The Cormorant's Identity

"This is impossible! A noble man would never steal works of art!" stood his ground one man, then another woman said, "This is all nonsense, you have no proof that one of us did this."

More and more people joined with the voices of doubt, but their rise was soon slowed down by a sudden appearance of several servants. They were out of breath with their eyes overfilled with fear. One of them said while searching someone from the crowd with their eyes, "My lord, we counted them over and over and it seems like someone stole one of the gifts."

"Do not you worry, this one gift is still at the castle. In fact, it is right over there." declared Sylvia and pointed at the door. The painting was still intact, with as poor of a state as it was before. No one seemed to catch up to what Sylvia meant, but then an anxious voice resonated from a certain person.

"The painting was a gift? Is that what you mean?"

The one to speak was Eugene, who was still put on his knees and was observed thoroughly by those who still suspected them. Sylvia was not the only one to look at him, the man caught many glimpses including the wicked smile of one person he despised. Victoria's eyes were burning him down with no way of preventing this annoying sensation. Fortunately, Sylvia stepped in between them, preventing her mother's gaze from bothering the man in front of her. But more importantly, she helped him to untie his hands, thus the man was finally able to stand up.

"Once again, there was no way for them to bring in the painting on their own. Even if they are culprits, they would need an accomplice from the inside, who could have brought the painting as a gift."

The crowd was silently standing a few metres away from the two, even though their malice was still present behind their masks, no one dared to put the young man back to his knees. This created a safe space for Eugene to free all of his companions. Whenever one of the tall men tried to make a step further to prevent his doing, Sylvia glared at them, freezing those men in place.

"Well, everyone here swallowed their tongues, so let me ask you a question, my daughter." suddenly declared Victoria from among the group of noblemen. As a herding dog, she slowly moved forward while people around gave her more than enough to come through.

"You yourself suggested that your little friends here could be accomplices of the Cormorant, correct?"

"I did that, yes. But they are innocent and I can prove it."

"Alright, then, explain each and every one of their alibis."

Victoria playfully smiled at her, yet Sylvia's stern glare remained on her face as she started speaking, "All this time, Eugene was with me. Lawrence was with the older servant. And at the moment of the blackout, both Jessie and Maurice were by that table. After the lights went on again, these two remained at the same spot, which would be hard to navigate through in the dark."

"I see, so that's all of the people who sneaked in here." said Victoria and peeked at the group behind Sylvia. She caught Lawrence's eyes which triggered his mind and he opened his mouth ready to speak, however, Eugene turned to her first and said, "Yes, there were only four of us."

His response made Victoria grin, but instead of seeking for the hidden truth of their plan, her attention returned to Sylvia, she said, "Indeed, every single one of them has an alibi, but can you explain how did the Cormorant manage to turn off the lights, take the painting, nail it on the front door and disappear in such a short span of time?"

Sylvia nodded and once again pointed at the painting, however, this time, her slender finger slowly moved across the walls of the hall until it reached the door on the opposite side of the entrance. She dashed towards the door, past the gramophone that quietly hummed in the back, and opened it. It led to the hallway where an electrical panel could be seen a little further away from the door.

The crowd caught up to her, Eugene managed to squeeze himself in front of everyone as Sylvia started her explanation, "We are talking about the Phantom Cormorant, who is a master thief and a good lockpicker. Since everyone was in the hall, celebrating the Fire of Prometheus, they could easily move through the many hallways of this castle. I assume they first stole the present that was given to the lords earlier today, then reached the electrical panel, turned off the light and simply walked past the wall, hung a painting on the early noticed nail and went back to the door, following the wall once again."

"After turning on the lights, everyone's attention was caught by this painting, which meant that no one would even think of finding the source of a sudden blackout. They were to leave through any other door in the castle." pointed out Eugene to which Sylvia nodded. The noble men and women started whispering between each other, their tension was slowly but surely loosening up, since no one was seemingly in danger.

This turn of events was favourable for Eugene and his companions, they exchanged smiles with each other, already feeling how they will be left off the hook. Then suddenly, a round of applause could be heard behind them. Victoria stood alone near the centre of the hall, even though she could not have possibly heard Sylvia's explanation, she still spoke as if she stood right beside her all this time.

"Wonderful, now I would like to know one last thing. The motive of the crime. Why did the Cormorant act in such a manner? Why did they destroy such a wonderful piece of art?"

Sylvia narrowed her brows at this question, but still spoke in the same determined voice, "You know perfectly their motive, Victoria. In fact, their motive is written on the painting itself, "Thou art false as hell"."

The first one to react to her explanation was Jessie, she exclaimed, "There is no way!"

The young woman ran towards the painting and observed it so close, her nose was nearly touching the dry paint. After a few seconds had passed, she turned back to the crows with her eyes wide as if she saw a ghost, "This painting is actually fake!"

"What do you mean, Jessie?" asked Eugene, to which Jessie explained, "It is… hard to see, but the strokes on this painting are different from the one Adolf Northern used. Moreover, the colour pallet is slightly different, but nearly identical to the original… as if it was meant to be noticed upon closer observation."

"Smart girl," said Victoria while walking towards her, "it is indeed a fake painting. The fake that we, the la Avice family, prepared to catch the Cormorant."

Eugene reached two women, still looking at the painting in disbelief. Then, he turned to Maurice and Lawrence, "You saw it, did not you?"

Lawrence and Maurice turned to each other and a wave of realisation took over their faces, Maurice spoke first, "Then it means that we might have seen the original!"

"So that's why your butler threatened us!"

Finally, the last one to reach the small group near the painting was Sylvia. She still frowned at her mother, which only pushed Victoria's smile further down her cheeks. Sylvia crossed her arms and exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell me about their visit? I wasted so much time trying to justify their alibi, even though it was right here!"

"Because it would not be as fun, if you were given a handicap. But I guess it is finally time to get over these charades."

Victoria turned to the crowd who were standing further away from the group. They did not know whether they needed to follow them or stay near the electric panel. Further explanation was awaited by them, yet it was unnecessary. The entire mystery has been solved, thus Victoria spoke.

"Thank you for your service, good people of France and from wherever you come from. This party served its purpose and now we are ready to catch the Cormorant. Now you shall proceed with your celebration as if nothing ever happened."

Martin and Vincent exited the crowd to follow Victoria who opened the front door with a slight push. Everyone behind them stood confused, a round of whispers filled the entire room, but some bold people voiced their questions out loud.

"What do you mean you are taking your leave? Did you come here only to lure the Cormorant?"

"What about the kids? Your explanation of the situation was believable, but I still cant trust them!"

"I think it will be better to wait for the police, please, do not leave yet!"

The last request was quite universal, which made Victoria stop for a second, but not because she actually considered the crowd's call, but rather to tell them the truth, "What a flock of imbeciles you all are. I bet you did not even realize why our family decided to organize a masquerade… Fair enough, I will explain everything to you. The only reason why the Phantom Cormorant organised this little exhibition was to lock us in the castle of Beumont. They found out that the painting at "Mosno Rooster" was fake and deduced that the real thing could only be in our household. Thus our visit to this celebration was a perfect opportunity to steal it along with many other riches that reside in our home. The more time we waste here with you, the more items are stolen at the moment."

Upon her quick explanation, the la Avise family with Vincent, Eugene, Jessie, Lawrence and Maurice left celebration and shut the door, ignoring new emerging complaints. The door, however, did not open anymore, marking the acceptance of such resolution from their side.

"What a bunch of fools." said Victoria, even though she seemed to be mad a few seconds ago, her mood returned to her usual cheerful, yet sadistic state. She glared at Eugene and asked, "What about your other little accomplice? Isn't it cruel to leave her behind?"

Eugene lowered his head, which was heavy from one nasty thought that entered it. After careful consideration, he reached one conclusion that was immediately disproved by Sylvia, who said, "She is not the Cormorant, I saw her going back into the same hallway where you lot came from. She was with another man, seemingly close to her."

Maurice and Jessie were first shocked by this news, but then shared a laugh. Lawrence, however, was not as amused, a heavy sigh escaped his lips and he said, "Did not expect her to be like that."

"I guess, Douglas indeed had a bad influence on her." said Eugene and patted his friend's shoulder. But then, he turned to Sylvia and said, "I guess, we should hurry! What if the Cormorant already stole that painting from your house?"

Upon hearing his words, Victoria burst into laughter, but the one to speak was Martin, he said, "It was all a bluff to escape this dreadful party, young man. We would not leave the painting without any insurance."

"Huh? Then you prepared a trap for the Phantom Cormorant? I wonder who it could be."

After his words, Sylvia turned to Eugene with her eyes round from shock, "Have you not yet realized who the Cormorant is?"

Eugene raised his brow at her question, but did not say anything. The la Avise family sat in their car with one spot left free for just one person. Eugene was ready to take it, however Victoria looked him in the eyes and said, "As your punishment for the unfathomable ignorance, you shall walk all the way to our household in order to learn the identity of the Cormorant."

Then, the car went off, leaving four young people alone in front of the gates to the Castle of Beaumont. Even though Eugene was fuming from the prank this family played on him, he was determined to learn the Cormorant's identity, thus they all walked, ran even, until they reached the household of the la Avise.

"For goodness sake, I hate them so much!" cried out Eugene, to which Jessie replied, "Are you implying that you would simply leave us behind, if they have given you the last spot in the car?"

"Of course not!"

"Does not seem too sincere." caustically said Maurice, but then, Lawrence spoke, "Anyway, who do you think the Cormorant is? I do not quite get it, how should Eugene know them?"

"Well, there is only one way to find out." said Eugene and pushed the front door. It slowly opened with a squeak, revealing the la Avise family, two police officers, Vincent and Arnold, all staring down at a young woman, who was jerking her head while being sat on the chair. Her slender hands were locked in the handcuffs and face grim, full of hatred for the ones in front of her. Her long ginger hair were tied in a ponytail, yet Eugene recognized her well.

He whispered, "Sophie?"