Detecting Justice in Altervis

"Ugh, it's too hot," Behati muttered to himself as he walked down the corridor of the castle, his black suit and tie already drenched in sweat. He wiped his forehead with a handkerchief and immediately regretted it when he felt the sticky, warm moisture against his skin. The sun was already beating down on Altervis Kingdom and the heat was unbearable, even for the likes of him who enjoyed temperate climates.

'Maybe I should just wear lighter clothes,' he thought to himself as he hurried through the halls filled with fine art from the kingdom's rich history. 'Perhaps something that's more... comfortable.'

That is, if it wasn't for his pride. His reputation as an investigator at court was well-earned thanks to his unwavering professionalism and stern nature. It was a reputation that had earned him much respect and admiration from his colleagues, not to mention a hefty salary that kept him in high spirits. But even to him, this heat was unbearable.

"How could anyone stand this?" Behati asked himself as he finally arrived at the head investigator's room, thanking God that he wasn't travelling anywhere else today. "It's so hot outside..."

He opened the door to his office and stepped inside, sighing loudly once he felt the AC hit him hard in the face. He looked around at his messy office and realised that there were still a few files that needed finishing up before tomorrow's meeting with Princess Bheema. Not wanting to suffer in such a condition any longer than he had to, Behati quickly undressed and left his clothes on his desk chair. He then cleared off some space on his bed where he laid down and relaxed as best as he could in this heatwave, trying his hardest not to think about anything else but how cold it felt right now.

*

"What do you mean 'suspected murder'?" Bheema asked angrily in front of her personal guard and council members when they delivered their message earlier that day. "I thought I told you all that I wanted these crimes solved yesterday!"

"Yes your Highness," Chief Investigator Behati said calmly as he stood behind her throne with a sheet of paper clenched tightly in his sweaty hands. "But we don't know for sure if these deaths are murders or not."

"Excuse me?" she shot back, rising from her seat with her face red from anger. "A man was found dead at my personal training grounds! You're telling me now that it wasn't murder? That it was an accident?!"

"We can't be certain yet," Behati replied calmly despite being extremely embarrassed by this predicament. "From what we've gathered from our reports, it seems like a very unusual death."

"Well pardon me for having common sense!" she retorted with a scoff. "Of course something like this is strange! What else do you expect me to say when someone dies under mysterious circumstances?"

"Princess Bheema," Behati said calmly before raising his voice slightly when she didn't stop complaining. "If you'd let me finish..." She glared at him with her arms crossed but stayed silent nonetheless, which led Behati to continue nervously: "As I was saying, we can't tell whether these deaths were accidents or murders because there doesn't seem to be anything stolen nor has anyone reported seeing any intruders."

"Well surely that's suspicious!" she huffed indignantly while folding her arms across her chest. "Why would criminals leave evidence behind?" She pointed at him accusingly before turning towards one of her guardsmen: "Isn't there something called 'modus operandi' or something like that?" The guard simply nodded without replying as she turned back towards Behati again: "It makes sense."

"Princess Bheema," Behati began again after taking a deep breath to calm himself down, lowering one hand into his pocket while holding onto the report tightly with the other one: "This criminal may have committed these crimes simply because they want people to find them out."

Bheema stared at him blankly for a few seconds before speaking up again without missing a beat: "Then why is this person killing people instead of just making their presence known?!" She threw her hands up into the air in frustration and sighed heavily before sitting back down onto her throne chair again: "I don't understand anymore..." She leaned forward on her chair and put her head in her hands while muttering quietly under her breath: "...I don't understand..."

Beheti sighed quietly under his breath as well before clearing his throat loudly and raising both hands above his head as if about to give a speech at court: "Princess Bheema," he began loudly enough for everyone present in court hall to hear clearly over their whispers: "The reason why this person is killing people instead of just making their presence known is because they want us investigators to look into them! They believe they're smart enough to fool us, knowing full well that every move they make can be traced back to them!" He lowered one hand before pointing towards Bheema again: "They want us involved!" He then lowered both hands before turning around so everyone could see him better: "They want us involved so we can collect all possible evidence! They want us involved so we can find out who they really are!" He turned around again so everyone could see him better once more before pointing at Bheema once more: "...And they want us involved so we can bring justice upon them for breaking kingdom law!" He pointed towards himself proudly after giving this statement: "...Which is what I will do."

"Good luck then," Bheema mumbled under her breath without looking up from where she was resting on her throne chair, still refusing to meet anybody in eye contact or say another word otherwise than what she'd just said previously.