Case File

The Midnight Harvest: Following a Scent Trail

December 12, 2025

Grasse regional overview: anchors, timeline, and scent heritage for the Midnight Harvest case.
Grasse regional profile — anchors, timeline, and the scents that built the valley.
NOTE FROM LUC: Claire wanted a polished launch article. I'm giving you the smell of the vault instead. Open the case, breathe in, and decide for yourself.

The first playable case drops you into Grasse, Provence, during the midnight rose harvest. It’s humid, heavy, and the valley smells like money, tradition, and the lies that try to hide inside a perfume flask.

The map and timeline above (/grasse.svg) set the scene: four anchors (Maison Vasseur, Rose Fields, Villa Ravel, old tanneries) and five beats from leather-stinking past to perfume capital present. Everything that happens in this case is tied to those places and that history.

What you actually do

You start with a lean desk: the Grasse map, a few clippings about the family dynasty, and the basic tools of a nose who still trusts physics. Each lead unlocks new evidence; when you finish one, it slides into the drawer and the desk clears for the next. Follow your senses, then validate with the instruments—don’t jump straight to answers.

Why it matters

Grasse wasn’t born elegant. It was a leather town that stank so badly they planted flowers to mask the smell. That tension—between dirty origins and “pure” luxury—is still the motive for every move in this case. The map keeps you oriented; the timeline reminds you why people here will do anything to protect a scent.

Slow down. Smell the strip. Read the margins. The first case starts in Grasse because every story here is already soaked in fragrance and cover-ups.