Sachiko smiled as she let Josefine into the little covered patio where she had a table and a pair of chairs set up. Josefine glanced at the half-covered painting of Sachiko's boyfriend and assumed he was still alive based on the lack of flowers.
"You wanted to know more about my paintings?" Josefine nodded as they both took a seat at the table where a steaming pot of tea waited.
"Specifically those missing persons portraits, I have a friend who runs a gallery and I think he'd be interested." It was a lie, but it'd gotten Joesefine in the door.
"Ah, the Hana no Byouki series."
"Hana no Byouki?"
"It means 'Flower Disease' because they are choking on roses, see?" Josefine lifted her cup and tilted her head as if to concede that. She made as if taking a sip, but didn't let the liquid touch her lips yet; better not to risk it.
"They look like a lot of love went into them," she gestured toward the half-covered painting and Sachiko glanced that way briefly before standing and moving to cover the rest of the painting.
Wolf snickered as Josefine took the moment to spike her tea, leaned back and the picture of innocence by the time Sachiko came back.
"Do you love? Can you feel emotion that strong?" For a split second, Emilius Solomon came to mind—her closest and most trusted friend—but she shook the thought away.
"If I ever had a heart, I think I must've killed it a long time ago…" Josefine murmured the words as Sachiko took a sip of her spiked tea, "after I met Wolf maybe, to make room for another monster." She was watching her watch as Sachiko set the cup down, timing how fast the poison would kill her. "I'm not much of a painter, but I'll do my best with your portrait."
Fifteen minutes it took for Sachiko to convulse and froth and finally die.
Josefine smiled a very real smile.