“C₁₀H₁₂N_2O is Serotonin, huh. So, you already know who the murderer is?” Lu Han lay leisurely on the chaise lounge chair as he thoroughly examines his employer’s room.

Definite royalty.

Kris walked around before sitting on a chair in front of the fireplace, eyes still unwavering “Of course, it was obvious right from the very beginning. What I wanted to know is who killed the four of them”

“What? I don’t understand.”

“Not yet”

Lu Han gave a confused look but decided to drop it “Who was the killer?”

“Mother”

“What? How?” there was confusion in Lu Han’s tone.

Her mother, of all people?

“Lu Han, who was the only person who cared about you the most and raised you to be a good child, who filled you with love and care as you continued to grow up?”

“It should be my mother” Lu Han stated “But why?”

“Marriage is a sacred thing” Kris paused as he put his palms together, fingertips touching gently “If such sacred thing is to be destroyed, what would happen?”

“That would” Lu Han contemplated “cause family problems?”

“Love is warm but destructive” Kris eyes turned to Lu Han “what did you notice first upon observing Lady Lowell’s corpse?”

Lu Han furrowed his eyebrows only until he realized one simple mistake “I see”

“Jasmine”

Before meeting the detectives at Kew Gardens, Kris and Lu Han decided to take a detour and invited themselves in the Lowell Manor.

Pretending to be of acquaintance of the deceased lady, Kris took the pleasure of entertaining himself through the weeping parents while Lu Han did the legwork.

“She was such a good girl” cried her mother “always have been the baby of the house.”

Such a sweet cry from gentle mother who lost her treasure.

Kris smiled in sympathy “I know that very well. We often have tea together”

“She could have married you” her father spoke. He was a tall man with a fit body. His hair was slicked back in a disciplined manner and his pose was a good posture.

He was not only a tradesperson but also a general army, Kris presumed.

“Oh no, I do not deserve such a lady” Kris contemplated, he tried to hide his irritation when the figure of Lu Han suddenly appeared “Took you a while get in the bathroom”

Lu Han was about to approach Kris until he halted in front of the deceased girl’s parents “Please forgive me, your mansion is very big I got lost” and smiled apologetically before walking towards Kris.

“Pardon us, Lord and Lady Lowell but we must depart for we have a special appointment to meet” As Kris bowed and exited the manor followed by Lu Han.

They were already on the carriage when Lu Han decided to speak, “You are a good liar”

In which Kris responded “Thank you”

“Her room reeked of Jasmine it was killing my nostrils.”

Kris smirked “Is that so?”

“Lady Lowell always fancied jasmines, she’s quite fond of it I presume?” questioned Kris.

“I believe so. Her room was full of it”

“Now tell me what you think”

“The first thing I noticed when we inspected Lady Lowell’s corpse was her perfume, it was a fresh corpse so the perfume still lingered. It was Fleur De Liz”

Kris smiled “Continue”

“When we went to see her home, I immediately went to her room which I stated reeked of jasmine. Upon approaching you, what halted me was a certain type of smell coming from her mother. Same Fleur De Liz that Lady Lowell had in her body”

“Then let me tell you a story” Kris straightened himself from his seat “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl. She was the youngest of the three and her two elder sisters envied her. Nevertheless, her parents treated her so dear and loved her so much especially her father. She was given so much attention that her mother took notice of it. To prevent tarnishing their blood, her mother decided to marry her off to some nobleman but as time passed, the nobleman died in the war and never returned. The girl was not grieving at all, she was continuously comforted by her father every night wearing the same perfume as her mother did to seduce her old man.”

Lu Han was awestricken.

“She was simply her father’s little ” Kris continued “Then, time came her mother knew about the tainted affair and she couldn’t forgive the sin so she gave her daughter a little poison to kill her bit by bit until her very precious daughter was long gone.” He sighed, “The end”

 “That” Lu Han gave a sinister smile “was very heart-warming”

“Ain’t it?” agreed Kris.

“Anyway” Lu Han sighed in defeat “How come I’m the only servant here?”

“Because the rest are on a hunt” Kris stated “with very bad preys”

Lu Han smirked “Can I join next time? It seems really fun”

“After you do your chores” Kris gave him a look “servant”

Lu Han frowned “Duke huh? Pretty young, aren’t we?”

“I’m twenty three and your twenty two, there’s not much difference”

“You” Lu Han gave a glare “no, nevermind” as he got up from his seat and walked towards the door.

“Prepare my midnight snack, I want Earl Grey” Kris called.

“How was it?” beamed Yi Xing.

“Corpse. Butchered” Theo was still in trance.

Yesterday’s meeting with the Marquis was overwhelming enough for them, not to mention how drastic the trip was especially for Theo.

“A Marquis, huh?” Yi Xing commented “a wise one at that”

“Stop complementing him, he just butchered a corpse in front of us like he was slicing a cake— no wait, his valet did it and he gave permission to do so” Theo cried “Thinking about last night makes me want to vomit again”

“He was truly young as the rumours say” Harrison spoke “Too young to hold so much power in England”

“Correction” Yi Xing smiled “Queen Victoria was crowned at age eighteen and the ruler of the whole England already”

“Jokes aside” Duncan intervened “what are we looking at again?”

Yi Xing clapped his hands “Oh yes! Regarding the murderer”

“So, they were able to catch the criminal huh?” Lu Han commented as he read the headline of the newspaper Kris was holding.

It was only three days after the meeting with the officers and Kris was not so pleased at all “They’re bloody slow”

“Hush, my lord—“Lu Han paused “Wait, you told me earlier I could call you Kris but when the detectives were here you glared at me as if it was improper”

“It’s only for convenience. If those detectives see two gentlemen— a master and a servant, being too familiar with each other, won’t that rise suspicion?” Kris explained dryly.

“You are no fun at all”

Kris snickered “I don’t need to, you are plenty fun enough for me” but his smiled turned into grimace “The real game has just begun”