That night, Cassian drank for the first time—and drank so much that, by morning, he felt like his insides were rebelling and his head throbbed as if he'd been kicked by a horse. He swore to himself that he wouldn't drink again after that experience.
It had been four days since then, and Alix had confirmed that the paintings' age matched the dates of the murders. They'd been searching for the artist, asking questions around town, but had found nothing so far. However, there was some progress in tracking down the families' relatives and old friends.
These acquaintances revealed that the families had cut ties when they began visiting a certain church. To Cassian's surprise, it turned out that these families had been attending this church for years. But no one knew its exact location—just that it was outside the city, in a one of nearby village, close enough that people could travel there and back within half a day.
This led them to suspect that this mysterious church might be involved in the murders. Now, the challenge was figuring out the name and exact location of the church, as all they knew was that it was in one of the villages outside the city.
And there were plenty of villages—nearly fifty in total, with some even large enough to be considered towns. Each had at least a few churches and temples, making it impractical to search every single one without wasting time. Fortunately, the law enforcement department had personnel stationed in small numbers across all these villages.
With the help of Commandant Sher, the team managed to mobilize these officers to search the churches and temples.
The challenge was determining which church the families had been attending, as they had little information beyond the paintings. Those might be their best clue in identifying the right place.
"It's going to take time…" Cassian murmured as he visited Lady Katherine. He had been thinking a lot about the recent attack on him and decided it would be safer for Katherine to avoid visiting the city for her usual massages, given the potential danger.
So, he made the trip to see her himself, using a work-related excuse—though, in truth, no one in the special unit minded his absence much since they didn't have a lot going on.
Cassian was always eager to see Lady Katherine. He cherished the time he got to spend massaging her soft, supple thighs, sometimes even getting the chance to sit between them. But today, he knew he couldn't linger long; it was already noon, and he needed to get back to the office. They might tolerate a few hours of absence, but not an entire day.
Cassian felt a twinge of annoyance—he'd hoped to have more time, but he figured he could always try again on his next day off. Robert's advice about dealing with women had been on his mind—ways to make them more submissive by making them realize when they were being pushy, acting angry, and subtly shifting the dynamic to make it seem like they wanted what he suggested, not him.
Cassian had found Robert's methods a bit manipulative, but he couldn't deny a curiosity about whether they would actually work.
Thinking over which of those tactics he might try today, he entered Katherine's room. To his surprise, he found another familiar face smiling alongside Lady Katherine.
"My lady," he greeted with a bow, masking his surprise with politeness before turning to the second person with a smile. "Miss Lucy, how was the journey?"
"It was fine," Lucy replied with a smile, back in her maid uniform, standing neatly by Katherine's side as she combed her hair.
"When did you arrive?" Cassian asked as he walked towards them, memories flashing through his mind—specifically the time Lucy had kissed him, and the feel of her big breasts against his hands. The thought alone stirred him, but he tried to keep his expression neutral.
"Just the day before," Katherine answered before Lucy could, her tone casual.
Lucy nodded in agreement with Katherine's words and added, "I heard you've joined the city's law enforcement. I bet you've been dealing with some... exciting things?"
He wasn't sure if investigating nearly two dozen murders qualified as "exciting," but it certainly kept him busy, so he nodded with a small smile. "Somewhat..."
"That's good to hear," Lucy replied with a smile. Seeing their conversation come to an end, Katherine gave a gentle command. "Lucy, give him the books."
Lucy walked over to the nearby bookshelf, retrieving two books and handing them to Cassian. He had a good idea of what they were about and was eager to dive into their contents.
His guess was spot on as he read the strange titles of the books: "Whispers from the Hips" and "Gut Feeling: Waistful Wonders." Cassian found the names a bit odd, but he didn't mind. Especially when the familiar system voice echoed in his mind.
[Chaos Mana Detected.]
[Allow System to Observe Chaos Mana?]
"Go ahead, as long as you give me those massage skills in exchange," Cassian muttered to himself, a grin spreading across his face.
"Learn them," Katherine said with an amused smile as she watched Cassian's excitement.
"Just give me a few minutes, my lady," he replied before moving closer to the books, rifling through them while the system absorbed the chaos mana.
After a few minutes, the system's voice echoed in Cassian's mind once more.
[Chaos mana absorption completed.]
[A new skill is under construction.]
[Construction time: 168 hours.]
[Two new skills are granted to the trainee in exchange for allowing the system to observe the mana.]
[Massage Mastery: Hips.]
[Massage Mastery: Waist.]
[Both skills are compatible with the existing skill: 'Lower Body Massage Mastery.']
[The system is combining the three skills.]
[A new skill has been created from the combined skills.]
[Half Body Massage Mastery has been created.]
[Half Body Massage Mastery has advanced by one level]
Cassian seemed engrossed in the book as knowledge about massaging the waist and hips flooded his mind. It wasn't just about massage techniques; he began to understand the weak points of not only humans but of all bipedal beings.
As the information poured into his consciousness, he looked up with surprise and asked the system in his mind, 'System, what is this new skill under construction? Is it the same one?' He had a suspicion it was related to a skill that had been in development months ago when he learned the thigh massaging technique.
[The trainee will find out in due time.]
The system didn't provide an explanation, which made Cassian a bit frustrated. Ignoring it, he glanced at the countdown: 168 hours, a total of seven days. He didn't mind waiting, especially since he had already spent some time focusing on the information the skill was filling his mind with.
His eyes widened with surprise as he processed the information. With a confused tone, he asked, "My lady, there's something confusing here?"
"Oh? What is it?" Katherine replied, feigning surprise, though her amused smile hinted that she was just playing along. Cassian, unaware of her act, flipped through the book's pages and handed it to her.
As she read, she nodded a few times before saying, "I can see why you're confused…" Turning to Lucy, she continued, "Lucy, you can go now. I'll call for you after the massage."
"Yes, my lady," Lucy replied, bowing slightly before giving Cassian a smile and a wink.
Cassian smiled back, watching her sway her hips as she left. Turning to Katherine, he said, "I'm not confused, to be exact, my lady, but isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
Katherine looked even more amused at his comment, thinking, 'Cumming on my butt is inappropriate too and he still done it, and he has already done these things, why the fuss now?.'
Yes, Cassian had already performed those massage techniques on her without realizing it. She replied, "What's inappropriate about them? They are just massage techniques, not anything scandalous. It would only be inappropriate if the person receiving the massage didn't consent. I'm fine with it if you want to perform them on me."
Cassian's shock was evident as he processed her words. The inappropriate things they were discussing weren't just touching her butt; they included fingering her insides, which was listed as a massage technique in the book.
Seeing that she didn't mind, Cassian realized he had nothing to lose here. Now he could finger her openly without concern. Controlling his smile, which was already growing wider, he bowed and said, "If it's alright with you, my lady, then I will perform those techniques."
"Good…" Katherine replied, her smile brightening. "So you've learned the techniques in both books already?"
"Yes, my lady," Cassian said as he moved to sit at her feet. "I've also made some progress with my previous techniques—you might notice a difference when I perform them now."
He was referring to the level up his massage skill had received after being combined with the other two.
As Cassian settled at her feet, he glanced up at Katherine, her amused expression encouraging him. "Show me your improved techniques," she said, her tone light and teasing.
Cassian nodded taking a moment to appreciate the softness of her feet, then gently grasped her ankle and began his work. Starting with a light stroke along the arch of her foot, he applied just the right amount of pressure, using his fingers to knead the tension away.