It was the dead of the night.
Aldrich was pacing in his bedroom. It had been hours since the end of the ceremony and the local Barons were the first to go. The Counts hadn't stayed for long either. Especially after learning that a few of them had co under the rule of the newly appointed Earl.
Aldrich was more thoughtful of Marquess Nicholas' leaving, creating no drama. The Black Mist around his heart had fallen still, but now and then a few tentacles kept trying to penetrate it. A part of his thoughts, tied to the Black Veil, also kept reciting the language of Laws to fight this weird thing off. But it wasn't taking any heavy toll on Aldrich.
Suddenly, a disturbance happened around him, and Aldrich felt as if he was buck naked. This was the tenth ti in the last hour he had felt so. It was none other but Amalia scanning Aldrich's surroundings with her Perception. Aldrich knew that she probably thought he couldn't tell if she was monitoring him. But Aldrich had always been sensitive about Perception.
Aldrich was waiting exactly for this mont.
"Co out."
There was no one in his room, but as soon as he called out, red mist ca out of the room's floor.
The red mist churned and took the form of a 14-year-old red-haired girl. There was a crown made of thorns on her head and rose petals had covered her tiny chest.
She was the Ancient Oracle, the spirit of planet Rosalia.
Rosalia opened her eyes, and her green eyes had a hint of red at the corners. At one glance, Aldrich could tell that she was angry. Not caring about her condition and anger, Aldrich asked.
"Get over it! Can you sense her?"
Rosalia gritted her teeth, and a buried voice ca out of her mouth.
"The fucking bitch kissed you"
Wham! Wham!!!
Rosalia lunged at Aldrich and banged her tiny fists on his legs. After hitting many tis, Rosalia seed to calm down and asked concernedly.
"She did sothing to you. I saw that Black Mist."
Aldrich shook his head and said, "We have little ti. Can you sense her?"
Sigh!
Rosalia sighed and sprawled on Aldrich's bed. The only way for her to maintain her mysterious nature was to speak less around other people. That's why even after being present at the ceremony, she had remained aloof from the events.
Rosalia stared at the designs on the ceiling and answered.
"Yes. I don't know how she did it. But after House Divine Enclosure's ship had left, that girl Tyra reappeared on the planet. She is a few miles away from the Manor and would reach here before the moon reaches the highest point in the sky."
Aldrich nodded and looked out. He calculated and found out that Tyra would be here in two minutes, max.
"Where have you sent Trifon?" Rosalia asked.
Aldrich took a deep breath and looked at her.
"Sowhere far. I am afraid I couldn't send Earl Drago. The Marquesses were already keeping a close eye on him."
The wind howled outside, bringing with itself the heavy silence before doom. Rosalia sat up and her eyes t those of the Aldrich's.
"Is it really that bad?"
"Yes, maybe worse. You should wipe out all traces of your existence."
As Aldrich ntioned hibernation, pearl-like tears fell out of the corner of Rosalia's eyes.
"I I can go into false hibernation for a few months."
Aldrich nodded at getting a positive response. If his guesses were right, then this prophecy would lead to a world-shaking fight. A fight that would bring the attention of the Kings and the Queen here. And if any of them got to know about Rosalia, then it would be nothing but a disaster for her.
The events that would happen from now on, were nothing but a compilation of unimaginable risks. But with every higher risk, the potential rewards Aldrich could fish out were also higher. He just didn't want for the House Venomous Rose to perish in his pursuit of knowledge and power. So, to prevent the bloodline from extinction, he had sent Trifon to so unknown location which even he didn't know of.
"Ok then," Aldrich approached the Ancient Oracle and put his hand over her head before continuing, "Don't worry. Even if I die, I won't forget my promise."
Aldrich was just stating the truth, but this was enough to break the dam Rosalia was holding within. Tears burst out of her eyes like a river, and her voice broke the moonlight-lit silence of Aldrich's bedroom.
Uwaaaa!
Sniff! Sniff!!!
"Daddy Sniff"
Even Sha started to cry in his mind, getting affected by the pure emotions coming out of Rosalia. Dense black clouds overtook the surroundings of the Manor in a matter of seconds, and all the signs of stars and the moon vanished.
As the first drop of the water fell out of the clouds, Rosalia lifted her teary eyes and looked at Aldrich.
"She is here. Goo Goodbye!"
Aldrich gave out a rare smile. As the tip-tap of raindrops turned into a drizzle, the entire body of Rosalia burst into a mass of dense mist and disappeared.
Knock-knock!!!
At the sa ti, a knocking sound ca from the open window on his left. Aldrich felt the traces of the red mist in his hand and rubbed it away. He turned to face the newcor and found a tall blue-haired beauty stepping into his bedroom. The traces of rain had covered her entire long white frock, but it soon disappeared with a shake of her hand.
Aldrich stared at the blue-eyed beauty, and after giving a deep bow, he spoke.
"Your highness, if Tyra had told that the lady she ntioned is the Queen's niece, I would have saved you the trouble of coming here."
Yes, this tall woman was none other than Duchess Boudicca Rhiannon.
Boudicca didn't speak but went to the chair and sat down. Aldrich noticed that though her Record still showed a status of Sealed, her Rank wasn't Viscount anymore, but Marquess.
Boudicca stared at him for a few seconds before speaking out slowly.
"A praise from the White-Haired Assassin himself. I am quite honored."
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