Ralph, who heard King Theodore's words, looked confused. As if his last question hadn't earned him enough confusion, Theodore had to add another one.
As if sensing his servant's plight, Theodore explained, "There's a slight rift in the air; you will hardly notice it. It is causing the air around here to be thick."
"I thought it must have been a sudden change in the weather." Ralph let his thought out.
"The girl forgot to put in some details during our heartwarming conversation." He turned to look at Ralph. "Let's head back to the castle."
Vanessa, who had been assigned to clean the drawing room along with another maid, removed the cold ashes from the fireplace, which must have accumulated when it was last used.
"Let me help you with that." Offered the other maid, coming to squat at Vanessa's side.
"You don't have to."
"At least, let me show you how to do it right. Your face is now covered in ashes, including the floor."
Vanessa's eyes moved down to see the floor close to the fireplace, which was now a mess.
"I am sorry." A regretful look in her face, as it was the maid who had cleaned the floor; now she would have to redo this part again.
"You don't have to be; we all make mistakes on our first try...by the way, I am Rosetta."
"Vanessa." Came her simple reply.
Rosetta stood up, ready to continue her own work after showing Vanessa the right way to remove the ashes. And her eyes fell on Vanessa's hair, which had not been spared from the atrocity of the ash.
"Your hair had not been spared." She commented, stretching her hand forward to help Vanessa dust it off.
Rosetta's hand stopped in midair when she saw the foot of someone who wore a well-polished shoe step inside the drawing room.
Her head didn't dare to look at the owner of the shoe; instead, she retracted her hand and gave a bow in greeting.
It was considered disrespectful for a servant or someone from the lower class to look directly at a person from high society.
"Leave." Theodore ordered the maid, who quickly bowed again and left.
Vanessa, who also heard the order, stood up from her position, dusting her dress and getting ready to leave.
'It would be better to steer away from him, enough to buy time to escape.' She thought while taking her steps towards the exit.
"I wasn't talking to you." Theodore spoke with a cold voice.
She turned to Theodore, who now stood in front of a table, serving himself a glass of liquor. He took only a sip from it before looking at her.
He dropped the glass back on the table and started walking towards her. She instinctively took a step backward, but that didn't stop him from coming closer; instead, her action motivated him.
When he was close to her, he leaned towards her while holding her gaze the whole time.
Vanessa's heartbeat went into a rampage because of the fear building within her.
Here she was, thinking about having enough time to escape while her death was already in front of her.
"I never knew witches' hairs could change to have different color mixtures." Theodore commented when he noticed Vanessa's all-dark brown hair now having tints of silver on some strands.
He held some of her hair in his hand, and her mouth fell open in shock when she saw what Theodore was talking about. She had not noticed it, nor had she seen anything like it before.
When his eyes came back to look at her, she covered her shock with a nervous laugh.
He stood back up straight, and Vanessa thought that he was about to walk away. But then, his hand came to wrap around her neck.
She did not realize what was going on until she was struggling for air.
"You are not just a witch, are you?" His eyes watched her every expression, enough to see her face contort in pain. "Your scent is different from that of an ordinary human or witch, and why does it seem like I am the target here?" His lips curled up.
"I don't know what you are talking about." Her response resulted in her being lifted off the ground by her neck, causing her to kick thin air. While her hands played their part by trying to peel his hand off her neck.
"You don't?" A crooked smile formed on his lips. He said, "Then I don't have any use of you." His grip on her neck tightened slightly.
Vanessa's attempts to remove his hand were futile.
"I think it is the stone." She exclaimed in a husky tone.
One would have thought that Theodore would let go of her easily after hearing her response, but he did not.
Theodore's brows rose. "I am listening."
"I don't know anything more apart from it being a blue stone." Her eyes stung with tears that wanted to be let free.
"Mm, the blue stone." He let go of her neck, and she coughed, slightly gasping for air. "Where is it?"
Vanessa raised her eyes to meet his. She said, "It is with me, and still, it is not."
"Mind using clearer words, forest girl?" Theodore addressed, looking intently at her. "The language of the forest isn't my cup of tea." His jaw twitched.
Vanessa would have glared at him if she was sure that she could still live for some more days.
For Theodore, he just wanted to know if the human was bluffing. After all, anyone can say anything just to save their head.
The blue stone wasn't just an ordinary stone, and it was believed to have been lost for over a century.
"My mother gave it to me, but then it wasn't there when I looked at my hands." She answered in deep thought.
Vanessa's thoughts went to the time she escaped from Mistleville.
When Vanessa stepped into her house, she saw more blood. She let out a gasp when she saw her dear sister, Becky, who lay lifeless on the ground with her father at another corner, but her mother was nowhere in sight.
She mustered up some strength to move to their room, even with the weakness that was speedily crawling into her. The pain was too much for her to handle.
Tears rolled down her cheek, unable to hold it back. She wanted this whole thing to just be a dark prank, but she knew better with the amount of blood splattered everywhere.
When Vanessa reached their room, her eyes fell on her mother, who had her back laid on the wall, her chest still heaving to show she was alive.
"Mama!" Vanessa ran to kneel close to her, and she saw her mother's eyes open ever so slightly.
"Oh! Nessa, I have been waiting for you. It's a good thing you are okay." Her mother's voice was very low.
"Mama, B-becky, and Pa—" Vanessa tried to say in her tear-filled voice.
"I know. It's not safe for you to be here; take this," she said, unfolding her hand, which had earlier been closed very tightly.
In her hand was a cloth with a shining blue stone wrapped in it. Vanessa's eyes went wide in shock.
She placed the stone on Vanessa's palm and then closed it. When Vanessa opened her hand to look at it again, it was gone.
Vanessa raised her head to look at her mother, who only nodded.
"Leave from here. Keep going, no matter what." Her mother said, and Vanessa could not help but shake her head in disagreement.
"We can go together."
A bitter smile spread on her mother's lips. "I won't make it." Closing her eyes, she chanted a few spells. She opened her eyes and turned to her daughter. "They are coming. Leave!" She ordered.
Vanessa reluctantly left her mother's side. And just before she was attacked, close to the forest path, she heard her mother's scream before it all went quiet.
Her thoughts returned to the present, only to be met by Theodore's gaze.
His wicked signature smile took over his lips before he said, "Let me make you an offer."