Taboo Romance

Chapter 7: Dark Creatures

Droevir found himself reflecting on his strange behavior for the first time. It was as if he always felt the need to put on a facade around Mirelia, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out why.

Downstairs, the butler pushed open the door to the surveillance room and sighed in frustration when he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

The butler turned around and said to the servants who had been awakened by the loud noise, "It's nothing, just a coat rack that wasn't properly secured."

The servants didn't doubt the butler's explanation and returned to their rooms to continue sleeping.

Under the moonlight, two shadows darted through the forest, moving as swiftly as agile leopards. In fact, these two figures were Mirelia and Aurora.

Earlier, Mirelia had promised Aurora a jeweled necklace, so now she was taking her to her castle to retrieve it.

After all, having lived for a hundred years and being the sole heir to the Earl's estate, Mirelia had quite a few treasures. But she would never sell these jewels and antiques because she believed that the memories they held were priceless.

But giving one to Aurora was different because she had bought two necklaces at the time, intending to give one to her.

Aurora was her friend, and that made her more precious than any jewel. She didn't just represent memories of the past; she was also part of the memories yet to be made.

"Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve run this freely. Those city cameras are such a pain," Aurora exclaimed happily, and not missing the chance to complain about the stifling city life.

"If you don’t like it, why live in the city?" Mirelia asked curiously.

Aurora rolled her eyes. "I’d love to live in a castle, but I doubt I could find anyone willing to set up the internet out there."

Mirelia shook her head with a sigh. "You really don’t know how to say the right thing. You could have said you stayed to find me when I went missing. That might have actually moved me."

Aurora was about to respond when a strange sound came from the distance. Both of them froze, their shoes leaving long tracks in the dirt.

They tread lightly, stealthily moving toward the source of the strange sound.

Pushing aside the thick bushes that blocked their view, they finally saw what was happening—two vampires were fighting, and a large swath of towering trees had already been felled in the battle.

"Vampires fighting near Rosetown? Do you know them?" Mirelia turned to ask Aurora.

Aurora shook her head. "Never seen them before. They're probably not from our clan."

As they whispered to each other, they silently began to retreat, hoping to put some distance between themselves and the fighting vampires.

Creatures of the night were rarely friendly, and vampires even less so. If those two noticed them, they’d be in serious trouble.

Technically, as a seventh-generation and eighth-generation vampires, they weren’t exactly low-ranking. But their abilities were far from suited for combat—any skilled tenth-generation could easily take them down.

"We really shouldn't have been so curious..." Aurora murmured softly.

"Shh," Mirelia whispered nervously, "Listen, why did the fighting stop?"

"Please, don’t start telling ghost stories now." Aurora's voice trembled slightly.

Mirelia was speechless—how could a vampire be afraid of ghost stories? Does that even make sense?

"You go ahead. I'll check it out and catch up with you soon." Mirelia said to Aurora.

Aurora shook her head and grabbed Mirelia's arm. "Do you think I'm stupid? Splitting up now is how people start dying in ghost stories."

Mirelia knew better than to argue with her at a time like this, but it did make her realize why Aurora didn't live in a castle. That place definitely felt more like the setting of a ghost story.

They crept back to their original spot. Mirelia pushed aside some leaves and peered into the now desolate clearing, where a corpse lay in the center, its neck twisted at an unnatural angle.

Mirelia’s eyes widened instantly, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Just then, a raspy voice behind them asked, "Were you looking for me?"