Surprising Clarification

DAMIEN faced a dead end. He already went to all the slave houses available in the Northern Empire. And Grace was nowhere to be found. He also had no clues of Grace's exact location except it was in a slave house. And he had no traces left to help in his finding.

The first snow in the year turned into a blizzard. It was hard to continue the search.

Damien looked at his knights. They were all exhausted because they just returned from the horror of war. Some were still traumatized. The bomb explosion and men's cries still ringing and screaming in their heads from time to time.

They could not continue this anymore. Thus, Damien blamed himself. A lot.

Was it too late to say sorry? To say that he regretted it going to the stupid war. And he wished he had not gone either at the beginning. What does it mean to win the war if Grace is not here with him to celebrate it?

At first, Damien was willing to join the war because he wanted to show off his credibility and potential as the next Duke. He knew Bridget hoped for him to die in the battle, so he gave his all to win it and went back home as fast as he could. Damien successfully ended the war in four months period that supposedly should end in a year. It was amazing!

The title of Demon Lord was at stake. And Gregory Family is the next in line for the seat of Demon Lord, which had been vacant for decades. Damien desperately needed that title to avenge his mother and sister. To punish his stepmother Bridget Gregory, Damien sacrificed his time on the battlefield to win the ultimate title in the whole underworld.

But now, everything seemed pointless. Worthless!

When the thought of giving up appeared on his mind, Damien suddenly heard silent footsteps coming towards him.

Damien knew whose footsteps that were. He spent his entire life identifying people's footsteps as a part of his training as an heir.

"What do you want, Marcus? Did Dakota send you here to mock at me?" asked Damien.

Marcus stopped approaching. How could Damien hear his steps? Marcus walked at a super slow pace to make sure no one could listen to his treads.

Dang!

Who was he trying to fool? That was Young Lord Damien of Gregory! Of course, he could hear them.

"My master sent me to tell you about Little Lady Grace's location," answered Marcus.

"I'm not interested in Dakota's child play, Marcus. You should tell her to stop acting like an older sister. Because I'm not fascinated at all."

"My master risked her life to tell you this, my Lord. You know what will the Duchess do to milady if she knew about this. My master betrayed her mother." Marcus tried to negotiate.

At last, Damien finally heard him. He had no choice, after all.

After knowing the exact location of the right slave house, Damien told his knights to go back to their homes. He only let two of his most trustful knights shadow him.

Before proceeding on his journey, Damien declaimed to Marcus. "Send regards to your master. Tell her I'm not obliged to her," said Damien. Arrogant.

___

YUKI stared at Grace. The silence was killing her mentally. So she took the initiative to break the silence wall between them.

"I'm Yuki. May I know your name?" Yuki asked gallantly.

Grace smirked. Who was stupid enough to make friends at the slave house? Did this woman even realize her situation?

"I lived on Kinkasan Island. With Grandma Ito, Yayoi-san, Sister Hiromi, Sister Kiko, and our five maids," explained Yuki, while introducing her adoptive family. The conversation continued one-sided with only Yuki that spoken.

At first, Grace was unresponsive. However, the name of the unfamiliar place mentioned by Yuki somehow attracted Grace to listen to her. Grace did not have many chances to leave her estate and visit other places. Hence, she was unfamiliar with the outside world. "Where is Kinkasan Island?"

"In Japan."

"Where is Japan? Is it a village?"

"No… it's a country. Obviously." Yuki was speechless. Japan is one of the best countries to visit among tourists. Everyone knows Japan. Come on!

"I may be a child. But I'm not stupid, miss! There are only five dominant nations in Underworld Realm; Southern Republic, Northern Empire, Eastern Territory, Western Kingdom, and Central Domain. And no country named Japan ever existed."

"Hold on! Did you say Underworld Realm?" Yuki gave an incredulous gasp.

"Yeah?"

"This…" Yuki paused, "… is not earth?"

"Huh?" Grace was wordless. What kind of question was that? Did this woman hit her head hard and lost her memory or what?

They went quiet after that. Grace kept her mouth shut. And Yuki was trying to fathom and understand her situation.

This place was not on earth. Therefore, she was not in Human Realm, but Underworld Realm! How could she have teleported here? Yuki was sure that she just fell into the lake behind Maruyama Manor. So, how can she be there?!

"I'm Grace," said Grace after a moment of taciturnity.

"What?" Yuki could not hear Grace properly. Her mind was somewhere else.

"You asked my name earlier. It's Grace."

"Grace," Yuki smiled. "What a beautiful name!"

And they stayed silent again.

"Err… where is your mother?" asked Yuki. Girl! Of all questions, you chose that?

It took some minutes before Grace answered. "She passed away. When I was five."

Spur-of-the-moment! Yuki felt like she stepped on a landmine.

"Oh… I'm sorry. How about your father?"

"Not sure. Don't care."

The conversation was awkward!

Then, Grace took her chance to ask further, "Are you a noble?"

Yuki shook her head. "Well, no. But I'm not sure of that."

"Vampire slaves have bruises all over their body. But yours is clean. You must be from noble birth," claimed Grace.

For a girl of a young age, Yuki admitted Grace was bright. She spoke clearly, and her confident eyes revealed her maturity, unlike her young age.

"I…" Yuki thought of her answer, "… am pretty normal. And I'm not a vampire, girl."

"You kept saying that." Grace was not satisfied. Yuki kept denying her vampirism.

Yuki held Grace's hand. For a moment, Grace could feel the warmth through her hand as her fingers touched Yuki's.

"I'm a human."

"WHAT?" shouted Grace. Her eyes blinked in doubts.

"Oh!" Yuki gently touched Grace's back. "Does your back still hurt?"

"Sorry?"

Yuki's question and statement quite bowled Grace over.

"You healed me?" asked Grace. She could not believe her ears. And Yuki nodded.

Grace SHOCKED!