death. Then Roy asked, Who found Simons body in the first place?

Me. A young knight came up. His chin was covered with stubble, his eyes tired and bloodshot, obviously from lack of sleep. I was with Simon last night on patrol duty. He He said he needed to take a leak, so I waited for him, but he never came back, so I went to look for him. A-and I found his body in an alley. The knight slapped himself, and his face swelled. Its all my fault! I should have gone with Simon last night! The captain told us to never go anywhere alone! I followed his orders to a T, but the one time I didnt, this happened!

What did I tell you? Reflect on yourself later. Cleveland heaved a sigh and patted his shoulder. But youre not fully at fault here. The castles heavily guarded, but still the killer managed to slaughter one of us under our noses. Part of it is our fault, but honestly, I couldnt believe the killer managed to pin Simon down without anyone noticing, much less slaughter him. And all in fifteen minutes?

Same here. The other knights shared Clevelands sentiment. Simons skills are second to Captain Clevelands.

Second to none in swordsmanship alone, Cleveland said solemnly.

So maybe he was ambushed

Alright, stop it. Roy raised his hand. Lets not talk about that. I have a far more pressing matter at hand, and I need answers, fast.

Ask away, Mr. Roy. Well help out if its about the killer. Cleveland thumped his chest, and the other knights nodded.

Tell me more about Simon.

Simon was a powerful and responsible knight. He helped us out a lot, and he spent most of his time working in the castle. Cleveland looked at the body sadly. He was a noble and humble man, and he got along with everyone. On top of that, he would spend his free time helping the underprivileged in the city. If youre looking for the epitome of knighthood, then Simon would be the one to look for, not me.

There was no need to insult the dead, so everyone had nothing but praise for Simon. After everyone was done with their testimony, Roy rubbed his chin. Sounds like he was a perfectly brilliant knight. I bet he was a ladies man, huh?

Not exactly. Cleveland threw him a look of surprise. He wondered why Roy wanted to know about that, but then he realized Roy must have found some clue that tied into the case. Simon was a handsome and courteous man, but his background was complicated. Cleveland hesitated to elaborate.

Something you cant talk about? Roy advised, Simon would want you to avenge him.

Cleveland gritted his teeth. A true knight should never gossip about the dead, but I have no choice. Please forgive me for what Im about to say, Simon. He sighed. Simons family came from Nazair, but ever since Nilfgaard took over, part of his family moved to Ellander. They werent welcome, to say the least. Because of the locals oppression, his family dwindled over the years, and he was the only descendant of the Patrigadin family. Because of that, the local nobility refused his marriage proposals, despite him being a knight. He could have married a civilian or a merchants daughter, but his pride wouldnt allow him to.

Cleveland could sympathize with Simon, since the order was in the same situation. The orders in a similar situation. Since our base is in Vizima, most of the kings ministers see us as outsiders. The more obstinate ones trip us up every chance they have. If it werent for the kings generosity, we would have been chased back to Vizima by now.

***

Sorry. Cleveland sighed. I got ahead of myself. Lets talk about Simon. He spent most of his time working and never talked about women. Probably because he was affected by the continued refusals.

Another knight added, Some of us would wind down at the House of Peacock at times, and Simon would come with us too, but all he did was drink. He never did sleep with anyone there. He was like an abstaining monk, or that was what wed say.

Roy observed the body closely, his hands crossed. If hes as lustless as the knights say, whyd the killer pick him as the embodiment of lust? Was he a hypocrite? Or a loyal lover?

Then he saw Dennis waving at him from behind the knights. Roy went up to him, and Dennis whispered, I looked into everyone on the list. Shoot, I looked into every knight. All twenty-five of them. Dennis gave him a piece of parchment. Their details are written right here. Nicely done, Id say.

Yes. Thank you. Roy read through it and asked, Cranmer, anyone else in the order who came from Nilfgaard aside from Simon?

No. Dennis shook his head. Everyone else is native to Temeria.

Anyone whose ancestor was a Nilfgaardian?

I have no idea about that. Dennis almost leaped in fury. Dont tell me you want their ancestors info.

No. Roy shook his head, his expression gloomy. Simons dead. Thats the biggest suspect gone. If he was really the killer, he wouldnt have finished himself like this. Theres no way. But Im not convinced hes innocent either. His ancestor came from Nilfgaard, he was an upright guy, and he never dated anyone. Even so, the killer chose him as the embodiment of lust. And the whole ritual was done for that lady in the castle. Is there a connection between them?

Roy went back to the knights. He needed to verify something.

Cleveland coughed. Um, Mr. Roy. Pardon me, but have you found something?

Roy stared back at the doubtful knights and nodded. I have an idea who the killer is. Can anyone here take me to Simons place? He scanned through the knights. Ive checked the other victims homes, and now I need to check Simons in case theres a clue there.