Three months had passed since that strange event that had somewhat enlivened the monotonous life people spent in the small town of Gibergan.

The place had not previously been excluded from disappearances, but no one was particularly surprised. After all, the settlement lay next to a dense forest, in which the small river that ran through the town was also lost.

It was not too surprising if every now and then something went wrong.

Yet that incident had introduced something new.

The corpse had been found in the morning by some villagers who had gone into the woods.

The victim was a young seventeen-year-old girl. Aloysa Keryak.

The body was intact, from a distance it could appear that she was sleeping, but her eyes were wide open.

Those who had found her swore they exuded terror.

As if the devil himself had come to claim her soul.

This rumour had been increased by the one that had subsequently spread, but above all by the girl's allegedly misguided behaviour.

It was well known to everyone that this young girl had managed to bewitch the richest scion in the area.

Dietrich Reddan.

The eldest son of the Reddan family had recently brought his affair with the young girl out into the open, causing quite a few discontents, starting with the family, who disapproved of such an undignified union for the boy.

They believed that Aloysa was only taking advantage of the boy's availability to secure a prosperous future.

Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones who thought so; almost everyone agreed that Aloysa was a cold and wicked calculator.

The only ones who didn't seem to disapprove were her parents, but then again, how could they?

Dietrich was a good match for their daughter.

The best.

He was the best they could aspire to.

Because of all this, the news of the girl's death had brought turmoil to the town.

It was inevitable that someone would suspect that Dietrich's family had commissioned the young girl's murder; she was causing too much trouble.

This suspicion was particularly fueled by the common and poorer population, they knew all too well the inhuman acts the nobles performed on a daily basis.

How many times did they pass by indifferent to scenes of hunger and suffering?

How many times did they beat or condemn desperate people?

Too many times had they witnessed and heard of unpleasant incidents to not rule out the possibility that Aloysia had fallen victim to their games.

Not to mention that Dietrich was their eldest son, surely destined to marry some wealthy child specially chosen by the family to increase their wealth even more. And their arrogance, someone else might have added.

But not only did the vulgar crowd carry on this not-so-absurd conjecture, some other noble had their own good reasons for holding the family guilty of the girl's death, but firstly they thought Aloysa had met that fate the moment she had laid eyes on the boy, and besides, she was just a poor peasant girl, soon people would forget what had happened, soon they would find something else to discuss.

And no matter how hard the rumours might have swirled, no evidence had been found that framed the Reddans in any way.

Perhaps they had made the evidence disappear, perhaps they had turned to people who could eliminate any trace of it, or perhaps they had not really committed the crime.

Whatever the explanation, there was one other person who strongly believed in the Reddan family's guilt.

Dietrich himself.

As soon as the news of his beloved's death had reached him, he went crazy, and it was rumoured that the sudden departure was not due to a study trip to the capital; perhaps in the hope of killing off any romantic inclinations of the boy, but many suspected that the sudden trip had stemmed from a personal choice on Dietrich's part, probably the first to point the finger at his parents for taking away his only hope of life.

And so only his sister, Amalia, was left to wander the rooms of the austere villa.

She didn't blame her brother for leaving so suddenly, she understood what he might have felt.

She too had been shocked to learn of Aloysa's violent death. She looked absent-mindedly at her reflection in the mirror.

I am sure they will understand. Now they are just worried, but, you'll see, when they meet her they will change their minds!

Only Amalia had truly believed that her parents could accept her brother's relationship with a simple commoner.

She bit her lip trying to stop herself from crying.

What was the point of swaying in a crowded hall in her new dress when her heart was as heavy as it had ever been before?

How could they dare to organise a ball in such a situation?

Everyone was suspicious of them.

If she could, she would have gladly fled with her brother to Vienna, but it wasn't possible.

Dietrich was not interested in having her near him.

How could she blame him?

The knock on the door brought her back to the present.

"Please, come in."

Count Reddan entered the room. He lingered over his daughter's figure.

"The dress is beautifully made, among the best I have ever seen. That boy knows his stuff. You will be the queen of the evening."

"You are always too kind, father."

Whispered Amalia, hiding her discomfort.

She knew that such occasions were not organised just to exchange a few chats between nobles, they served to create solid connections. She would not have been surprised to find a wealthy young man waiting for her downstairs.

"I'm just telling the truth. Come on, I'll take you downstairs. Time to open the dancing."

The girl flashed a smile for her father, ready for the worst.

Maybe this one is a bit short, but next week we're over with descriptions and we'll get to the real action! Well, maybe a ball isn't so active, but we'll have more fun!

This week the one in the drawing is our sad Dietrich.

See you next week!

13/10/2022