A little story

"Who are you?" Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, her guard was up and she couldn't shake off the feeling of unease. "And how did you know my name?"

"You shouldn't be so wary, Miss Elizabeth; it really is no fun," the good-looking stranger sighed with twinkling eyes.

Elizabeth's eyes were sharp as she stared at him, cautiously analyzing the person in front of her.

"A certain someone destroyed my town. Ha, what do you suggest I do, Officer? I mean, ex-officer?" the stranger continued, his eyes held smiles, and his cheerful voice was laced with playfulness.

Her breath hitched at his words; she knew that there was no way a case like that would leak into the ears of some weird stranger.

"Who are you? And what do you want?" Filled with suspicion, she stood up from her stool and stepped a few meters back. She scanned her surroundings while keeping a safe distance from the smiling man.

"You wouldn't hear my words with the distance between us," he said, ignoring her earlier question. He glanced at the dance floor and continued, "I wouldn't force you if you wanna keep your distance, but our deal has to happen, so…" He sent the bartender a quick glance, and shortly after, a loud gunshot was heard. Screams erupted right after, and the club descended into chaos. Elizabeth leaned on the counter and covered her ears with her hands to block the frantic screams. The club, which was filled with people, slowly emptied out, and even the bartender was nowhere to be found.

She finally turned to the man beside her; he still had the small, polite smile on his face, but she wasn't swayed.

"Who are you? What do you want?" She asked again. She could no longer hide the suspicion and fear in her voice. She knew fully well that if this man was connected to Vandhill, then she could die in this place. Even with this knowledge, she refrained from leaving. She wanted to know who the strange man was. This thirst for knowledge made her turn her back to the harm she could face.

"My town is destroyed, Elizabeth," the man finally dropped the honorifics. He gently sipped the glass of vodka in his hand.

Elizabeth frowned and thought for a while; she gasped when she remembered that the priest and Mr. Richard Moore had talked about a lord coming. "...You're the Lord?"

"Huh…I guess," he shrugged nonchalantly and rested his chin on his palm.

Elizabeth blinked to still her emotions; the fear she once felt was now replaced with anger. "Why would…you kill those poor kids?" Her voice broke as those few words poured out of her lips.

The young man furrowed his brow and chuckled, "What are you talking about?"

-Bang "Don't play dumb with me!" Elizabeth banged the table and yelled.

The young man just stared at her without uttering a word, the corner of his lips tugged into a small smirk.

"Those people in Vandhill are part of a bloody cult, and you're part of it too!" Elizabeth pointed at him with shaky fingers; her other fist was clenched so tight that veins popped out, and her fingernails dug into her palm.

"You really should stop yelling, Miss Elizabeth," the young man muttered in a calm voice; the use of honorifics returned.

The raging Elizabeth sat down slowly; her throbbing and chaotic heart slowly regained its usual pace. She took a long deep breath with her eyes closed.

"You'll get caught…and arrested," she said in a much calmer voice; she pressed her lips into a thin line and stared down at the small bracelet.

"Exactly, and the people who covered up for me are all gone now," the young man nodded slowly, and his smirk stretched even wider, "Someone has to take up that job."

The ominous feeling she had was further amplified by the smirk on his lips; her heart pounded erratically, and a sense of foreboding washed over her. She managed to ask the question she already had an answer to, "What does that mean?"

"Whatever you're thinking, Miss Elizabeth, a person has to do the cleaning after all, and who else is most perfect for that job?" the young man said, tapping his long-gloved fingers on the counter, making annoying dull clacking sounds.

"Ha, you wish. I'd rather die than work for a cultist who has the blood of innocent people on his hands," Elizabeth spat out those hateful words; her eyes held determination, and her aura was unrelenting.

"The irony, Miss Elizabeth. It would be a pity if you die, but do you want to hear a little story?" He tilted his head and smiled brightly.

"..."

"I'll take your silence as a yes, then. Once upon a time, there lived a young teen girl; she had an elder sister and a little brother, but one day she decided to end the life of her poor father. This father's sins were unknown, and who knows? Maybe the little girl wanted some thrill in her life. So that day, she set her own house on fire; her little brother was home too, but how'd she know when her little head was filled with such thoughts. The house burned with her father inside and her poor little brother too; her mother, who wanted to save the poor little boy, fearlessly ran into the fire, and the burning house came falling down, ending the life of three innocent souls… So, Miss Elizabeth, what an irony." The man told his story without pause and let out a small chuckle right after.

Elizabeth's face was as pale as a plain sheet; her breathings were shallow, and her heart skipped multiple beats in a millisecond. She couldn't take her eyes off the man, who was sitting right in front of her. "W-w…" Her lips quivered as she struggled to make out the right words; her eyes were blank, only letting unknown emotions flash past once in a while; goosebumps crawled right under her skin.

"And now, the life of the rest of her family is in her hands too, but yet again, she wants to give them up for her own selfishness…again." The young man shook his head slowly and put on a surprised look, "You know that story too, Miss Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth gulped and finally blinked; she stared down and watched her whole world spin. She clutched her chest that felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly, over and over again, with every word that came out of the strange man's lips. She thought there was no way he would know something like that; it might just be a nice guess or…Elena had spilled a few words, since she was the only one who knew what happened ten years ago.

'It was a secret between both of them, why would she…?' These thoughts filled her head, and she immediately looked up at the young man in front of her.

"You know why you lost your job? That's because I ordered for it; it's just a little show of power. You'll receive your job soon again…having a person on the inside is much better." The young man said, glancing at his watch.

Elizabeth's mind was now in chaos, "Who are you?" She blurted the only words that could come out of her mouth.