Two tall alphas entered the coffee house with heavy steps. The bell rang as they swung the door open, catching the attention of some customers inside. Lucian and Eugene did not care about the people gawking at them; instead, they hurriedly went to the private room where Oscar Williams was waiting.
"My, my. You're both too quick to get here," Oscar said with a huge grin, his fingers fiddling with his signature cigar. He reached out his hand to gesture at the seats in front of him. "Take a seat, gentlemen."
"Thank you, Mr. Williams. Please excuse us for our late arrival," Lucian politely apologized to the older man.
Oscar waved his hand nonchalantly. "Don't worry, I'm not that strict with time."
Thus, Lucian and Eugene obediently sat side by side on the seats right in front of Oscar. Oscar then ordered tea for the two of them before taking a sip of his own cup of black coffee.
"I've never properly introduced myself yet, am I right?"
Lucian and Eugene nodded.
"Then I'm going to give you a brief background about me," Oscar said, leaning on the chair he was sitting on. "Aside from being Alice Carter's husband, I am a retired soldier who was asked to do my duty here."
Lucian's eyes widened in surprise. 'Like Lieutenant Aiden Scott?' He was also amused that his guess back when they attended the wake was accurately correct!
"Is that how you met Madame Alice, sir?" Eugene inquired casually, his fingers playing with the tea cup's rim. "If you don't mind me asking."
Lucian raised an eyebrow at him. 'I thought you said you would never interfere?' Nonetheless, he was fine with it. Talking is not really that straining, anyway. Eugene must have been so curious that he blurted out such a question.
Oscar Williams' eyes softened at the mention of his wife. "Indeed. My wife served the military as a nurse back then. She tended to me a lot, talked to me with her soft voice, telling me stories of her favorite fairytale... I fell in love with her. So I followed her home and asked for her hand."
Lucian smiled at that. 'What a sweet love story!' But wait...
"Then, how did you meet my mother?" Lucian asked in wonder. "Was it before you met Madame Alice?"
Oscar Williams' soft expression froze a little before his face turned back to a friendly one. "Your mother... right, I almost forgot we were supposed to talk about her." He laughed, sipping on his black coffee before he continued, "I met Alice first before your mother. When I visited the Carter's residence, where Alice's parents resided, I happened to come across Elizabeth, who was also visiting them to ask for help."
"Help... For what?" Lucian asked, his heart pounding in his chest. Of course, he knew what it was. But hearing it from another person feels so different than reading it from a letter.
"For finding the cure to Joe Carter's disease," Oscar answered with a solemn expression. "At that time, Joe Carter was on the verge of death, so Elizabeth tried to communicate with his other family members to ask for their assistance. Alas, the Carters aren't very rich at all."
Eugene pursed his lips in deep thought. "What happened next?"
"Well, it seemed as though when she saw me wearing a military uniform and hearing that my surname was that of the Capital, she asked for my help instead."
"You're rich?" Lucian suddenly blurted out. He immediately covered his mouth with a closed fist, faking a cough to hide his embarrassment. "Pardon my manners."
Oscar laughed loudly, even slapping his knees to show how laughable Lucian's retort was. "Not the financial kind of help, Logan. I'm just a low-rank soldier at that time!" He then cleared his throat, his laughter waning. "Another kind of help."
...
Oscar Williams stared at the woman in front of him. Her peach blossom, golden eyes were fixated on him. She then reached out her bronze-colored hand to hold her light blue skirt as she curtsied. "Good day, sir," she greeted in a calm voice. Her other hand was holding a hand-held blue fan.
"Good day, Madame," Oscar replied politely, despite being confused at the woman's sudden appearance in front of him. "May I know what's your intention of approaching me? Do you need any help?"
The woman raised her eyes to look back at the soldier standing straight in front of her. "The name's Elizabeth Montague, wife of Duke Theodore Montague," she introduced herself with a clear and firm voice. "I am indeed going to ask for your help."
Oscar's eyes widened in surprise. A noble lady! What's a noble lady doing on the border? Based on her family name, she must've belonged to the nobles from the capital!
And so, he bowed his head in response. "Please do tell me what it is."
"Come with me first," Elizabeth said, her gaze and posture filled with the calmness and elegance of a lady who was clearly raised to be like that. Oscar couldn't help but feel conscious around the noblewoman, who seemed serious, confident, and smart.
Thus, he immediately followed her without asking a question.
They rode a carriage, heading to a small hut at the edge of the border. There were fewer houses in the area and even fewer plantations. It was so barren that Oscar thought he was caught in a conspiracy and was actually kidnapped by a woman pretending to be a noble lady.
They stopped in front of the hut before getting out of the carriage. The coachman must've felt that the place was weird and eerie, so he hurriedly pulled the horse's reins and drove away from them.
Elizabeth Montague raised an eyebrow as the dust brushed past her face due to the horse's fast gallops. She gently raised her hand to open her blue hand-held fan, covering her face from the dirt. She then shifted her gaze to the soldier beside her. "Let's go inside." She led the way first towards the hut.
Oscar followed with bated breath. He was starting to overthink and doubt everything around him. He would be so screwed if the woman in front of him suddenly turned around, shoving a knife in his stomach. Alas, despite being a soldier, he knew he couldn't hurt or retaliate against a woman.
The bronze-skinned, graceful noblewoman opened the door swiftly; a creak sounded in the eerie silence. Heavy gasps could be heard from inside, as if the person inside was trying to take in all of the air in the area. One would think that the thing waiting inside was not a person but a hungry wolf.
Oscar's senses tingled, and his body turned alert. He was so ready to shield his body if the person inside suddenly pounced on them.
"Heh," Elizabeth scoffed softly before taking a step inside.
Oscar instinctively followed behind her, his hand clenched by his side. He was regretful that he didn't bring with him his sword.
"Joe, shut your mouth. You're scaring him," Elizabeth uttered while lighting the lamp near them with a match. There was a hint of laughter in her smooth voice.
'What's so funny about this?' Oscar whined in his head.
As the light spread throughout the hut, Oscar finally saw the person sitting behind the shadows. His eyes widened in surprise, gulping so hard at the familiar face of the man on the bed.
His eyes and lips were almost the same as Alice's!
"A Carter?" Oscar blurted out a curious question, even daring to take a step closer just so he could confirm his conjecture.
He was then stopped by a slender arm near his chest, prompting him to halt in his careful steps. Oscar looked at Elizabeth in confusion. The woman returned his gaze, her golden eyes shining in the dim light. "Stay back. He's sick."
"But... is he a Carter, Madame?" Oscar persisted with his question. Because... Why was a Carter living in a small and barren hut like this? Like a beggar? He couldn't believe it. Is this a dark secret of the Carters? Abandoning a member of their family just because they got sick?
Elizabeth seemed to sense his thoughts, so she gently shook her head to stop him from thinking too much about them. "It was his own volition to stay away from the Carters. His full name is Joe Carter," she said in a quiet voice, putting her fan near the lamp. "And the help I need from you is related to his disease."
"Tell me more about it," Oscar instantly replied as soon as he heard that 'Joe' was indeed a Carter. If Alice's family found out that he helped their relative, they would probably accept him easier as an in-law, right? His young self was very keen on focusing on his own ulterior motives, after all.
Elizabeth Montague gently caressed the edge of the table where the lamp was placed. "The help I'm going to ask you for is simple," she said in a calm voice before raising her golden eyes to firmly look at him. "Spread the word that people should not consume blood or touch blood with an open wound. Just don't."
"What? Why?"
"Take Joe as a good example. If this tradition of drinking a human's blood continues, all of those who do so will end up like him." She then paused as if in thought. "However, his situation is much more complicated and inevitable."
Oscar only stared at her in doubt. The sudden information dump was too much for him. Especially since he did not know the exact context of whatever Elizabeth was talking about.
The woman also seemed to know that keeping it a secret from Oscar would only leave room for more misunderstanding, so she simply revealed the most important thing to say.
"Joe Carter contracted this disease from the Northern Islands, particularly through a blood compact."
...
Lucian and Eugene perked up at that. The Northern Islands again? They really have a hand in this, don't they?
The two exchanged meaningful stares as they shifted their gaze back to Oscar. "Did my mother elaborate more on this?" Lucian asked with high hopes.
Oscar took a small sip of his cup of black coffee before he slowly nodded. "She told me a brief story about Joe Carter and the disease. But I feel like there's so much more to it. Anyway, she left me one last task before going back to the duchy."
"What was it, sir?" Eugene eagerly asked, as if he had completely recovered from his fever last night.
"That if I found a young man with bronze skin, golden eyes, and black hair, I should show him the place," Oscar replied as he gave Lucian a once-over.
Lucian couldn't help but feel slightly conscious about Oscar's description of him. Nevertheless, he still gathered all of his shame to ask, "What place?"
"The place where Joe Carter stayed while he was still sick."
"You mean...?"
"Yes, the place where your mother took me back then. That small hut."