The Blind Count's Secret Bride

The Ghost and the Traitor

"Where am I..." I thought. I couldn't see; I couldn't feel a single thing.

"Remember, Evelina... when the time comes..." That was Mom’s voice.

A memory? I wasn't really sure, but I had heard those words before. Mom... she had whispered to me that night. I still found it hard to recall what had happened that day, but I couldn't forget the sad look in Mom’s eyes. What did she tell me that night? Why can't I remember anything about it?

I felt a sharp headache the more I tried to remember. But slowly, I recalled the last incident with Emilia’s uncle...

Wait! Did I really end up dying again? Of course it had to be so; my life hadn't been much to wish for. Just when I thought I had a second chance... I thought I could finally make everything right, make them all pay, but in the end... I failed at it all. Pathetic, aren't I? To think I would find myself dying in such a way.

How much time had passed, I wasn't sure myself, as I slowly drifted in the empty void of it all until a slight sting snapped me back.

Slowly, I could feel the warm touch of my hand. My eyes slowly opened as I tried piecing the shadows together. My first sight was blurry. My eyes scanned the half-dim room, glancing at the sun beaming down from the window side.

"Where am I?" I murmured, wondering. Just then, a creak at the door drew my attention. I watched a lady making her way in. Judging from her dressing, she was a maid.

The last thing I recalled was being beaten to death. How did I end up here? "H... h... hello," I stammered, my voice trembling. I tried to sit up, only to feel a hard sting in my lower abdomen; my breath was shallow.

"Be careful, ma'am," the maid rushed to my side, helping me lay back on the bed. The intense pain I felt told me I hadn't yet recovered... but that was expected. To think I had survived... somehow the very thought caused my eyes to grow watery as little tears trailed down my cheeks.

"Ma'am?"

"Thank god..." I choked out, unable to shake the joy that came with it.

"Ma'am... is everything okay, ma'am?" I heard the maid ask, a hint of concern on her face.

"Sorry... it's... nothing..." I replied.

But still, many things remained unclear to me. "What happened to me?" I asked the maid, hoping to get some information from her, but just before she could utter a word, a voice cut in.

"Seems you are awake..." My gaze turned to the side. At the sight of a man dressed in rather refined white linens. His eyes were covered with a white blindfold. Was he blind? "Who are you?" I wasted no time in asking. But the moment he stepped closer, I paled. There was no doubt; he must be the scarred hero.

The eldest son of Count Von Frost. The same man rumored to be born with great potential—almost enough to compete with the Crown Prince's standing. But I heard his father snatched his right as heir, given his blind state served as a weakness.

I had remembered seeing him once during the coronation of the Crown Prince. A solitary figure that stood at the corner side, away from the crowd.

But why? How did I end up in the room of Alaric Von Frost?

It was true that I was still alive, but I just found it hard to trust my situation. I wasn't planning on making the same mistake.

He approached me in rather a graceful manner, an amused smile on his lips. "Seems I wasn't wrong," I heard him mutter in a whisper.

"What?"

"You're not just a normal human girl, are you?" he asked. His words sent a chill through me. What does he mean? It couldn't possibly be...?

I watched the maid excuse herself from the room as though she understood the silent command of her master. "What do you mean, My Lor—" I was saying, but stopped when he reached out, his fingers brushing the air near my face. I watched a fraction of a smile form on his lips. "Magnificent," he mused.

"W... what are you doing, Lord...?" I flinched, unsure of how to react during the situation. "Pure... yet dangerous. I can't help but be captivated by the mystery behind you. I really want you by my side," he declared.

"What?" I gasped.

But he left no words after; those fragments of a smile remained on his lips. "There's still time to discuss that. Rest for now..." he said, turning as he left before I even uttered any questions.

What had just happened? Somehow, I found myself releasing some held breath in an attempt to hide my anxiety. Why did I feel threatened, like he had seen through me? The fact that I am not the original owner of this body?

He wanted me by his side? We were strangers and had just met. I didn't want to stay any longer here. I couldn't get involved with any nobles for now. There were still many things about the current time I was unaware of.

I laid back on the bed, trying to close my eyes, but my thoughts went back to my uncle, recalling when he had attacked me. My hands curled into a fist, tightening. He was the very monster that I needed to destroy... but does that mean he wasn't the one behind Emilia’s mom's death? He had also mentioned Emilia's father, what could that mean?

There were still truly many things I stood ignorant of. But it wasn't over yet. Miraculously i was still alive. I will be sure to make each one of them suffer.

Some minutes went by, i had no idea when I had eventually slept off in my thoughts.

Feeling the chill of the breeze on my skin, my eyes slowly opened. My vision was blurry as I tried moving my arms, only to feel a strain on my hands followed by a loud shackle. I paused in an instant. "Wait," I gasped. My vision grew clearer, only to find myself in what seemed to be a cave. "What happened?" I screeched, struggling against the chains that bound me down. "Where am I?"

A minute ago, I was just in the room of the Count... so how? It couldn't possibly be...

I heard a loud clanging on the door followed by footsteps. Not one or two.

I slowly turned, only to recoil at the sight of them. Their faces were covered with long black cowls. One held a bone-like staff with a tattered cloth tied round it, while the three others standing at the back loomed. I noticed the glint of a silver blade.

"Wh... who are you?" I demanded, but received no words, only watching the stranger who seemed like their leader taking a step closer. "No... stay away... I said stay away!" I yelled, struggling, but that proved futile in the end.

"Why is she still alive?" one of them snarled.

"She should be dead."

"Did they fail to finish the work? Or has she awoken the curse?"

The murmurs, the whispers—they felt distant as they slowly became clearer. They were the ones who may have ordered the men to kill Emilia. If so, her mom...

"Did you do it?" I hissed, a sudden change in my tone. "What?"

"Did you kill my mom?" I yelled, asking. At first, they said nothing, just then the one I assumed was their leader stepped closer, bending slightly. "What if we did?" he whispered, his words hissing through his teeth.

"You will pay!" I yelled, losing control of myself. "I will kill you... kill you, I say!" I struggled, dragging the chains violently as they rattled louder, but my struggles were seen as amusement by the monsters as I heard some chuckle.

"Why bother? You can't break free from them. Those chains are Soul-Binders," he said, his words causing a pause from me.

Those were ancient cursed items—ones which still remained a mystery to us on how they were created. "The chains will slowly suck your life force away until you breathe your last breath. Don't think they would break so easily."

"W... what?"

Was that why I found myself feeling awfully weak?

"Soon the ritual will be completed and our Lord shall be released," the other stranger muttered. Ritual? The Lord? What did they mean?

I slumped to the ground suddenly, my vision slowly growing blurry. I could hardly feel much of my body anymore. "Don't worry, you won't feel any pain. Be grateful for such kindness," he mocked.

Should i really call it Kindness? It seemed my stars truly do fail me. Why was I alive again in the first place? Maybe this was for the best. Maybe this thirst for revenge was just a delusion of mine. I was dead already and shouldn't be here.

Maybe it was better not caring anymore. "I... am just tired," I sighed, my eyes slowly closing. But a loud blast at the door caused them to jump back. The stone rumbles, splattering through the area.

"What...?" I watched the men recoil in confusion. My ears grasped the loud sound of blades clashing outside the very walls, and just then, in the heat of the moment...

"They didn't hurt you, did they?" A voice echoed from my back, causing me to flinch. It was Alaric. "When... how?" I had no idea when he had approached my back. Watching the reaction of the other strangers, I could tell they had no idea also.

"What did you think, conspiring against her? Don't think you would be getting off only with broken bones."

He was blind; that was true. But somehow, why does it feel like I never noticed that fact about him? The way he walked, spoke, and reacted never felt like a blind man.

"What should we do?" one of the hooded men asked the leader. "We carry on the ritual, even if we have to kill the Count’s son," he bellowed.

"Do you really think it would be that easy?" Alaric mused, as I watched him drop his walking stick, removing his coat jacket. "Wouldn't want this stained."

Somehow, even in the brief time I had known him, the person in front of me seemed like a different person from the rumors I had heard. I watched a grin play on Alaric’s lips, one that terrified me.

Suddenly, Alaric’s body contorted. His bones snapped and reformed, white fur erupting from his skin until a giant white wolf stood in his place. He wasn't a Lycan, he was a high-tier werewolf whose abilities were on par with one. He lunged, a blur of white fur and silver teeth. Blood splattered against the cave walls as he tore through the hooded men. The leader didn't shift; he only watched his men fall one by one. As the last guard was silenced, the leader removed the black shroud covering his face.

I froze, paling when my eyes caught sight of his face. "No... how is this possible? Mickel?"

What was he doing here? How is he still alive? They said he had died. Mickel was the Crown Prince's Chief Commander and also my betrothed. But he was killed with my parents—the ones I was framed for murdering.

It can't be... right? The truth felt like a hard sting; the very person I had never suspected stood in front of me.

Those words he had said to me, the expression on his face... were they all lies?

"Mickel Draven. To think the Crown Prince's Chief Commander would dirty his hands with such acts," Alaric growled in his wolf form. Mickel chuckled, mocking him. "Dirty? This is for the greater good. Mongrels like yours will never understand," he sneered as he shifted into his own wolf form. I watched his bones crack and reform. Mickel howled viciously.

Lost in my own thoughts, I watched the two clash in a brutal fight. Claws met fur, and the sound of snapping bone filled the cave. Alaric was faster, but Mickel was seasoned in war.

Alaric landed a finishing strike, his claws ripping across Mickel’s chest, forcing his transformation to wear off. Mickel shrank back to his human form, collapsing.

Alaric shifted back to his human form, his chest heaving. He approached me, pulling out a key and unlocking the chains. "I should have come for your rescue sooner..." he gasped. His hands stretched out, brushing my cheek. "Thankfully, you're alive," he said, before collapsing on the ground.

"Lord Alaric... Alaric!" I cried, trying to catch him. Just then, my eyes fell on my hands, drenched in blood. I noticed Alaric was bleeding profusely from a deep wound.

"W... what?" I sobbed. "Why? just Why did you had to risk your life trying to save a stranger like me? I wasn't a noble myself; just a human. Nothing worth it. So why... why did he do all this?" I wept, not knowing why these tears flowed. He was a stranger. So why was I crying so much? Oh... I get it now. All I wanted was to be truly saved—just once—by someone.

"I told you, didn't I? I want you by my side," he whispered. "Don't cry."

I couldn't understand. How was I to understand?

"You can't just play the hero and leave," I choked. I wouldn't; I couldn't let him.

There must be something... something I can do to treat the wounds.

I was the daughter of the Thorne medical lineage. I could not fail.

"I won't let you die. Not now... not like this," I vowed.