Free Web NovelChapter 12: 12: A Curse (6)
He looked down at the child holding him. The old owner’s feelings rushed up again, warm and painful. Lucard almost pushed him away, but the heart curse tightened just enough to warn him. His fingers twitched. He did not hug the boy back, but he did not push him away either.
Jenny walked closer slowly.
Her eyes moved over Lucard’s blood covered face, his torn clothes, the dried corpses around him, and the cold look in his eyes.
"You are alive," she said.
Lucard looked at her.
"For now."
Her eyes turned red, but she did not cry. She seemed like the kind of woman who would rather bite her tongue than cry in front of enemies. Since the enemies were now dead, maybe she still had not received permission from her pride.
"You stayed behind," she said. "We thought you died."
"I almost did."
"What was that power?"
Lucard looked at the dried body of Jeff.
"A way to stop bleeding."
Jake looked up at him with confused eyes. "You stopped all of it."
Lucard glanced down at him.
"Yes."
Peter coughed, and more blood came from his mouth. Jenny immediately turned toward him.
"Captain Peter."
Peter shook his head. "My lady, I am sorry. I could not protect the lord and lady."
Jenny’s face tightened with pain. "You protected us."
Lucard walked toward Peter and crouched beside him. The knight captain looked at him with alert eyes, but he did not move away.
"Your wounds are deep," Lucard said.
Peter gave a bitter smile. "I know."
Lucard looked at the blood flowing from him. This knight’s blood was better than the vice captain’s. It was loyal, trained, and full of aura traces. Absorbing it would help Lucard. Killing him would be easy.
The heart curse tightened again.
Lucard’s face became annoyed.
"Stop doing that," he muttered.
Jenny frowned. "What?"
"Nothing."
Lucard placed his hand near Peter’s wound, but he did not absorb the blood. Instead, he controlled the blood around the wound and forced it to slow. He could not properly heal yet, but he could stop the bleeding for a while.
Peter’s eyes widened. "My bleeding..."
"It has stopped for now," Lucard said. "Do not move too much, or you will start leaking again. And I am not in the mood to patch the same hole twice."
Jake blinked. "Brother, you sound different."
Lucard stood up.
"Dying can improve a man’s manners."
Jenny stared at him with a strange expression. "That did not improve your manners."
Lucard looked at her.
For a brief moment, the old owner’s memories stirred again, and Lucard remembered Jenny scolding him when he was younger because he had eaten stale bread instead of asking for food. She had called him an idiot then too. The memory was useless, but it made the heart curse calm down slightly.
Lucard turned away.
"We need to leave."
Jenny looked toward the burning mansion. Her face darkened with grief. "Our parents..."
"Dead," Lucard said directly.
Jake flinched.
Jenny closed her eyes.
Peter looked down.
Lucard continued, "The mansion is burning. Enemies may still be nearby. House Karswell is involved, but they may not be the only ones. Jeff said someone wanted Jake alive because Vardros blood still has value. That means the attack is not finished."
Jenny opened her eyes and looked at him.
"You heard all that?"
"I heard enough."
"What do we do now?"
Lucard looked toward the deeper forest.
"We survive first."
Jake wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Then what?"
Lucard looked at the boy. The previous owner’s feelings pressed against his heart again. This time, Lucard did not fight them as much. Not because he accepted them, but because fighting the curse wasted energy.
"Then," Lucard said, "we take back what was stolen."
Jenny stared at him.
Peter lifted his head.
Jake’s small fists clenched.
Lucard looked toward the direction of the burning mansion, and his eyes became cold again. He had not wanted this mortal family. He had not wanted their grief, their enemies, their debt, or their weak little attachments. But the blood curse had forced the matter into his hands.
"Fine."
If this body wanted House Vardros saved, then he would save it. freёwebnoѵel.com
If this boy’s heart wanted his sister and brother protected, then Lucard would protect them.
But he would do it his way. The traitors would not simply die. They would feed him strength and power.
A few moments later...
They were traveling along the path toward the neighbouring city. The road was narrow, dark, and half covered by roots because few people used this forest path at night unless they were desperate. On both sides, tall trees stood close together, and their branches blocked most of the sky. The smoke from the burning Vardros mansion was far behind them now, but the smell of ash still seemed to follow them like a ghost that refused to leave.
Lucard walked ahead of the group with the dagger in his hand. His steps were calm, and his eyes moved from one shadow to another. He did not look tired like the others. Jenny and Jake walked in the middle. Jake stayed close to his sister, holding the edge of her torn sleeve with one hand. Knight Captain Peter walked behind them, using his sword as both a weapon and a walking support. His wounds had stopped bleeding because Lucard had controlled the blood around them, but his body was still injured, and every step made his face tighten.
For a while, nobody spoke.
Then Jake looked at Lucard’s back and whispered, "Sister, Brother Lucard is different."
Jenny looked ahead too. Lucard’s back looked the same as before. He had the same black hair, same young body, and same torn clothes. But everything else felt different. The old Lucard would have walked with lowered shoulders. He would have stayed behind others, afraid to speak loudly. This Lucard walked like he did not care if the entire forest tried to block him. Even the way he held the dagger was different. It did not look like a weapon in his hand. It looked like something that belonged there.
