8 Hunting the culprit

Quince kept quiet as he thought about what she said. It's true that she won't be able to escape anyway and he would also like to see how she intends to find the culprit. Not to mention the fact that she said she would prove their engagement to him. While it's true that he doesn't believe any of it, he would still like to see what methods she cooked up inside her head this time.

After all it's all too strange, the way she acts around him, as if she's known him for a long time even though it's their first time meeting, her strange family name and outrageous claim about knowing poisons, along with that poppycock about being his fiancée.

"Very well. I agree to it." Quince said.

Queen clapped her hands in mock delight. "Finally, you take so damn long to think about it."

"What are terms of the bet?" Quince ignored her sarcasm and asked.

"Hmm, I'll prove to you that I'm your fiancée and find the culprit before tomorrow evening. If I can do both, you'll have to follow a wish that I want." Queen stated her terms.

"Deal. If you can't then I'm taking you to the police." Quince said.

"What?!" Queen widened her eyes when she heard his words. 'The police?! Why even? It's not like she's a thief or something!'

"Your name is not on the guests list and you were trying to wreck havoc by pulling that prank earlier. I can assume that you have been sent by one of my rivals to purposely ruin the opening celebration of the world's number 1 luxurious cruise by the De Roi group." Quince said without a change in his expression.

This time apart from her eyes, even her mouth opened wide.

"What?!" She exclaimed.

Quince merely looked at her with his signature non expression without saying anything. He acted as if what he said was completely natural.

After the initial shock, Queen started laughing. Her laughter sounded like bells, making Quince's heart skip a beat. Quince's expression softened a tiny bit and when he realized that, he frowned slightly at his reaction.

"Master Quince! Has anyone ever told you that you should become a writer? Your imagination is so wild it would put some of the best authors to shame!" Queen said in between her laughter.

"Definitely not as wild as to jump on top of a cruise railing and pretend to commit suicide." He said calmly.

Queen immediately choked on her laughter. That's a low blow! Damn smelly cat!

Queen cleared her throat before replying, "Thank you for the compliment Master Quince. I accept your conditions. Now if you would excuse me." Queen said before turning around to leave calmly.

"Where do you think you are going?" Quince asked. He signaled the guards to surround her.

"To catch the culprit of course." Queen rolled her eyes and explained.

"You are not leaving my side." Quince said.

"Don't we have a bet?" Queen asked incredulously.

"Yes, but it doesn't mean that I trust you." Quince argued.

"Then just come with me!" Queen ended the argument by saying that.

Queen and Quince were standing in front of the Cruise's ballroom. They could hear laughter and music coming from inside.

"So are you ready?" Queen turned to him with a challenging smile on her face. The dim golden light from the cruise, reflected her expression, making her look like a cute naughty fairy.

Quince crossed his arms and merely glanced at her. Queen rolled her eyes at his signature non expression before ignoring him. She proceeded to walk inside but was stopped by his voice.

"Remember your words." Quince reminded her.

"Of course Master Quince, I wouldn't dare forget." Queen mockingly bowed her head in his direction.

Her cat was truly proving to be more and more difficult. 'Just what happened to my cute kitten? She was so damn cute and would follow me wherever I went chanting 'Lance, Lance' all the time.' Queen lamented in her heart. Even though she complained about him nonstop in her heart, her complaints were full of happiness. Nothing beats seeing her...him in this life, once again.

Well, it's not that strange that she became a he because after all even Queen herself was a he in her previous life. 'Life's funny that way I supposed.' Queen mused to herself.

"What are you waiting for?" Quince asked her coldly.

'Argh grumpy' Queen complained before flashing her mischievous smile at him.

"You are so impatient for someone who looks cold all the time, are you perhaps secretly passionate inside and simply have no way of letting it out? So you became a burning iceberg instead?"

A dangerous glint flashed in Quince's eyes. It was a warning to her. Queen merely sighed before grabbing hold of his arm.

"Alright my dear fiancé, let's proceed."