Third-person point of view:
Many pairs of black formal shoes echoed through the corridors of the Edevane mansion. Agitated footsteps could be heard everywhere in the mansion. In all this commotion, the figure of a blonde-haired girl ran with many maids. In their hands were many worn or dusty parchments and old books.
The blonde girl wore a pile that almost blocked her vision, trying not to be intimidated by the older, more experienced maids. Unlike the others, she had slightly arched light brows, and her generally upright posture wavered slightly, though this could have been due to the weight of the books.
Aria's eyes wandered worriedly through the mansion's corridors, pausing from time to time to gaze at the beautiful paintings that moved due to magic. Skimming nervously through the corridors, her gaze was drawn to a window where the knights were boarding the Edevane airship in platoons. It was almost as if they were preparing for war. Or perhaps they were.
'Master, young lady'.
She had already heard about it, or rather, everyone in the mansion was aware of the disaster. The city was still in the dark, believing it was a simple altercation gone wrong. Lilia had no intention of explaining anything either, because if they found out what had happened, many would be concerned about their future; their future lord had vanished and their young lady was in danger. Aria, on the other hand, was confident that they would not find out. After all, Lilia had warned that if anyone spoke up, she would kill them and their entire family. Aria shuddered as she remembered Lilia's cold eyes flashing as she said it.
Aria still felt guilty about what had happened. She had noticed a shift in her master; he was growing more distant, and his confident smile would vanish as if it were an illusion. Furthermore, he begun taking nightly walks, but she knew it wasn't just to look at the stars because Nathaniel's expression when he returned from those walks was one of pure frustration.
She was tempted to tell Lady Lilia, but she held back because she was Nathaniel's personal maid and revealing her master's secrets went against everything ma'am Ruth had taught her. But Aria had made a mistake. While her devotion was admirable, she had overlooked one crucial fact: her master was still very young.
Aria had never felt that way about him; Nathaniel seemed more mature and intelligent for his age. Throughout their relationship, she couldn't help but admire and respect him for who he was. So refined and mature. Even when Aria had math lessons (as was required to be a good maid and personal assistant), Nathaniel would secretly assist her by solving the problems she had difficulty solving as if they were nothing. He even held his own against Novem's torturous training. Naturally, she had begun to regard him as an almost unattainable figure; smart, strong, and never making a mistake.Which was a mistake, Nathaniel was a human, and a very young one as far as she knew. Maybe she had made a mistake in thinking he didn't need help, that he could do everything on his own.
She had promised herself that she would be the best personal maid after noticing that she had the best master. However, everything is in jeopardy right now. Once again, the people she cared about were in danger. Aria was terrified that her world would crumble at any moment.
Aria's distant, regretful gaze drifted down to the books in her hand, as if she was trying to distract herself from her own fear by doing something else. She skimmed the title quickly. "biography of Alucard Edevane,"
Most of the books contained biographies of other Edevane family heads. They all had one thing in common; they had awakened their bloodline.
The army of stern-faced maids turned a corner, almost completely synchronized if it weren't for Aria, who was too busy reading the titles of the books to notice. They were all making their way to the emergency room. The maids' destination was indicated by two guards stationed on either side of a doorway.
When the knights saw the approaching maids, they clicked their heels and stepped to the side. They pushed the black door open with their armored arms, allowing Aria and company to pass through.
When the doors were opened, they noticed that the room was nearly empty. Some nurses were transporting medical supplies to another room. Aria was aware that the injured shadow servants were being treated in the medical room across the hall, but she couldn't help but be concerned for them if even the nurses were looting medical supplies such as potions and such from other medical rooms.
Aria and the others looked around the room, finally settling on a bed where several people were standing. Lilia, who was sitting in a chair and observing everything intently, appeared irritated. The maids started walking after observing their target and swallowing saliva.
A group of healers had gathered around a bed. Their outfits were more ostentatious, with blue crosses and gold arrangements. Their solemn expressions and almost white hair reflected their experience. They were staring at a black-haired girl who was sleeping.
When they all approached Lilia, she pointed to a nearby table without even looking them in the eyes. The maids took note of her request and quickly placed the books on the table. They all began to leave the room, sensing the matriarch's gloomy mood. However Aria, on the other hand, remained stationary.
Despite the glum expressions on her coworkers' faces, a particularly gentle maid whispered to her, "Let's go, Aria." But when the girl didn't move, she sighed and walked away.
Aria remained immobile in the room, her gaze drifting between sleeping Charlotte and listless Lilia, nervousness weaving within her with each passing second. Lilia's coldness was especially excruciating for her.
Aria bowed after deciding she couldn't wait any longer. "I'm sorry, Lady Lilia." Aria's voice was tinted with remorse. "I-I knew something was wrong, but…"
"Silence." Lilia ordered. Her crimson gaze shifted away from Charlotte, scanning Aria, who trembled in her presence. Despite Aria's expectation of a harsh reprimand, "It wasn't your fault, don't apologize." A calm voice reached her ears.
"But…I noticed his actions a-and"
However, Aria was interrupted once more. "You are nothing more than a maid who is completely devoted to her master. Although I would have preferred that you tell me about his behavior, that would be contrary to the purpose of a personal maid." Lilia sighed, realizing the girl was feeling more remorse than she should. "You are not at fault."
'I am the only one at fault.' Lilia thought. 'This occurred out of fear that they would despise me. 'If I had been stricter…'
Lilia remembered her mother's treatment of her. A tough, strict mother who never showed her any affection. Lilia even believed her mother despised her. In those days, Lilia craved freedom the most. Her lessons were meticulously timed, as were her meals; even her walks and tea breaks were meticulously planned. Everything to appear proper and prissy. Regardless of the little freedom she had, she was safe and became an exemplary noblewoman, though she wasn't sure if that was all right.
Lilia didn't want that to happen to her children. She thought she had completely lost her affection for both of them since her husband died, and they had begun to act like mischievous children, but she didn't know what to do. She desired to be a loving mother and to provide for her children what she lacked. She didn't want Charlotte to be just a trophy wife to acquire links with another noble house, and she didn't want Nathaniel to be a selfish two-faced aristocrat. That's why she was overjoyed when they decided change and she thought that a little freedom wouldn't hurt.
She assumed that because no shadow servant had said anything, everything was fine and that the children were simply strolling around the outskirts of the mansion, as they had told her when they were having dinner together. But she was surprised that Nate and Charlotte had won Novem's loyalty so quickly, or that they had cajoled her into silence. And, if Lilia was being honest, she believed that if anything remotely dangerous happened, she would be able to get there quickly and save them. Her judgment was clouded by her lack of defeats.
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She was strong and believed that if something happened, she could easily fly and save her children, but there were many people who were just as strong or stronger than her. There were also legendary artifacts that would put even her in a pickle. Lilia had no choice but to blame herself. If something happened to Nate, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself, and she wasn't sure she could contain her rage.
Perhaps she should have been tougher, but for someone who had never been taught how to properly raise a child, she only knew freedom and incarceration, and she decided to leave her children with the necessary protections but with the freedom she did not have until she was an adult.
Her fist clenched in remorse, and the pain from her nails digging into her skin felt like a light punishment she was expecting. Lilia placed too much trust in the shadow servants. While they were ridiculously loyal servants, their power came not from brute force, but from stealth. And without their main power, the shadow dimension, they were merely glorified elite soldiers.
'I should have foreseen it.' Lilia sank into the uncertainty and fear she was experiencing on the inside. Her only solace was Novem, her son's loyal and powerful servant.
"I'm still sorry…" Aria muttered something else under her breath.
Lilia sighed slightly as she noticed the girl, who appeared to be concerned about her children. Lilia couldn't do anything to make Aria feel better, so she did the only thing she could think of. "Why don't you help me look for facts about the bloodline?" She proposed. "The specialist is on his way, but I can't rest easy unless I conduct my own investigation."
Aria's face brightened slightly, but there was also a hesitant expression on her face. "E-Ehm…"
Lilia said exactly what Aria desired to hear. "I'm in charge of looking for Nate." She declared, smiling, that she was well aware of the girl's thoughts.
Aria breathed a sigh of relief, her petite frame suddenly more relaxed than before. "What should I be looking for, Lady Lilia?"
"Anything that will be useful." Lilia nodded as she pointed to the books. "Our bloodline has been dormant for centuries, and it has never been awakened by someone so young."
Aria walked over to the stack of books. She opened the first page of the first book she picked up, a book with a rather worn cover, and read the first few lines. "Alucard Edevane, the most powerful heir of the primordial vampire bloodline."
(***)
Charlotte's point of view:
I was terrified by the dark and cold semi-consciousness. It was like being trapped in a dream with no way out. Conscious but unable to awaken. I had no idea how long I had been in this state, but I felt alone and terrified. But just when I thought this feeling would last forever, I snapped back to reality
My hands clenched, looking for solace in the soft, warm sheet beneath me. With a gasp for air, my upper body rose. Cold sweat beaded on my brow, and my damp hair made me feel hot and uncomfortable. I opened my eyes drowsily, a heaviness in my chest telling me I should stay asleep, but the warm sunlight streaming through the window told me I should get up.
My eyes adapted to the sun's irregular rays streaming through the window. Even though my alarm clock hadn't gone off, I instinctively placed my right hand on the black wooden cabinet and groped for it. Touching the button to turn it off, it was all daily routine. Squinting and gazing around, I sighed with relief as I recognized the warm and comfortable room I was in.
The room had four white walls and a window to the left of the bed that let in light through light blue translucent curtains. It was furnished with black furniture and an old television. The familiarity of the room in our house was soothing.
"It was only a dream." The voice I remembered, silky but sleepy, was like music to my ears.
I felt some regret, and there was still an uneasy feeling, so I uttered a few shaky words with what little willpower I had left. "Syst-"
The creak of the room's door, however, cut me off before I could say the words I felt I had repeated many times before in the apparent dream. The neatly finished black door revealed a male figure with his formal shoes treading on our room's gray carpet. I forced a hard swallow. He was a tall and handsome man dressed formally, but he was also quite familiar.
I rubbed my eyes with both hands, too shocked to notice that something important was missing from my right hand. "Big brother?" My voice was hesitant.
The man approached me, or rather, my big brother, but already older version of how I remembered him approached me. I noticed his cropped black hair combed to one side as he approached, his blue eyes scanned me with curiosity. His athletic figure approaching me confidently made me feel nervous.
He sat on the bed, an amused smile on his face as he watched me shift uncomfortably in my position. He placed his white fingers on my brow and I felt his warm touch. "You're not feverish." Big Brother nodded, but then his hand slid down, tracing a path from my brow to my right cheek, which he gently stroked.
His touch sent shivers down my spine, and my brain shut down. "Big brother?" I inquired once more, like a broken record, repeating the same sentence.
When I responded, he let out a melodious laugh, revealing his white teeth. "Yes, yes." His face drew closer to mine, his sharp eyes shining with unrepressed love at me. "You haven't called me that in a long time." He commented.
As his face came dangerously close to mine, I froze in place, and a pleasant smell hit my nose as his body moved closer to mine. Was this really going on? Did my repeated courtship attempts finally pay off? Or did I die and this was heaven? My heart skipped a beat, and I closed my eyes expectantly, hoping for the contact I craved.
I couldn't help but think as I waited for the long-awaited contact. 'Whatever it is, I hope it's real!'