Lisa, the main dancer of the Cielo strip club, probably wanted to keep that position.

She lured her colleague to “La Cena Boutique” to extort money from the patron, then informed the patron to have her colleague expelled from Cielo.

Looking at the result alone, anyone would point fingers at Lisa.

But what if Lisa had really obtained the main dancer position through painful effort and skill? Although it was petty, can we openly criticize Lisa for protecting her position that was about to be unjustly taken away, using the same methods? For a dancer without a proper patron, money or power, it might have been the best she could do…

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. While her feelings can be understood, the process requires the measure of the law.

Fortunately or unfortunately, what Lisa did is not legally problematic. Because such a law doesn’t exist yet.

Therefore, as an investigator, I don’t intend to comment on Lisa and her misdeeds.

But just a little threatening to get the desired testimony…

Sidney murmured calmly, holding the ledger.

“If I show this ledger… the manager and dancers of Cielo will question why the new dancers who bought stage costumes from ‘La Cena Boutique’ lost their patrons and were kicked out of Cielo…”

And she gave Lisa a look asking if she wanted to make a deal. As if finding a ray of light, Lisa’s eyes sparkled as she said,

“What do I need to do?”

She asked. Sidney tapped Walter Asner’s arm and held out her hand. Walter blinked and said “Ah,” as he took out the black business card he had received from Logan from his pocket.

Casablanca.

She didn’t have high expectations that Lisa would know about it.

But thinking that maybe the main dancer of the most famous Cielo club in this Marcel might know…

Sidney lightly shook it, holding it between her middle and index fingers. And watching Lisa and Fabien’s faces following the card, she spoke in a whisper.

“Information about Marien’s patron and the business card that says ‘Casablanca’. That will keep Lisa’s and ‘La Cena Boutique’s’ secret safe forever.”

Lisa and Fabien’s eyes shook violently. Like leaves fluttering in the wind on a stormy night, they trembled anxiously, probably making various calculations.

While Lisa was contemplating how to overcome this crisis and how much to say, Fabien seemed perplexed, as if he had nothing to offer.

If that’s the case…

Sidney stared intently at Lisa and wiggled her crossed leg. As if pushed by the subtle pressure and urging, Lisa moistened her lips with her tongue and opened her mouth.

“Marien’s patron was Count Hamilton.”

Thud, Andy Spencer’s pen that had been taking notes rolled on the floor. That’s how shocking the person that came out of Lisa’s mouth was.

Dean Hamilton.

He was the 34-year-old second son-in-law of Duke Yant.

Born as the third son of an insignificant baronial family without a territory, he wasn’t even good at swordsmanship.

Of course, Duke Yant was unlikely to accept a man with nothing going for him except a clean face. Moreover, Dean was 5 years younger than Catherine and there were persistent rumors that he was the lover of noble ladies.

But Catherine, blinded by love, even staged a suicide attempt to push through the marriage.

The romance of the century.

To soothe the imperial citizens tired from the long war, the newspapers packaged this as a love that transcended social status.

Although Dean was a nobleman, he was no different from a commoner compared to Catherine.

That Count Dean Hamilton, living off his wife and in-laws, the second son-in-law of Duke Yant who could bring down flying birds… sponsored a dancer from Cielo.

Walter Asner, who extremely despised spousal infidelity, gritted his teeth and pressed Lisa.

“Unless he’s crazy, with a father-in-law like Duke Yant… Miss Lisa, are you sure it was Count Hamilton?”

“Well…”

As Lisa hesitated and trailed off, Fabien stepped in, raising his hand.

“I saw it clearly. Miss Marien also called the young man who came with her ‘my Dean’.”

Well, this is… Sidney chuckled in disbelief and muttered.

“That sounds like more than just a patron.”

She raised her voice at the end, prompting them to say more. Lisa made a troubled expression and carefully began to speak.

“Well… it was strange. Usually, when patrons are told that dancers have embezzled money, they feel betrayed and get angry. But… Count Hamilton laughed loudly and was happy.”

“He was happy?”

“Yes, he immediately grasped my intention and bought me clothes, saying he wouldn’t let Marien come to work at Cielo.”

“Count Hamilton… did he also know that ‘La Cena Boutique’ had a rebate deal with Marien?”

“I’m not sure. Even if he knew, most patrons would just stop their sponsorship. But the Count was different.”

“How was he different?”

Lisa narrowed her eyes and stared at Sidney intently. As if gauging how to speak to her advantage.

Sidney put on a nonchalant expression, signaling that she didn’t particularly care what Lisa offered.

She even smiled slyly, tilting her head towards Walter while savoring Lisa’s face filled with bewilderment… all of it was a carefully calculated act.

After a moment, Lisa shrugged her shoulders once and opened her mouth.

“This is just my feeling, but the Count seemed like a mischievous child who had found an interesting toy. Well, Marien actually disappeared from this scene.”

Tap tap, as Sidney’s fingertips drummed on the sofa armrest, her toes wiggled in sync. As if urging her thoughts.

6000 peons.

It sounded like Count Hamilton expected Marien to play tricks with that money. He could have easily played with a commoner dancer without going to such lengths.

Was it simple amusement? Or was he originally someone who enjoyed such things… a beast?

A beast? Sidney imagined Count Hamilton as a ‘satiated predator’.

It fit quite well. He had become comfortable and guaranteed a luxurious life thanks to his wife and father-in-law. But why is a beast a beast? Besides hunger, how did he satisfy his other desires?

“How would a predator that no longer needs to hunt… quell its hunting instinct?”

But Sidney’s imagination reached its limit there. Simply imagining Count Hamilton as a predator was… not enough.

What if she were a predator…? Sidney rolled her eyes around. Like a predator prowling the savanna looking for prey.

“…He would look for similar amusements.”

As Sidney imagined entering the savanna bushes, Andy Spencer’s voice reached her ears.

Amusement.

Sidney muttered quietly, imagining a pitiful herbivore in front of her.

“That’s right. Watching it fill its stomach with grass clippings, unaware of the approaching death, desperately fleeing upon discovering the predator, trembling hidden in the bushes… all of that would bring him incomparable joy.”

“…”

As the story continued, Sidney’s excitement grew.

Just as she finally cornered the pitiful prey, the fantasy shattered completely. The idea of biting into the neck of a small, frightened animal was too horrific.

“I guess I can’t do it after all?”

Sidney squeezed her eyes shut, feeling her limitations. Then she searched her memory for something that could immerse her more.

Wait. What if Count Hamilton could no longer find interest in hunting?

He would have recalled his past memories, just like Sidney. And maybe he tried to see if he could feel the same pleasure.

“What if Count Hamilton repeated his past experiences? What if that’s why he was nice to Marien?”

Sidney’s eyes had returned to normal. Deeply worried by that gap, Walter placed his hand on her arm.

“…Sidney, what’s wrong?”

“Imagination alone wasn’t enough to properly understand the feelings of a ‘satiated predator’… so I tried to empathize.”

Walter Asner let out a long sigh of relief, stroking his chest. Then he hugged Sidney’s shoulders tightly and grumbled.

“Ah, xx. I really thought you had gone crazy.”

Andy Spencer could be seen over his shoulder. Andy also scolded her with a pale face.

“Lady Warden, you really looked like a real murderer. Please don’t do that anymore.”

Feeling awkward for no reason, she gently pushed Walter away and mumbled, “I won’t.”

Sidney continued the conversation while rubbing her arms covered in goosebumps.

“People adapt to violence too quickly. At such times, murderers tend to recall the excitement they first felt. They become addicted without even realizing it.”

“Are you assuming Count Hamilton is a serial killer?”

“I tried that assumption for now. The fact that he acted like a lover to Marien and was happy to hear Lisa’s betrayal… bothers me a bit.”

“It’s a reasonable assumption.”

“Go on.”

After Andy, Walter agreed too. This time, she tried to guess Count Hamilton’s psychology as an observer, not by empathizing. Sidney’s mouth opened again.

“At first, the Count would have lavished love and care on Marien. He would have made her depend on him, like taming a pet.”

“Then… it explains why the Count, as a lover and patron, got Marien a job at Cielo and bought her expensive clothes. But why Marien?”

Sidney glanced at Walter who asked the question and shrugged once.

“Maybe some aspect of Marien resembled his first victim. Anyway, the important thing is… that wasn’t enough.”

“He was already addicted. It’s natural that he couldn’t be satisfied with the same stimulation as before.”

A long silence followed Walter’s words. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

What could it be?

If it was simply a murderous impulse, he would have killed Marien on the spot…

Count Hamilton held back and held back until Lisa informed on her.

Why? What was he waiting for? Sidney tapped her knee with her fingertips, struggling to find the answer.

It was Andy Spencer’s whisper that broke the silence that had lasted for quite a while.

“‘Complete possession’.”

Logan Redford.

She didn’t know why she thought of him. At that moment, it seemed there were no words that could better express Logan’s intense gaze.

Andy Spencer’s explanation continued.

“To a partner that is really, maddeningly good… anyone would imagine such a thing. Wishing this person couldn’t imagine a life without oneself… Thus, one is consumed by the desire to completely possess and control the other.”

Not unless you’re crazy. Sidney burst out in annoyance and refuted.

“Who would think like that?”

But Walter nodded slowly, stroking his chin.

“Indeed, any man would be swayed by such desires for dominance and possession.”

“Don’t generalize.”

“Sidney Warden, you’ll understand when you meet a woman you truly love. You really go crazy. Of course, most people only imagine it in their heads.”

Walter put on a face that said ‘You still don’t know anything’ and showed off. To this, Sidney responded with a scornful laugh.

Love? Maybe if it was someone she hated to death. Even if she mistook herself for Marien, it doesn’t make sense.

Such emotions were out of the question for that fastidious Logan Redford.

Damn it. Sidney scolded herself for continuously thinking about Logan and hit her own knee with her fist.

At that moment, people walking dogs flashed through Sidney’s mind.

“Andy Spencer, that ‘complete possession’…”