A Bride’s Pride

**A Bride’s Pride** is a case featured in *Criminal Case*. It takes place in the Roman Imperial region of Graecita.

## Plot

**You are now experiencing the story in third-person view.**

At the Graecita, Madelina is at the palace with her cat Mehtab, waiting next to the door for Zachary to come. Suddenly she hears a knock on the door, so she opens it and Zachary has finally arrived with Alex and Jennifer, bringing shovels and a coffin with him. After Alex and Jennifer explain that they’ve come to help them, Madelina takes them all to Kaleb’s study, grabbed the dictionary on the bookshelf, opening the secret door. They group left the cat behind before entering the passage and making it to the room where Kaleb kept Yvette’s corpse laying on a bed. Alex, who had no idea what the mission was about until now, was horrified and began shouting, expressing his disappointment and disgust in Kaleb. The rest of the group told him to be quiet and Jennifer had to use her charm-speaking to calm him down. Once Alex stopped panicking, the group began moving Yvette’s body into the coffin but were soon jumpscared by Mehtab rushing to Madelina’s legs. Soon they saw the light of a candle entering the room and they were joined by the queen herself who asked them what they were doing here. Her expression went from being stern to horror when she saw Yvette’s body- She already knew her brother was hiding her corpse in here, but she’s never imagined that she’ll eventually have to see it herself. Everyone was scared of saying anything, but Madelina built up the courage to stand up to the queen and told her that they are here to bury Yvette’s body and that they’ll do it whether she tries to stop them or not. But the queen did not try to stop them, instead she used her air-bending abilities to lift Yvette’s coffin and told the others to follow her into the palace yard...

Meanwhile at Nova Roma, Livius’ coronation day has finally come. Marionette is in the palace dolling herself up, but was startled by an Iris message from Madelina. Madelina was cross and when Marionette hesitantly asked her what was the problem, Madelina scolded her for staining her dress with wine. Marionette apologized to Madelina who was crossing her arm and pouting, when something suddenly crashed into the balcony. Marionette rushed to see what caused the crash and it was Ekho again, bringing with her another one of Madelina’s dresses- The one she (Madelina) wore to the bonfire event. Marionette went back to the Iris message, thanking Madelina, who warned her not to ruin this dress or this will be the last time she’ll burrow anything from her. Madelina ended the call and Marionette put on the dress, presenting herself to Norah who jokingly told her to be careful and not “steal the emperor’s limelight”. Marionette wanted to ask Kaleb for his opinion, but he was not in the room so she asked Norah where he is. Norah rolled her eyes and guessed he was probably at the garden reading one of his books and asked Shirley to go fetch him.

As Norah suspected, Kaleb was at the palace garden reading “The Iliad” under a fig tree. While he was reading, a fig falls from the tree and lands on his balls, making him grunt in pain. He hears the voice of a girl apologizing and he looks up, smiling as he spots Audenzia sitting on top of the tree, eating a fig. Audenzia smiles back, but suddenly the branch she was sitting on breaks and she starts falling down but Kaleb catches her. Kaleb asks if she’s okay and she responds by kissing him, spitting what she was eating into his mouth. They then both lay on the grass and each take turns taking a bite from the fig, chewing them and feeding the other mouth-to-mouth. Kaleb continues reading his book and out of nosiness, Audenzia peeks at what at the novel and reads a line from the book, which was in Greek. This surprised Kaleb, who asked where she learned Greek from, but Audenzia shrugged her shoulders and told him she has no idea and that she just happens to understand it. Before Kaleb could ask more, Audenzia begins coughing which worried him and he asked if she was sick. Audenzia assured him she isn’t and revealed that there’s something she wants to tell him and Kaleb admitted that he has something to tell her too. Audenzia let him go first and he revealed that he and his “masters” will be leaving Rome and returning to their home soon. This disappointed Audenzia, but then Kaleb surprised her by asking her to come with them. Audenzia was speechless and she asked Kaleb if his “masters” wouldn’t mind, and he assured her that they’ll be okay with it. Audenzia stayed silent for a few seconds, but then promised Kaleb she’ll think about it and remarked on how kind “The Patricii” are to Kaleb, that it’s almost like he’s their friend and not their slave. Kaleb gave a nervous laugh and he got even more nervous when he heard Shirley call his name- His actual name. Audenzia looked at him confusingly, and he lied that “Kaleb” was a nickname before going to Shirley and scolded her for almost blowing his cover.

At the Roman chapel, the nobles have gathered to witness Gaius Drusus Livius’ coronation. Following the ceremony, the guests went to the Great Hall to enjoy a night of music and dance. The guests were also provided a chance to speak with the emperor and during the party he was approached by Simona Severa, Discordia (who was here to entertain the nobles) and Incontinentia Buttox who was concerned for his health due to his attempted assassination. He was then approached by Audenzia, who apologized for missing his ceremony and admitted that she came to him as she has a question for him. First, Audenzia asked him what he would do if someone came to him and asked for her hand in marriage, and Livius replied by telling her it depends on the person and whether he is right for her or not. She them added to her question by asking what if that person comes from a faraway land and plans to take her back with him, and in response Livius said that he’ll turn him away and forbid him from ever stepping foot on Rome again. Audenzia asked him why and feeling suspicious, Livius asked her if there’s something she wants to tell him. Before Audenzia could deny, the team entered the hall and all eyes were on Marionette, specifically her cleavage which she had on display in a purple dress. Impressed by the size of her melons, Carolus approached to flirt with her and Livius asked to have a private chat with Norah. This left Kaleb by himself, but he wasn’t alone for long as Audenzia grabbed his arm, inviting him to dance with her. Norah asked Livius why he wanted to chat with her and he questioned whether she asked to marry Audenzia or not. Confused, denied wanting to marry his cousin and this relieved Livius who told Norah that Audenzia belongs to the palace and that he isn’t going to let anyone take her away. Suddenly a city guard gatecrashed the party and he announced that there was a lion-sighting at the forum and that it had taken a victim. Hearing this announcement, Norah and Marionette rushed to the forum to find Hippomenes, but there was no sign of him there. The two kept looking and eventually they stumbled upon the dead body of a woman in a white dress, tied and viciously killed on the fountain. The duo recognized the woman as Nebet.

**You are now playing as Marionette Patrick.**

From the wound on her head, it was very obvious that Nebet was killed by Hippomenes, however because she was tied up, Norah and Marionette could tell he didn’t act alone and that someone set her up to die, meaning they were dealing with a murder. As they were discussing what happened, they were approached by the head Vestal priestess, Vesma who asked if the lion was gone. The duo interrogated her and they learned that she’s the one who reported the lion-sighting and when asked about the murder, she claimed that she only witnessed Nebet getting mauled by the lion and didn’t see anyone tying her up. Norah and Marionette began investigating, deciding to inform Nebet’s sister, Nefertiti of the murder and then finding reasons to add Audenzia Diodora to the suspect list after finding a message she sent to Nebet, asking her to wait at the fountain for a carriage to get her. As they were discussing their progress, the duo were approached by the emperor’s men who told them that Livius demands that they come to his office.

When Norah and Marionette visited the emperor at his office, his eyes were red from tears and he demanded they tell him everything they know about the murder. After they told him what happened to Nebet, he began crying and they eventually learn that the two were engaged and that he planned to introduce her in his coronation party as his wife. After speaking with Livius, the duo remembered that Audenzia used to be his fiancée and they decided to interrogate her again to know how she felt about his engagement to Nebet and as they expected, she was displeased as marrying Livius was her only hope to be accepted by the Imperial family. Norah and Marionette then found reasons to suspect Gaius Carolus for the murder and they also discovered that Nefertiti envied her sister due to her engagement to the emperor, as that was her dream back when Messalinus was still alive. During the investigation, the duo were approached by a panicking Shirley who informed them that the Roman guards found Hippomenes and that they’re taking him to the Roman chapel to be judged by the emperor.

Worried for their lion friend’s fate, Norah and Marionette head to the chapel which was packed with nobles and they found Hippomenes being presented before Livius, who was sitting on a throne. They panicked, thinking that Livius would have the lion killed, but fortunately he decided to postpone the trial until they find Nebet’s true killer- the one who tied her to get killed. Relieved, Norah and Marionette returned to their investigation where they found a slut-shaming message from Vesma to Nebet and when they questioned her about it, Vesma revealed that the victim opened up about getting raped Carolus and instead of showing sympathy to her, Vesma resulted to victim-blaming her. The duo were disgusted by Vesma’s lack of sympathy, but even more by Carolus who they confronted about what he did to Nebet and he admitted that when he learned Livius planned to marry Nebet, he was scared that her first order as empress was to have him killed. Aside from that, Norah and Marionette also discovered that Nebet was a descendant of Cleopatra and knowing about the whole history about her and Livius’ ancestor, Augustus, they decided to interrogate the emperor again and he revealed that Nebet already told him about her link to Cleopatra and that both agreed to keep their mouthes shut, knowing the backlash he’d get for falling for “the enemy”. In the end, Nebet’s killer turned out to be high priestess Vesma.

Vesma got furious when she was accused of the murder, but after Norah and Marionette pressed her with evidence, she snapped claiming she wasn’t going to let Nebet taint the imperial family. Vesma revealed that she hated being a Vestal virgin and ever since her parents put her into Vesta’s service, she’s been counting the years until her freedom and hoped that once her service ends, noblemen would line up to take her hand in marriage. Unfortunately, due to her undesirable physical appearance, she failed to find a husband and since none of her relatives agreed to take her in, she had no choice but to turn back to the temple for shelter and security. So when she learned about the emperor’s engagement to Nebet, she was enraged that a slave managed to land such a match while she, who spend almost 7 decades serving the goddess the Temple of Vesta failed to receive a decent engagement as she had been promised. This made her feel humiliated and she was determined to stop the marriage from happening using any means possible. Vesma found Nebet waiting at the fountain and it filled her with rage, but then she saw the lion from a distance and it gave her an idea. Vesma knocked out Nebet and tied her up to the fountain with shackles. She then grabbed a rock that was on the ground and threw it at the lion to gain his attention, quickly entering the temple as he turned around to see who hit him. Since no human was present but Nebet, she was mauled by the lion who mistook her as the person who threw the rock at her. After hearing her confession, Norah and Marionette brought her to the Colosseum where the whole of Rome were gathered to see her punishment. For the murder of Nebet, Vesma’s punishment was getting mauled by the same lion she used to kill her victim.

After witnessing Vesma’s horrifying execution, Norah and Marionette met with Kaleb outside the Colosseum to talk about Hippomenes and how they could possibly free him especially when they don’t know where the emperor is keeping him. Kaleb suggested that they ask Audenzia, which Norah found ridiculous but Kaleb assured her that he trusts her and doubts she would out their secret. Still unsure about the idea, Norah eventually agreed but before they could go and ask Audenzia for help, they were approached by the imperial guards who told them that the emperor would like to see them.

Wondering what the emperor wants to talk about, the team went into the office where they found him still devastated about Nebet’s death. The team asked why he had them summoned and he responded that he wanted to speak about his assassination attempt. Livius told the trio that the person who tried to kill him may be one of the nobles as they were the only ones that he’s interacted with during yesterday’s Colosseum match and that he wants them to investigate the great hall for any potential suspects for his murder attempt. Not wanting corruption to spread in Rome while they are gone, the team agreed to look for his attacker and they went on to inspect the great hall. The team found broken glass on the ground and when they pieced them together, it formed a vial. The vial was emptied but there still remained a few drops of liquid inside, which they collected so Kaleb could analyze. Kaleb examined the substance they’ve collected and he found out it was poison, the same one used to spike the emperor’s drink, meaning the vial was dropped by his assassin. Kaleb also managed to find fingerprints which belonged to a woman called Portia Brigitta, who was also one of Claudilla’d ladies-in-waiting. The team went to confront Portia, who tried to deny the accusations at first, but cracked up and revealed that she was forced to do it. The team asked her to reveal who made her poison the emperor, and she was initially hesitant to reveal the name, but eventually told them that it was Carolus. She explained that Carolus was furious that the last emperor chose Livius as his successor instead of him, and that he planned to kill Livius believing the throne would be passed on to him. The team went straight to Livius to them him about their discovery, and he was shocked, not believing that Carolus would do such a thing. However, he came to realize that Carolus couldn’t be trusted and decided he would do something about it once his coronation day is over.

Desperate to leave with Hippomenes, the team went to speak with Audenzia where Kaleb told her that there is something they needed to tell her. Curious, Audenzia agreed to listen and Kaleb revealed that they were completely honest with her family and that they came to Rome to free the lion and not for Norah and Marionette to “reconnect with their roots”. This confused Audenzia, who questioned what they would want with the lion, but the team refused to get into details and told her that they want to know where they are keeping Hippomenes. Audenzia revealed that the lion is locked somewhere at the palace’s dungeon and that she could take them to the lion but they still need the keys to free him from his cell. Audenzia suggested they could ask one of the imperial guards to lend them his set of keys, but that would be took risky, so instead, the team decided to go to the forum, hoping one of the guards dropped their keys whilst capturing the lion. And as they hoped, they found a set of keys hiding under a pile of coins in the fountain and went back to Audenzia who led them through the dungeon. The team found the lion’s cage but unfortunately it was being supervised by a guard. Not wanting to draw suspicion, Audenzia took the keys and approached the cage alone, telling the person guarding it that the emperor asked for the lion to be brought to the Colosseum for execution. The guard allowed Audenzia to free the lion, but worried that he’d try to attack her, he offered to help her walk it which went against the team’s plan. So as Audenzia and Hippomenes got close to them, Norah jumped on the guard and knocked him out cold, startling Audenzia. The team then took the lion from Audenzia and thanked her for assisting them before they went heading to their ship.

**You are now experiencing the story in third-person view.**

Relieved that their quest was over, the team reunited with Shirley and began sneaking to their ship with Hippomenes by their side. They finally made it to the docks, but as they entered the shio, they were suddenly ambushed by centurions. The team had no idea what was going on, but soon Carolus came out and told them that they are under arrest. Carolus and his centurions then dragged them all the way to the Colloseum where the whole of Rome were gathered and they were thrown before the emperor. Livius asked Carolus what the hell is he doing, and the commander announced that he found out who tried to assassinate him, pointing at the team. This caused a gasp around the auditorium, and Livius asked Carolus if he has any proof to back up his accusations. Carolus then exposed their true backstory: He told the emperor that they were actually Greeks, one of the Romans’ sworn enemies, that they weren’t just any other nobles and they were in fact close to their queen and accused them of coming all the way to Rome to kill the emperor and invade their empire. He also somehow discovered their names and forced Norah into stripping off her armor, exposing her breasts to the Romans, which further “proved” Carolus’ accusations of them being frauds. The team were speechless, they wondered how Carolus learned all that about them, but they decided to shut they’re mouth knowing that ask them would get them in even deeper trouble. Audenzia eventually stood up for them, telling Carolus that none of what he said proves that they tried to kill the emperor and that they could have come to Rome for other reasons, begging Livius to give them a chance to explain themselves. Livius agreed and so Norah took a step forward and admitted that most of what Carolus revealed about them was true, but swore that they aren’t planning to invade Rome and that they only came to free the lion and take him home with them. She then accused Carolus of pinning the assassination attempt on them in order to cover up his tracks, telling him to go talk to Portia and she’ll tell them the truth. A grin formed on Carolus’ face and suddenly a couple of centurions came into the arena, carrying a body- Portia’s dead body, her heart impaled by a sword- Kaleb’s sword, which he had left under the fig tree. When Claudilla and her ladies-in-waiting saw the body they began weeping over their friend’s death, and the emperor concluded that they must be guilty. The emperor asked the auditorium to cast a vote, telling whoever thinks the team should be spared to raise their arm. Audenzia raised her arm, followed by Discordia, Simons, the Amogi, Boas, the former Vestal virgins and people continued raising their arms until half the auditorium voted that they should be spared. Since the vote was 50/50, Livius agreed to let them live- but not without the price. For his assassination attempt and the murder of Portia Brigitta, the team were punished by having their freedoms stripped away from them and from now on, they will live their lives as slaves. The team refused to accept that punishment and tried to fight back as the guards came to get them. Marionette spotted Flavian capturing Shirley, who was crying as her freedom was about to be taken away from her again. Angry, Marionette pulled herself away from the guards who were restraining her and reached into her dress pockets where she was hiding a pistol. She pointed the gun at Flavian’s head and pulled the trigger, killing him and saving Shirley from getting caught. Everyone in the Colosseum stared at Marionette in fear, shock and in amazement of the weapon she was holding, which none of them have seen before. Marionette had only one bullet left, but that didn’t stop her from putting on a brave face, holding the gun high and pointing it at all the Romans around her, threatening to shoot. She then decided to talk, promising the Romans that she does not want to harm them, but she refuses to let them take her and her friends as their prisoners. She then announced that she, Norah and Kaleb will leave their empire with Shirley AND the lion, and if any one them try and get on their way, she’ll blow their brains out like she did with Flavian. She then aimed the gun at the emperor, pulled her last trigger and the bullet barely missed his head. This left Livius scared shitless and the team left the Colosseum with both Shirley and Hippomenes, and no one tried to stop them.

Once they were off the Romans’ tracks, the team immediately went to their ship, relieved that this was finally all over. But before they could leave, they were approached by Audenzia. When they spotted her, the team stopped to thank her for standing up for them and asked her what did she want. Audenzia turned to Kaleb and returned his sword to him, which had been on Portia’s body and she asked if she could talk with him privately. Norah and Marionette decided to wait for Kaleb, wondering what he and Audenzia were discussing only to see her crying and Kaleb stump toward the ship. When he got into the ship, Norah asked him why Audenzia was crying but he simply told her to mind her own business and set the sails.

A few days have passed and the team has arrived to the Graecitan shore. A large crowd was waiting for them, cheering for Norah and Marionette as they walked out of the ship, Hippomenes with them. But as soon as Kaleb walked out, they became silent and glared at him, still angry at him for having his guards attack them while they were protesting outside the palace. Shirley navigated the crowd for her husband, and found him staring at her, pissed of at her for uncovering herself and she knew that the two of them were about to have a long talk. Madelina was among the crowd and when she saw Marionette, she rushed to hug her, happy that her friend was safe. But like the rest of the crowd, she frowned when she saw Kaleb but didn’t say a thing and took the team back to the palace.

At the palace garden, the queen is sitting on a swing, staring at a stop where she had Yvette’s body buried. KJ was also in the garden and is seen throwing a ball at a sickly Atalanta, wanting her to play with him. Leonora tried to get the kid away from the lioness, but suddenly she heard a roar and Norah came into the garden with a male lion the same color as Atalanta. Atalanta immediately recognized that lion as her husband, got up and cheerfully ran to him, and they showed their love to another in a lion-ly way. Meanwhile Marionette is walking the halls with Madelina, who complimented her necklace, making her feel relieved as she expected her friend to be mad that she’s ditched her necklace for one that Kaleb bought her. Madelina then asked Marionette to tell her everything she’s done back in Rome, and Marionette did even telling her about her “romance” with Ming. This got Madelina excited, who happened to have met Ming, knowing very well how he looked and begged Marionette to get into the details. But Marionette preferred to keep it private, and then Madelina asked if that means things between her and Kaleb are finally over, for real. This made Marionette go silent but she eventually told Madelina that Kaleb spoke to her after she had kissed Ming and promised her once he comes back to Graecita he will bury Yvette. Madelina was glad to hear that, telling Marionette that this means who wouldn’t be mad at what she’s done, and before Marionette could ask what she meant, Kaleb storms out of his study yelling “WHERE IS SHE?!”. Seeing him panicking, Madelina smirked and asked Kaleb if he was looking for someone and knowing Madelina must be responsible for Yvette’s disappearance, he stomped toward her and demanded to know where was Yvette. With a proud look on her face, Madelina revealed that she and Leonora buried her while he was gone, which made Kaleb’s blood boil and he reacted by boxing Madelina’s ear, making it bleed. Shocked, Marionette rushed to help her friend but when she saw Kaleb looking for Leonora, she ran after him. Kaleb went to the garden and confronted Leonora, demanding she tell him where she buried Yvette. But Leonora wouldn’t say a word, so he looked around and found a spot that didn’t have grass, immediately figuring out it is Yvette’s grave. Kaleb grabbed a shovel and went to dig it up, but Leonora went in front of him to stop. Kaleb swung the shovel and was about hit Leonora’s head, but his son came in between to protect his aunt, getting hit instead. KJ fell in the ground, his head bleeding and everyone, including Kaleb, looked im horror at what he’s done. Guards finally came to the garden, and angry at what her brother has done, she told them to arrest him. The guards then dragged Kaleb away from the garden, and he began crying and shouting, begging them to let him see his son, but they didn’t listen to him and continued dragging him to the dungeons. Once Kaleb was taken away, Norah rushed to get a doctor for KJ, while Leonora sat in the ground, crying while hugging an unconscious KJ. Soon, Madelina came to the garden and she was horrified at what she saw. She tried to approach KJ to see if he was okay, but Leonora yelled at her to back off. Leonora then proceeded to blame Madelina for what happened, telling her that if she hadn’t convinced her into burying Yvette, KJ would have not gotten hurt and that she wants her out of the palace. Even though Leonora’s argument made no sense, Madelina truly believed what happened was her fault and ran to the palace in tears. Marionette went after her, to comfort her and assure her that it wasn’t her fault, but it was too late- Seeing that no one in the palace likes her anymore, Madelina decides to move out.

At Zachary’s place, Zachary had invited Alex and Jennifer over to talk about what happened at the theatre. Alex and Jennifer were trying to get him to break up with Madelina, but Zachary so no point in doing so, especially since Mia caught them kiss and there’s noway she still likes him after that. Suddenly, they hear a knock on the door and Zachary decides to open it, finding Madelina outside, her eyes red with tears. The three friends notice that her left ear is bleeding, and horrified, they ask her what had happened. Madelina tells them everything and learning that Kaleb had hit her, Alex and Zachary become pissed and they promise Madelina that if they see Kaleb they’ll make him pay for hurting her. But this was the least of Madelina’s worries and she tells Jennifer and the boys what happened to KJ, how the queen kicked her out over it and now she has nowhere to go as the *Hamilton Laurent’s Revenge* was disbanded and Belinda must still be mad about losing her hair, so she can’t go back to the witch coven either. Zachary comforted her and asked Jennifer if she was okay with Madelina staying at her estate, but Madelina tells him that she was hoping to move in with him. This request surprised Zachary, who was going to find an excuse to refuse it, but Jennifer talks in his behalf and assured Madelina, Zachary will take her in. Zachary glares at Jennifer, and she whispers into his ear, telling him that if he wasn’t going to break up with her then she accepts him to at least treat her like his girlfriend as she deserves that at least. Zachary sighed and agreed to let Madelina move in, who hopped in joy and gave Zachary a hug. Suddenly all her things start flying into the house and she makes herself at home. Zachary stares in horror over what he got himself into...

## Summary

### Victim

* **Nebet** (tied down and viciously killed)

## Suspects

VesmaNefertitiAudenzia DiodoraGaius LiviusGaius Carolus
## Quasi-suspects

Portia BrigittaHippomenesFlavian LucretiusMadelina AlonzoAtalantaKaleb WilloughbyQueen Leonora IKaleb Jr. WilloughbyZachary Riley
## Killer’s Profile

* The killer eats figs.
* The killer has a fever.
* The killer wears perfume.
* The killer has freckles.
* The killer wears a golden brooch.