If there was one thing Inspector Lee hated about his job, is being the bearer of bad news.

Whether it be a random victim, or a fallen comrade, he never felt comfortable delivering the story of what happened that lead to the tragedy.

It made his job especially worse, when the audience were a majority of women. If telling someone they loved died felt bad, seeing women break down into heart broken howls made him feel cursed.

Celestial Dreams could only mourn, out loud or in silence. The entire staff, Courtesan, even the management all just broke down into tears and cried out Fae Fae’s name. It was times like these where Inspector Lee believed such victims had no enemy in the world.

But if there was one thing he learned, is tears can be deceptive.

So he divided and conquer. He would take his men to speak to the staff. Meanwhile his temporary assistant, a cranky Martial Yellow Sister, will speak to the Courtesans and perhaps the Handmaiden. He felt a lady’s touch under these conditions would be more efficient, even if said lady is sleep deprived.

Inspector Lee wanted to speak with the one person who was the most intimate with Fae Fae, the manager known as the Mama-san. However, he overestimated her ability to handle bad news. All she could do was scream and wail for Fae Fae’s name, over and over. It was like she lost her mind on the spot. He doubt he could get anything coherent out of her.

So he settled with the Brothel Owner.

“You, come over here.”

“S-stop manhandling me you brute!”

Inspector Lee grabbed the Brothel Owner to drag him into a corner to speak with him, away from all the wailing so they don’t have to scream at each other like there in a party at full swing.

“Tell me something,” the Inspector sneered. “How come the entire house is grieving for one woman, but you’re hiding in a corner counting on your abacus? I know men don’t shed tears, but your placid reaction is ridiculous!”

“Look here!” The Brothel Owner slapped Inspector Lee’s hand off his clothing and he tugged on it to straight it out. “I am very sad, for the loss of our dear Fae Fae. But like anything else, the show must go on. I run a business, a VERY expensive business that cater to the whims of our customers. Just daily operations costs thousands in silver! Food, wine, laundry, medical bills, so on so forth!”

The Owner shook his head at the officer as he muttered, “I may have lost one Courtesan, I still have hundreds more who are waiting for their pay pouches. Can you blame me? I am looking out for the best interest of my girls!”

“Come on, don’t give me that crap,” Inspector Lee scoffed. “Guys like you work these girls to death, nothing more than cattle to the farm. Now, tell me what I need to know and you can go back to counting your damn money. Who here is likely to kill Fae Fae?”

The Brothel Owner huffed in indignation. He tried to walk away, feeling he was treated poorly. Inspector Lee slapped a hand to the wall to block him, sending him the message of ‘he ain’t going anywhere buddy’.

“I never.” The Brothel Owner huffed, something of a last laugh to make himself feel better. “Truth be told, I do not think anyone could bring themselves to kill such a dear. She may not be our most talented girl, or pulled in the most money compared to other Flower Princesses, but everyone loved her. Staff, the audience, the clients she served night after night.”

The Inspector clicked his tongue, “There has to be something I can work with! A woman like her don’t just end up dead in the middle of no where outside the capital, right? Surely you can think of a name or face!?”

“I tell you, Inspector, the most conflict she has had in her life are just a few harmless stalkers. Crazed fans if you could believe it. Nothing harmless at all.”

Inspector Lee scratched at his head. There was something about this that didn’t add up.

“By the way,” he asked, “How come you never reported her missing to the Imperial Constabulary?”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Oh my god, you sound like Mama-san!” The Brothel Owner gasped in agitation. “Like I told her, as if you guys are going to care if a hooker is missing or even turn up dead. Not only are you all notorious for being lackadaisical towards prostitute deaths, the last thing I want are you lot pestering my business! You’ll all come in and out, scaring away my customers, all their silver and gold running away with them. The moment I report to guys like you, my girls will just starve to death!”

“Hey!” Inspector Lee clenched a fist, ready to go to town even. “Listen here buddy! This is a human life we’re talking about! Regardless if she was a sex worker or not, she is still a citizen of the Empire! Of course we would take it seriously!...Or.”

He then snorted as he figured out something, “Perhaps. The reason why you didn’t call us sooner, is you are hiding something, right!?”

“Well. I’d never.”

Inspector Lee had the urge to punch this man. Even if it would cost his badge. However, it seems someone else had the same thoughts.

A stool came flying in their direction and the Brothel Owner ducked – with practice. Next thing they knew, Mama-san was charging over with a vase in her hand to use as a bludgeoning weapon, shouting insults and screaming curses at her employer.

“YOU BASTARD!” she hollered, “ADMIT IT! YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED THIS RIGHT!? TO GET RID OF FAE FAE! HAPPY YET!? HUH? HAPPY YEEEEET!?”

Mama-san swung the vase. Perhaps she was in a daze, having lost self control and balance, her swing went wide and she ended up smashing the empty wall by accident. She stumbled into the Inspector, who grabbed onto her. He was not the only one, as several worried Courtesans rushed over to try and grab at Mama-san and pull her away before causing more of a scene.

Even when towed, she didn’t go down without kicking and screaming!

“PROFITS! ALWAYS PROFITS! YOU WORKED FAE FAE TO THE BONE AND GOT HER KILLED! BASTARD! PENNY PINCHING CHEAP BASTARD! GIVE ME BACK FAE FAE! GIVE ME BACK FAE FAAEEEEEEEaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Oh geez!” Inspector Lee gasped when Mama-san slumped in his grip.

She blacked out, her blood pressure shooting above normal parameters. He, the Courtesans, and some Constables had to haul Mama-san to lay down on a nearby couch, letting the Courtesans fan and try to wake her up.

Once that mess was over, he charged back over and put his hands on his hips. He need not say anything, just look with a ‘I’m waiting for a good explanation for all this’ look.

The Brothel Owner brushed the broken shards off his robe, conscious of the stares. “There was this...teeny tiny little fact. Ahem. Fae Fae has been, well... not to insult the dead, but she has been doing poorly. She would fall over mid-dance, slip up during poetry battles and bite her tongue, and not to mention she had been cancelling a lot of her nightly appointments.”

“And this trade? Hm?”

“Well. I have been, planning, for some time. To exchange Fae Fae for another Courtesan. Ever since she started to slip up in her work, I’ve been having my eye on this lovely fox serving Heavenly Gardens House of Pleasure, from North Cloud City. Excellent woman, very talented. Younger body, if I may add. Not to mention this new girl can do things that Fae Fae cannot. I mean we have to cater to ALL kinds of fetishes and—”

Inspector Lee had enough of this bull and interrupted him with a jab of a finger on the man’s chest, “So that’s why you killed her? Her contract isn’t over and you just can’t wait, so you sped things up and offed her – that way you can hang up the HELP WANTED sign faster, eh?”

“M-MURDER HER!? D-dear heavens and earth, th-that’s absurd! Outrageous!” The Brother Owner tried to shuffle away from these accusations, but was grabbed and tossed back to his starting line, “I have yet to step on anything like a cockroach in my entire life. Wh-why would thro-throw away my humanity to kill Fae Fae!? Sh-she is, after all, one of my signature dishes in this brothel! A-and I have the right to look for better agents to promote better service in-in my business right!?”

“Did she know about it? This trade?” Inspector Lee snarled like a lion. “Any chances she overheard you, confronted you, threatened you or even wanted to spill the beans to get back at you!? Anything that would motivate you to kill her? Speak up!”

“No! No! NO! Nothing like that! I asssuuuuure you!” The Brother Owner hissed, like a deflating balloon. Although he started to dab the sweat off his forehead, he stood his ground to protect what little pride he had left. “As I said, I didn’t kill her. I had no reason, no benefit in doing so. And of course she never knew about this! This is management secret, as if I need to report to my staff on every little decision I make? The only other ear I’ve been telling is the Mama-san. She holds the position of Chief Manager over the Courtesans. The same woman who you saw trying to murder me, by the by...Actually, while you’re here: press charges against—I mean, please carry on the investigation.”

One leer from Inspector Lee made the Brothel Owner shut the hell up. When the latter felt cornered, he couldn’t resist and lash out to protect himself.

“I-if you’re so ready to accuse someone, why don’t you go talk to Mama-san. She knows EVERYTHING about Fae Fae! She always plays favourite with that girl!”

“Can’t you see the Mama-san is downright passed out on the couch!? Have you no heart!?”

“Wh-why are you blaming me!? I just work here!”