Thread: [closed]

Tonight is the night. Two months ago, a mourning wife came to me asking for help. Her husband had mysteriously passed on the night they attended a ball. She was fairly certain that her husband had had an affair in that same night, something which ended in the man passing. A difficult and intriguing case that I was more than happy to take on. Tonight, I will finally catch the culprit. Through investigations I managed to trace every mysterious happening of this sort, for there are many men who died inexplicably during the nights when they attended different balls or soires. And all of them were attended by a certain woman. This cannot be a coincidence and so, I have very strong reasons to believe she is the culprit. But tonight I will find out for certain. She is a very beautiful woman so I will have to exercise caution and not let myself trapped in the webs she weaves. The words were penned elegantly in the detective's journal, laid out on the desk while he stood in front of the mirror and arranged himself. He wore an elegant black waistcoat with tails, embroidered with flowery patterns and a pair of black pants. A dark mask that covered about half of his face, giving him a rather mysterious appearance and a top hat. The event he was to attend was a masquerade so he had to blend in. With a satisfied smile, Hugo finally nodded to the image in the mirror before wandering off and out of his house. The Red Hearth manor was where the masquerade was being held. It was situated on a cliff overseeing the sea, surrounded by a large domain. By the evening, the intricate patterns of the huge courtyards and gardens of the domain were buzzing with people and carriages each more beautiful and luxurious than the other pulled up in front of the manor's entrance. Hugo arrived by carriage as well, though his was much less luxurious. The work of a private detective wasn't nearly as rewarding as one would have believed, however, the real reward was the pleasure of having solved another case. The evening was filled with pleasantries, welcoming words and lots of socializing and the detective found himself having to blend in with different crowds and make small talk to appear as mundane as every other person present. It was interesting to see how much more daring people became while they hid under masks of all kinds, disguises meant to make them feel like someone else entirely. Women who otherwise were shy and introverted became daring vixens who beckoned the attention of everyone, whilst every man became a potential conqueror, the mysterious wraith that wished to steal women's hearts. Hugo, however, didn't have the time to try and steal hearts and instead glided among the crowd, blue eyes carefully watching for any distinct signs of the woman he was investigating. It wasn't far too difficult to locate her as she seemingly was something of a rare beauty, even when hidden away behind a mask and a dress that yet allowed anyone a glimpse of what they could have for the night. A rather carefully laid honey trap that Hugo had to fall into before any other man would. It was the only was in which he could prove beyond any shadow of doubt that she was the guilty one, though it wasn't solely that which pushed him to such lengths. There was a small part of him that wondered if it was worth dying for what this woman had to offer and hopefully, it would be tonight that he would find out.