In the middle of the night, a large carriage was speeding away from the St. Claire Earldom.

“Brother, will father be mad that we did not complete the mission that was assigned to us?” Frit asked the only other person inside the carriage.

“I’m sure he’ll understand. After all, he was the one who called us back.” He waved his hand nonchalantly at Frit.

“Also, you can stop calling me brother now. We are alone here.” He smiled and Frit scratched his head in embarrassment.

“But I feel that ‘Brother’ is a more age-appropriate way to address you, Uncle.” He shook his head while saying this.

“Master, we will be at the border of the Earldom in a few minutes.” They heard a loud and hoarse voice from outside the carriage.

The two boys looked at each other and nodded.

Before leaving in a hurry, Frit and his ‘brother’ had gone to meet the gardener and anonymously left a large sum of gold coins on their front door as a token of their appreciation and gratitude. 

Having no debts remaining on their conscience, they departed from the St. Claire Earldom.

—

At the same time, Yvonne was fast asleep on her bed. But her sleep was anything but peaceful.

Every time she closed her eyes she could hear the faint cries of someone around her.

At first, she was scared that there was someone else inside her room.

So she made Mrs. Jacinth probe around the entire room, they breathed a sigh of relief when they did not find anyone there.

Mrs. Jacinth waited until she fell asleep and then slowly went back to her room.

“Wuuu…” 

This was the third time that when she had just started to doze off, she heard that awful weeping again.

By now, the lack of sleep for her young body had made her extremely cranky and frustrated.

“Will you stop it already! I’m trying to sleep here!” She yelled out to no one in particular.

“How can you sleep when I have so much sadness and grief in my heart?” A painful and eerily soft voice echoed in the room.

This spooked her endlessly and she huddled underneath her sheets.

‘What have I gotten myself into?’ She shivered and covered her ears.

‘You were always meant to be here.’ The voice spoke again but this time it was in her mind.

‘God, I know I never really believed in you but please save me!’ She closed her eyes and prayed.

In response, she heard a broken laughter echo around her.

“That won’t help you when it was God who wanted you to live this life.” 

She couldn’t make out where that voice was coming from, nor could she tell if it was a male or a female voice. But those words sparked her interest.

“What are you talking about?” Yvonne frowned and asked back.

‘Great! I’m talking to a ghost now. What else is remaining? A date with a Dracula?’ She chuckled even in this dangerous situation.

“Don’t laugh! Your life is already set to end in disaster.” The voice laughed maniacally but the laugh ended with sobs.

Yvonne was entirely confused and spooked out by what was happening to her.

“Disaster! Disaster! Disaster!” It chanted and the room illuminated with a red glow.

“Doom awaits you. After all, you’ve already met him.” The voice sounded sorrowful and miserable.

Yvonne looked up, trying to figure out the location of this voice.

“He will be the one to destroy you.” The light started to fade away.

“Him? Who?” Yvonne was curious about whom this voice was referring to.

“Wait…! Answer my questions! Come back!” She screamed when the voice was getting softer and lower with each second.

“Stay away from him or you will rue the day you ever met him!” It suddenly came back louder than ever and the entire room shook because of its intensity.

“Sleep, child.” 

Before Yvonne could understand the meaning behind such ominous words, her eyes grew incredibly heavy and she fell into a deep slumber.

Asmodeus stood by the bed with his disciple Theo at his side.

Theo was shivering when he heard that last cry the moment they entered Yvonne’s room.

“Sire, do you think that this is a bad omen?” He looked at Asmodeus and asked.

Asmodeus just looked at the place where the entity with the creepy voice was before he had expelled it far away from the room.

“I do not know that. But I do know that we can only stop it for now. It will surely come back again.” His grey eyes glowed in the dark room.

‘Was this really a mistake?’ He looked at Yvonne’s peaceful sleeping face and smiled a sad smile.

—

The next morning, Yvonne woke up in a great mood. She felt like she was forgetting something but she just couldn’t put a finger on what it was.

Today, they would be making the two-day journey back to Amarthea, the capital city of Rosenhyde.

Mrs. Jacinth had dressed her up in a lightweight white-colored dress and handed her over to her mother.

As they were about to board the carriage, she heard a voice calling out to her.

“Von!” 

A small child came running towards the carriage and gasped after she stopped.

“Are you leaving without saying goodbye?” The brown-haired girl looked up and pouted at Yvonne.

‘Wow, isn’t that the leading lady, Hilda?’ Yvonne tapped on Raylene’s shoulder indicating that she wanted to be put down.

“Hello.” She greeted politely because she had no idea how the previous Yvonne had interacted with her.

“I will miss you! Don’t forget about me when you go back to the capital.” Hilda suddenly hugged her.

Yvonne was not really a hugger so she tried to squirm away from Hilda’s arms but she did not succeed.

‘This girl is surprisingly strong.’ Yvonne endured the suffocating hug silently.

“Promise me that you’ll come back next summer.” She blinked adorably and waited for Yvonne to answer.

‘What promise? I will definitely come back but you won’t be here.’ Yvonne felt like rolling her eyes but stopped herself in the last second.

She nodded to get this over with and smiled back.

She looked back at the others who had come to see them off. The kitchen staff, the maids, the gardener and his wife and most importantly the man who had helped Yvonne realize that she was new to this world.

“Mr. Toone, I am glad to make your acquaintance.” She bowed to him and saw his amused smile as he nodded.

She took one last look at the grand mansion and then turned away.

Rutherford and Raylene patiently waited for her to reach them. She raised her hands and Raylene chuckled before picking her up.

‘What? There’s no way I could get on the carriage by myself! Hmph!’ She turned away from the teasing look on her face.

Rutherford picked them both up with ease and helped them into the carriage. He then got in after them and shut the door.

He tapped the side of the carriage and it started moving smoothly. 

‘Goodbye, my birthplace.’ Yvonne waved at the mansion that was slowly becoming smaller as they moved further away from it.

She called it her birthplace because this was the place she considered as the starting point of her new life.

‘Amarthea, here I come!’ She smirked evilly.