New law of Beast Taming

"Sakura, I am going to take all these maids back inside. Is there something you need from me, then tell me as soon as you remember."

Eclipse had already gathered all the beasts around and seemed to be leading them and the humans inside. Sakura watched the maids carefully since she did not want to miss any clue about this case.

One of the maids met Sakura's eyes and it seemed to be deliberate. It made Sakura curious so she decided to seek that maid out. Her instincts told her that this maid was someone important.

"I have a feeling you want to talk to me. Hurry up and speak before I get annoyed at you."

Sakura snapped her finger which caused the maid to look back at her with an amused expression.

Looking at the maid, there was nothing special about her. She had an ordinary face with brown medium hair pulled back in two pig-tails and brown eyes. The only special feature about the female was her freckles that stood out on her bronze skin.

But there was something about that awareness in those brown eyes in front of Sakura that made her hesitate.

"I do want to talk with you, miss. But maybe we should go to a more secluded space before I tell you, my news. I don't want others to hear our conversation."

Whatever this maid had to tell Sakura seemed important. But at the same time, her condition raised alarm bells inside Sakura's mind, she did not want to be alone with this maid.

'Caution or reasoning. Which one should I choose? I don't think I can trust this maid just yet but she is also my only source of information. God, what a tough decision this is.'

Sakura was stuck choosing what she wanted. But in the end, her curiosity, and her desire to prove herself won out.

"Fine, let's go to the next room and you can tell me everything you want to."

Sakura leads the female servants behind her and into a separate room. It was heavily padded and no sound could travel out of it.

Sakura knew she was taking a huge risk but she did not care. The deed had already been done.

"Thank you for trusting me so much, Miss Sakura. I swear that I will not let you down. I have some urgent news for you as well."

"Stop procrastinating and tell me what you want to already. I don't have the whole day to entertain you anyway."

Sakura scolded the female in front of her. The female flinched before she looked back at Sakura with determined eyes.

"Miss, I might know who set the Tsurugi mansion on fire. I am not lying to you. Before I was held in here, I saw a maid go into the back section of the house. I did not think much of it then but she had been carrying weird material with her back then."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The maid quickly spoke before she could get interrupted.

Now this maid had Sakura's attention. She wanted to know what kind of material the maid had been carrying with her.

"The materials the maid had been carrying with her were oil and a lighter. What else could it be for if not to light a fire? I am sure that maid is responsible for this fire."

The maid in front of Sakura was making up stuff now. Since the maid already knew who lit the fire, she could say anything and point toward the culprit.

Once the culprit was identified, it would solidify the maid's status as a 'trustworthy' person. And she would also get closer to Sakura Tsurugi.

"Hmm, you say that you saw a maid carry a lighter and oil in the house and you are certain that your suspect caused this fire? I am sorry but I cannot take your words at face value. You will need to provide me with more concrete evidence."

The maid had been prepared for this to happen.

"T-Then, how about I tell you the name of the maid you are looking for? You might be able to catch her red-handed if you hurried up. I am sure that her objective is Elder Hana's body since I saw her come in and out of Elder Hana's room quite often before Elder Hana died."

Now this maid had Sakura's attention.

She did not know much about Elder Hana and her death, but she did know that a Jorōgumo was involved somehow.

The only way Elder Hana could have met a Jorōgumo was through one of the servants.

Sakura's gut told her that something was wrong with this story, but the logical part of her brain could see reason in what the maid was saying. It was a difficult decision to make - to trust this maid or not.

"Hmm, after much deliberation, I have decided to check the suspicious maid out. I hope your words turn out to be true for your sake. The punishment for trying to deceive your master is not small."

Amane reminded the maid of this. The poor maid looked shocked after hearing this. But she seemed determined and sure of her words as well. That gave Sakura confidence that this maid was telling the truth.

"Of course, I am telling the truth. You can check it out for yourself."

As soon as Sakura got a name from the maid, she wanted to tell Amane. But then she paused to think about that choice.

Telling Amane would gain Sakura some recognition but that would be it.

However, if Sakura solved this case on her own, then Yoko would have to admit that Sakura was worth something. It might even make Yoko fall in love with her.

'Yes, I need to solve this case on my own. I am sure I can do this as well.'

Sakura was determined to see things through. She had already started walking toward the direction of the servant's quarters.

Behind her, the maid smiled a mischievous smile. The first part of her plan was over already. Lady Sakura would find the culprit and raise her social standing in the house. She would also take the maid under her wing and would soon trust her.

Then the maid would offer Sakura a partnership with The Hive without telling her who her real partner was. Sakura would take that hand and become involved with them. Discover more stories at empire

By the time anyone realized what happened, it would be too late for Sakura Tsurugi to back out. She would drag her cousin and even the divine leader into this fold and The Hive would thrive.

'Come to me…feed me…'

"Ugh, this annoying headache. The scientists specifically told me not to meet the Jorōgumo if I want to live. Why did I touch that cursed thing anyway?"

The maid questioned before she walked back to her seat. Around her, everyone seemed to be suffering the same symptoms. But the maid was the only one who still had her mind intact and could control her actions.

And it was all because she had taken the antidote for this kind of poison.

...

Sakura quickly ran through the mansion but her steps still had grace in them.

She reached the door of the maid she had been told about and knocked on the door. When no response came, she opened the door with her master key.

There was no one inside the room.

"Lady Sakura, are you looking for the owner of this room? I saw her going toward the main hall. Now that I think about it, the servant here often went to Elder Hana's room before so maybe they walked in that corridor because of their habit?"

Sakura's feet jolted as soon as she heard the servant say these words. She knew where she needed to go next.

The servant looked surprised when Sakura ran past her. She had never seen young Miss Tsurugi behave like this.

But Sakura did not care about her image right now. She needed to catch the culprit red-handed or elder she would miss her chance.

"Y-You! What do you think you are going to do? How dare you touch the barrier sister Yoko put up around the Jorōgumo?"

Sakura smacked the door to Elder Hana's resting room open. The servant she had been following seemed to be in the process of taking down Elder Hana's barrier.

She jerked as soon as she heard Sakura's voice and then turned around with a terrified expression.

"I-I don't know what you are talking about, Miss Sakura. I am here to give Elder Hana's dead body a bath and nothing else. I felt sorry for her state and wanted to clean her body…"

"Enough said. Save your excuses for Yoko because she would be the one to deal with you. I am going to hand you over to her."

The maid suddenly changed tones as soon as she realized her begging tone was not affecting Sakura.

"Tsk, and I thought you were the simple one."