𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 | Childe x FEM Reader

𝟎𝟐 | the red string of death

Once I opened the door, I saw Acting Grand Master Jean sitting on her comfortable chair.

Even though she had loads of paperwork piled on her desk, everything in her office still managed to look neat and tidy.

"Ah, L/N. You came earlier than I expected. I apologize but before you sit down, do you mind looking for Kaeya Alberich and bring him in here too?"

Before I could say anything, I heard the door behind me open.

"You called for me, Master Jean?"

I pressed my lips together into a straight line before I said to him, "Didn't I tell you not to eavesdrop?"

He put his hand over his mouth and gave me an obviously teasing expression, "Is that so? It must've slipped my mind. Apologies, dear Y/N."

I exhaled through my nose and crossed my arms together.

Typical Kaeya.

Acting Grand Master Jean cleared her throat in order to gain both of our attention.

"Before you guys get into a fight, please sit down. I just fixed my office earlier and I don't plan to let anyone mess it up."

Kaeya and I quietly sat down on the seats right in front of Acting Grand Master Jean's desk.

"I'll get straight to the point; I need the both of you to investigate a top secret case."

"But Jean, we're students. Didn't one of our school rules state that students are prohibited from being assigned to a case?"

"Kaeya, don't drop the formaliti-"

"It's alright L/N. Since we're the only ones here, you can drop the formalities and just call me Jean. I'm aware that my title is quite the mouthful."

Jean placed her elbows on her desk and rested her chin on both of her hands.

"As for you question, another school rule stated that students may be allowed to be assigned to any type of case as long as it has the Grand Master's approval. I may be the Acting Grand Master as of now, but I'm pretty sure that I also have the authority and power to assign students to a case."

"If that's the situation, then why exactly do you want us to take on this top secret case? Wouldn't it be better if actual detectives investigate the matter instead of students?" I asked, my whole attention towards Jean and her words.

"This case involves a series of murders that are occurring in Liyue West High. It would've been preferable to send working detectives instead but they would just draw a lot of attention, considering that it is a school. So, since the both of you are 18 and look the part, we need you to temporarily disguise as new transferees to Liyue West High so that the investigation can go at least a little bit smoother."

Kaeya and I nodded; what Jean said totally made sense.

"Two student transferees will probably attract less attention than grown detectives. But even so, won't the timing be considered more than a coincidence by the killer? If the killer is aware that the police are investigating the murders, won't two mysterious transferees that suddenly appear be too suspicious?" I stated.

Jean sighed, "We also thought of that. But, it's the best option we have as of now. I'll share more specific details about this case."

She scanned through her massive load of paperwork and after a short while, she pulled out a few papers.

"The code name for this case is The Red String of Death. So far, there have been a total of four murders that transpired in Liyue West High. The news of the murders weren't shared to the students of the school, which is why they know nothing about the horrors that's recently going on. The reason as to why we call this case The Red String of Death is because there's one thing that the victims have in common; it's that all of the victims' finger has a red string tied around it."

Jean looked straight at me, "I'm sure that this sounds quite familiar to you because your mother also had a red string tied around her finger when she was found dead."

[ 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 ]

even though this chapter was quite short, i'll cut it here so that i can build tension and add some dramatic effect 🥱 i don't really have much to say so please just vote/like (idk what you call it) this chapter and move on to the next one.