Velcy's POV
A metallic but slightly sweet taste filled my mouth.
My eyes widened as recognition dawned on me.
"It's your blood, Big Brother!" I exclaimed and asked him in a concerned voice. "Did you get hurt somewhere?"
I didn't wait for an answer. Memories of the previous night flooded my mind as I frantically searched his neck for injuries. But to my relief, there were no visible wounds.
I exhaled deeply and felt my tense shoulders relax.
It was only now that I noticed my position. My legs were wrapped around his waist, and I was clinging to him like a monkey beast.
A surge of embarrassment filled me and I felt a searing heat on my cheeks as I slowly tilted my head to look at his face.
Big Brother was smiling with an amused glint in his gemstone-like crimson eyes. His expression was so close and seeing him from so close made my heart race like a panicked fawn. My mind went blank and was overwhelmed by the intensity of his gaze.
By the time I regained my senses, I realized I was sitting back on the bed. Big Brother Ethan was leaning casually against the bedrail beside me as he observed my face with a long stare.
"Are you okay, Velcy?" he asked in a low voice, and in his tone I could feel his poorly disguised barely suppressed laughter.
I opened my mouth to respond but found myself at a loss for words. Embarrassment warred with an inexplicable happiness blooming in my chest.
The warm atmosphere between us felt sweet and comforting and it was unlike anything I had ever experienced before in my whole life.
For a fleeting moment, some blurry memories of my family surfaced in my mind. The vague recollections of the love and warmth I had once known resonated with the feelings stirring inside me now.
My eyes grew misty and the vision of the room seemed to blur in my eyes as tears threatened to spill.
"Okay, time for you to get ready," Big Brother Ethan said and his words broke my stupor.
"You can take a bath in this room. I will head up to the castle. Come find me when you're done."
I nodded quietly and quickly wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my dress. I didn't want him to see me crying.
When I looked up to respond, he was already walking away as his figure faded into the background and he vanished through the doorway.
A sigh escaped me, but I felt an unfamiliar energy stirring within. Shaking off my lingering emotions, I headed toward the bathhouse with a newfound determination and positive energy in my steps.
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Ethan's POV
Whew, that was close. Are her senses and smell really so similar to a cat's because of her feline bloodline? The thought kept circling in my mind as I ascended from the prison-like, dark underground well.
Pulling at my collar, I glanced at the faint bloody stains on it and soon memories of the previous night replayed vividly in my mind as I moved up.
A few hours earlier...
Navigating the narrow and weathered stairs of the underground well, I finally reached the exit. I circulated my magic power and activated my Shadow Spectral Movement technique.
I flashed across the remaining steps like an indistinct shadow and emerged into the open castle corridors.
The dim light seeping through small holes in some of the walls painted the surroundings in a bloody hue. Judging by the color of the seeping rays of the sun, I assumed that it was the time of evening.
I searched for traces of Virelle as I roamed the familiar dark and winding corridors alone.
Despite my efforts for almost an hour, I found that the castle was eerily empty. Even the throne hall which had greater chances of someone being present was completely deserted.
The bloody chandelier in the throne hall's ceiling was shaking in a to and fro motion as if some invisible hand or wind was moving it. But I was sensible enough to ignore these weird happenings of this castle and continued my search.
There was no sign of Virelle, Victor, Master, or even the little duchess who owned this castle technically.
"Where are all of them?" I muttered with a perplexed expression clouding my face. Could they have gone somewhere together?
I retraced my steps toward my room in low spirits but I suddenly remembered something. It was the depth of the underground dark well that I had overlooked.
My curiosity was piqued and I decided to investigate it.
The side hole led to a winding staircase that spiraled downward into the dark depths of the castle. Considering the ominous aura of this place and the first day I arrived here, I guessed that Virelle's chambers might be located down there.
This time, I refrained from using any movement techniques and simply opted instead to tread cautiously like an ordinary person at an ordinary pace.
As I descended the spiral stairs, I eventually came across another hole carved into the wall. Just as I prepared to enter it, something unusual ahead caught my eye.
A third hole lay farther down the stairs and it was located diagonally opposite to my location. Unlike the circular shapes of the other two holes, this one was square. But the most striking feature was the presence of thick bronze gates that were sealing it shut.
A giant black lock secured the gates and its surface was intricately covered with a mesh of crimson and obsidian threads that concealed the keyhole entirely.
The sight of the ominous lock sent a chill down my spine but my gaze remained fixed on it.
Suddenly, as if responding to my stare the gates began to tremble violently.
Loud and frantic pounding sounds reverberated from behind them and it echoed through the staircase and the underground well as a whole.
Even with all my experience and courage, a sudden paralyzing fear gripped me.