The guard returned not long afterwards, his hurried footsteps echoing throughout the throne hall. His pupils were dilated, as if a scythe had been placed over his head, and if he arrived even a second late, that blade would fall upon him.
The moment he entered the throne hall, he immediately lowered his head, approaching the centre while keeping a respectful—and fearful—distance from the Scarlett Duchess.
Nivelle briefly glanced at the books, noting them inwardly before turning, her gaze completely fixed upon the scarlet-haired woman.
"Take them... and get lost."
Her voice echoed coldly throughout the hall.
Valentina didn’t even spare her a glance.
Without saying a word, she stepped down from her floating throne.
Her feet soundlessly touched the marble floor, her movements as graceful as ever, as though she had never caused the chaos within the castle just a few minutes earlier.
The guard flinched the moment her feet entered his vision. Lowering his head even further, he raised the books toward her with trembling hands.
Valentina quietly took them.
The guard instinctively lowered himself even further, preparing to offer a respectful bow, but before he could—
Valentina casually flicked her finger toward him.
BOOM—!!
The guard’s body instantly disappeared from his spot, and like a cannonball...
He shot across the throne hall, violently crashing into the distant wall.
The wall didn’t break.
But his body certainly did.
The pitiful, unfortunate guard lost consciousness once again without even knowing what had happened.
Valentina calmly lowered her hand.
"...Don’t ever try stopping me next time."
She muttered indifferently, and without sparing another glance at either the Duke or the Duchess, Valentina continued walking, stepping through the shattered entrance.
As she walked, the floating throne behind her slowly dissolved into shadows before the darkness quietly sank beneath her feet, along with the books in her hands.
Her shadow maid was doing all the work from the background after all~
Alaric and Nivelle briefly glanced at the slightly damaged wall for a moment—not even caring about the guard’s condition—before quickly shifting their attention back to the crimson-haired woman, who had stopped right before the pile of mangled guards lying near the entrance of the throne hall.
The very same guards who had been foolish enough to block her path earlier.
For a brief moment, she quietly looked at them.
Alaric’s eyes suddenly widened, and a bad feeling surfaced within his chest.
"Wai—"
But before he could even finish—
Valentina simply kicked the empty air before her, as though absentmindedly kicking away a pebble.
BOOOOOOOM—!!
The broken bodies of every guard lying nearby were violently launched into the air before their mangled forms slammed into the castle wall with enough force that—
CRACK—!!!
The thick Blackstone wall instantly shattered, a gigantic hole exploding outward as the grotesque bodies were sent flying into the distance.
Nivelle’s icy-blue eyes glowed with killing intent as she witnessed the madwoman’s final act.
Countless spikes of condensed frost erupted around her, shooting toward the scarlet-haired woman.
Before even a single spike could reach its target—
Valentina had already vanished.
"...Tsk."
Nivelle clenched her fists as the spikes pierced nothing but empty air.
Far below...
The vampire civilians wandering throughout the capital instinctively looked toward the castle, feeling the surrounding temperature suddenly plummet to freezing levels.
Yet...
None of them knew the true reason.
None of them realised that Valentina Scarlett had casually barged into the Everfrost Duchy...
Or that she had already left after turning the entire castle upside down.
Silence gradually returned to the throne hall.
Alaric remained seated upon his throne.
Rather than focusing on the destruction before him... he found himself far more interested in something else.
"...Should we send someone to look into her new disciple?"
The words sounded more as though Alaric was speaking to himself than to anyone else.
"...Don’t."
Nivelle calmly looked away, immediately dismissing the idea.
"That woman would kill anyone if we tried to spy on her."
There wasn’t the slightest hint of doubt in her voice.
She knew Valentina well enough.
’And I don’t want to see that woman’s face again for at least another few centuries.’
"Hm..."
Alaric quietly thought of another approach.
He was genuinely curious about who this new disciple was, someone who had seemingly managed to make even the strongest vampire move personally.
’Perhaps... I’ll have my daughter look into it instead.’ Nivelle quietly thought to herself.
Beside her, Alaric had reached a similar conclusion.
’Let’s send my son.’
***
"Lucian..."
"...Lucian...?"
"...Lucian!"
Lucian suddenly flinched as a sharp pinch shot through his arm, instantly pulling him away and bringing him back to reality.
Slowly...
He turned his head toward the source of the pinch.
The black-masked woman—Seraphina—sat beside him, staring directly at him, a confused expression hidden beneath the pitch-black mask.
"...What is it?" he asked absentmindedly.
Before Seraphina could answer—
"We have arrived, sir."
A calm voice quietly echoed from the front of the vehicle.
Lucian shifted his gaze toward the man in the white suit who had picked them up from the hotel.
But then, hearing those words, Lucian blinked.
"...We’ve already arrived? This quickly?" His brows furrowed in confusion.
The man in the white suit couldn’t help but smile faintly.
His gaze instinctively drifted toward the masked woman sitting beside Lucian, briefly wondering whether he should explain.
Before he could...
"Lucian... it’s been almost an hour."
Seraphina quietly muttered from beside him, causing Lucian’s crimson eyes to widen as he stared at her in complete disbelief.
An hour?
He leaned a little closer before lowering his voice, whispering softly to her in confusion.
"When? What happened?"
Seraphina simply looked at him for a long moment.
The white-suited man, though slightly amused by their conversation, simply shrugged before stepping out of the vehicle.
Seeing that, Lucian and Seraphina followed after him.
The moment Lucian stepped outside, his gaze was immediately drawn upward toward the towering skyscraper standing before him, rising above nearly every surrounding building.
Its exterior was almost entirely constructed from reflective glass, causing the afternoon sunlight to shimmer brilliantly across its surface.
The enormous emblem of the Awakened Association rested near the upper section of the building.
After briefly glancing at them, the white-suited man continued walking toward the entrance.
As they followed behind him...
Seraphina quietly spoke again, her voice soft and low enough that only Lucian could hear.
"You were completely still the entire time. I tried calling you several times, but... it felt like you were in your own world."
Her voice carried an unmistakable hint of worry.
Even her expression was filled with concern, though it remained completely hidden beneath the mask.
Lucian remained silent, a faint frown forming beneath his sunglasses.
Then, he quietly nodded.
He understood the reason...
Or rather...
He had a rough idea.
His mind still hadn’t fully escaped those memories, and fragments of his childhood continuously replayed inside his head, some of them refusing to leave no matter how much he wanted them to.
The white-suited man leading them had originally intended to properly introduce himself during the journey and exchange a few words.
But throughout the entire drive...
Lucian had remained almost completely motionless, absentmindedly staring into empty space.
Even when the man tried to start a conversation, there was little to no response.
Eventually...
He silently gave up.
His gaze had briefly shifted toward the masked woman sitting beside Lucian, but seeing the eerie darkness concealing her face and the ominous black attire she wore...
The man simply remained silent, feeling faintly unsettled by her presence.
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