Chapter 328
Chapter 328: Your Daughter Came to Find Me in the Middle of the Night, and You're Telling Me This Is a Misunderstanding?
Auréliane lay on the pristine velvet bed in her silver silk pajamas, feeling the softness beneath her as she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep no matter what she did.
She let her gaze follow the moonlight filtering through the curtains into her eyes.
After turning the matter over in her mind for a while, she finally sat up.
She gently pressed her palm to her forehead. Her head was full of nothing but Xiangyilan's words.
"That girl is not human."
To be honest, staying in an unfamiliar place and hearing such an unsettling piece of news left Auréliane feeling more than a little uneasy.
Because the "human" Xiangyilan had referred to was not a statement about species.
It was simply that the other party……
"I did not sense the characteristics of life from her."
At the time, Xiangyilan's eyes had been full of gravity as she spoke those words to Auréliane.
Every time she recalled the seriousness in Xiangyilan's tone and the weight in her bearing, a creeping sensation would crawl its way through Auréliane's chest.
Not human. No characteristics of life.
Wasn't that just a wandering soul!?
Auréliane clutched the blanket tight and reflexively threw herself back down, pulling it up over her head.
She had not a shred of doubt in the truth of what Xiangyilan had said.
Auréliane knew that Xiangyilan possessed an extraordinarily unique power—one that allowed her to sense whether living beings were present in her surroundings.
Even such peculiar entities as the Devotees were unable to escape her perception.
Yet she had not sensed the characteristics of a living being from that young woman in the black gown.
The only explanation was that the other party was something akin to a soul-like existence.
That would also explain why, when Auréliane turned around, the girl had vanished into thin air.
The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became.
Even if she were pitted against a Magical Creature dozens of times her size, Auréliane would never have been reduced to this state.
But something like that was different!
A person with no characteristics of life—wasn't that just a dead person!
Someone who had already died, and yet could still walk around?
How was that even possible?
But then, her thoughts drifted back to something else Xiangyilan had said.
"I cannot quite explain what it is, either."
She remembered that at the time, Xiangyilan had noticed she was frightened and taken the initiative to reassure her.
"Your Highness, please do not be afraid."
"If anything were to happen—"
"The Master is still here."
Auréliane lay on the bed, her gaze fixed on the ceiling.
She had to admit, that line of Xiangyilan's had worked remarkably well.
Just as she had said.
Master Viktor's strength was something that made it feel as though everything was already accounted for.
He always brought a sense of reassurance to everyone around him.
When she pictured Viktor's broad, composed figure, the knot of anxiety that had wound itself tight in Auréliane's chest gradually loosened.
Right, the Master……
She sat up straight.
What was the Master doing right now, she wondered?
Auréliane tilted her head up, looking at the moon now veiled behind dark clouds, a hint of curiosity rising in her chest.
She got out of bed, slipped on her shoes, and moved through the room with careful, deliberate steps.
As she passed the sofa, Auréliane deliberately slowed her pace, casting a glance to one side.
There, on the sofa beside the fireplace, Xiangyilan was curled up like a small cat, her whole body drawn into a tight ball.
Her tail curved over her feet, which she held in her arms.
Only the faint, steady sound of her breathing in sleep rose and fell in the quiet.
Auréliane did not wake her. Rising onto her toes, she moved to the door even more cat-like than Xiangyilan herself, silent and deliberate.
She carefully turned the door handle.
A soft click made Auréliane's heart jump.
She glanced back—Xiangyilan was still fast asleep. Only then did Auréliane breathe again.
She slipped out of the room and eased the door shut behind her.
Standing alone in the deserted corridor, with only the sound of her own footsteps on the warm red carpet, wrapped in the absolute stillness of the night.
The quiet around her was just unsettling enough to make her a little afraid.
What if she ran into that ghost again?
What if it tried to eat her?
The more Auréliane thought about it, the more frightened she became, and her footsteps picked up speed without her even noticing.
However, as she walked along, she suddenly realized.
She had no idea where she was going.
A place this enormous—she didn't know the way at all.
She wanted to find the Master's room, yet she had never once known where Viktor was actually staying.
So where exactly was she?
Auréliane's thoughts were a jumbled mess. She hadn't kept count of how many steps she'd gone up or down, nor how many corridors she'd passed through.
All she knew was that everything around her was very, very quiet.
Quiet. Quiet.
An absolute, all-encompassing quiet.
The flickering lights around her seemed to sway in rhythm with her rising unease, alternating between bright and dim.
All of it made her heart race. A suffocating feeling spread rapidly through her, and her feet stopped where they were, unable to move another step.
By the time the lights settled and stopped their flickering, Auréliane realized she had returned to a place she had been before.
The room with the placard on the door.
The placard still read:
No Entry. Leave Immediately!
Yet a peculiar sensation seemed to pull at her, coaxing her to ignore the warning and step inside.
But Auréliane was resolute. She knew perfectly well that would be wrong.
No. Absolutely not.
If she went in, it would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble.
Auréliane's thoughts gradually cleared. She stepped back cautiously, only to accidentally back into a vase in the corridor.
Before she could even reach out to catch it, a tall figure appeared before her in an instant, catching the toppling vase with a steady hand.
"Your Highness, are you all right?"
A somewhat familiar voice reached her. Auréliane shook her head instinctively.
What remarkable speed……
She hadn't even registered it happening.
So who was this?
Auréliane made out the figure before her—he was dressed in an elegant silk brocade robe, radiating a composed and steady bearing.
His brows and eyes carried an indescribable gravity and dignity.
Most notably, at his side rested a richly ornamented walking cane with a gemstone set into its tip.
That cane—she remembered it clearly.
The moment she saw it, Auréliane immediately recognized who stood before her.
"Count!?"
Laurien set the vase back on its stand, then picked up his cane and turned to look at Auréliane.
The moon that had been hidden behind dark clouds gradually emerged, and its pure silver light fell upon Laurien's pallid cheek.
The only vivid color about him were his eyes—blood-red like his daughter's—gleaming softly in the moonlight.
"My apologies, Your Highness."
Laurien began to explain.
"This is my Lady's room. There is a danger inside, so I personally requested that a powerful Mage erect a barrier around it."
"If you are a Mage, you would be quite easily drawn toward the Magic Power."
"But as you can see, almost no one living and working in this Manor is a Mage, so the others are generally unaffected."
Auréliane nodded with understanding.
So that was why she had been drawn here. That explained it.
But then, a new doubt surfaced in her mind.
This explanation sounded rather different from what the Maidservant had said earlier, didn't it?
Hadn't the Maidservant said that the Lady preferred peace and quiet, and that was why the sign had been put up to keep people out?
At this point, Count Laurien clearly had no desire to say more on the subject. His gaze settled on her as he remarked with perfect composure:
"Your Highness? Are you lost? I can take you back."
Auréliane shook her head gently, her tone measured. "I was actually looking for my Master's room."
"Ah, Council Member Clavena—I believe you know him."
Upon hearing this, Count Laurien gave a nod.
"Of course. It was I who arranged Council Member Clavena's room."
"I can take you there."
Auréliane nodded quickly, visibly relieved.
"Thank you very much, Count. You've been a tremendous help."
The 2 of them set off down the ornate corridor.
With the Count to guide her, Auréliane—who was eager to see Master Viktor as soon as possible—found the fear from moments ago beginning to ease.
They walked along the elegant red carpet, exchanging occasional words.
"Count, why were you out there just now?"
"It is like this."
Laurien answered with a somewhat awkward air.
"My daughter is rather mischievous and managed to slip away from the Maidservant keeping her company quite easily. If I cannot find her, I worry. After all, it would not do for her to cause any trouble for the guests."
His daughter?
So—the girl Xiangyilan had said had no characteristics of life?
The moment Auréliane heard this, a trace of alarm crossed her face once more.
Honestly speaking, she had absolutely no desire to encounter that ghost-like young woman again.
Now that she heard the Count's daughter had gone missing, Auréliane wanted to find Viktor all the more urgently.
As they walked along, Auréliane suddenly sensed a dense surge of Magic Power in the air.
Her body went still for a brief moment.
Someone had used Magic.
Connecting this to what Count Laurien had said earlier—
The only Mage at this estate, besides herself and Xiangyilan the Magic Apprentice, was Master Viktor.
Auréliane's heart jumped. She quickened her pace toward the source of the Magic Power, until her quick walk had turned into a jog.
Seeing her urgency, Laurien sped up as well and followed close behind.
"Your Highness, please slow down!"
He called out after her.
Auréliane ran ahead, rounding a corner of the corridor—
And the moment she turned it, she froze.
Before her stretched a long corridor blazing with fierce and terrifying flame.
The Master she had been longing to find was standing amidst an endless sea of fire.
The crimson firelight coiling around him had taken on the shape of serpents, endlessly circling him on all sides.
Scorching heat and searing air blended together as the flames burst into one vivid crimson blossom after another, swallowing the serpents within.
And across from him, pressed against the wall in fear, was a white-haired young woman with no visible legs.
Auréliane's jaw fell open in utter astonishment.
"Ma—"
Before she could even finish calling for Viktor, Count Laurien at her side surged forward in an instant.
The ornate cane in his hand snapped apart 3 centimeters from its tip, and the rest of the staff was flung aside.
A flash of silver cold light twisted rapidly behind the flames and came streaking toward the layers upon layers of encircling fire.
Laurien stepped straight through the flames, swinging his longsword with one hand and cleaving the fire apart.
His force blasted outward to both sides, carving out a vast open space around the white-haired young woman.
Count Laurien stood in the clearing, raising his longsword to hold the surrounding flames at bay, keeping them at a distance.
He stood there looking at Viktor, a few drops of cold sweat trailing down his temple, his expression grave as he spoke.
"Council Member Clavena."
"This may be a misunderstanding."