'Welcome to Katorga'

Show yourselves! We demand parley!

I believe those present know the rest better than I do.

The ballroom was in chaos. In their panic, some attendees removed their gowns, snatched women's hats out of the servants' hands and ran outside...

Preposterous! You weren't even at the ball! Who told you these rumors?

They're all over the police force, and it's hard to tell where they come from. I offer you my apologies, if the rumors are unsubstantiated—

Not me!

N-Not to me! Apologize to everyone who was at the ball!

Order!

This hearing is not interested in street rumors. It is what happened with the students that we wish to know.

For example, who spoke those foul words of sedition?

Which words?

Which else? The foulest, most treacherous ones.

People were saying all sorts of things. I'm not sure what you're referring to—

The most treasonous, blasphemous, sacrilegious words... the ones that no one in this room may utter!

Oh, I get it.

Death to the mudak Emperor!

Death to the Hippogryph-blooded filth! Ursus belongs to the Ursus!

Bring out the bloodsucker Witte! Bring out the imbecile Fyodor!

You mean to say every student blasphemed against His Imperial Majesty that night.

Maybe, other than the few who kept cool heads. The young can be hot-blooded, and become incited to speak with a voice that does not belong to them.

Or perhaps you are exaggerating in order to cover up for a few of their number.

I am only telling the truth. You're jumping to some shocking conclusions.

Let us go back to the previous statement. You explained why Baryshnya Rostova failed to notice His Imperial Majesty's absence. Do you know where he was?

I learned a few things through my police contacts, but they are vague and uncertain.

You know of his whereabouts?

I know he was in the palace, but not why he did not appear at the ball as scheduled.

No, you know.

I'm sorry?

My evidence indicates that the Deity Grypherburg Police Night's Watch was the first to learn of His Imperial Majesty's disappearance, which means that you, too, were in a position to know.

Answer, Young Zoya. Why are you hiding the truth about the attempt on the Emperor's life, and his subsequent disappearance during the protests in question?

Well...

If you knew, your friend, Sonya Mykhailivna, knew too.

Was the violence that she incited in the quarantine zone aimed at finishing what the assassin attempt began?

(Murmurs) So the Emperor went missing that night. That explains everything.

...What?

Natalya mentioned something in particular. Before the protests began, she was heading to where the chairman and vice chairman were, but her attention, like the others, was drawn to the light outside the window.

Both of them had left by the time she looked back.

If you don't want to appear at the hearing, I can go in your place, at least minimize the impact of the Emperor's disappearance by influencing the direction of the hearing.

There is no longer a need to hide, Vasha.

Virtually every major noble in Grypherburg has learned about His Imperial Majesty's 'act of whimsy'. No number of gag orders will wipe away the shock that the event has caused.

Right now, I don't give two hoots about the hearing or the public opinion. The only thing on my mind is His Majesty's safety. You must find out what happened that day, before we move to eliminate the issues that put the Emperor in danger.

It was more than just Grypherburg's guards that went out of control that day. It was a warning sign, and a lesson to learn from.

Forgive my imprudence, Chairman Witte, but I understand that you had an argument with His Imperial Majesty prior to the ball, where he expressed his displeasure with the State Council's handling of the Katorga matter.

If that is what you are referring to, people on the outside would not be surprised, for His Imperial Majesty is ever caring of all who walk upon this land, even if his kindness is often mistaken for weakness.

No, not that.

His Majesty was indeed in a bad mood, but he agreed to attend the ball, until I received a tip prior to the event—

Someone was attempting to place an Originium bomb in the ballroom. He was caught by a maintenance worker.

Attempting to assassinate His Imperial Majesty?

It is not so simple. I thought the same as you did, so I followed emergency protocols and instructed the Royal Guard to go to His Majesty's chambers and escort him through the underground tunnel, while I interrogated the assassin personally.

He claimed he was here to assassinate Baron Kamshalov, at the behest of the baroness.

It would be a captivating family drama, if circumstances were different...

As the interrogation continued, however, he mentioned something even more unsettling—

Damn... come on, Geil, keep it together, you can do it...

Okay, I can still read this... connect the blue wire, then the green one, then a funt of... a funt of...

A funt of canned stew?

Blyat! Ivan! The baroness paid so much, and you're passing off a recipe as bombmaking instructions?!

......

Alright, calm down, it's up to me now... maybe this green one goes into this connector.

Wrong, the green one goes below the blue one.

Let's give that a try...

It worked! Thank you, kind-hearted—

Who the khuy are you?

(Hushed) Calm down and don't yell! Do you want to bring the whole police force down on our heads?

I had to stop you. If you really put that wire in, we'd have one more, no, two more 'canned stews' here in this room.

Don't worry, we're fellow travelers, I'm not gonna sell you out.

We're what?

Are you in a noblewoman's pocket too?

What are you talking about? We're both assassins, aren't we?

Sorry, I... it's my first time. I'm not really familiar with this stuff.

Hey, everybody's gotta start somewhere. Who's your debut job? Is it a big one?

I don't know if he's big or not. All I know is that he's a baron with a casino.

Well, that's not a bad one to pop your cherry. You'll get jobs for bigger fins with some practice under your belt.

What about you?

Heh, cover your mouth first. Don't want you freaking out and drawing unwanted attention.

(Hushed) I'm here to kill Duchess Volkina.

......

Who's that?

...What?

You don't know her?!

Quiet, quiet—

She's one of the few hereditary dukes in Ursus, a thorn in the side of the old guard nobility, and blood relative to the Emperor himself!

Okay, okay, don't shout, I'm sorry...

My employer searched across all of Ursus for an assassin who could take the job, and I was the only one who would do it! How could you—

...?

...You—

Shh—

...Shh?

Give it to me.

You want this bread?

Don't tell me you want the table knife?

Wait, tell us what you're gonna do with it first. Giving a knife to a stranger is not exactly becoming of a professional assassin.

Give it to me, and I'll tell you.

Go out the door, go through the kitchen, climb the ladder to the roof, and get into the room on the west side via the sunroof.

Shh—

...Shh.

What were you talking about? I didn't understand a word.

He's here to kill... the Emperor.

So you mean palace security allowed all these myriad assassins into the ballroom, and it took a maintenance worker to discover them.

How many more surprises do the Grypherburg's guards have in store for us?

The capital-wide power outage happened soon after.

While not entirely unexpected, given the recent energy shortage, it coincided with the matter of the assassins, which led to an overreaction.

That is why, after we left the scene of the ball, I instructed you to head to police headquarters and search for suspicious persons amongst the protestors.

You saw their crude, ineffective methods.

It's a good thing that your daughter is hardworking and motivated. If she was unambitious and went into the Guard by pulling strings, you would be the one with the constant headaches.

I am glad for Eloysius that you are willing to mentor her. Our entire family is very proud.

But how could these absurdly incompetent assassins have affected His Imperial Majesty?

Do you remember who I sent to find him, according to emergency procedures?

The Royal Guard?

That's what I don't understand. Why would the Emperor need to flee, if he was protected by the Royal Guard?

......

(Hushed) Because the loyalty of the Royal Guard is to Ursus, not the Emperor.

What?

Why are you still here?

You're late, Witte.

...Where is His Imperial Majesty? Did you not go with him?

Your orders were to go to his room and guard against assassins.

I ordered you to protect the Emperor! This is a plan that's long been in place. In the event of any emergency, you are to personally escort him through the secret passage.

Unfortunately, your best intentions do not seem to be appreciated.

Do you mean...?

Have you not realized, Chairman?

The one you're sworn to protect has been thoroughly disappointed by all that has happened here for years, decades even.

Of course, given your unreserved loyalty over such a long period of time, he would trust you, even if he sees all the other nobles as traitors.

But he will not put the same trust in me.

What happened to His Majesty?

He left by way of the secret passage, as planned, but he steadfastly refused my escort.

Didn't you stop him?

Why would I stop him?

You may not understand how I think, but you should try to understand how he thinks, 'Caretaker'.

Let him go out and see for himself what Ursus is truly like, beyond the window.

......

Which means that His Imperial Majesty has disappeared from under the watch of the Royal Guard.

Even if it was of his own volition.

Fellow students! Unite and bring down the establishment!

Time to put this to bed, Olga!

Sonya?

No marching, not even unified slogans... I see booze in the crowd. This is too risky.

Don't pour cold water when morale is at its highest—

Listen to me! These streets are lined with noble townhouses. Look how narrow the path is, it'd make any retreat really bad.

More than that, I haven't seen a single cop.

There's more to this than we know. Let's march south, shout our chants that way. It'll be easier to respond to any surprises.

I know what you're trying to say, but all this is normal. Faddey already explained that police operations are disrupted during the Winter Ball due to the personnel changes.

Besides, given our background, activism for our friends' rights, within reason, is seen as a sort of youthful experience, not rebellion.

Set your heart at ease and stand with us, Sonya.

Right... given your background.

If you're gonna be stubborn about this, I'll have to take the SSG and go.

This is not like you, Sonya. I thought you would be the bravest and firmest at a time like this.

We have caught their attention and left an impression. All that is left is to negotiate for Rania's release, and enjoy the fruits of victory.

If victory is so close, you can enjoy it yourself! No need to save any for me.

Did your group do this, Sonya?

No, we didn't do anyth—

Beautifully done!

I'll pretend I didn't hear what you said before. The Self-Government Group has done a great service to our protest!

...Look out!

Tear gas deployed! Take the injured, leave the rest!

General! We're here!

Let's go! It's a mess back there!

Wait, where's Gummy?

She went to look for you! Didn't you see her?

......

Blyat!

Why is Papa's watch here...?

What did you do to him?!

—Freeze! Get on your knees!

Zima?!

Run!

Guardsman down! I need backup!

Gotcha, Gummy!

What are you doing? Get away from her!

Chase them off. We're pulling out.

Sonya!

Have you lost your mind, Leto?!

Get out of here! That's an order!

Hmph... not gonna happen!

Zima! No, I'm helping you—

Don't try to be a hero, Sonya! Take our hands!

You're out of your mind too? There's more of them back there, and they've got crossbows.

Retreat! That's an order!

Don't try to pull rank with me! It won't work!

I need you to take them away, and the students out there need you! Help them!

That's not an order then. It's a favor, from a friend!

Listen to me, just this once! Go—

...And that's all that happened that night.

Some here may find it hard to accept, but Sonya should be considered a victim in this incident, regardless of which angle you take.

The parliamentarian has noted the witness's account, which will be used in conjunction with the statement Zoya previously submitted to compile an official report.

Any further questions for the witness?

Your Honor, Young Zoya, perhaps some of us have misunderstood the purpose of the hearing.

The reason that many have called for the student groups' actions to recognized as treason is not the protest alone, but also their disruptive behavior in the quarantine zone.

Of foremost concern to us is this: Where was His Imperial Majesty Fyodor in the course of these events?

There have been various rumors running through the people, some claiming that His Majesty mobilized the students against the nobility.

I am therefore quite curious; for example, on the night of the protests, why did His Imperial Majesty—

Forgive the interruption, Count Troyan.

I must emphasize that the Chairman will not be present today, in order to reduce the pressure on the committee, nor has he made any implicit suggestion.

The reason I questioned the witness concerning His Imperial Majesty's whereabouts was only to understand the relationship between the attempted assassination, the Emperor's subsequent disappearance, and the actions of the student leader Sonya Mykhailivna.

If the committee still has doubts, we can clarify them here and now.

Please answer, Young Zoya.

Do you think Sonya Mykhailivna's actions during the protest had anything to do with the assassination attempt on His Imperial Majesty or his disappearance?

The decision of the Royal Guard...

The part that is most important, yet one that no one can know. It will not be part of the hearing's findings.

Did His Majesty say anything to you upon his return?

No, Vasha, no...

We can all see how taciturn he has become since.