Not going to come up with an excuse for my absense this time. It may be short and rushed because I just wanted to update "soon".


The train whistle blew as busy travelers hurried to get on board. A group of five colorfully-haired people were saying their farewells at the last minute.

"Now, I trust all three of you to take care of the house while we're gone," Gakupo said firmly.

"We will!" they all saluted as their master boarded the train followed by his trusted pink maid.

The blonde girl turned to her brother, "Isn't it a bit odd that Master wanted Luka to accompany him on another investigation?"

"Rin, don't be ridiculous. Luka is the head maid and his lord just requires assistance," Miku said.

"I don't know. There's just something up with Master Kamui lately," the blonde replied wiggling her eyebrows.

"Girls, we don't have time to discuss that," Len said leading them out onto the streets. "We need to get back home." He scanned around for their carriage. Unfortunately, other similar looking black carriages were scattered everywhere. The trio had no clue which one is theirs. The fact that hundreds of people were pushing each other in the busy streets didn't help the children either.

"If we could find our ride that is," Miku sighed.

The pair made their way to their luxury compartment as the train was leaving the station.

"Since I'm taking you with me on this investigation," Gakupo started as Luka opened the door to their compartment, "I might as well tell you know."

"It must be a very crucial crime if we're traveling this far, Milord," the maid stated.

"Well, recent events happened at a certain church. Reports say that young men have been killed and tied onto the cross. The same thing has been going on for quite a while. If this continues, then the church is likely to be forced to shut down," he told his maid.

"How peculiar. Especially at a holy place like a church. Of course being a former witch, I wish not to have a say in this since I had a horrible encounter with a priestess back in my early years," she said, feeling awkward about telling her past.

"Are you saying you're backing out on the investigation, Luka?" Gakupo asked in a firm manor.

"I never said anything like that, Milord. I'm terribly sorry I have mislead you. However, I'm not sure I will be a well-liked guest when we arrive though. Out of the question, have you chosen a suitress, Milord? Judging by the pile of desperate letters that arrived yesterday morning, I'm sure you'll have a hard time choosing one," Luka smiled.

A part of Gakupo cringed when he heard the word suitress. It's not that he had an attraction to men, oh no. Seeing another woman by his side other than his maid bothered him greatly.

"I'm not so sure, Luka. Having a wife seems like a burden. I'll just find some way to keep the Kamui family going," he sighed.

Luka eyed her master and finally said, "If you say so, then I shall not force you, being just a servant and all. I would like to add that my first master was happily married. I have never seen them fight. Yes, they were happy indeed."

Gakupo kept staring at his maid while she kept going on. Jealousy panged inside him. Of course she couldn't love him. Luka is- was too infatuated with Gabriel to do so.

"Anyway, all the women from those letters are just after the money and title of Duchess, and there are not a countable number of successful business women. Well, except for Meiko but she doesn't count. So why bother?" he stated trying to stop his maid from rambling on about her past master.

"If that's the case Milord, what about marrying a girl you do fancy, rich or not? You're still going to be the Duke, correct? And I must recall, Milord, that you had several accounts with Ms. Sakine," Luka replied.

Gakupo lightened up a little bit. Of course his maid was vaguely suggesting someone else, but the duke couldn't help but thinking of marrying his own maid. However, his feelings for her wouldn't be that strong to think about marriage. Would it?

"Those times with Meiko had ended up sleeping along side me was when she was to too drunk to carry herself out of my mansion. With her designated guest room being so close to mine, she must have mistaken mine for her room," Gakupo said to make sure his maid didn't get the wrong idea. He considered Meiko to be a business partner or consultant and possibly a friend. His mind wandered to several accounts with her and Kaito, who managed to trick the entire household that it was his sister that got burned in the incinerator. Gakupo had a feeling that Kaito liked the brown-haired woman, but the duke decided to put that thought aside.

"What a curious case indeed," came Luka, suddenly snapping the duke out of his thinking.

"What?"

"The case you've been sent to do. Young men being slaughtered and tied to a cross. May I ask to see the photographs if there are any, Milord?" the maid replied.

Gakupo nodded and handed her the pictures. "If the men are tied up, then there's a suggestion that they were killed beforehand and then hung up. There's no way one could die from being bounded by rope unless from starvation or hypothermia," the violet man stated.

The woman nodded in agreement. "Also from the photos, one major detail is that all of the men are nude. If one shall look closely, words have been painted on their abdomens. Sadly, Milord I can only make out the word 'sinned'. The rest are a blur," Luka said to add with their theory.

"The only connection is that the bodies were found is a very holy place. Perhaps-"

Knock, knock!

The door to their compartment slid open and in came the ticket collector.

"Tickets please," a girl said in a small voice and the pair handed then their train tickets.

"It was about time," the Duke said under his breath as the woman collected them and left. They were left in silence as the train kept running down the tracks.

"Milord, have you noticed-"

"That the collector was a female, yes. Quite odd that a woman is doing a man's job," Gakupo said to finish his maid's observation.

"Her nametag was quite odd too. I've never met a lady with a boy's name, especially a Jonathan. The uniform must have been stolen. The question is why, Milord," Luka added.

The man sighed and continued to read through the reports of their current case. "I'm not sure, Luka. That isn't our focus now. We have got a more serious case on our hands."

Then, there came another knock on their doors. Another ticket collector came in only this time it was the normal male collector.

"I'm sorry dear sir, but a young woman has already collected our tickets," Gakupo said.

The worker shook his head. "I'm supposed to go down the high class train cart in place of my coworker who didn't do his shift. And I've worked here for five years and the only female worker on this train is the old lady running the candy cart. But hey, if someone did part of my job, then fine by me."

"I hate to interrupt, but the woman seemed to have only our ticket. We are near the end of the train cart so she must have also had the other passengers' passes with her. However, there was no trace of any other ticket in her hand nor pockets. I suspect something is the matter here," Luka said.

"Aw man, that means I still have to collect tickets. The boss can't help you with your problem with all the other stuff he has to do, whether you are rich or not. Well, enjoy your trip," he smiled, tipped his hat, and left.

"Milord, do you suppose we look onto this one also?" the maid asked.

"No bother. It was just a small mishap of confusion. No one's life is in any sort of danger," Gakupo replied. After his statement, the lights flickered and went out. A loud thud was heard outside of their compartment. The power switched back on and the passengers rushed to see what was going on. Without one word exchanged, they ran out to the scene.

Displayed right in front of them was an unconscious body of a middle-aged man. A woman, presumably his wife, fainted (rather dramatically) at the sight.

"I recognize him," Gakupo stated. "He's a merchant and makes a good pay. Someone must have chose to knock him unconscious and stole all of his money." He pointed to the man's pocket, which had a huge hole torn in it.

"Duke Kamui, you are amazing!" the woman in the crowd cooed. Gakupo blushed and watched curiously at his maid who is not satisfied with the answer. Luka made her way through the group of passengers to examine the knocked out man closely. A small puddle was found near the man as well as a trail of water leading toward the back of the train, which this detail was clearly unnoticed by the normal humans. The maid followed the path of water with her master not far behind.

"Luka, what are you-"

The maid hushed him. The duo pressed their ears against the door. They both heard a giggle belonging to a little girl. Turning the door knob carefully, Gakupo and his maid entered the room. Their jaws dropped to the floor at what they saw.

Up on the windowsill was a little glass of water. But it wasn't the drink that made them astonished, it was what was in it. Singing cheerfully and splashing water was a very, very small girl. Only fifteen centimeters, she had sparkling blue eyes and matching hair which seemed to be short but had two thin pigtails coming out of the back. Her outfit consists of a white top, a blue skirt that fades to a green color at the bottom, tall white boots, and a jeweled headband.

Gakupo and Luka carefully stepped forward to take a closer look and to confirm what are they seeing.

"What the hell?" the Duke said, still flabbergasted on what's in front of him.

"I believe it's a fairy, Milord," Luka replied.

The creature turned around and pouted. "I have a name, you know!" she said in a cute, little voice. "And I'm a water sprite to be exact!"

"Aren't you the same person that collected our tickets?" Gakupo asked.

"In my human form, yes!" she piped up. "And to answer your next question, I did stole that geezer's money."

The maid bended down and the sprite climbed onto her hand. "My, my! You're a mischievous little one aren't you? Singing your heart out to knock a man unconscious." Luka giggled.

The creature gasped in awe. "A witch! I've seen many witches in my years but never a pretty one. The train tickets are going to be worth more now! By the way, I'm Aoki Lapis."

"Wait a minute, you only collected our tickets just to sell them?" the Duke asked.

Aoki sighed, "You are a slow mortal, aren't you? Getting a train ticket belonging to the great Duke Kamui is one thing to be proud of, but having one of a witch is amazing!"

"And why is that, little one?" Luka questioned.

The water sprite's facial expression suddenly turned grim. "During the last hundred years, it is said that the population of witches and wizards are decreasing rapidly. It is easier for the mortals to find them and eliminate them with our technology today. Ever since the expansion of religion, anyone with magic is convicted of being a fiend from hell. They are killed in the worse ways I have ever seen. It's amazing you are still alive today, miss. Thus, any remaining item from a witch is considered to be valuable in the mythical world. Why haven't you heard about this if you are a witch yourself?"

Pink brows furrowed and an aquamarine eye peered at her master, who was trying to fill all the information in his head. "That is because I am not a witch anymore," Luka said firmly.

"Suit yourself," Aoki shrugged. "I must be going now. Don't worry, that man is going to wake up soon. My songs aren't deadly compared one of a mermaid or an undine. Goodbye for now!" With that, the sprite grabbed the bag of coins she stole and flew out the open train window.

"Luka, please tell me I was hallucinating," Gakupo said, still in shock.

"I could, but that will be lying. If there are real witches, then magical creatures must be in this world too," the maid sighed. She went to look out the window, but the water sprite was long gone. "Come, Milord. We must get back onto discussing about the case."

Surely enough, the commotion from the corridor had cleared and everyone went back to their business. The maid and master returned to their compartment only to find it in a complete mess. Clearly, someone has been rummaging through their belongings for something. Near their bags were tiny droplets of water. The duke chuckled at the sight, knowing who could have been there.

"It appears that our water sprite is still looking for more ways to make money," the servant laughed. Once the maid had cleared everything up, they went back to their investigation. The duke kept staring at her uneasily, thinking about what he learned from the fairy.

"Luka, is what you said back there true? Not being a witch anymore?" Gakupo asked.

The pink woman looked up and stared at her master curiously in the eye. "Of course it is. Though I use magic on some occasions, I wish not to be considered a witch."

Witches were always claimed to be people of the devil. They were misjudged by mortals and shunned by the outside world. Although some witches do not use their powers for evil, others take advantage of their power and use it for destruction. Those witches are what the normal people categorize for all witches. They are also used as a scapegoat for all the mortals' disasters. Although I try to convince them that not all witches are bad, it does me no good. I was convicted of being one myself. I was then punished for the things I didn't even commit. However as I watch my never-ending life go by, I feel that my punishment was more of a reward. Some may take pity on me because I am chained to you forever. But I feel that our bond will just keep getting stronger. And until my master dies, the cycle will repeat with the next heir. So even though I enjoy performing magic, I do not wish to be called such a fiend. I am not a witch.

I am your maid.


Alright, another chapter out of the way! Until next time... (Which I guess will be about another 5 months, but let's hope it's sooner)