TORN PAGES

"The diary… some pages are torn. There is no way to tell why she committed suicide," Veronica's voice quivered as she spoke.

Arthur frowned. He reached out his hand and said, "Let me see for a second." Veronica handed him the diary and he flipped over the pages. His eyes skillfully scanned the contents as he checked. He had the ability to understand a person's personality from his or her handwriting.

Sister Ruth had a gentle handwriting style. There was no spelling mistake. That means she was calm, collected, and caring as a person.

She was a daughter of an aristocrat. It wasn't mentioned in the diary what rank her father was. She left home after she had some sort of disagreement with her father. She wanted to find peace. She went to the temple and began to live there. Her life was peaceful ever since.

Sometimes, she would contact her parents through letters. They wanted her to leave the temple and live the way they wanted. But, she refused and didn't heed their words any longer.

One day, she saw some children leaving the temple using a secret hole hidden under the bush. Since it was forbidden to get out without permission, she knew they would be punished for breaking the rules. So, she followed them and tried to locate them.

She got herself a helper who helped her to find them.

'A helper…' Arthur squinted his eyes. 'Who could it be…' he pondered.

After that, Sister Ruth and that person met frequently.

As for how they met, it wasn't written clearly. From her choice of words, it seemed she fancied that person. Whether it was a male or female, there was no way to find it out. Even though it was her secret diary, she hid many details well.

'Did she think someone could read her diary one day?' Arthur doubted. 'It shouldn't happen in the temple.' He glanced at the girl next to him and asked, "Do you have privacy in the temple?"

"What kind of privacy?"

"Like someone barging into your room when you are out and search your room without your permission to check if you have something valuable."

"It never happened. Furthermore, we don't have anything valuable. Whatever we have been given, those have been given all from the temple. It would be weird if they tried to search our rooms when we don't usually go out."

"So, whatever they will find is just the stuff they have given you. Therefore, there is no reason for them to search." Arthur nodded as though he understood. "That makes sense."

'If no one was going to read her diary, why did she write it so mysteriously?' he wondered.

He flipped over more pages. It seemed she did something she shouldn't have and she was surprised that she didn't feel guilty about it. Since she didn't feel guilty even though she knew she was wrong, it drove her mad. She lost her peace of mind and she became restless.

Arthur could sense her madness increasing slowly but surely as he turned the pages and came across some incoherent sentences.

And after that, there was nothing else. The pages were torn. It made him wonder, 'Just what could make a person dive into the depth of madness enough to convince that person of committing suicide? Her attitude changed drastically and it was like she was not herself anymore. She kept pondering about something and wrote – I shouldn't have done that but I have no regrets. Did she fall in love or something? But priests can get married though. Maybe she fell in love with a spy…'

"Tsk!" Arthur clicked his tongue in annoyance as he couldn't find a reason. There was no need for a kingdom to worry about this holy land. Sending a spy here would be the last thing a king would do.

Veronica's shoulders slumped. "Everything I did was for nothing. I can't believe the pages are torn." She sounded very dejected.

"There is nothing you can do about it now. Maybe she tore the pages and burnt them before death. She didn't want to leave any clue behind."

Veronica commented, "After reading the last few pages of the diary, it makes me feel that she wasn't in the right mind to think things through."

"You are right." Arthur shut the diary and looked at her thoughtfully. "So, tell me. Why do you look like this isn't the first time you are doing things like this?"

"Doing what things?" Veronica gave him a confused gaze.

Arthur remarked, "It's like you are a mystery solver."

"Me? A mystery solver? It's not what you think it is." Veronica shook her head and denied his claim. She explained, "It's not that I want to solve a mystery. It's just that I want to get to the bottom of things. I can't catch a wink of sleep if I can't find what I want to know."

Arthur said, "It's almost the same thing. How many times did you do it to think like a pro?"

Veronica cocked her head. "Like a pro?"

Arthur explained, "There are people who like to solve mysteries like you, and they even get paid for it. They are called detectives."

"De…tec…tives?" Veronica mumbled slowly. It was the first time she heard this word. Well, Arthur could understand. In religious, philosophical, and geographical books, no one would find the word 'detective'.

Arthur narrated shortly, "Yes, they are not in this city since people hardly did any crime here. But, you will find them in other countries. They find the truth behind a crime and catch the criminals."

"That's so cool." Veronica's eyes sparkled. "Does that mean I'm a detective too?"

Arthur found her expression amusing. "You are but not the official kind. Everyone listens to an official detective and lets him investigate whatever they want to. Of course, there are enemies but the detectives can fight off the bad guys."

"I can't wait to become an official detective. How to be an official detective then?" Veronica urged him. "This way, I can find out the reason behind Sister Ruth's death."