Partners In Crime

Chapter 17

-- William's POV --

Two months have passed following my conversation with Rosie.

The wedding is scheduled to take place in less than three weeks. 

Despite getting married solely for the benefit of our operation, SoSo and Sebastian have been spending a great deal of time together. 

Their sacrifice -although I no longer consider it to be- has become increasingly sensible as more civilians acknowledge them as a legitimate couple. Thusly, the entirety contributes in our favor. 

"They behave as though they truly are lovers." Y/N accompanied my solitary as she situated herself beside me. 

I looked at her while accepting a warm cup of tea that she generously brought for me. 

In utter silence, we stood at the balcony of my office, observing our luggage being transported into a number of carriages.

A week ago, SoSo clinched onto the idea of formulating their wedding on foreign land.

"It might be a fabricated wedding, but still, I ought for it to be romantic, regardless of our feelings towards each other." She said during the family dinner. "Besides, innit a fine excuse for allowing ourselves to have a sabbatical, away from this chaos?" 

"Where do you propose we go?" Albert asked, cutting into his fillet while containing eye contact with her. 

"Kingdom of France." She held onto Sebastian's arm, starring into his eyes lovingly.

A gentle knock interrupted my flashback from the night. I shifted my body towards the door, allowing myself to get a clear perception.

"Lord Moriarty, Lady Y/N, it is nearly your time to leave for the cruise ship." One of the maids called out.

"Thank you," Y/N replied, taking her last sip of the homemade tea. 

My eyes shifted towards Y/N's side profile. Her lips parted smoothly as she brought the half-empty cup closer to them. Her eyes stayed focused on the laborers, moving speedingly to catch a glimpse of each one as they prepared our collected belongings for the upcoming trip. 

In these past couple of months, Y/N and I have built quite an interesting relationship. In an optimum way. 

After Rosie's words, I laid off my doubt and allowed Y/N to participate in more complex missions. 

I could exaggerate and state that my reaction was filled with shock after I witnessed Y/N in her full glory, but that would be of no use, given that I fully expected the outcome. During our quests, her performance left the impression of a lioness, hunting on its prey, truly in her natural habitat. Her movements were as equally graceful as they were fierce. I'd expect nothing less from a daughter of a skilled assassin. 

However, Y/N was not the only one who ceased herself rather useful. The rest of the GS sisters have proven themselves beyond worthy of our union.

Sofia, SoSo, and Grace devoted themselves further to studying the scientific field. Grace being a medic, SoSo being a specialist at a variety of herbs and plants, and Sofia managing plenty of pharmacy businesses, created a perfect trio for determining what poisons were used or could be of potential use during many of our cases.

On the other hand, Nina, together with Nyla, presented their skills towards locating the crime scene. As Y/N mentioned at the very beginning of our partnership, Nina opened numerous animal rescue facilities. It was later revealed that, behind the curtains, she had been training their dogs for later usage of sniffing out blood, gun powder, and more, all the while Nyla had been training their crows to depart in the direction asked of them and report the situation through mimicking human speech. 

Naturally, the birds were only capable of mimicking simple words, which often have been repeatedly vocalized. Howbeit, they have shown eminent progress as days have passed, allowing us to acquire an additional set of eyes. 

Peyton and Y/N transpire to be adept at the dirty work of the plans. While Claire, along with Y/N, possesses an above-average intelligence.

Candidly, I am impressed. They are spectacular apropos to teamwork and arrangement. Feasibly surpassing us. 

Thinking back on it, if our paths hadn't aligned as they did, and we resulted in standing by the opposite moralities -the good and the evil- I'd experience quite the hardship going against them. The GS sisters would've turned out to be an admirable batch of competitors. 

Still, we did. My brothers and I miraculously stumbled upon these extravagant women, who are now our allies. Better yet, family. One could say that we are unsubdued. 

I snapped back into reality, noticing Y/N who hadn't moved a muscle. 

"Thinking hard?" She asked, her eyes remained glued on the sight before us. 

"If you define that as thinking," I replied, finishing my cup of tea.

Silence had made an appearance once again after our brisk conversation, although it was more of an exchange of words rather than a conversation. The sun began to set as the birds soothed their song. 

Though neither of us spoke, it felt natural to simply enjoy each other's presence. Amusingly, my heart skipped a beat whenever Y/N stood by my side. In the most pleasant of ways. Generally, I felt ill at ease in these sorts of situations for I had always felt the need to occupy myself with the littlest of things, in order to prevent myself from being accompanied by someone whose characteristics resembled those of a ghost, quiet and unnoticeable. 

However, Y/N did not meet the mentioned criteria. Despite introverting herself, afar from this world, somehow she still managed to create an ambiance of a pure soul. Something that welcomes those surrounding her, without her having to say a word. The very distinctiveness led me to form quite a liking towards her. 

A demon in the guise of an angel.

At once, she shifted her body to face me. "I believe it is time to leave." 

I nodded, placing our teacups on a silver tray. 

We walked out of the house with the intent to comfortably position ourselves in the carriages for the long road ahead. 

"Have you made contact with the individuals who are going to assist our wedding?" SoSo questioned Sofia as they approached us.

"Albert and I performed plenty of research upon the organization which you introduced us to with great fondness. We had an enjoyable conversation and discussed the prices. All is in place and shall occur without a flaw, sister." Sofia smiled at her as she placed her hand on her shoulder, rubbing it in a soothing manner. 

"Thank you." SoSo grinned at her.

I felt sanguine at the truth of my plan working out perfectly in everyone's favor. However, I cannot take full credit for the formation of it, the reason being Y/N, who was the one that openly declared it.

Moments later, Fred drew closer towards the prepared carriages, announcing that the time has come. We divided ourselves into groups of four, settling in our seats. Our carriage contained SoSo, Sebastian, Y/N, and myself.

Seconds after Y/N waved Rosie and the rest of the staff goodbye, the coachmen began our journey towards the ship which will bring us to the Kingdom of France.