Free Web NovelChapter 10: Cold Burns
In the evening chill, beads of sweat formed on Vincent’s forehead.
Silence continued to fill the courtyard while shadows of the flickering candles fell on Vincent and Anastasia’s faces as they stared at the metallic entrance.
Creaakkkk...
It slowly opened.
A gloved hand emerged, followed by the edges of a layered lace skirt.
The black dress seemed familiar and Vincent raised his eyebrows, his guards dropping somewhat.
’Is that...’
With a serious expression on her face, Agnes stepped into the courtyard.
Right behind her, a flash of silver hair appeared.
Leona stepped in.
Anastasia stepped back and lowered her presence, resuming her role as an attendant. Though, her eyes remained alert.
"What happened here?" Agnes dropped all formalities and asked without looking at Vincent or Anastasia.
Leaves lay scattered across the ground. The bushes had been pressed down, as if something had forced its way through.
Agnes’s gaze swept against the ground as she moved forward, seeing lingering shadows that shouldn’t be present.
Leona’s gaze similarly followed Agnes’s line of sight but her steps did not halt from moving to her fiancé’s side.
"My lady, we were attacked. An arrow shot from..." Anastasia replied to Agnes’s question and went closer to explain what had transpired.
Leona reached Vincent’s side. There was a momentary pause as she scrutinized him.
No injuries. No signs of struggle.
He was still alive.
Her expression did not change.
Vincent however wondered why she was staring at him like that.
He gave a light cough and said, "If you’re trying to confirm whether I’m still alive, I can assure you, I think I am."
Leona: "..."
For a brief moment, her eyes narrowed.
She extended her hand out and held his wrist, pulling him away from the courtyard’s staircase.
Though, only after a few steps, she paused. Looked down, shifted her hand to interlock her fingers with Vincent’s, then dragged him away.
Vincent had a dumbfounded expression on his face as he stared at the interlocked fingers.
’...she didn’t even warn me.’
’My handholding virginity... gone just like that.’
A drop of imaginary tear leaked down Vincent’s face as he was brought closer to the fountain in the courtyard by his fiancée.
They were neither too close nor too far from Agnes and Anastasia.
Leona glanced down at Vincent, staring into his bright crimson eyes for the second time today.
"I didn’t think we would be continuing our conversation this early in the evening, my lord."
Vincent looked at her and gave a small exhale. "So it seems."
Speaking too much was risky.
He wasn’t used to holding a conversation—especially not with women who looked like they could read him too easily.
Around half a day had passed since everything changed. The body may belong here now, but the habits still didn’t.
It would take time to adapt completely.
Until then, he had to act confident. Fake it until it stopped being fake.
The brief pause before the answer did not go unnoticed by Leona but it wasn’t relevant so she didn’t dwell on it.
"So, what transpired here? It would be best if the explanation is a bit detailed, my lord."
Leona spoke bluntly. It was not out of rudeness but a family trait she inherited through years of being around people who only knew of iron and sweat.
’Do I tell her everything or just what happened?’ Vincent thought. ’Actually, answering her might not be the best option either.’
He looked up at her and said, "I can answer, but..."
He took a pause, collecting his words.
"...but I feel like it will make my situation worse."
Leona didn’t respond. Instead, she adjusted Vincent’s collar for a brief moment, then leaned close to his ears.
"My lord, your situation is already worse than it looks."
Her voice was low, almost casual.
"And I happen to know a little more than you do about what just happened."
She pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes.
"So... start wherever you think is safest."
The close moment made Vincent’s heart skip a beat.
’This woman... she spoke in a soft and melodic tone, but it felt so overbearing. I feel like I am being manipulated but can’t exactly prove it.’
’Anyway... it’s not that I mind... she’s so hot...’
Vincent was a degenerate and although he was trying his best to change himself, the remnants were still there.
He took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
’Focus, you bastard. Or she’ll eat you alive.’
He looked at Leona and said, "Alright, so, after I left the ballroom..."
While Vincent explained what had transpired, a few meters away from him, Agnes just came across something which made her brows furrow deeply.
Behind the bushes, she crouched down and stared at a burnt corpse.
The body was cold but charred, an anomaly Agnes had a hard time wrapping her mind around.
"Check those bushes for me, young lady." Agnes said and searched the corpse with her gloved hands.
"At once, my lady." Anastasia replied and went to check the bushes.
Searching the corpse, Agnes found a cold metallic token in its pocket.
As she felt it, the frown on her face deepened.
’It can’t be...’
Before she could search the corpse further, she heard Anastasia’s call.
"My lady, they’re here too."
Agnes’s face morphed into a twisted expression. However, as she moved over to Anastasia’s side, she slightly relaxed her facial muscles.
Anastasia pointed at where the corpses were and said, "I’ll search for more."
There was no wasted movement or words. It was as if she had done it multiple times before.
Agnes felt that this attendant was capable with her swift responses.
She did not find anything wrong as her attention was less on her and more on the corpses.
Kneeling beside the burnt corpse, Agnes searched its pockets.
Without a surprise, she found a metallic token again.
She did not give the token a second glance and instead took out a dagger hidden behind her ankle, cutting the charred flesh around the collarbone area.
Agnes was ready to cover her nose as the pungent smell of a corpse would hit, but there was no such smell.
Blood sprayed as the arteries were cut. The flesh beneath was a healthy shade of pink.
’Huh? How? How can only the outer layer be charred to an extreme degree but the insides retain their vitality?’
It was a tough mental battle for Agnes as her mind looked at something incomprehensible.
She continued to cut the flesh until she saw the collarbone completely.
There it was.
A hexagram with a fang symbol in the middle carved into the bone.
’The Royal Hounds...’
Agnes’s breathing was rapid as she stared at the symbol.
’What were the Royal Hounds doing here? How did I have no knowledge of it? And most importantly... who reduced them to this state?’
Multiple thoughts formed inside Agnes’s head but none could help her reach a conclusion.
Anastasia’s steps resounded in her ears.
The attendant was back to her side and said courteously, "My lady, I’ve found all of them."
Agnes stood up and slowly removed her gloves as a faint warmth gathered at her fingertips.
By the time she let go, the fabric had already blackened and crumbled into ash before it touched the ground.
’If word got out about this, the throne itself might be questioned.’
’Royal Hounds don’t fail. If they did, then either the palace is incompetent... or compromised.’
Agnes quickened her steps towards Vincent with a grave expression on her face.
’If this situation is handled poorly, the Countess will storm the palace the moment she understands her son was almost assassinated under the Royal Hounds’ watch.’
’Even Duke Leurox won’t be spared.’
Agnes skipped steps on the staircase and finally reached the fountain side Vincent and Leona were chatting at.
The young couple was sitting on the stone edge of the fountain with their shoulders touching.
As they saw Agnes with her serious expression, they stood up.
They were about to assess her state when Agnes stopped a few feet from them and said, "Follow me."
There was no room for questioning.
Vincent turned to Leona, wondering if she had an answer to this strange situation.
The young lady in silver gently shook her head. Even she didn’t know.
Vincent then turned to Anastasia but the maid was following behind him with her gaze somewhat lowered.
’Can’t expect an answer from her.’
Vincent’s entanglement with the maid was quite low. There was no way he could have a proper conversation about this and get the regressor exclusive knowledge.
Shaking his head, Vincent followed Agnes.
As he stepped out of the courtyard and entered the hallway, a line of text before his eyes followed by a familiar cold mechanical voice speaking in his head.
[Recalibrating...]
[System recalibrated.]
[System: Online]
[Ding!]
[Hidden conditions for Memory #28 met.]
[Warning: contains restricted information.]
[Play the memory now? (Y/N)]
’No! I’m in the middle of something. Don’t play it.’ Vincent immediately thought. freёwebnovel.com
He was just about to wonder why the system had been silent for so long. Turns out it had gone offline.
Clap! Clap!
There was no time for Vincent to chat with the system as he heard two loud claps.
It came from Agnes who just walked into the ballroom, grabbing the attention of everyone.
As all eyes turned to her and the music stopped.
She removed her eyemask and looked at the crowd.
"From this moment onward," her cold gaze swept across every noble in the ballroom.
"No one leaves."
