Incertitude Versus Reason

Everyone present was observing the painting in dismay, as if they stood before a masterpiece at the exhibition. This, however, was far from being a masterpiece, in fact, it was more so like a funeral to the death of great art work. Even though their faces were hidden under masks, the anger, disbelief and sorrow could be felt through the hush in the hall.

"I caught the Cormorant!" exclaimed one of the guests, who appeared to be a young man whose suit was barely holding together under the pressure of his round body. He twisted the hands of another man whose face was hidden under the mask of a cormorant, he was slowly descending onto the ground and nagging, "The hell are you doing, let me go!"

Eugene gasped from the sheer stupidity of that man, who declared Maurice to be the cormorant. Eugene dashed towards his friend and pushed the pursuer and declared, "Are you an idiot? He is just wearing the mask! This man stood by this table all this time!"

"Did you just push me!? They are working together, the phantom cormorant has an accomplice!"

"Wait, but he really is just wearing a mask." noticed a young lady from the crowd, another man said, "Well, this mess is not a calling card of the cormorant, perhaps someone played a prank on us?"

"They could really be behind this all!"

"Catch them to be sure!"

And so the doubt of many was swayed by the fast judgement of the few, and soon enough both Eugene and Maurice were put on their knees with hands tied behind their back. They struggled, which further agitated those around, but suddenly a young woman in pheasant's mask and a young man in a black suit jumped in between the culprits and the group of most active accusers. They were Jessie and Lawrence, with the older servant who stood further away from the two.

"What are you doing, people? Do you really think that the Phantom Cormorant would just stay here after revealing their crime?" asked Jessie and Lawrence added, "We sneaked here all together, if they planned on doing something, we would surely know about it!"

"So you sneaked into the Castle of Beaumont! It must mean you two are their accomplices as well. Tie them up, immediately!"

A few tall men rushed at their saviours, and they immediately joined the two culprits, making it four. Eugene narrowed his brows, however, Maurice did not stay silent, he exclaimed, "For fuck's sake, Lawrence, who in their right mind would declare this shit!?"

"Loud and proud, buddy." shook her head Jessie. Lawrence retaliated, "I was just trying to help, you would not be suspected in the first place, if you took another mask, Maurice!"

"Oh, so that's my fault now!"

And while the suspects argued and their prosecutors discussed their fates, suddenly, calming music could be heard from the gramophone. It was melancholic, but also soothing and soon enough the buzz toned down, until the room once again regained silence, although now a more pleasant one.

"Puccini? Not quite the composer I expected, but good enough, Vincent." said a middle-aged man in the mask of an owl, similar to the one Sylvia was wearing. Everyone turned their faces to the one who disturbed classical tunes and, beside him, stood a woman, whose red dress was rather bland looking, but her body proportions brought the best out of it. 

As soon as everyone began noticing her presence, she vaguely smiled and adjusted the mask, which did not resemble any known animal, but rather some cryptic being. Her emerald green eyes were observing the surroundings as if a predator was searching for prey. Then, she slowly walked towards the caught group, with her golden hair elegantly swaying behind her. Her every step was light like a feather, but contained majesty and overwhelming weight of danger. Soon enough, her body frame was at a perfect low angle to hide only her face behind an umbra from the ceiling light. Despite that, Eugene knew perfectly well who stood in front of him.

"Victoria…" he whispered, to which the woman replied, "You sure are a troublemaker, Monsieur Dagaz. Not only did you disturbed a piece of our household for no good reason, but you also sneaked into the castle of Beaumont to play a little prank? I am quite sure that puberty should not affect you as much at this age, but perhaps you are a special case."

"Do you know this man, Madam la Avise?" asked one of the folk from the group behind her, but she did not even look at him, instead, she kept staring down the man whose angry look was hidden under the mask.

It took Eugene a few seconds to calm down his nerve, then, he said, "Madam la Avise. I am terribly sorry for what I did at your household, but we are not behind this all. Yes, we sneaked here without permission, but it was all done to prevent Phantom Cormorant's doings!"

The woman giggled lightly and then leaned towards the man, revealing her smile, "Wrong, young man! You went here to make fun of the tragedy at "Monso Rooster", you must really hate Arnold, huh? Not only you stole his beloved painting and ruined it, but you also brought every nobles' eyes to it."

"What the hell are you talking about!? I did not do any of that crap!" exclaimed Eugene and shot up like a bullet, this gesture was not taken lightly by the man who was all this time patiently observing the scene, Martin exclaimed, "Know your place, you little!-"

"That's enough, Martin." giggled Victoria once again and gently pushed Eugene by the forehead with her pointy finger. It was a light push, but surprisingly strong enough to throw Eugene off balance, and if not for Lawrence and Maurice who sat right behind him, this would have ended nasty.

"Young lady, I am terribly sorry for this mistake." suddenly put her word in the elder servant of the castle, she bowed as low as her back allowed her and continued with regret seething through her voice, "It was I who let them all in, there was one more woman with them. But they could not possibly play this prank, they did not have anything at hand when I let them in!"

"Quite a handful of brave people, I see." said Victoria and turned away from them, "I am fully aware that those fools could not possibly do it. I was just teasing the most foolish among them."

After her words, resentment and incomprehension rose once again in the crowd, many questions followed towards the noble woman, but they all could be summarised into one, "What is the meaning of all this, Madam la Avise?"

Victoria, however, simply ignored those calls and instead came closer to the front door and pointed at it, "If you want answers then there is one person who already grasped at everything. Am I right, Sylvia?"

All this time, while Eugene's group was persuaded and made fun of, Sylvia patiently observed the painting that was not so long ago the main star of the conflict. People truly are always eager to find an easy solution, instead of observing details to reach one and true answer. The woman in front of the door was one exception, and as soon as her mother called for her, she turned and revealed her determined face. She silently walked towards the culprits and declared.

"They are innocent, the crime was committed by none other but the real Phantom Cormorant!"

"How can you be so sure of it?" asked one.

"One of them could still be the phantom cormorant! Only the one who sneaked in here could be guilty." followed another accusation, and their howl continued.

Their collective voices were loud and overwhelming, even Eugene felt uncomfortable, even though he was spared of the attention. Sylvia, though, stood her ground and did not flinch in the slightest. Her small frame and slim body looked stronger than ever, especially from the ground. Sylvia patiently listened to all the doubts, regardless of their credibility, until their force staggered. She seized this opportunity and said, "None of them can be Phantom Cormorant, precisely because they sneaked in here. They have an alibi which was given to them by the servant. Moreover, it is simply impossible to get a painting this size past the castle walls. Phantom Cormorant must have been one of the guests!"