Chapter 165: Unexpected Meet
The silence was loud. How about the war? Ariana knew that this man must have found some illegal way of coming here. Why else would this lady come without the werewolves sensing her?
Did this mean she had taken the werewolf spray—the spray that made a vampire feel and look like a werewolf? Raven wondered at this point. He was confused. It was like matters kept piling up; just when they were about to settle one, another came out of the blue, and then as soon as they tried to settle that one, another appeared again.
It was as though this man had planned everything. Who knew? While he sold blood to the vampires, he must have been gathering information and planning his motives for when the war came.
The villagers were sent to the royal village, and the night before, one of the cleaning maids had brought her sister for work. Surprisingly, she was brought to the royal duplex. Who would have suspected? No one at all, as there had been nothing there to suspect otherwise.
Ariana wanted to ask more, as she could not quite understand why that man was heading here, but her five questions were already out. Unless she waited until tomorrow, that was the only option. Raven turned to the guard and whispered something to him, and the man began to leave.
Ariana would be lying if she said her heartbeat had not raced in fear. It seemed even this place was not safe, and now things had to be taken with extra care.
She turned to Raven.
"Give her a cup of blood," she spoke calmly.
Raven nodded. "That was why he left," he answered as his gaze landed on the woman who seemed to be waiting for her cup.
Ariana nodded back. Maybe once she arrived tomorrow, she could as well ask Lady Emberg some other questions. She could not go now, as Lady Stephanie was not comfortable, and truthfully, if she were in Lady Emberg’s shoes, she would not have been comfortable either. So that was the best way.
"Very well then, let’s leave," Ariana said as Raven turned to the other side. Ariana and Stephanie exchanged glances, wondering why they were going that way. The staircase was just on the other side—so why were they taking a different route?
Raven had noticed earlier that Lady Stephanie seemed uncomfortable, and he knew the Queen had told them to leave because she, too, had noticed. Knowing they would have to pass Lady Emberg’s dungeon to go up, he decided instead to take the other route. He had thought ahead.
"We are following another route—the one leading to the royal village. You don’t have to worry, as the carriage will meet us there at the front gate," Raven spoke reassuringly as he walked toward the wall.
That was when Ariana noticed the wooden door at the end of the wall. Raven pushed it open. Another iron door blocked the way, but he moved quickly, pressed something, and to Ariana and Stephanie’s surprise, the iron door opened.
Fresh air slipped inside, and immediately, their bodies calmed. This was exactly what they needed, and it was refreshing. They stepped out as they were led in, straight along the path toward a walled area. Each side of the straight path was freshly trimmed.
Raven had thought ahead. He had sent the guard not only to bring blood, but also to send the carriage to the front of the royal village. He had also instructed him to inform the other guards to tighten the borders and take extra care checking the people entering—or rather, that no one should enter at all. It was simple: do not allow anyone in.
Even the importing carriages would be extra-checked.
They walked quietly through the paths. The breeze blew, and Ariana could not help but feel relieved. It was only now she finally realized just how suffocating she had been in that dungeon.
They could see the walls of the royal village. They were so long and high that Ariana finally understood why this place was called the royal village. It was built so vast—this castle really was larger than she had thought. In fact, in her opinion, it was a place on its own.
She was curious about the things that had transpired over those months. She wondered how much had happened that she had no idea of.
She knew that man—he was dangerous, even more dangerous than she had imagined, and that was not the kind of person she wanted to see at all. She knew herself; the rumors were heartbreaking. Thank heavens it had not turned into trauma, as surprisingly, the very man she thought would never believe her actually did.
Back then, in the royal dining hall, when her family had turned their backs on her by saying she killed her husband, her husband had said he was impressed. That meant even if she had done it, it would not have changed anything. She had seen that sure look in his eyes.
So did this mean Zavren knew he had been alive all this while and did not tell her? Was this Frederick man working with the Vampire king? Because that lady had mentioned something about Frederick selling royal blood, and that meant the coins paid could only be afforded by royals. Who knew if the king himself had bought that blood, believing they were volunteered?
And maybe Frederick had not only killed those people. What if he turned them into half-vampires and let them work as... Ariana’s body shivered with fear at the thought. This alone told her that this man was not working alone.
He was definitely working with more people, and she would make sure to dig to the bottom of it. This man did not deserve to be alive at all. He was a disgusting man—he deserved to rot, to die, to be burned into ashes. His ashes did not even deserve to be buried; they should be burned into nothingness.
That was what Ariana thought. It surprised her to realize the depth of her thoughts, but this man was not just a kidnapper. He was a murderer. Her body shuddered again. What if things had happened for a reason—that she had met the king?
Her face flushed slightly at the memory of Zavren again. Every night, she made sure to think about him, as she had memorized his features.
She always thought about him because she did not want to forget his face. And every single time she did, her heart started racing wildly, her cheeks flushing more than ever.
They finally reached the front of the gate, where the carriage was already waiting. Stephanie had been silent, just as Ariana was, both lost in thought.
Ariana made sure that once they arrived at the duplex, they would have afternoon tea under the shade to calm their heads.
They walked to the front gate as the guard opened the door. Lady Stephanie stepped inside, and just as Ariana moved to follow, she heard voices, which made her halt and turn.
"I said do not touch! You have to learn how to respect ladies!" a sharp voice rang out as two figures were shoved outside. They stood outside the royal house as the other guard closed the royal village gate. Ariana noticed they were two women. Why were they here? But to her shock, her body froze as she recognized one of the ladies.
"A... Ava..."