Disclaimer: Some depictions of [well-deserved] violence/blood.

Her words echoed the room, but he didn't agree, "I appreciate you wanting to spend more time with me but you should really stay home and spend some time with your family today. After what had happened, I'm sure they'll be wary of you venturing out, too, even if it's with me."

            She clenched her fists, "But I want to see that despicable bastard and give him a piece of my mind!"

            He couldn't help but smile at her attitude, even if it was slow and unsteady, it seems that she began to process the past. He gently caressed her hand and kissed it tenderly, "I shall do so for you, my lady. Please ease your worries for now--I'm sure that your sister will need your comfort today."

            She frowned, she knew he was right, "I'll see you out then."

            They walked down the hallway and back down the staircase which eventually led them back to the entryway door, as he was about to open it they gazed into each other's eyes.

            "Take care, stay safe." Suzette implored him.

            "As long as it's you waiting for me, of course I will. As soon as the investigation is over, I'll send you a letter. Please wait for it eagerly."

            His breath once again, tickled her skin and her heart started pumping faster again. She heard the sound of the door creaking and with one last gaze, the door slowly closed behind him and she watched his silhouette eventually reach his carriage's doors. She continued her gaze for a while and didn't notice Beatrice coming up behind her, "Oh, milady, it seems you're already smitten with him, I told you. You seem so lonely now that he's left."

            She jumped at Beatrice's words, and strongly denied such inclination, "No! He's going to continue the investigation--I want those crooks to be brought to justice--that's all!"

            Beatrice chuckled at her lady's strong denial, "Milady, the book you ordered awhile back has arrived."

            She stopped in her tracks, "I ordered a book...?"

            "Yes, milady, you said it was the sequel to the book you were ready out in the garden the day before yesterday." Beatrice reminded her, and Suzette felt her face burn again--she had forgotten all about it. Her mind began to drift off into a daydream with Duke Theodore as the male love interest again. She held onto her red face to try and calm herself.

            Beatrice merely thought it was her trying to hide she was head over heels and so she didn't bother to point it out, she only smiled, glad that her lady had found someone who she unequivocally let into her heart. She would be a bit sad when her lady left, as she was getting too old to join her now, "Would you like to read it on the terrace with some tea?"

            "Y-yes please..." Suzette stammered.

Duke Theodore had arrived back at his estate, where his knights had escorted the suspects yesterday, he felt it would be unwise to leave them in the McGrowen estate--not only would Cynthia not be able to feel safe in her own home but he could see many staff and family members retaliating.

            He entered his bustling estate, the butler greeting him at the door and taking his jacket off of him. He hung it in the closet by the door and Duke Theodore asked, "Have you gotten a hold of any information from them yet?"

            "No, my lord. Since you ordered the knights to not kill them, they haven't said a word. There is the one who wants to say something but can't until the contract stone is removed, at one point, the prime suspect tried using the contract stone to force him into retaliation. It was a quick skirmish, if one could even describe it as so."

            "Hm, okay." Duke Theodore walked down into his cellar where the prisoners were. For the most part, his prison was empty, as his investigations tended to go rather smoothly to figure out whether a pardon or execution was necessary. The knights that were on watch bowed to their lord as he nodded his head and went towards the prisoners. Before even attempting to talk to the prime suspect, he went for the guard who had the unfortunate instance of swallowing a contract stone, "Can you tell me how long you've had that swallowed for?"

            The man paused for a moment, trying to collect the answer from his memories, "Around seven months...?"

            The prime suspect turned to him and told him to shut up, Theodore returned a glare, "That's useful, Leorand, tell the investigation team to check with the black market and see if a contract stone showed up around seven months ago." Leorand nodded at his lord's command and disappeared from the room as if he was never there.

            He sat in a chair outside the cell room that his knights brought down for him, "So then, shall we begin? Baronet Leopold Humphrey?"

            The prime suspect looked surprised that he knew his name and Duke Theodore snorted at his reaction, the prime suspect--Baronet Humphrey decided to turn away from him, but that was all the answer he needed. Duke Theodore continued, "The missing girls are at your estate, aren't they?"

            The baronet began sweating and still refused to answer, one of the knights came forward to beat the answer out of him but Duke Theodore stopped him, "Regardless of whether you actually tell me or not, I already have a team that I sent to search your estate, so your silence is just making things harder on yourself."

            The baronet bit his lips and in a surge of anger, "So what if I did? Those girls love me unlike those old wenches that looked down on me!"

            Immediately Duke Theodore felt disgust at the pure sight of him, the baronet kept going on, "You have no legal right to take my porcelain dolls away!"

            At that moment, the prison cell was open, the baronet thought he was being pardoned but what happened instead was his face was met with a hard punch. He fell back and his nose began bleeding.

            Duke Theodore glowered at him, "That's for kidnapping my future sister-in-law you disgusting pig."

            The baronet laughed, "You're marrying that ugly wench? Even if that was my only option I still wouldn't want to do it."

            Duke Theodore grit his teeth, and he unleashed his bloodlust, "You dare, call my future wife ugly? Ugly? Have you no eyes? It appears you have no need for them or your mouth, so it shouldn't bother you if I remove them."

            Baronet felt fear from the bloodlust, he felt like he was suffocating, and moved backwards towards the prison wall when Duke Theodore came closer, already a sword in hand that he borrowed from his knight, "Wait! Stop! I beseech thee!"

            "Did you stop when those girls asked you to let them go?" Duke Theodore growled, the sword in a position ready to be swung. A scream rang throughout the entire prison, from none other than the baronet, "Oh stop whining, you're lucky it was just a few fingers."

            The baronet was sobbing as the blood was gushing from his exposed hand. By this point, a member of the investigation team had arrived, "My lord, like suspected, the missing girls are at his estate. We were able to find a ledger of sorts, and it appears there're a few kidnapped girls not on the list."

            Duke Theodore turned his attention back towards the crying baronet, "Where are the rest of the girls? You best spill it all unless you want to lose more fingers."  

            With his fully intact hand, he screamed, "Wait! Stop! I'll tell you everything! Please don't hurt me anymore!"     

            His pitiful sobs didn't bother Duke Theodore at all, but the man forced under a contract stone seemed to wince at the sound of it. It appeared he has had to deal with this many times before, he opened his mouth again, "I don't think it goes against the contract, but I know where those girls are."

            "Oh, you hear that, baronet? It looks like you don't need to keep your hands after all." Duke Theodore approached him again.

            "They're--They're dead!" The baronet confessed.

            "Dead? Did they kill themselves--or did you kill them?" Duke Theodore asked for him to reiterate.

            "I--I," The baronet began, and sick of him, the other man began, "He killed them. Technically, he ordered me to kill them--they're all buried in his garden under the rose bush!"

            "Shut up you fool!" The baronet cried. 

            "It seems like you have no need for your spare hand after all," Duke Theodore walked towards him again, sword still in hand. Even though the baronet was screaming, the rest of the castle could not hear it, even if they could, they would have ignored the cries as were aware that whatever went on down there was well-deserved and none of their business.

            Eventually, the interrogation was over and the second part of the investigation began: rescuing the girls he held captive.