The entire hallway was empty when Julien stepped out of the master bedroom.
It was just as Mario had suggested. He had insisted on clearing the entire area, just in case the incredibly moody him suddenly changed his mind.
Julien didn't mind the silence. In fact, it gave him a momentary false impression of peace, something that he knew well could never afford to have in his entire life.
He walked down the spiral stairs and turned right when suddenly, his footsteps paused.
Tap.
The tip of his ears sharpened. He seemed to have heard someone moving from the distance away.
His heartbeat quickened and instinctively, he took a sharp turn and headed to the opposite direction, leading himself to the mansion's famed garden of roses.
It was only after Julien left the enclosed place did his breathing return to normal.
In fact, it was not exactly anxiety that was riddling him but something far more dangerous—it's his lust for blood.
They were just like demon spawns, strumming the strings of his self control as they brought up the flames of his hidden fury.
Julien's jaw tightened. The voices in his head struck him like a tide, the laughter of their joy and cries of their sorrows dancing together as if they were forever in pairs.
This was why he never enjoyed the presence of humans.
His vision started to morph, the laughing faces surrounding him turning into hideous demons with sharp teeth and twisted eyes.
Julien couldn't stop his anger from rising altogether. He suddenly felt the urge to kill them all—to bask in blood, in glory, in satisfaction.
It was as they said. He was sick to the bones, simply beyond salvageable. And this just gave them another good reason to confine him behind the walls.
Julien had waited for years for the opportunity to break free. The marriage had to be done no matter what, for it was the only key for him to stand up against them.
But before that all, he needed a wife.
A decent wife. Julien sighed.
He tilted his chin upwards, glaring at the sky that was simply too bright for his liking. He was undeniably in a foul mood, and the rest of the world should be no better.
Why was it so hard just to find one? He hadn't asked for much, just one living female who could survive long enough till the wedding ceremony was completed.
Julien didn't mind their status, what more of their looks. For however beautiful they looked, everyone was no different in his eyes, no better than monkeys.
'Monkeys, huh.'
The ridiculous thought had just crossed his mind, when a dark shadow suddenly loomed over him and hit him like a shooting star.
…
Ruby had expected the fall to be harsh. She thought that she'd at least break a bone or two. And yet, what received her was instead a boney human pillow.
Good News, she could keep her bones intact. Bad news, she had just crushed another person's bones instead.
The body beneath her groaned, and she immediately played dead, letting her body roll down the man's without much resistance upon the push.
"Ughh… Who the hell are you?"
Ruby held her breath. The man's tone was both irritated and threatening. And Ruby, being the subject of that horrible temper, couldn't help but stiffen.
She didn't dare to move, not even an inch. How could she? When she had just been caught red-handed from trespassing a person's house, what more of a royalty's territory.
'This isn't good.' Ruby thought to herself.
She may not have the brightest mind, but she at least knew that she had just landed herself in a huge trouble.
What should she do? Run? Or, continue to play dead?
No matter how allergic they were to beggars like her, they should not be so cruel as to throw away a person's unconscious body to the streets, right???
She needed to stay for as long as she could and find the right person to talk to about her circumstances. Definitely not the guards though—someone of a higher standing, someone with some say in the house.
'Yes, fainting is undoubtedly the best idea here.'
Ruby had just finalized her decision, preparing to roll her eyes backward when she heard the sound of clinking guns against her ears. She immediately dropped the stupid idea.
"Good Sir, please forgive this ignorant one."
Ruby was quick with her feet and mind. She crawled to her knees and bowed to Heaven and Earth with her eyes squeezed shut, forehead against the soil ground.
"..."
She waited. Not a reply. Not even a croak of a bored little frog.
Ruby had only dared to raise her head and open her eyes after maintaining the position for a little too long that her neck started to ache.
Oh. Realization struck her like thunder.
There's only empty air. She got the direction wrong.
Ruby bit her lips, withstanding the awkward silence.
"Good Sir, I'm wrong. I won't repeat this again. Please forgive me–"
She quickly fixed her position and twisted her waist, and that's the only thing needed for her to be stunned silly once more.
Ruby's eyes widened in fright. This time, she thought that she might as well faint for real.
At the moment, pointed towards her were dozens of rifles and pistols, their wielders of various professions from cooks, gardeners, and even handmaidens—each wearing a ghost-like white mask that hid the entirety of their expressions.
And amongst them all was the only sore thumb who had lost his mask somewhere, a malnourished-looking thin man with cold black eyes that reflected no light and pale white skin that had never been kissed by the sun.
The vampire-like man hadn't said a thing and yet, Ruby could sense it from miles away.
That man… seemed so frail. She should be able to take him down in the count of five, no–three seconds, but she shouldn't be thinking about that now.
Who was he? Looking as he was the only one that was unlike the others, he must be someone of a certain standing in this house.
Ruby's eyes instantly brightened. Here's her chance!
She unconsciously took a step forward, but was quickly discouraged at the simultaneous sounds of loading ammos.
Click! Click! Click!
One more bold movement, and she would be executed on the spot. Ruby's heartbeat quickened.
"You hadn't answered my question. Who are you?"
She heard the sickly man ask.
Ruby fidgeted in her position, not knowing what to say.
Would they believe her if she told them of her supposed identity?
"I-I'm Arabella Montclair. I-I'm supposed to be brought to the house hours ago but was met with an accident–"
"That's impossible!"
Someone abruptly cut her off.
Ruby's heart sank as she closed her eyes in resignation. Right. Just as she had thought.
She wasn't even the true Arabella Montclair to begin with. And now, in this wreck-like state, who could ever associate her with the respectable Montclairs?
Her limbs started to weaken, her mind on the verge of closing off. It had been a long tiring day for her who had sprinted tens of miles whilst carrying the Nanny on her back.
Ruby was tired to death. And now, anxiety chewed on her so much that she was left with not much energy to stay awake.
What would happen if she were heartlessly cast out? Would the Nanny die upon missing her treatment? What about her? Would she follow behind the Nanny's footsteps and die alongside her?
The chatter of her thoughts were loud, cornering her continuously and mercilessly shoving her to the ends of the cliff called despair when she heard his voice—a voice so cold and yet strangely so assuring that it brought relief to her deprived self.
"I believe her."
That was the last thing she remembered before everything went black.