“Do you know why they call me the top girl here?” Mihaela said as she puts her already burnt cigar on the copper ashtray. “These” tracing her fingers on the scars of her neck “are the tools of my trade. Men like to hear my stories”

Disinterested, Kris replied “Yes, you are very fortunate. But I only came here for this purpose”

The woman stood up from her seat and sat beside Kris. Mihaela leaned onto him, slowly tracing her fingers along the blonde’s arm. “Surely we could do much more than talking. If you want, I’ll tell you my story in a more intimate manner. After all,” her fingers were now onto Kris’ signet, clearly aware of the origin of it “men who are in control are the best in bed.”

Her conversation always comes back to . “You sure are good with your words, is that how you get your patrons?”

“I don’t know” she sang as her hand undoes the belt of Kris’ coat “do you want to see how good I am? What do you want me to do?”

The strong smell of cigar brought distasteful reaction from Kris “What I want you to do is to give me that” he pointed at the photograph “stop wasting my time”

“But we’re just getting started” her glee arose as she finally revealed what was underneath the trench coat. But to her dismay, the flesh that she had been aching to see had already been stained “So, you already have a woman?” she shifted her body.

“I do”

“Either she’s too pure or just holding back. I see only one” Mihaela’s eyes were still onto his clavicle “Why don’t we have a good time together? Your face is just to my liking. Let me warn you, you may not want her after this”

“Lady” Kris’ patience was running low “With the knowledge that I came here for a purpose, she gave me that mark. Isn’t her possessiveness quite charming?”

Skeptical, Mihaela contradicted “Does she satisfy you enough?”

“Oh she does, she just likes to be ravished” Kris started to speak fondly “and if you want to know, she left most of her marks down there where I join her. She loves to take the whole thing in.”

“I don’t see a wedding band” she questioned his tale.

“It is unorthodox to consummate before marriage but, a man is to be tempted when his betrothed initiates” Kris countered. “Now, may I know the whereabouts of this?” he asked as he hands the photograph to her.

“Then it’s a pity, it seems she is incomparable even to where my expertise are.” Mihaela stood up, aware of the fact that there is not point to argue “Alright, I am not the type of woman to force herself to somebody who isn’t interested. It’s in my room upstairs, the thing you are looking for”

“I’m not sure how this could help”

“Well, fancy knowing you still keep this” Kris traced his fingers around the small casket. The wooden box had surely aged with time. As soon as he opened it, a faint smile was painted on his stoic face.

“It was torn from my dress” Mihaela replied.

Shifting his weight, Kris stated “You were around twelve to fifteen when you were attacked in the southern forest. Apparently, you got separated from your sisters. It was around nightfall and the lamp you were holding had just burnt out. One thing led to another, but you managed to struggle and survive”

Mihaela sat on the bed, remembering the night she was about to lose her life “That’s what happened, indeed.”

“How did you struggle?”

Mihaela shook her head “All I can remember is that it wasn’t a very strong person, just a little taller than me in physique. I had been carrying a knife for we were using it to harvest fruits in the forest. I was still holding it during the attack so I might have swung it a few times.” She stood up again and went to her desk, pulling her sleeve that revealed a bandage. “The knife is in that box, underneath the cloth”

Kris, noticing the injury, walked closer “How did that happen?”

Removing the bandage, she took a new one from one of the drawers and wrapped it around her cut “A branch fell on my arm and scratched it”. She continued to explain, without noticing Kris slowly obtaining her old bandage and hiding it on the pocket of his coat.

“I see, well then” Kris concluded, eager to solve this crime “thank you. I shall take my leave now.”

“Wait,” before Kris could open the door, Mihaela interjected “what kind of woman is she?”

Turning the knob on the door, he replied “A spontaneous, unpredictable person” with the image of Lu Han in the back of his mind.

“I heard you are invited to the Bator castle tonight” Lu Han welcomed. “And I see you went shopping”

“Those are for you to wear”

Lu Han raised a brow at the sight of the boxes, clearly Kris went to women’s shops “When I was told to ready my kit, I didn’t think it would include a dress up”

“Play nice” Kris said sternly as he handed the wooden box and used bandage to Lu Han.

“I swore to never wear corsets again” Lu Han argued. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“I want you to trace the blood in those objects and” Kris also handed his trench coat to Lu Han “tell Mr. Harley to burn that coat”

“Why?” Lu Han questioned “It’s such a high quality coat”

“You don’t know where it’s been”

worry not, the next update will be soon

and it's gonna be long :)