Chapter 10: The Beckoning of the Viscount's Identity

In a swift moment, Emily's train of thought came rushing through thinking of all the possibilities of what that shadow might be. She stared at the hallway and when the darkness claimed the halls again, she found herself stepping towards where the silhouette stood earlier.

Like it's timed to perfection, a very loud strike of the thunder came through, lighting up the corridor once again. Emily has nearly reached the end of the silo and witnessed the reappearance of the shadow, and that's when she realized that…

"A goddamn statue of a knight. Of course…"

She let out a really loud exhale out of easement. Then, she looked to her left and is greeted by the hallway leading to the wing near the woods. She's about to tread through there, but a booming sound came about again. All the doors of the manor opened in unison, creating loud thuds that were enough to pierce her skull.

After the tumultuous scene, a maddening screech ensued, and then there was silence.

"What the fuck…" she whispers to herself, realizing that something's wrong just in time for the thunder to strike for the nth time and the lights to flicker for the first time.

Emily's eyes wandered about, but her feet remained glued to her spot. Her insides were swarming with unparalleled fear, and she can feel it claiming her entire body, goosebumps appearing all over.

Tricks played in her mind, and her eyes picked up every single detail whenever the light came back. Still, she didn't let this distract her and crafted a new plan.

Someone must be messing with her, so vying for the key isn't an option. It just so happened that whoever this prankster is decided to scare her by opening all the doors, and the loud screech earlier was obviously created by the main hatch, which meant that the enormous wooden entrance, too, was opened.

Without wasting a single second, Emily ran back. She treads the hallway like her life depended on it, uncaring for her loud, eccentric footsteps. But neither this went according to her plan. A couple of dominant stomping followed through, as if someone was echoing her every movement. Nonetheless, she refused to look back and gunned for the grand staircase.

From there, she saw the main entrance, and indeed, it was opened wide for the world to see.

Running down the staircase, her world felt like it moved slowly. The blinding flickering of the lights, blood-curdling screams of the storm, and bloody patch waiting by the desuetude brought her baby blonde hair to an acute stir. She ignored the sound of someone following her with her eyes pinned on her only way out.

"Harriet..." A brief and subtle voice emanated behind her, but she gave no damn and kept running instead. She reached the marble floor and her steps grew even more profound, her eyes fixated ahead. When she was about to reach the door leading to the wide array of grassland before the gate leading to the streets, however, something big dropped from the roof.

"Ahhh!" Emily screamed, falling to her knees out of shock. She froze in place, her jaw dropped as she tries to pull herself back. She wanted to say something, curse even, but the extreme terror she felt took over. Even though Lady Victoria has made Emily's stay here a living nightmare, she'd never wish death upon anyone.

So, seeing the thin castrated of Victoria's body, as if everything inside her was extracted using some crafted tools, made Emily's mind crazed to insanity. "N-no…" she repeatedly says to herself. "This isn't real…"

Emily's tears dripped, and then she began screaming together with the deafening thunder, but it was quickly shut down by a loud thud coming behind the corpse. Right in front of her, a man appeared to land from the roof of the manor.

"What's not real?" A cold voice blared in her ears, and she immediately knew who it was despite the dark, foggy night covering the man. Nonetheless, the aura he had now was nowhere near the same he presented to the banquet earlier. His tone, stance, and words felt eerily different. He stepped closer and the thunder came once more, lighting up the place, amping up the patters of the rain, and making the man's face gleam.

So, when Emily looked up, she was greeted by the half-naked Viscount with raging red pupils, pale veiny skin, and bloody extracted fangs. In a flash of an eye, a loud bang bore her mind. Heaps of memories she didn't know where came from pestered her mind. In the end, she was hit by an extremely painful headache and eventually, her blurry gaze died down. Emily fell on the marbled floor, in between the frames leading outside the manor and inside the creepy home.

She lost consciousness, and Clyde was left with her passed-out body to deal with.

He eyed Emily with a dead expression, Heaving, he felt his blood boiling.

Then, he kneeled to examine her face, hoping for his gamble to pay off.

Emily's scent, eyes, and body… he can't be mistaken.

…

December 22, 1805

"Ma… ma!" the young lady repeated. She cooes and chuckles as she playfully grabs the necklace she's wearing. Lawrence watched in awe, the rage he felt towards the royals momentarily ditching him, leaving himself open for a short while.

Just then, the subtle whoosh of a sonic boom flew past his ears, shooting the trunk of the tree behind him. His eyes widened and his tranquility was brought to a halt, eyeing the wide-eyed baby once again. Lawrence clenched his jaw as he realized that his weak mind has been boggled by the mere thought of her. He was reminded of the reason why he was furious and muttered, "If I were to die here, then I'll take you with me."

However, before he could act, two alloy leads came piercing his arm, making him drop the kid from heights comparable to a seven-story building. His eyes widened, seeing the toddler slowly descending to the hard pile of gravel under the sequoia tree he's standing atop. He tried to grab her, but he could only take the necklace she was wearing and nothing more.

Lawrence's life flashed before his eyes, but a glimmer of relief won through when the man who shot him came running at full speed to catch the little baby. The ample time for him to decide whether to flee or take the kid back blasted him with an incomparable dilemma.

He was about to descend to snatch the kid back when he felt a rush of excruciating pain numbing his arm. In this state, he's closer to losing. So, he eyed the following man for the last time. However, before the latter could pull the trigger, Lawrence vanished into thin air.

The darkness of the night enveloped the woods once more; croaking creatures heightening their mating call as Lawrence's presence dissipates.

The Shacklehook Brotherhood lost him once again. Several marching footsteps came running in the direction of their second leader. He found himself looking back at the squad he commands.

One of them came forward with a horrified look. He eyed the kid the former was holding for dear life. "Brother George, is that…"

George held the kid firmly, showing her face to his mates. "It's the queen…" he said in precision, no signs of doubt can be felt within his words.

"Where's the vampire?!" A loud and assertive voice rang in their ears as the main leader came rushing forward with furious eyes. "What are you doing all piled up in one spot?! You should be running after him!" he yelled while George had his back turned against him.

The cranky man heaved, just before his younger brother faced him with a hesitant countenance.

"Benjamin… It's the heir to the throne," he said calmly. Surprised and in severe disbelief, Benjamin stepped out of his high horse and walked toward his younger brother. He scrutinizes the young child, further confirming his brother's claim.

The jade eyes that shine brightly, the porcelain skin, and the glow one would only see within those with royal blood came about his sight.

"Leave it."