While the issue of the bounty became the foremost concern in Findel, Aron and his faction continued to explore the forest unhindered.
Aron in particular along with Lady Rose had long since reached their area of investigation. Aron was currently standing in a field with numerous carcasses and was moving to observe each one while Lady Rose was investigating the vegetation and flora in the area.
"Well? How is it looking from your perspective?" Aron who had been crouching near a carcass stood up and turned to Lady Rose before asking.
"Nothing different from what we've already learned while here. My scouters have made no discoveries either." Lady Rose turned away from the brightly colored and odd shaped flora in that area and waved her hand to summon her scouting devices back to her.
Once the scouters came back the two of them began to ponder the circumstances carefully. 'They must be something we're missing. The odd flora are clearly the product of foreign mana not of this world.' Aron crossed his arms and looked at the flora, since they couldn't find the creature responsible for massacring the many mana beasts they had no choice but to depend on the vegetation.
'Hmm... can it... no that can't be around. I've already scoured this entire place.' Lady Rose thought for a moment before looking up at the sky through the dense leafy trees. Aron followed her gaze and realized what she was thinking. "An ariel view of the area may be useful." Aron pointed out and she nodded before sending up one of her scouters.
Rose's scouter began to rise upward slowly before coming to a stop at roughly five hundred meters above. "How long will it take?" Aron had his gaze fixated on the scouter and was curious as to wether it found anything useful or not.
"Not long." Rose answered briefly and with a wave of her hand the scouter began to descend before coming to a stop near them, just hovering a little above the ground.
On the crystal that rested on its pedestal was an extremely clear image of the area from an arial point of view. Both Aron and Rose began to quietly look at the image to see if they could find anything noteworthy.
"Can it..." Aron had a flash of inspiration after looking at the image for a little while. He immediately turned to a nearby tree and began carving a strange pattern into it's bark, this caught the attention of Rose who stood behind him and watched keenly. "Can it what?" She asked with curiosity as she tried to make out just what it was he was carving.
"Can it be a large runic formation... and it is." Aron finished carving the pattern into the bark and took a step back while looking very satisfied. Lady Rose too felt slightly more at ease now that they had made progress. "What does it entail?" She asked as she was very eager to know how helpful this discovery was.
"I'm not sure, I'd need some time to decipher the runes that it's made up of and determine its purpose. It can be broken but without knowing more it's still too risky." Aron's suggestion to step back had taken Lady Rose slightly aback, not many people still thought straight when so close to treasure but then again she didn't really know what he wanted.
"I agree, but won't someone else discover this while you're in the midst of cracking the formation?" Lady Rose stated her worries in leaving just like this but Aron remained firm with his stance. "It's very unlikely someone other than me in Pesia can know how to decipher this quickly. And if they chose to breach it by force then we can only pity them." Aron proposed without hesitation.
It wasn't a full proof plan but instead something he was confident in. Lady Rose had already weighted the pros and cons as well and knew it was best they go back to the airship for the moment and stay hidden.
"Well then shall we head back?" Lady Rose had lost all interest in staying any longer now that they confirmed they had nothing more to find. However Aron shook his head at this and showed a small smirk. "It's better I use the time we have left to set a few more formations of my own..."
...
Meanwhile in the very building Aron and his faction had lodged in during their stay in Findel, Juliet could be seen standing in what was formerly Aron's quarters.
'He left nothing out of the ordinary here, much like the other rooms.' Juliet frowned as her gaze wandered the room. She had the building searched for any useful clues but had found almost nothing.
"A tale of blood and roses..." Juliet muttered the title of the book she held in her hand, of everything present in the room that book was among the few things that stood out.
Juliet looked at the book with her silver eyes that carried a mystical glow. With them she could see a faint trace of Aron on the book, just like she found traces of others in the previous rooms. 'The only room without a trace is the one at the far end, it was clearly occupied but why....?'
Before Juliet could continue through her chain of thought Anastasia walked in and called out to her. "We should be starting the meeting soon to discuss what we should do about the leak." Anastasia said in a tone of arrogance and indifference, this was her usual attitude in the eyes of the public it was even more so apparent when she talked to Juliet who she disliked.
"The leak? The one who revealed this information is most likely one of your close friends. You should already know who it is but you don't wish to ruin your ties so you're holding some unnecessary meeting. What does that have to do with me?" Juliet turned to Anastasia and asked coldly without hiding her thoughts.
"For all we know it could be you. All I'm interested in is thoroughly investigating this matter so we can move on. So whilst you're in my family's territory, I advise you not to be so haughty." Anastasia threateningly implied while gazing at Juliet sternly.
"Alright then, I'll participate. Just don't blame me for what truths I speak and reveal during." Juliet countered and Anastasia's expression turned stiff. Without uttering another word, she bit her lip in irritation before turning around and leaving.
Juliet was still a big unknown to her so she had no idea how much truth her words carried. If she did by chance reveal some secrets better left unsaid then everything would crumble. 'Tsk. She's even worse than him...'
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