CRIMSON HUNTER ♔ PRUSSIA[✔]

VIII

... The hit never came. You slowly opened your eyes and lowered down your arms only to see someone with platinum hair standing in front of you.

Gilbert!

You quickly scrambled to your feet. The two men were having a heated conversation in another language you could not understand, but you could tell that Gilbert looked extremely angry and the blonde haired man looked bored.

"Come on, let's go." Gilbert huffed. "He's just some stupid guard that thought you were some kind of commoner." The Duke led you away from the blonde man protectively, a firm hand on the small of your back. As you turned around though, a shiver ran up your spine. The blonde man smirked at you, and his unusually blue eyes gleamed in the light.

Blondie casually leaned against the wall and tucked his knife back into his pocket.

---

The next day, you told Gilbert you were going to the tailor's place. He wanted to accompany you, but you told Gilbert you would be fine.

"You talked to that guard, right? So he won't attack me like that again." You said.

It was true. Gilbert had spoken to the blonde man, literally yelling at him for almost messing up the mission. But deep inside him, he was angry at something else-the fact that the blonde had tried to hurt you. Nobody could do that.

He knew Ludwig wouldn't try to kill you again, but he still felt anxious letting you go.

So after reassuring Gilbert, you set out on your own. Gilbert had lots of work to do at home, and you refused to have a guard by your side as that would cause a scene and panic based on the protests happening.

But going to the tailor wasn't the only thing you were going to do.

Before you left, you put on a (f/c) cloak with a hood over your head to be kind of subtle. You walked the same route you did yesterday to confirm your suspicions.

There he was. The blonde guy, twirling a knife in his hands.

He didn't look at you, and you sped by quickly. You rounded the town square and walked back to the castle.

"Oh, how come you're back so early liebe?" Gilbert called from the kitchen, using a word you weren't familiar with.

"Oh, they weren't done with my dress." You said, sitting down and exhaling a breath you were holding too long.

You did that 5 more times.

Each time, the blonde was in the same place. But finally, on the 6th day...

"Hey. You!" Ludwig yelled. You turned around, making sure your face was well hidden with your cloak, but he wasn't talking to you.

You hid behind a corner, watching closely.

"Who are you?" Ludwig glared. He was talking to a very tall man with platinum blonde hair.

"I'm Ivan." The man said back.

"Ah, so you're the leader of those protests huh?" Ludwig grinned evilly. You shuddered. Something was about to happen.

"Yes, I am." Ivan's eyes darkened. "And I bet you're one of those little fuckers who killed my sister, huh?"

Ludwig's eyes widened a little bit, and his hand dashed to his pocket. You gasped, and it all happened in slow motion. Faster than lightning, Ludwig drew his knife and lunged to slit Ivan's throat.

"No!" You shrieked. You leaped on top of Ivan. In the process of doing so, you pushed him over, causing the knife to miss him and instead... slash across your shoulder.

"Ah!" You yelped. Ivan quickly sat up narrowed his eyes at your wound. He took off his scarf and tied it around the gash, then picked you up and ran. 

Finally, when Ludwig wasn't chasing you anymore, Ivan set you down against a wall, checked your gash, and went to talk to a police officer. 

"Thanks," You said breathlessly when he came back. Then, you remembered what he said and widened your eyes. 

"Y-You're Natalya's sister?" You stammered. "It's an honor to meet you, sir." 

"And you as well, my lady." Ivan replied. "But I think you should be getting home now. These streets just keep getting more dangerous." 

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Russia?" You asked. 

"I'm here to find out who killed my sister," Ivan said. "There was a man she was with... Alfred Jones. She was having an affair with him right before she was killed."

"A-Alfred?" You said, and all color drained from your face. There was no coincidence that Gilbert's friend was the same exact Alfred. 

"You know him?" Ivan's fist clenched. 

"I-I think my fiance does," You admitted. "But if Alfred was involved in this, wouldn't he go by a fake name? I doubt he would make himself that easy to track..." 

"I wasn't supposed to know," Ivan said. "Nobody was. It was an affair. I wanted to renovate Natalya's room. It's bad, I know-but I couldn't stand to look at it anymore. So I went there for the last time... And found this." 

Ivan pulled out a piece of paper that looked like it was a million years old. It had some writing in slavic that you couldn't understand. 

"It's a note about the affair, and how much she's in love with this man. But I'm sure he played a big role in her murder." 

Oh my god... Could Gilbert be working with him? Does that mean I'm not safe? 

Ivan narrowed his eyes at the castle. 

"Will you help me?" 

---

You walked home, your shoulder hurting like crazy. Before he let you go home, Ivan had taken you to a doctor to get it cleaned up. Then, you covered the gash with a cloak. 

"Thank god I won't have to explain to Gilbert how I got this wound," You sighed. 

Finally, you opened the door and winced.

"I'm home!" You called out. 

"Well hey there, Doll." A smug voice came from the living room. A shiver shot up your spine. It was none other than Alfred Jones. You took a deep breath and remembered the plan. 

"Hello, Alfred." You said. 

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