Bang!
The glass in his hand fell effortlessly. Shards of glass scattered across the floor. No one had expected to hear something like that.
The men standing before her quickly turned around, their expressions just as shocked as Rosella's.
"Since when—"
"What did you just say?" Rosella interrupted, stepping closer to Lucian. She stepped on the broken glass with her bare feet, letting the shards tear at her soles. Red spots of blood spread across the floor.
The three men swallowed hard.
"Lucian, tell me what you just said!" the girl demanded, ignoring the sharp sting in both of her feet.
Lucian rubbed his sharp nose. "Why are you here, Rosella?" Instead of answering, the dark purple-haired man asked her back.
"Explain it to me."
"Didn't Lorien already tell you? You... we can't leave this place, no matter what," Lucian emphasized.
"Why?"
"Because this castle is cursed." Rosella shifted her gaze to a tall man with blackish-blue hair who had just spoken.
Rosella swallowed nervously, feeling the atmosphere around her shift into something tense. Her body suddenly shuddered, and her pupils refused to stay still. What had he just said?
A curse. This place was cursed. And so was Rosella.
"Are you kidding me?" Rosella forced a smile, hoping her conversation partner would laugh and say they were just messing with her. However, their expressions told her this was no joke.
Her hazel eyes moved towards Elio. She stepped closer to him, needing to look up to meet his hazel gaze.
"You just brought in a deer. That means you can leave here, right?"
Elio, who had been looking elsewhere while holding his breath, jerked in surprise. "What?"
Why was everyone here deaf?
"You're from outside, right?" Rosella pointed to the deer that lay on the floor.
Elio hesitated and nodded. "But just around here, I can't go further." Elio quickly added. Why was he acting like this? There seemed to be some strange force that made him act reserved... and... intrigued?
Rosella studied each handsome face in front of her. Her heart still refused to believe that she was cursed and couldn't leave this place.
Right, Rosella just had to try it herself. Prove everything they were saying.
"What's happening here—Oh my! Rose, your feet are bleeding!"
Lorien, who had just arrived, hurried over to Rosella. His face grimaced as he saw the blood still flowing from the wounds on her feet.
"We need to treat this immediately." Lorien quickly scooped her up without warning and rushed out.
"This is the first time I've seen Lorien act like this," Elio said, stunned.
Three meters away from them, Lorien suddenly stopped. He glanced back. His fox-like eyes interrupted the moment. "You... clean that up!"
After saying that, he hurried off again.
Elio sniffed the air. "Wow, it smells so good."
Lucian joined in, inhaling deeply. Their eyes turned red, and sharp white fangs began to emerge slowly.
"Should we just lick the blood?" the youngest asked.
Lucian made a disapproving face. "Don't be weird, Rein."
"You can't resist, can you?"
Lucian turned away, trying to hold his breath against the tempting scent. Elio was busy shaking his head.
He pinched his nose shut, one hand reaching for the deer lying on the floor. "Rein, you'd better clean it up. Don't try licking the blood," Elio said before walking off.
Rein frowned in protest. "Why me?"
"Because your abilities are better suited for it," Lucian replied before walking off too.
Rein could only sigh and follow the orders. Once more, he bent down, staring sadly at the bloodstain on the floor. "Such a waste. The smell is really intoxicating," he muttered before water appeared from nowhere, lifting the stain along with the glass shards.
…
In the room, Lorien had just finished bandaging Rosella's feet. "Why did you leave your room?"
Rosella turned weakly. "I just wanted to get something to drink."
"Are you thirsty?"
Rosella didn't answer. Her mind was far away, still dwelling on the situation outside. Meanwhile, Lorien kept staring at her face.
"I'll ask my brother to bring you something to drink."
Once again, Rosella remained silent. Her thirst had vanished in the face of her growing worry. How had she ended up like this?
"Are you thinking about the castle's curse?"
"Why is this castle cursed?"
Rosella got no answer, just a smile and a shake of Lorien's head. "Since I became aware of being here, we've all been trapped. None of us can leave the castle."
Lorien tilted his head, trying to remember something. "But we can still walk around the castle. Anything beyond that, we can't," he said, puckering his lips.
"What is the curse of this castle?"
"I don't know. We gave up trying to figure it out after exhausting every effort. But nothing happened. No matter how hard we tried, the answer was just as elusive."
"But why am I cursed too? Even though I don't know what kind of curse this is."
"Maybe because you hate vampires too?"
Rosella's pupils widened again. "What does that mean?"
Lorien smiled gently. "Let's think about it later. After all, isn't it better to stay here? With us, you don't have to worry about getting hurt or anything else. We'll protect you."
The purple in his eyes nearly hypnotized Rosella, making her want to nod in agreement. "That sounds nice..." Rosella trailed off, but Lorien's smile widened.
"But I can't. I have things to do, and out there, people are waiting for me."
The smile on Lorien's face faded. Rosella immediately felt guilty for speaking such harsh words to someone as kind as him.
"What if we try again? Let's leave this place together," Rosella suggested.
Lorien froze. It seemed like he was deep in thought. But for some reason, Rosella felt uncomfortable with the silence.
Just then, the sound of a door handle turning was heard. Rein's head popped out from behind the door, carrying a tray with water and fruit.
Lorien turned his head. "Finally, it's here." He quickly stood up and took the tray from Rein.
"Stop ordering me around. I feel like a servant," Rein protested, holding onto the tray as Lorien tried to take it. A brief tug-of-war ensued.
"Besides, you're just lounging around." Lorien finally managed to pull the tray away.
Rein huffed. His green eyes turned to Rosella as he smiled softly. "I hope you enjoy the meal," he said before leaving them.
Lorien placed the tray on the nightstand, took an orange from it, and skillfully peeled it. "You probably don't know him. That's Rein, our youngest. He's a bit rude, but he's a good person," Lorien said, introducing his brother.
The pink-haired man kept talking, and for a moment, Rosella forgot about the fact that she couldn't leave this place.