Se connecterA strange gurgle slipped from Valaria's throat. Her eyes widened before rolling wildly in pain as her trembling fingers immediately reached toward her neck, desperately trying to grasp the knife lodged straight through it. Blood spilled between her fingers no matter how hard she tried to stop it. The sight was so sudden that Jane's mind couldn't even process what had happened at first. One second Valaria had been standing beside her and the next there was a blade through her throat. Yet despite the unimaginable pain consuming her, despite the terror visible in her eyes, Valaria still looked toward Jane. Their gazes met and somehow, in that horrifying instant, she seemed to understand exactly what Jane was feeling. She seemed to realize that her fear, her panic, and her suffering would only frighten the other girl further. And so, with tears spilling freely down her face and mixing together with the blood pouring from her wound, Valaria forced her lips upward into the faintest smile,
Valaria was groaning weakly on the floor while Liliana stared at Jane with wide eyes full of surprise. The little girl had clearly been under the impression that Jane had already been caught by her father after running away. She had likely thought Victor had dragged her back to wherever he kept those who disobeyed him. Yet here Jane was, standing at the doorway once more. This time, however, things were different. Liliana had been caught in the act. There was no carefully crafted image left to maintain, no sweet smile capable of hiding what she truly was. Her gaze quickly studied Jane's face and whatever she found there caused her expression to darken. Perhaps she had realized that Jane had seen enough. Perhaps she had realized that the human girl was now looking at her the same way one would look at a monster."Papa didn't do his work well today. He promised not to let you go!" Liliana stomped her heel against the floor as she whined, her childish voice echoing throughout the room.
It'd make sense now. From the start, Valaria hadn't wanted to kill her in the room earlier, far from it. Valaria, who had seen her being taken in by the family, must have feared the idea that they would use Jane the same way they had once used her. Looking back now, Jane could finally understand the desperation hidden behind the woman's actions. Perhaps Valaria had recognized the signs immediately, seeing another girl brought into the mansion under the illusion of safety and kindness. Perhaps she had once stood in the same position herself. And perhaps, deep down, after witnessing it happen all over again, she had decided to sacrifice herself in order to help Jane leave the mansion for good. Even if it meant becoming the villain in Jane's eyes. Even if the consequence was ending up here, forced to face the true monster standing before them.It was a while until she was on the verge of becoming completely lifeless that Liliana finally stopped. The room had long since fallen quiet asid
As she continued to crawl, the tunnel remained just as pitch black as the nauseating feeling bubbling inside her chest. The darkness swallowed everything around her, leaving her with no choice but to continue forward blindly. She could only cling to the words Liliana had told her earlier. Whether there truly was an escape route hidden here or not, Jane couldn't bring herself to fully believe it. Yet at the same time, she had no other choice. Right now, all she could do was trust that Liliana had been telling the truth.The crawl felt endless. Time seemed to stretch strangely within the narrow tunnel until Jane could no longer tell how long she had been moving forward. Then, finally, she noticed something. A light. Faint and distant, but unmistakably there. Jane froze for a moment. She wasn't entirely certain whether she had truly seen it or whether her desperate wish to escape had finally begun turning into hallucinations. Her eyes remained fixed on the tiny glow ahead of her until sh
"How many people have you trapped with this little trick of yours?" Victor asked then while Rahaul was still startled by his blatant refusal. He even added with a light smirk on his lips, "Do you think that just because you knew one of the elders, everything you do goes? There are rules in this place but of course, us vampires, never want to follow the said rules. We like pretending they only exist for other people. We like pretending that if nobody complains then there is no crime. It is quite fascinating actually."Rahaul gritted his teeth. "They know this is my feeding ground.""They know but I can make it into a problem," Victor said with the widest grin of a child who was about to create trouble and knew exactly how to make one's life into a nightmare. He slowly turned his head around the room, his eyes lingering on the walls, the staircase, the furniture, before eventually looking back at Rahaul. "Let's think, I saw the few shoes outside the mansion yet there isn't the same amou
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"The feminine laughter echoed throughout the place as Jane rushed away from the servant quarter. The sound followed her like a curse, bouncing against the walls and slipping through every corridor she passed through. No matter how hard she tried to ignore it, it remained lodged inside her ears. She couldn't tell anymore whose laughter it belonged to, whether it was the lady of the house, Valaria, or the child of the house, Liliana. Or if they really laughed at all. Perhaps it was even her imagination that had caused her to hear that ringing laughter. Perhaps fear had finally driven her to the edge. Yet it sounded far too real, far too delighted. By the time she noticed the laughter had stopped, a shadow had spilled over her and before she could react, a hard force collided against her, making her stumble forward and bump straight into the chest of a man.When her face lifted upward to see who it was, all the blood immediately drained from her face. "V... Victor."Vi
In the room, Victor walked out with his hand drenched in blood. He didn't immediately leave. Instead, he turned toward the bathroom and dipped his hand beneath the stream of water flowing from the faucet. Crimson slowly spiraled down the sink, staining the clear water before disappearing into the d
It wasn't a face card that appeared before her. Muller hadn't chosen the card she feared, rather the number nine of diamonds.The moment the card landed on the table, the air around Jane seemed to grow heavy. Staring at it, she could hear her own heart sinking deep into the bottom of her stomach, dr
"How twisted," she whispered and saw as Victor smiled as if proud that the world was nothing but a twisted hell."What card do I have on my left finger now?" Victor asked again and seeing the card between his fingers, Jane gritted her jaw tightly.Should she tell him the truth? Should she lie inste
Victor raised his hand slightly and almost immediately, an eager servant hurried toward him with a handkerchief carefully placed over his palm.With that, Victor didn't even have to clean the mess he created himself.He merely wiped his blood stained fingers slowly against the soft fabric before ca







