Sin Rouge was unusually calm that evening.
Too calm.
It was the kind of silence that only appeared when everyone knew something important…
and none of them wanted to be the first to tell their boss.
Malerion recognized that silence instantly.
He didn't like it.
He sat in his half-floor office, reviewing reports about Glassjaw Syndicate movements, when the door opened just enough for someone to slip through.
Liza entered without a word.
That alone was suspicious.
Liza only came in silence when the problem was strange, not dangerous.
And when she hesitated even a little before speaking… the issue was rarely small.
She leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
"Got a minute?"
Malerion looked up from the documents.
You usually don't ask.
"That's because I usually don't need to."
He closed the folder.
Talk.
Liza's expression shifted the smallest flicker of uncertainty.
"You were at Neon Harem last night."
Yes.
"And you saw her performance."
Malerion's eyes narrowed.
Verosika Mayday. I did.
Liza nodded once.
"Well… after you left… she started asking questions."
That was something Malerion wasn't prepared for.
Not because it was dangerous.
But because it shouldn't have happened this early.
What kind of questions? he asked carefully.
Liza gave a half-smile, half-grimace.
"About you. Your appearance. posture. Who you are. Where you came from. Whether you're 'the type of demon who doesn't react to an audience.'"
Malerion's eyebrow twitched.
Alastor's voice buzzed in his mind, delighted:
"So she noticed you.
How wonderfully fast…"
Liza continued:
"She went to the tech crew, our bartender, security, even her manager. Tried to dig up anything she could.
Nobody had answers.
That… annoyed her."
Malerion tilted his head slightly.
Did anyone on our end leave a trace? Anything that might've pointed her toward us?"
"No. Nothing."
Liza brushed hair off her shoulder.
"She normally ignores people staring at her. But you… no."
This wasn't attraction.
Not fear
fascination.
It was instinct.
Rafe know about this?
Malerion asked.
"Oh, he knows."
She sighed.
"He heard from the club staff that she kept asking questions even after closing.
And she didn't like that there were no answers."
Malerion looked off to the side, thinking.
This could become troublesome.
Not because Verosika posed a threat not in her current stage, not with her current reach.
But because genuine curiosity was far more dangerous than suspicion.
Curiosity didn't go away chased and found.
Liza tilted her head.
"So? Want us to discourage her? Blur the trail? Make her lose interest?"
Malerion's gaze sharpened.
No.
She blinked.
"No?"
Malerion paused before speaking.
Curiosity is safer than suspicion.
If her instincts landed on me, let it stay curiosity nothing more.
He added:
"And honestly… you wouldn't be able to push her away. To much trouble.
Liza snorted.
She turned to leave then stopped in the doorway.
"One more thing."
Malerion glanced at her.
"Rafe said the last thing he heard from the Neon Harem staff was her saying.
Liza mimicked her tone, a dramatic succubus drawl:
'If I don't know who he is… I'll find out.
Hell isn't that big.'
Malerion didn't respond.
Alastor laughed softly in his mind.
"Oh, she's chasing you and doesn't even know why.
This is how legends begin, Malerion…"
Malerion exhaled slowly.
Don't let her find too much.
Liza smiled faintly.
"I'll try. But… some demons are just naturally good at finding trouble."
I know.
"And her?"
Malerion looked out the window.
She's naturally good at being trouble.
Liza left, closing the door behind her.
Silence returned.
Malerion rested his hand on the desk, staring at the dim glow of the district outside.
Verosika Mayday was asking about him.
Which meant only one thing:
Their stories had begun brushing against each other much sooner than planned.
Too soon naturally.… dangerously.
Alastor whispered:
"You can't escape people who truly see you, even when they shouldn't."
And Malerion replied quietly:
I know.
But for the first time in a long while…
he wasn't sure if that was a good thing.