Noble of the Night: Blood Oath

Chapter 8

Clyce’s sharp gaze landed on Cable, sizing him up from head to toe.

A naive high school boy, barely mature, thinking he was ready for a girlfriend. Clyce could ignore anyone else trying to woo someone, but not Isabella.

Clyce shot Cable a glance filled with arrogance and disdain, making no attempt to hide his contempt.

Cable, sensing that Clyce wasn’t going to answer his question, turned his gaze back to Isabella.

“Isabella, who is this man? Is he the boyfriend you were talking about?”

Suddenly, Isabella felt the arm around her waist tighten.

“Don’t forget what secrets I hold over you,” Clyce’s warning whispered in her ear.

“Despicable! He dares to threaten me!” Isabella shot a resentful look at Clyce, who simply returned her glare with an indifferent expression.

Cable noticed the strange tension between the two, and he also saw the look of unwillingness in Isabella’s eyes. “Isabella, is he threatening you? Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you if something’s wrong,” Cable said, trying to reassure her. He was already thinking about calling the police if necessary.

Isabella could feel the arm around her waist tightening, a clear warning: if her answer didn’t satisfy Clyce, there would be consequences.

Her eyes flicked back and forth between Cable and Clyce. If she sided with Clyce, she could finally get rid of Cable’s relentless pursuit. On the other hand, if she sided with Cable, not only would Clyce continue threatening her, but she would still have to deal with the nightmare of Cable’s constant pestering.

When she thought about it, siding with Clyce seemed like the better choice. But... she hated the idea of giving in to his threats—it felt like admitting defeat.

Ugh... Her head was spinning from her cold, and now they were pressuring her like this. It was as if they were ganging up on a sick person!

“Isabella, what exactly is your relationship with him?” Cable’s impatient voice echoed in her ears.

These people are driving me insane! Can’t they just let me go home and rest?

“He’s... he’s the boyfriend I mentioned,” Isabella finally snapped, unable to hold it in any longer. Between two bad options, she chose the lesser evil and sided with Clyce.

Sigh... She hoped this was the right decision. The last time she’d sided with Clyce, she’d ended up locked in a small room. And when she tried to escape, she’d hit her head on a beam and still had a bump on her forehead.

At her words, a satisfied look appeared on Clyce’s face. He then shot a cold, warning glance at Cable, signaling him to back off.

Finally, I can go home and rest, right?

Isabella rubbed her swollen nose, preparing to leave and finally get some rest. But before she could take another step, a strong arm wrapped around her waist again, dragging her in another direction.

“What now?” she protested, frustrated. She had already gone along with his demands and declared him her boyfriend. What more did he want?

“You’re sick. I’m taking you home to rest,” Clyce said, noticing her flushed face and high fever.

“My house isn’t that way!” Isabella exclaimed in frustration. But she was too sick and weak to fight back. She had no choice but to let him drag her along.

“We’re going to my house.” His tone left no room for argument. She lived alone—who was going to take care of her while she was ill?

Ignoring her protests, Clyce calmly led her to a black sedan. As for Cable, after Isabella’s earlier admission, he didn’t try to stop them.

As the evening breeze swept across the ground, the faint sound of a girl’s frustrated complaints echoed through the air.

And thus, Isabella’s second decision turned out to be wrong again. Unfortunately, it was too late for regrets.

Pain—intense, unbearable pain gripped her entire body, gnawing at every cell. Darkness surrounded her, an endless void.

“Why? Why is it so easy for you to have everything I’ve ever dreamed of? Why do you throw away opportunities that others would die for? And for what? You give it all up for meaningless things! I hate you! I hate how you don’t value what I hold dear. For someone as ungrateful as you, death is the only answer.”

A furious voice roared in her ears, and the twisted face of a man appeared before her, holding a gun aimed directly at her, as if ready to end her life.

No, please! She didn’t understand why they wouldn’t leave her alone. She didn’t ask for much—just a simple, normal life, doing the things normal people did. Why couldn’t they understand that?

No matter how great her experiments were, no matter how many new elements she discovered, it didn’t matter! What good was eternal fame or being remembered in history when she was on the verge of death? She didn’t care about any of that. All she wanted was to live the rest of her life in peace, to experience happiness. Why did everyone stand in her way?

What was the point of being a genius? Sure, she could use her brilliant mind to save others, but she could never save herself! What good was this sharp intellect when it couldn’t keep her alive?

If only she could trade it all for a healthy body...

Suddenly, she jolted awake. The first thing she saw was an unfamiliar ceiling light. Pressing a hand to her dizzy head, Isabella lay weakly on the soft wool blankets beneath her.

Another nightmare.

Damn it. It had been so long since she’d dreamed about the past. So many years had passed. She thought she had forgotten all of that by now, but tonight, it all came flooding back.

Over a decade ago, she had been a celebrated child prodigy in America. Discovered at a young age to have extraordinary talent, the U.S. government had taken her in, raising and training her to serve the country one day.

For seventeen years, she lived under the shadow of congenital heart disease, constantly aware of the fragility of her own life. Her existence wasn’t hers—it belonged to the government that had raised her. But one day, she decided to give it all up. All she wanted was to live like a normal person, to experience the thrill of amusement park rides and bungee jumping, even if it killed her. If she was going to die, she wanted to at least enjoy life first.

Her decision had unnerved the authorities. She carried too many secrets in her brilliant mind, and even though she didn’t have much time left, no one could be sure she wouldn’t sell those secrets to another country in her remaining days.

So they decided to eliminate her.

They hunted her down, but miraculously, she had escaped. All she could remember was a colleague pointing a gun at her, but beyond that, everything was a blur.

Yes, she had lost her memory of those two days. She had no idea what had happened during that time or who she had been with. All she knew was that when she woke up, she was in a hotel room in England with some money by her side. And she had inexplicably become a vampire. While her heart disease remained, death would no longer come for her.

A few days later, the news broke that “Isabella” had died of illness. Those hypocrites had even thrown her a grand funeral. It was laughable—she wasn’t dead at all!

After that, she used her genius to forge documents and identities in various countries, and the new Isabella roamed the world, free to go wherever she pleased.

“You’re awake?” A calm male voice interrupted her thoughts. Isabella lifted her head and saw a man she didn’t recognize.

The man smiled kindly and placed a breakfast tray on the bedside table next to her.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Howard, and I’m Master Clyce’s assistant. You can just call me Howard. From now on, I’ll be taking care of your daily needs,” he said with a polite but reassuring demeanor.

Isabella glanced around the room, realizing she was in unfamiliar surroundings. Yesterday, Clyce had dragged her to this house, made her take a bath and eat, and after watching her take cold medicine, he had left her in this room to sleep.

Maybe it was because of her illness and the effects of the medicine, but she had obediently fallen asleep without putting up much of a fight. When she woke up, her head still hurt, but at least her stuffed nose had cleared up a little.

She looked at Howard, feeling a bit embarrassed to be lying in bed while someone else waited on her. “Hello, I’m Isabella,” she said, nodding politely.

“I know,” Howard replied. He had met her over a decade ago, though she didn’t remember.

Isabella glanced around the room. “Where’s that guy, Clyce? Did he leave?”

“Master Clyce went for a morning run. He’ll be back soon,” Howard reported honestly.

“Really?” Isabella smiled slyly. “Well, since he’s not here, I guess I’ll tell you. Thanks for taking care of me last night, but I should be going home now.”

If she was going to escape, it had to be now, while the big bad wolf wasn’t around. With only the assistant here, this was her best chance to slip away.

Clyce knew she was a vampire, and he was likely planning to use her for something sinister. It was best for her to get off his turf as soon as possible before she fell into his trap again.

Making the same mistake once was carelessness; making it twice would be pure stupidity.