Tracing traces (4)

"The old master…." 

"Yes, just last week, your brother, the one who just turned, sought human blood after ritual night and got my daughter killed." 

"But a few hours later, he died. He turned into stone and crumbled into dust after stepping inside the front porch. The house was in complete shock. The next morning, the police found my daughter's body. The Master of the Manor remembered she was a half breed. He went into the Madam's hospital to check something….." 

"And he - he instructed the Madam to invite Frederick's daughter here without my knowledge. I - I was.. Why didn't I recognize her? I should have known… I - I failed…" 

The old butler's voice cracked as he sobbed in despair. His wrinkled face was immediately wet with tears. Kevin was pulled into a tight hug that he could barely breathe. 

"Meoww!" Kevin flung his meat paw pad around to push the old butler's arms but he didn't notice. The sobs full of anguish made Kevin hesitate to scratch the old butler. 

So despite being almost squashed into a flattened kitty, Kevin just meow meow softly.

The old butler regained his senses and he loosened his hold. 

"Young Master, please come." He glanced at the door with vigilance before he pulled Lawrence. 

He went straight into the shelves and tapped the top shelf using his index finger. Then a circular metal coin appeared in that spot with an inverted H. 

The old butler twisted it back to its original position and the shelves parted into two. A small hole in the ground opened up with a set of small wooden stairs leading underground.

"Meowr!"

Ho ho this is nice. Kevin energetically jumped down. He can smell the unique scent coming from that young man in the living room. 

Didn't the old butler just say it? The brother who turned into a vampire recently is dead. Then why are Lawrence's two brothers in the living room if one of them should be dead?

Kevin knowingly glanced at the old butler's dazed eyes. 

Good. Good. He wasn't in his right state of mind now. 

Kevin faced straight ahead with his tail flicking from side to side. 

Walking right straight to the danger amounts to nothing, especially when he has this man on his side.. Despite how his smart protagonist looks now, he was still one of the top of his team.

Kevin was sure his protagonist already noticed the discrepancy of the old butler's actions.

Kevin flicked his tail in a beautiful arc before looking up. The next second, a black shadow suddenly fell in front of him. 

Then two pairs of hands caught him and raised him from the ground. 

"Meow, meow." 

"Nala," Lawrence's smooth voice echoed in the quiet underground.

"Naughty little kitty, what if you hurt yourself?" Lawrence adjusted Nala in his arms to make it easier for him to carry.

"This way." The old butler took a lamp from the side and lit the candle inside with a match. 

Lawrence and Kevin observed him quietly as he naturally led the way.

"The Master of the Manor... can't allow him to touch you... He will surely do something very dangerous to you. No, I must protect you. In this family, it's only you who haven't turned yet."

"You will be next when you turn eighteen. And I must not allow that.." 

In the entire dark corridor, the butler keep mumbling to himself. His pace of walking is incredibly stiff and odd. Lawrence cleverly created a gap between them. The butler's expression reflected in the lamp he was holding is deathly pale and sweaty.

His eyes were unsettled, always looking from side to side with his teeth slightly chattering and eyes nervously wide open. 

Lawrence's arms were wrapped around Kevin's belly protectively. His slow and steady walking despite the dark undergound was incredibly calm and quiet. But Kevin knew that Lawrence is ready to take action to whatever surprise will come about. His tense jaw and vigilant eyes were evident in his indifferent expression.

The old butler continued to mutter to himself until they reached the end of the tunnel. There was a small wooden door locked by heavy metal chain.

The old butler took something from his pocket, it was a set of keys for the chains. He hung the lamp at the side.

As he step forward near the door, his movements became too abnormal. His left hand reached out to get the chains unlocked but his right hand grabbed it and tightened his grip around it.

The old butler's whole body was too stiff and he was trembling all over. It was like he was fighting against himself.

"Can't... Must not. Need to get out of here."

The old butler was obviously fighting against himself.

Despite his efforts to fight his limbs, he cannot stop it. He still unlocked the chains and open the door.

The room inside is spacious but dim. It was almost empty inside. When the old butler take his first step inside, torches lining up the walls making an arc were lit one after another.

The drawings in the walls, ceiling and the floor were then revealed. It was written by blood and is drawn by hand.

At the center, there is a long wooden table with chains on each side. Dried blood loitered the surface of the table and the ground.

It was such a grotesque scene.

Lawrence just take all this calmly. There was not a slightest bit of reaction on his face. While the small fluffy kitty in his arms had his eyes narrowed.

Hmm that ritual drawings are really the exact replica Kevin had drawn in his unfinished drafts. This world is such a master in recreating plotlines and filling in the holes in the plot.

At the far end of the long table, a silhoutte of a young man was seen standing with his back on them.

The old butler slacken on the sight of him. And even Lawrence can feel the intense pressure coming from this young man.