Chapter 452: The strange energy in the house_Part 1
"Rohan is his father?" She almost screamed the words as she couldn’t believe it. Since when had they had the boy for him to grow like this? To think she had mistaken him for that Evenly’s son when they met!
"Rohan is his father," the demon king confirmed, and Cordelia turned on him with anger.
"Did you also approach the human with this same deal and make my cousin have a child with her?" she’d accused, knowing the Rohan she knew would never have a child with a human. And even if it happened by mistake, he would have thrown the boy off some cliff for his amusement. For Rohan was a selfish, self centered uncaring man, and that was why she liked him so much.
The demon king laughed at her words. "If only it was that. She’s the only person I can not control, and her mind cannot be easily penetrated like yours. I didn’t make a deal with her, I am making one with you."
The demon king had failed to enter the dead girl’s head far too many times. If he could, he would have already made her leave his son long ago and gotten rid of her from Rohan’s life. The only thing he had managed to do was suppress a single memory in her head, and even that had taken so much effort to achieve.
Because he planned to use Cordelia in his schemes, he had suppressed the memories of that encounter in the market with the vampiress from her mind. If she hadn’t forgotten it and mentioned it to Rohan, then the demon king knew his offspring would have gotten rid of his next hope of having another son for his plans. He couldn’t let that happen. Though the memory was still in her mind, it had been suppressed underneath.
Being the creature that he was, one not mixed with any other and a pure demon, he could get into anyone’s mind and manipulate it to his will. He could sway minds and make them dance to his own tune, everyone except Isabelle and her son.
And now, in the present, where Cordelia was already impatient about studying the scenes of their life after she had already signed the contract with him, one that warned going against it would mean her death, he told her,
"You still want to be his wife, don’t you?"
Cordelia was glaring at the scenes of them celebrating Rohan’s birthday as they feasted in the dining hall. That glare turned to the demon. "How many times will you ask me that question? I said I want to be!"
The demon king nodded his head. "Good. Then in two days, you shall be his wife."
___
In the castle, the evening approached quickly, and with the brightness gone from the sky, cold descended in Nightbrook. There was no snow, but the cold felt even colder than snow itself. The servants went around adding wood to the fireplaces throughout the castle and in all the bedrooms.
Meanwhile, Belle had thought long and hard, and she came to a sudden decision that afternoon when she saw how happy everyone looked for her husband birthday, except for Rav, who looked a bit lost. She had decided to share with Rav the fact that she knew his heart was going bad but that she could help him.
She came to this decision because Evenly had told her that although Rav was attentive to her, a part of him was restraining himself from fully being happy with her and expecting their child.
He must have already sensed his corruption and couldn’t be at peace with himself as he feared dying and leaving her to grieve for him. But if one carried such fear, it would not only stop him from living the best of the moment, it would also make the corruption trigger more often, and the time she had shifted forward to add to his life would begin switching backward. He needed not to think about it and be at ease, or her efforts would be going to waste.
She heard him close the door to the room he shared with Evenly next to the drawing room, followed by his footsteps approaching. The door to the drawing room opened, and he walked in. Seeing her sitting there in the candle-lit room with a cup of hot chocolate in her hand, he mustered a small smile. "My lady, you called for me?"
Belle returned his smile. "Yes, sit down, please. I need to talk to you." She gestured to the space beside her on the long couch.
Rav nodded and made his way over, sitting hesitantly next to her, leaving a respectful distance between them. He couldn’t help but wonder what the lady wanted to talk to him about. But he didn’t question it and sat silently, waiting for her to speak while he fought the urge not to cough as he felt it rising in his chest.
"Rohan told me you have started crafting things for the baby," she said smilingly, wanting to start the conversation on a lighter topic.
Rav flushed slightly as he nodded, shifting on his sit. "Yes. I find myself doing so because there is less work in the castle with the servants here and more time in my hands," he mused with a half-smile.
Meanwhile, he didn’t believe he had as much time as he hoped he would have, because the cough he had believed had stopped had started again a few days ago, with a tint of blood every time. It was terrifying to see that he was dying while his fiancée was pregnant and telling him about a future he didn’t believe he would be a part of.
He had started to craft toys and anything he believed a baby would like because some part of his heart kept telling him he might not be here to see it.
As if Belle could read his mind, she said something that startled him.
"You will live long, Rav." Her words caught him by surprise, and he looked at her with wide eyes, baffled at how she knew.
"My lady..."
"I know what you are trying to hide, but I want you to rest assured that for as long as I am here and alive, you won’t be dying from corruption." Belle’s eyes went to his hands resting on his thighs, clasped together and trembling. She reached out to place her hand over them to assure him.
"Rav, you have lost a lot in life, and I know it. You carry fear and doubt, but in order for me to help you, I want you to let all that go and live in the moment. Your fears are heightening the spread of the corruption in your heart."
Rav stared at the lady, wondering how she knew all this without him saying anything aloud or even telling anyone that he was sick. But it no longer seemed to matter how she knew.
"Corruption has no cure, my lady. It takes away a vampire’s ability to live and think. The heart rots along with the brain. How can I not have fears?" he said, bitterness clouding his voice. But then a sudden panicked look flickered across his face, as if a terrible thought struck him. If she knew about this... didn’t that mean Rohan knew as well?
He half-turned toward her on the couch, desperation filled in his voice. "Please don’t let his lordship know. I will leave once I start to feel it consuming me, so I can’t hurt anyone when I turn rogue. But I want to stay close to Evenly for a while. She needs me right now. If his lordship finds out, he might kill me faster than the corruption ever would, to protect everyone." His voice shook. "But I swear I won’t hurt any of you. I will go before that happens." He bowed his head. "Please, my lady."
Belle knew it would be hard for him to believe she could cure him when, until now, there hadn’t been anyone cured from corruption except Rohan. If he wasn’t assured enough, his worries wouldn’t go away, so Belle went on to say,
"Rohan already knows, and he isn’t doing anything to you because he trusts me to cure you, Rav. I can do it, but it won’t be possible if you hold onto those strong emotions. I helped Rohan with his corruption, remember?"
Rav’s panics immediately began to ease as he realized she was right. In the past, Rohan’s body used to battle with the corruption, and sometimes he would turn rogue and wander off to places to feed. Being the creature his master was, his body could battle with the corruption then. But recently, Rav had not seen any signs of corruption in his master, not since the Lady saved him a year ago in the forest. She had helped Rohan.
A wave of relief and hope rushed through Rav’s chest, and he looked at the lady with hope and gratitude. "I will forever be indebted to you, my lady, if you truly have a way to cure me." He got to his feet and bowed at the waist, unable to express how grateful he was to hear she could help him and that Rohan wouldn’t be killing him.
Belle stood as well and waved her hands gently. "Don’t do that, Rav. You are now part of our family, and what is a family for if they can’t stand for each other and give help?" She moved towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder, urging him to rise. He lifted his head, his light red eyes glowing faintly at her words.
"Thank you..." His voice was thick as he rubbed the moisture from his eyes with trembling fingers. "You have no idea what you have just given me... I can now rest well knowing I will get married to Evenly and also hold our child when it comes."
There were no words to describe how Rav felt in that moment. He was too happy and too grateful to the lady. She had just lifted a very heavy burden from his heart and mind.