Entering the open space of the Print Shop, Anastasia looked at one of her colleagues.
The beautiful woman sat on a chair and spoke with another man, this one being older than her. She wore a ring on her finger and had healthy and long flaxen hair, close to the color of her eyes.
She sat at a long table with multiple printing machines and papers, books, and journals. Her face looked to be ageless, one that could belong to a person of any age.
She was signing a bunch of documents as she discussed politics with the older gentleman who stood in front of her.
The name of this woman was Klara Pavlichenko. She was the wife of the owner of the Svobotsa Print Shop, Ivan Pavlichenko.
Anastasia and Klara were not very good friends for some reason; Klara found her to be slightly bratty, apparently. Which is why Anastasia decided to make her way through, place the journal as usual, and go back to the previous room with Kiril and Rodion.
Anastasia marched through the corridor, passing by Ivan's office and multiple rooms that served various functions.
The Wooden walls of the hallway contrasted with the grey ones from the front store. She could hear the talking noises from the people in the back store and was able to smell Kiril's smoke from where she was.
This guy cannot stop smoking, can he?
I've never seen him without a cigar in his hand!
Anastasia finally reached the back store and looked at her colleagues. She nodded towards one of the older folks in there and at a young girl, even younger than Anastasia, who couldn't even be considered an adult in most places around the continent of Sentria.
She walked forward, ready to leave the place, before Kiril made eye contact with her.
The man still wore his navy suit and his hair in a way that wasn't combed nor unkept, like a voluntarily messy hairstyle of some sort.
As they kept looking at each other, Kiril put the cigar to his mouth and nodded towards the door to his left, which led to another office other than Ivan's.
Anastasia looked at the wooden door, then back at Kiril, and walked towards the room, understanding the message that was supposed to go through.
As she walked forward, Kiril disposed of his cigar and followed after her, his hands in his pocket, which wasn't correct according to most etiquette rules.
Both of them entered a room very much similar to the office of the owner, Ivan, except that it contained almost no documents or decorations. It held at most a couple of printing machines and a few stacks of paper.
Behind her, she heard Kiril turning around and closing the door, locking it in the process. Anastasia turned around towards the man and waited for him to talk.
"We have an order." Kiril threw a roll of papers, like a journal, in the golden-eyed girl's hands.
If Kiril decided it was necessary to talk in private with the lady, and that it was also essential to lock the door, then this was no ordinary order. It meant this wasn't an order for the Svobotsa Print Shop, but an illegal request, part of Ivan's business.
Anastasia unrolled the papers and took a look at them, analyzing the details of the mission as she always did.
Black market, as usual.
Assassinating the leader of a small organization.
Name is unknown.
No picture.
Basically, no information whatsoever.
A mystical creature?
Oh! Now, that's interesting.
Anastasia smiled, reading the document, showing a bit of her inner madness.
"A mystical creature, how interesting. We don't see a lot of those anymore." Anastasia expressed her honest opinion on the matter.
She might've sounded even a bit like a madwoman, seeing her getting excited at a mission to kill someone.
She rolled back the papers and put them on the desk behind her.
"I was surprised, too. It's been a pretty long time since I had to hunt a creature. I also took the chance to research the organization and the target; apparently, they work under another organization. The guy we're looking for is a vampire, according to my sources."
"Oh?" Her sound was halfway between a question and laughter. Showing both doubt and amusement.
Everybody at the shop knew about Anastasia's penchant for violence and hunting, though they found it even weirder that she was disgusted by the deaths of people close to her, a true hypocrite!
"I've already started my research on the target, it doesn't seem like finding him will be any hard, he's pretty careless." Kiril made a slight chuckling noise.
Anastasia waited a bit in silence, making the situation pretty awkward.
"But?"
"There is no 'but', we both know it won't be an easy mission, it is a vampire after all." Kiril passed his hand through his messy hair as he spoke.
"So, when do we start?" Anastasia looked in the eyes of Kiril and smiled.
Kiril took some time to think before responding.
"We should wait for a big event, which would seem suspicious if an organization leader were to die randomly, especially since another organization backs him, this one way stronger than his."
"I see."
"So I'll contact you about the precise day and time of the mission."
Anastasia had a grin on her face.
"Sure." She walked towards the door and escaped before Kiril said anything else
"…"
The young lady sat in the upper living room of the Fomenko estate, sitting in front of an older man who seemed to express a sense of familiarity.
He had a thick mustache that still possessed some vigor despite his older age, and it seemed that life blessed him with a decent amount of hair for his age, far from long but a respectable length for a man of his age.
The man suddenly got on his knees and addressed Anastasia.
"Please go to the banquet!" The man seemed really desperate, almost praying to the lady.
Anastasia sighed as she observed the servant Manfredi in the corner of her eye, chuckling silently at the sight of the man.
"Father, you shouldn't embarrass yourself like this…" Anastasia had a nervous laugh.
Manfredi approached the low table and served some tea to the master of the house and his daughter.
"She is right, Dmitri. Imagine if the countess saw you like this. Haha!" Manfredi joked to Dmitri, reminding him of the countess, one of the most influential nobles in the capital.
Dmitri immediately stood back up and sat on the opposite side of his daughter, coughed, and excused himself for his act.
"I was already planning to participate anyway," Anastasia told her father after he was done making a fool of himself to both her and his friend.
Dmitri looked at his daughter in shock. "You were really? How fortunate I am that my eldest daughter is finally becoming a proper lady!" The count wiped fake tears in a mockery.
Anastasia glared violently at her father, making him apologize.
"Sorry, sorry. But you know how it is, right? People are actually wondering if you're dead at the banquets due to how little you come out in public."
I do, just not in banquets…
Meeting with young sons of nobles who only see me as a piece of meat.
I think I'll pass on the offer!
I also get kind of sick seeing such people enjoying their day as if people were not literally starving in the slums.
Father is actually one of the better nobles out there if you ask me. He donates a lot of his fortune to the poor, ever since mother died at least…
"Well, it will be a breath of fresh air to see you there!" The count started getting excited at the idea of going to the banquet with his daughter.
Anastasia sighed as she left the room.
Well, I suppose it won't be too bad.
It has been a long time indeed.
Anastasia smiled while going down the stairs.