Lu Han awoke with a sudden headache. He looked around and found himself on their bedroom. He was on the bed and a wet towel was placed on his forehead.

“How do you feel?”

Lu Han searched the source of the voice and found Kris sitting on a chair beside the bed. He was reading a book.

‘Pride and Prejudice’

Lu Han tried to sit up as he removed the towel and put it in a basin in the table “Like a vegetable” he also noticed the hateful corset was removed.

Kris closed the book “I’m sorry”

Lu Han blinked “Pardon?”

Kris looked at him “I will not repeat what I said” and he smirked as soon as Lu Han opened his mouth.

Lu Han pouted and Kris furrowed his eyebrows “No fun”

“Stop that, will you”

Lu Han was taken aback “Stop what?”

“That- that thing you do with your mouth” Kris cringed “It’s horrible”

“Sorry young master, no can do”

Kris sighed “Here” as he handed a note to Lu Han

Lu Han grabbed the note “What is it?”

“Our friend Jack”

Lu Han read it.

Oh, how pitiful she who is kissed by fire

Jealousy there is, ah! What a liar

Careful for she stings— she is blind

A natural puppet I could find

A twin, a mask

For who is she, you may ask

A tale lost in history

Will she fail or taste victory?

-J

“Kissed by fire” Lu Han repeated the words.

“He’s using her” Kris spoke

“What?”

“A natural puppet I could find” Kris rephrased.

“A murder?”

Kris put his palms together “A high probability” he looked at his palms then at the back of his hands “a twin, a mask”

“So there are two?” Lu Han raised his brows

Kris suddenly stood up startling the younger “Can you walk?”

“I think so”

“Then we should go home. Get changed, a dress is prepared for you” Kris put the book in the table “A carriage is waiting for us”

Lu Han frowned “So you could wrap my waist tightly again?”

Kris glanced at Lu Han “Oh why would I hurt my sweet, sweet fiancée?” he remarked sarcastically.

Lu Han huffed “Oh right, young master enjoys little Hanna’s cries”

It was now Kris’ turn to frown.

Kris was about to pull his coat over when the butler suddenly entered “A-apologies my lord, my lady” he was out of breath for a fit bodied man like him. He bowed to pay respects as Kris waited to hear him out “s-something terrible has h-happened” he was stuttering.

Kris observed him. A tall man— aged about forty to fifty. Grey hairs are slightly visible from his golden hair. His tux was of fine fabric. Although maintained, signs of wearing out were also minutely obvious. Kris deduced he had worked for the Guttenberg family for a long time. He wore an elastic-sided ankle boots made with leather and Kris noticed a small bulge in the butler’s pocket. Probably an authentic Nuremberg egg— German.

“What’s your name?” Kris asked.

The butler was wiping his forehead. Right handed. Also from noticing the button on his left wrist is polished much better than the right one.

“Ah, apologies my lord, I should have introduced myself before barging in. My name is Aleck Henlein.” He bowed.

“Are you from Nuremberg?”

“Pardon?” the butler furrowed his eyebrows “H-how did you—“

“Figures” Kris shrugged “that means it’s an original Nuremberg egg, eh?” he pointed towards the butler’s pocket.

“Forgive me sir, but may I ask how you acquired this information?”

Kris sighed “That pocket of yours is for the butlers’ to put their watches in. If that bulge is for the watch-pocket then that means it’s a pocket watch. Now, your pocket watch is a little bigger than normal pocket watches so I deduced it’s a Nuremberg egg. I asked of your name and your birthplace. It turns out you’re a Henlein. The first inventor of portable clocks or shall I say pocket watches, Peter Henlein—1510. What a remarkable man. You both possess same names and born at the same place in Germany— thus making you a relative, am I right?”

The butler was eventually stunned “Dear me, you are a notable young man, Lord Wellesley. Your popularity is nothing compared to your wit” the butler sighed “Yes, you are absolutely on point. He was my great grandfather— although not directly but I still am his great grandson by blood. I was eighteen when I migrated to England for money was scarce in Germany and I needed a job to provide for my family. My father gave me this watch saying it’s a family heirloom and that it is my great grandfather’s treasured object. It doesn’t work anymore but it is personally handmade by him” he smiled at the fond memories he had back home.

Kris glanced at Lu Han and smirked.

Show off. Lu Han rolled his eyes “Then, if you’ll excuse me, pray tell what terrible thing has happened in this peaceful morning”

The butler’s face was back in agony again, “Oh, my lady. I do not wish to say this ill news to you for you are still not well but you must know.” The butler gulped “Lady Anise has been murdered”

Harrison was frowning. Their new arch enemy has killed someone again but the pattern was awfully wrong as what Yi Xing had described in their exchanged telegram. Jack has killed tainted women only, the young man emphasized. Even though Lady Lowell had been a perfect lady, her illicit relationship with her father made her that tainted enough for Jack.

Their investigation of Lady Anise’s background was no good. She never had any scandalous affair and the worst thing she had probably done was when she messed up in one play in her younger days.

Why would Jack target her?

“You are overthinking again” Rhys appeared behind him.

“Why not” Harrison spoke “look at that”

Anise Le Rou, a beautiful actress at eighteen. She started in the theatre at age seven but her fame rose five years later after she became Juliet in the favoured tragic Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet. After that, theatres began to offer her main roles and she successfully succeeded in her dreams of becoming a famous actress. And the last time she played on stage was to act from the same poet who made her famous— Shakespeare and Love’s Labour’s Lost. Now, her Juliet role was back again as she lay dead in a bed of roses. But it wasn’t the roses that painted her red; it was her own blood she lay onto. Still she was beautiful.

Harrison frowned at the sight.

“Lord Wellesley and his fiancée are here” said Duncan as he approached the two of them.

Harrison’s eyes travelled to the newcomers. What bothered him was their unusual reactions. When Mary Eliza saw her co-actress’ dead body, she fainted at the sight. Lord Guttenberg tuned pale upon seeing the body. The guests mostly felt blue and were taken to the ballroom to rest.

But the two of them were undeniable exceptions. Harrison could understand Lord Wellesley’s fondness of dead bodies but his fiancée— a lady of noble birth, she did not even blink an eye at the hideous sight.

“I apologize my lord but” Duncan approached the couple “I think Lady Hanna’s presence here will not help her get better. This is too macabre even for a lady”

“Ah right, right” Kris faked a smile “If you’d please, I’d like to send her home for a carriage is already waiting. She could barely stand earlier and I need to get my fiancée back to her health for this has been a terrible day for her”

“But guests shouldn’t leave the premises—“Theo interrupted as he stood behind Duncan.

“Of course we are all suspects” Kris threw a glance at the young man “But I was with Hanna since last night till morning” he emphasized his last words “I can vouch for that and I bet you can too” he smirked.

“It’s true” Duncan spoke “Get well soon Lady Hanna” he bid goodbye as the couple marched out of the room.

“That actress was killed” Lu Han stated as they walked towards the carriage.

“And if I’m right, another one will be” Kris spoke.

Lu Han turned towards his employer “You’ve solve it?”

“It’s only a hunch but it’s pretty obvious now”

“And?”

Kris glanced at Lu Han “The only problem now is to guess whose cards are playing and who is being played”

Lu Han noticed Kris’ expression darkened.

“My word, young master, you’ve acquired such a lady by the time of our absence. That places a hole in my heart”

Lu Han turned towards the source of the voice and saw a man standing behind the carriage. He was tall and lanky with a strawberry-blonde hair. He looked younger with a playful aura around him.

“Kevin” Kris called

“Greetings, young master, milady” Kevin flashed a smile before bowing to the couple. He turned to Lu Han “Young master is so unfair to hide his secret love affair from his employees yet what a lovely lady you are”

Lu Han cringed “I am not… a lady”

Kevin gasped as he turned to Kris “Young master, I didn’t know you are into this!”

Kris raised a brow before clearing his throat “Drop the fake charade, Kevin. How was it?”

Kevin sighed “Well, our preys were very wild so Eli suggested we just blow them all of. And so we kind of eliminated all of them at once” He patted Kris’ shoulder “Don’t worry, at least no one survived so no one can threat England anymore”

Kris glared at the hand and Kevin immediately retreated it “You made a huge mess”

“We stuck by the queen’s absolute order: ‘No one can harm England’” Kevin shrugged.

“So you blew up a whole mafia family?”

“What?” Lu Han intervened.

Kris sighed “A certain Italian family threatened to steal the crown and conquer England so the Queen asked me to prevent it” as he glared at Kevin.

Lu Han raised a brow “And why would the Queen ask you?”

“Ah, didn’t you know? Young master was the youngest person who earned a knighthood. The Queen trusts him quite so” he beamed but his smile suddenly faded when a realization hit him “You’re that guy, aren’t you?” he pointed at Lu Han.

“What guy?” Lu Han raised his brow.

“The infamous Jack of all trades”

“If you already know who he is then you must also know he is a new servant in the household” Kris intervened “And you must also know that he can chop that finger off in an instant once you cross the intimate distance”

“Eh?” Kevin’s face was full of confusion.

“A shoulder’s range” Kris explained “that’s his threat level”

Lu Han turned to Kris “How—”

“It’s called observation”

“It gets annoying, right?” Kevin turned to Lu Han after putting his arm down “Young master’s intelligence is astounding but once you get left behind, he can intimidate you all he wants and you can fight back no more. He’s a natural sadist.”

I know. Lu Han thought.

“If you are done chitchatting then maybe Lu Han can proceed to change” Kris spoke

“I thought you’re sending me home?”

Kris glanced at the smaller one “Don’t be such a lady now. You’re as healthy as a horse”

Lu Han glared at him.