Under the vampire Lord's protection Chapter 614: Not a coincidence

The dawn arrived with the rising sun, ushering in yet another day.

Silas had already risen from bed by that time, just like his routine back home, giving Arabella the freedom to wake whenever she pleased.

After preparing herself, she came downstairs right on time to see off the guests who had stayed overnight. Great Aunt Gwen and Annaleese were there, enveloping the young lady in hugs that nearly squeezed the life out of her.

"As sorry as I am to say this, I am afraid I must... I hate to think the demise of your father had to be the catalyst for a new dawn," Gwendoline uttered without a trace of smile.

"I won’t hold it against you," Arabella clung to her until the final word faded.

"Write us whenever you feel like it. We will write back," Annaleese at last released the young woman’s hands.

"I won’t forget to," she shook her head gently.

With that farewell, the great aunts headed to their waiting carriage following one final embrace for Arthur.

The man uttered not a single word to anyone, merely observing the scene silently.

Once the final guest had left, Rubius faced his granddaughter. "When will you be leaving us?"

Arabella shared a quick look with Silas prior to replying, "Tomorrow morning should be most ideal."

The elderly man let out a sigh. "I can’t shake the feeling it’s too soon, but well..."

During the talk, her right thumb traced soothing circles on her left palm, "I believe I’ve done everything I came here for. Nothing remains for me in this place."

"There will always be space for you here to call home, please remember that."

"Thank you, grandfather," she avoided his eyes as she spoke.

For the first time, Arthur didn’t await guidance from others and strode toward the foyer stairs on his own, beneath the gaze of all present.

The moment he vanished around the upper bend of the stairs, presuming he’d reached his room, Arabella trailed after him.

Yet she discovered him seated by one of the room’s windows.

Reubon’s allocated space for him had forever dwarfed his sister’s by double, a fact noted silently but never mentioned.

In their kind of existence, quarreling over room size felt pointless, if not completely absurd.

The young woman pulled over a chair and dropped into it heavily. Initially, words stuck in her throat, refusing to emerge.

At last, however, she found her voice. "After careful consideration, I’ve reached the heartbreaking decision that you’ll fare better staying here," a brief pause interrupted her speech, "I’m unsure if it’s correct, but right now, I’m uncertain of everything."

Her eyes scanned the walls, recalling how Reubon had chosen portraits of hunters beside their prized kills for Arthur’s room, unlike the lavish building illustrations in hers.

Thinking back, she far preferred depictions of grand houses over men boasting slain beasts purely for thrill.

"Grace kept hinting through the night that she wanted to stay... With you here at least for a time, but we worry for her, as you’ll surely comprehend," she swallowed hard, "Grace as a vampire faces real peril. Particularly with you, the reigning Lord of these lands, being... Well, you know Lustris customs."

Nothing stirred... Save for rhythmic blinks matching his breaths... No other hint of vitality showed.

Arabella exhaled a deeper, heavier sigh. "You know, arriving at Eleazar manor first, I regretted not grabbing another memento of mother. I only had this pendant on my neck, which I’ve now lost ironically, so... Perhaps it wasn’t so terrible skipping extras. I’d likely have misplaced them too," a wry laugh slipped out, "Still," her tone softened with furrowed brows, "Now seeing all her belongings here, I refuse to shift even one item. It’s like I’d shatter this whole place’s harmony..."

The young woman leapt up and positioned herself at the window, shielding Arthur from the sun’s beams. "In any case," she nodded firmly, "Grandfather will manage affairs until you recover and reclaim your role. I’ll rely on him to inform me of any issues and..." her voice trembled amid rising sniffles, "As I said earlier, I’ll always stand before or behind you. Wherever you require me, there I’ll be."

Those declarations clawed at her throat and heart, tearing painfully as they escaped.

"Right!" She drew a steadying breath and squared her shoulders. "I’ll leave you alone now! I want to check father’s library and map room. I snuck there nearly daily when unobserved," she plastered on a smile, teeth pressing her lower lip.

Following a gentle kiss to her brother’s forehead, Arabella rushed to the door to depart, but... Something halted her abruptly.

"It rained that day," the voice rang familiar yet alien... Raspy, as if fighting to surface.

Her muscles froze rigid as planks, denying her any movement. Not even to face the speaker.

"I so wished to see your face one last time, but you had a veil fully covering it," the effort persisted, yet Arthur pressed on further.

"For mother the sky had cried, but not for father," after the tiniest hesitation, he continued, "I do not think it is a coincidence."