Section 1: Murder at the Meihousou (Prologue)

Our story begins in the Kingdom of Nadai Nadha, a tiny Caribbean nation. Its founder, the first king, was beloved by all his people.

But over generations, the royal family's reputation diminished. Poor governing tore the nation apart, and the people of the nation ceased to revere their king.

As the situation worsened, the people came to desire a democracy, and so formed a militia for the revolution.

The king turned a deaf ear to their pleas, though. Instead, he elected to remain in his palace and enjoy his life of luxury.

In consequence, the revolutionaries gained more and more power, fueled by the people's grievances.

And then...the day finally came.

...So the masses have decided to act. To think that I would make such a grave error in judgment.

What's the problem? All you gotta do to win a war is wipe out the opposing side, right?

All that matters is that we're still standing when this is over.

You blithering fool. Can you not see how many of them there are? The odds are against us!

Nope, sorry. I was too busy cutting down enemies to feed my sister after our parents died to learn about statistics.

I suppose there was little sense in making you commander. Very well then, leave. Go wherever you wish.

Fine by me. Guess this means you and I are through.

Well, General Tan, can I convince you to surrender peacefully? At our age, surely you wish to avoid needless injury just as much as I do.

I have no intention of refusing to acknowledge reality, but I also know that your army was quite determined to take advantage of the situation.

So I thought you could at least serve as a scarecrow of sorts, and draw the rebels' attention away.

Then, while your forces and theirs stared each other down, my soldiers could strike at them from behind.

A clever plan, General Tan. Just what I would expect from you. That sort of thinking is exactly why I had to stay one step ahead of you.

Well, you succeeded. I never dreamed you would come to kill me in my sleep. Now my army is destroyed thanks to your ambush.

But what will you do now? I can't imagine you think you'll hold back the rebel army with your forces alone.

That's your problem right there, General Tan. You're too earnest for your own good. As a matter of fact, I've already reached an understanding with the rebels.

Once they have conquered the palace, I'm to be the new government's representative. They have no more desire for senseless bloodshed than I do, after all.

...You contemptible wretch. Even I couldn't have imagined you would be so self-serving.

Please don't think too poorly of me, General Tan. If anyone here is to blame, I would say it's you.

With Vice General Miguel Ángel Cortés's coup d'état delivering the final blow, the Kingdom of Nadai Nadha was no more.

Soon after, the Republic of Nadai Nadha stood in its place, with Miguel serving as its first president.

Though the nation never reached the heights of power it once knew, its people were more than happy to enjoy a new peace in its stead.

Ten years later...

Are you ready yet, Elise?

You're so impatient, Uncle.

I'm not impatient. You're just slow.

Anyway...

I'm surprised there's such a beautiful mansion all the way out here in the middle of nowhere.

It used to be one of the royal family's summer homes.

The people tore down or sold the other ones, but this one remained to serve as Miguel's residence.

But that Miguel guy's dead now, right?

Indeed, he passed before he had even turned sixty. I still have trouble believing he's gone.

Go on now, say hello to his widow.

Welcome, Lord Antonio. Welcome, Lady Elise.

You're too kind. It's an honor to be invited.

...

Not at all. As the new head of the Meihousou Manor, it's my pleasure to have you all here.

It's almost time for the toast, so I'll see you both later.

Hmph, she can't fool me. I can tell she's secretly dancing for joy.

With her husband's untimely death, she's got all his wealth to spend however she likes.

Although, if you count the time she spent as Miguel's foster-daughter, she's been with him for ten years, so...

Yeah, this is totally not worth giving up a huge portion of your life for. I don't envy her a damn bit.

Watch your mouth, Elise.

Sorry, Uncle. By the way, who's that suave-looking hottie over there?

He seems familiar somehow. Wait. That uniform is from the old kingdom...

Excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to be Antonio Roberto Jobim, the court musician, would you?

Once upon a time, I was... And who might you be?

My name is Roma Kureishi. I used to report to General Cortés.

...Ahh, I thought I recognized you.

I saw you in the palace a number of times. Though of course, I hardly expect you to remember me.

Hmm... I don't see any of Miguel's other subordinates here. He must have really cared about you.

I'm afraid I know almost nothing about politics. Are you a high-ranking government official now?

No, I'm actually quite ignorant of politics myself. I resigned before the new government was established, and now I'm the town doctor.

My family was rather poor, so the only reason I joined the army in the first place was to give myself a chance to attend medical school free of charge.

Ahh, so you were a medical officer then.

You're dressed awfully fancy for a doctor.

Oh, this is just the nicest outfit I own. It's one of the few I own that miraculously escaped being eaten by moths, so I figured it would do for formal dress.

By the way, I don't believe I caught your name?

...It's Elise. Maybe you've heard it before?

Ohh, you're that singer! I hear your voice on the radio...well, it seems like every day anymore!

I leave it on all the time in my clinic, so I've become very familiar with your songs. They do wonders to cheer up my patients, too.

Well of course. My voice paired with Uncle's music can lift almost anyone's spirits.

Ironically, leaving the position at the palace turned out to be the best thing that could have happened for my musical career.

It just goes to show that the rest of the world finally caught up to you, Maestro.

...That may be.

Oh come on, Uncle, what do you care if the plebs like your music?

Stop that.

I must apologize for my niece. I'm worried her refusal to learn any manners will be the death of her career someday.

Oh, that's all right. At any rate, I'm surprised you made it through the massacre. I remember they slaughtered everyone in the palace that day, even the noncombatants.

That's, um...

No, I'm sorry. It's a painful memory for me, too. I shouldn't have brought it up so casually.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll see you later.

Man, Uncle, this place is huge, but there's hardly anyone here. I could count them all on my two hands.

Yes, I find that strange, too.

And it's not the only weird thing around here.

I know you're not exactly a spring chicken, Uncle, but look at the other guests.

They're almost all relatively young guys...

...and they're all really good-looking, don't you think?

Now that you mention it, I suppose they are. Almost none of them seem like they belong here.

I heard you two talking with that guy in the white suit. Are you really the famous singer-composer duo?

May I ask who you are?

It is II mean, the name's Vargas.

And I'm García, Vargas's partner. I'm sorry we're both dressed like slobs.

Hmm... May I ask how you knew the deceased?

What was that? Are you trying to say I don't belong here?

Cut that out, Vargas. Your inner hick is showing.

Sorry about that. Spending all our time out hunting doesn't leave a lot of opportunity for us to practice our manners.

You guys are hunters?

Sure are!

We heard Miguel was big into gourmet food, and we figured it would help us out a ton if he became a regular customer.

But he ended up passing just before we finalized an arrangement with him.

So now, we're hoping to do business with Gabriela. We'll do our best to win her over.

...What he said.

Come on, partner, loosen up. Sorry guys, he's a bundle of nerves right now. Usually he's much nicer.

We'll come chat with you again once he's had a few drinks to take the edge off.

García acquitted himself okay, but Vargas seems like he had no idea how to properly behave.

And here I had to pull every string I could just to get an invitation.

I wouldn't normally expect to run into people like that in a place like this...

Maybe they stole someone else's invite then.

Hmm. I suppose they could just be going by García and Vargas to match the names on a stolen invitation.

But what would they hope to achieve by sneaking in here? Maybe they're after Cortés's legacy?

Maybe they're after Gabriela. She must've had it rough, having to marry that geezer and all.

Who could blame her for wanting to have fun with some new boy toys now? They both have a nice tan, and they look healthy enough to keep her...entertained for a good long time.

...You really must learn to hold your tongue. This is why everyone says you should just stick to singing.

Yeah, yeah. So who're those weirdos? They look totally out of place too, though for pretty different reasons.

I've been wondering about them too. Let's go say hello.

Fine by me. Now that I look closely, the guy's a lot cuter than I thought.

Pardon me, would you be so kind as to tell me your names?

Me? I'm Isidoro Poggioli, traveling musician.

I'm Antonio Roberto Jobim, composer.

Oh my, you don't say.

How about you, short stuff?

I-I'm Adriana Molinari, Mr. Poggioli's assistant.

Hmm... So you're studying to be a musician yourself, but you still don't have your own instrument?

Um, yes, that's right. I have no talent whatsoever, so I'm a long way from even holding an instru

Ahem. Silence is golden, Adriana. You'd do well to remember that.

Y-yes, sir! I'm sorry.

You really must learn to keep your mouth shut too, Elise.

Yeah, yeah.

All right, I think we had better go greet those strapping young men over there. I'm sure we'll see you two later.

Talk about shady. They didn't even seem to recognize our names.

They could merely be posing as musicians.

There definitely seems to be more than meets the eye with everyone so far.

The same could well be said of us. Remember, try not to stand out too much.

I know, Uncle. We both have our reasons for being here.

I feel like I've seen that servant somewhere before.

Of course you have. That's the priest who held Miguel's funeral the other day.

Oh, yeah. I knew I recognized those good looks. But why's a priest working as a servant?

Oh, if it isn't Lord Antonio and Lady Elise. Is there something I can help you with?

No, everything's fine...

We were just wondering why a priest like you's working as a servant.

Elise!

Oh, it's quite all right. I can hardly blame you for wondering. There is nothing I can't do, so I try to help out in any way I can.

Just between us, I lost my memory ten years ago...

...and Lord Miguel was kind enough to take me in when I had nowhere else to go.

I've tried to learn everything I could in order to be of assistance to Lord Miguel ever since.

But that still doesn't explain why a priest... Oh, forget it.

Not to be rude, but is this everyone who was invited? There were far more people at the funeral.

Yes, this is everyone.

Lord Antonio, Lady Elise, Lord García, Lord Vargas, Lord Roma, Lord Isidoro, Lady Adriana...

You all received invitations from Lord Miguel before he passed away. I inspected the invitations myself.

All right, but Mr. Miguel is no longer with us. How can you be sure the invitees truly are who they say they are?

Yeah. Celebs like me and Uncle are one thing, but the rest could be anyone. Especially those hunter guys and the bard.

You have every right to be concerned, Lord Antonio.

I may not have regained my memories, but rest assured that my loyalty to Lord Miguel is as strong as ever.

So if any of these guests do turn out to be interlopers, I will deal with them myself.

Deal with them how, exactly?

As I said, there is nothing I can't do.

Now, if you'll kindly excuse me, I'll be right back with the wine for the toast.

Maybe he's Gabriela's new lover. He definitely seems devoted enough.

...

Lord Antonio, Lady Elise, thank you once again for coming to my Meihousou.

You're too kind.

Ugh, is that all you know how to say?

And here are your glasses. You're the last to receive them.

Thank you, Salazar.

After you.

Oh no, you first. I am the hostess after all. I will take the last one.

I see. Very well then, if you insist.

You take one too, Elise.

...Hmph.

And I'll take the last glass. ...Good, it looks like everyone else has theirs.

All right, everyone, I hope you'll enjoy your stay here at the Meihousou.

I want you all to relax and make yourselves at home.

So, how's it feel, Gabby?

I'm sorry?

You're living high-and-mighty now, and all you had to do was sell your youth to that geezer.

Good thing you were born poor, huh?

Hey! You got wine on my dress. What's the big idea?

I'm so...sorry...

H-huh? What do you think you're doing?

Gabriela? Please, stay with us!