Nexus sighed in disappointment. Okay, maybe Mrs. Russell had spoiled them a little. Because, compared to their previous accomodations at the Castle, this cottage looked a little too simple. It was apparent that Selina had good taste. But clearly, she just didn't think them worthy enough. 

'Shit, I can't afford to be ungrateful.' he thought; 'I guess not everyone's going to be like Mrs. Russell. . . considering the fact that I'm literally homeless right now, might as well take it and be grateful for it. . .'

"What are you waiting for?" the manager called out to them at the entrance; "The cottage isn't going to explore itself!"

Nexus and Crystal shared a quick glance before plunging forward- dragging their feet reluctantly, and forcing their surprise not to show.

Smiling enthusiastically, the manager held the door open for them, and Nexus stepped into the building.

At once, a rich fruity scent attacked his nose. His eyes adjusted to the dim of the wooden structure as he swaggered in with his broad shoulders. The door opened into a decent space that could be called a living room.

A modest fireplace sat at the middle- cold, empty and dark. Opposite it was a horizontal stretch of pink colored upholdstery. On his the soles of his feet, he rotated slightly- broadening his gaze. On the right side was a wooden desk, and a wide chair tucked under it. On it was a pile of books, a vial of ink, and some samples of plants.

The whole place looked like where Selina might come to be alone to study or do research.

"So, what do you think huh?" the manager asked with glowing eyes; "I've never been in here before you know. . .this is where Lady Selina comes to get back in tune with herself. . ."

He pointed to the desk;

"You would not believe how many pharmaceutical breakthroughs have come from that table. . .if you ask me, it's goodluck that–"

Nexus cut in;

"You don't have to sell me on the place manager. I like it already. Right Crystal?"

The succubus nodded;

"It's so cozy. I bet it's warm inside at night."

Nexus knew she was probably right. The place wasn't bad at all. Plus it was secluded- away from the main house. So, their privacy was in fact guaranteed. With the window open, they would be able to see anyone coming down the path.

Supressing a smile, he turned to nod at the manager;

"It's perfect."

The man balled his fist, and shot it upwards with a victorious smile;

"Yes! I knew you'd like it!"

"I sure do."

"You know, I think you might be growing on Lady Selina," he said as he took his seat on the feathered couch.

"Yeah right," Nexus scoffed as he walked towards the couch; "Did we both not see the same exchange from earlier on?"

"Oh don't be fooled by her prickly exterior," he said dismissively; "Lady Selina's one of the good ones. It's just that she's pretty careful when it comes to outsiders."

"Yeah," Nexus leaned into the comfort of the couch; "I pretty much got that part already."

"Mate, trust me, you're not looking at it objectively. If my boss didn't think you to be something, would she really have given you a place in her home?"

Nexus shot him and inquiring gaze, and the manager quickly corrected himself;

"Okay- not in her home-home per say, but you get the general idea. That badge on your neck, you do realize what it means to her right?"

Nexus touched the cold metal on his chest; "Nah, not really."

"Well, Lady Russell is Lady Selina's bestfriend- and that's just putting it lightly. They're more like sisters if I'm to be honest. So, you need to understand that it means something that you were sent to her from them. . ."

A comfortable pause descended on the room.

Seated adjacent to each other, both men sat in silence, mulling over their own thoughts, while Crystal's footsteps echoed in the distance as she explored their new house.

Nexus remembered his first meeting with Selina- as Ni Yang.

So, he already knew a little bit of her and what it was like to deal with her. Seated there, slouched on that couch, and under the roof of the sturdy cottage, it dawned on Nexus;

'She's not being mean to me. . .well, not in the true sense anyway. . .she just hates the idea of being fondled by a strange man. . .'

It made perfect sense. Nexus wanted to kick himself for not being thorough in his plans. Of course he should have known. He had allowed his cockiness with Madeline's success to get in his head.

Madeline's case was different. She had been bedridden for over a decade. So, her case had been a kind of desperate. She would have killed- just for a chance to stand on her feet again, and feel the sun on her face.

Smiling, he chided himself;

'Damn, I really thought I could come in here- pour some oil over her, get into her bed, and massage her?' he chuckled lightly; 'What the hell was I thinking?'

Quickly, his thoughts diverted;

'That's by the way. . .right now I need to get her to stop taking anymore of that IceCore elixir. . .'

From behind the shadow of his long black hair that was parted down his face, Nexus' furry eyebrows huddled together. How could he warn her to stop- when he wasn't even supposed to know about IceCore elixir?

'Damn,' he bit on his lower lip; 'She needs to know. . .'

Then the solution came streaking through his mind with a slicing hotness;

'Ni Yang. . .it has to come from Ni Yang. . .'

Right there, at the mere thought of switching looks, a flood of excitment came sweeping through him. The rush of adventure coarsed through him in rippling waves.

'Calm down tiger. . .calm the fuck down. . .we're not doing anything. . .we're just going to convince her that she might die if she continues to overdose on the product. . .and maybe also convince her that she needs to submit to a deep tissue massage. . .'

Nexus' eyes flashed in the dim room;

'There. . .killing two birds with one stone. . .'

The manager's voice came suddenly- invading his mental space;

"What're you smiling at doctor?"

Nexus' smile broadened into an even wider grin;

"Mister manager," he chuckled; "Don't you know it's rude to stare when a man is thinking?"

----------------------------------

". . .I'm afraid this only confirms my suspicions Lord Fitch. . ." the cold calculated voice rasped through the open air;

". . .it's more than clear this is not the work of an amateur. . .this was professionally done. . ."

In northernmost part of town, inside the towering walls of the Howard Castle, Lord Fitch gripped the bronze head of his walking stick tightly. Clothed in all black mourning garbs, standing tall and proud like a human bat- his dark form loomed over the long table with both his hands clasped in front of him.

He clutched the bronze wolf's head even tightly as he looked upon the six corpses sprawled out on the table before him. He uttered not a single word, but his stone cold eyes were black with anger and suppressed rage- causing the very air around him to shimmer.

By his side was an equally tall man with a stout build- his chief of staff Leonard. In an emotionless voice, his words shredded the air with cold analytical facts;

"Look," he pointed at the first corpse; "See how the blade penetrated this one's skull. . .there are no jagged edges. . .it's super clean. . .almost like he simply stood there and watched happily as the ran rammed through him. . ."

He withdrew his hand;

". . .it's impossible to imagine the sheer brunt power it would take for a man to drive a full sword into a skull. . .especially when it's in the heat of battle. . ."

He spread his hands across the table- tactically avoiding Paul's corpse;

". . .there were no signs of struggle. This looks to me like an execution- not a battle."

He paused for a thoughtful moment;

"My Lord, I know every single skilled swordsman in Castra City, and I can categorically tell you that not any single one of them possesses the skill and power to execute something like this. . ."

He straightened himself up, placed his hand on the hilt of his sword hanging on his belt, and gave his final analyis;

"I believe this is the work of a professional killer- the kind that was definitely outsourced from out of town. In my opinion, Lady Russell is the only enemy with the motive to pull off something of this nature. . ."

On Fitch's white bearded face, his eyes flickered in hateful anger at the mention of Lady Russell.

Stoic as a statue, cold as ice, and barely breathing, he fixed his cold black eyes on the table before him- gazing unflinchingly at the corpses. First on the row was Paul's body. Pale, cold, and lifeless- it lay there, filling the room with a morbid darkness, and telling a story even in death.

Next to Paul were five other corpses- all gruesomely pierced through.

On Fitch's dead calm face- a single vein stood out, thumping wildly on his forehead. He eyed the five guards with flaming hatred- gritting his teeth as he fought the impulsive urge to snatch a sword and kill them all again.

To him, there were not corpses. To him, there were the very representation of failure. He raged inwardly;

'How dare you all die and leave my son defenseless?! How dare you retain your manhoods while my son's corpse remains naked and dickless!'

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