Married To The Mad Vampire Lord - Chapter 479

Chapter 479: The reapers scroll
Andrea didn’t want to be part of this, as fear had already taken hold of her after everything master Kent had done to put it inside her. Hence, she said, “Since you said there would be war, you shouldn’t think of escaping when the humans will come and break us out of here once they invade Nightbrook, like you said.”

Belle didn’t think she could put her fate in the hands of humans invading Nightbrook to save them. Judging from how strong the smell of death had become lately, it was probably because of this upcoming war. She could tell, even without seeing it, that there were reapers beyond the walls of the establishment, wandering around and waiting for the lives that would soon be lost.

If only Kuhn was still her pet, she would have sent him to lead Rohan here. She would have…

It was then Belle had an idea that struck her like a flash and refused to leave her head. But she waited until she heard the other woman’s soft snoring before she sat up, crossed her legs on the cold ground, and quietly brought out the scroll of the reapers. One advantage of being a reaper was that there were certain things they could control, making them disappear and reappear when needed, like her scythe and the important scrolls every Grim was given after transition. It was a good thing these things weren’t taken from her.

Without any light in the cell, it was difficult to see; only the faint glow of a torch from the long corridor slipped through the narrow cracks, dimly illuminating the space.

Though Kuhn was no longer her pet, he had still once been hers, and if he had successfully made the transition into becoming a reaper from a Watcher, it meant he could travel freely between the realms, and perhaps, he might even be wandering somewhere nearby just like this many reapers she had noticed.

When she herself had transitioned from Watcher to Reaper, it hadn’t taken more than three days in mortal time. And if Kuhn had truly learned from her when she was still Astral, he should possess that same determination, strong-willed enough to push through his transition quickly.

The reason she was now going through the long scroll, which held the thousands upon thousands of reaper names, was because every new reaper’s name was automatically added once they completed their transition from Watcher to soul taker. If she found Kuhn’s name, it would mean he had made it.

And if he had made it, then there was a chance she could somehow meet him. Reapers could communicate with each other as long as they existed within the same realm, and since she couldn’t cross into the land of the dead yet, Kuhn being here in this realm meant there was a small but real possibility of meeting him.

But the names were so many, etched endlessly in glowing script, that by the time she finally found his, morning was already approaching. The molten gray light of dawn spilled faintly through the small window, brushing over her face, while her back ached and burned from sitting hunched over for so long.

Oh, please let your name be there, Kuhn. I need you to be able to leave this place in time, Belle cried in her mind as she searched desperately, her fingers trembling over the names, until her eyes fell upon his name. Her heart gave a leap of joy. He had made it into the ranks of the reapers, just recently!

However, if Kuhn didn’t come to see her himself, there was no way she could ever reach him first. Many new reapers liked to go back to their masters to give their final respects, but with Kuhn’s last words to her, there was no telling if he would be curious enough to come find her on his first journey as a reaper into the mortal world to collect a soul.

The only way to know was to wait for the right moment. But when would that be? Would it be before that madman, Master Kent, returned to the establishment and killed her?

Now, with at least a fragile plan forming in her mind, if Kuhn came to find her, Belle decided to keep a low profile and wait for the right opportunity for her escape. But that too proved to be difficult, for something completely unexpected happened next.

—

Back in the castle, Evenly could be seen sitting before a locked door, her forehead resting against the wood and her palms pressed flat against it as she bit her lip to fight the tears and emotions that refused to go down since finding out that Rav might die of corruption. She had been sitting there for hours, despite Rav telling her to go away and leave him alone.

Rohan had taken the keys with him, and she had no way of going into the room to check if Rav was fine, as he had refused to speak again after telling her to leave him alone that he didn’t need her there. Had she not known the condition he was in, Evenly would have believed he was pushing her away because he didn’t want her anymore. But she knew better. She knew he was acting cold because he didn’t want her to sink into deep grief when he…

The thought of it pained her heart and twisted it in a way that made her throat contract painfully.

“Rav, why did you hide it from me all this time? Why didn’t you let me know before it got this bad?” Evenly asked, her voice trembling as silent tears fell down her cheeks.

Corruption was every turned vampire’s greatest fear. When one was not a born vampire, they didn’t have the vampire core that kept the true ones alive for centuries upon centuries without complications. Turned vampires still depended on their human hearts, and when the heart was not strong enough, it could not live as long as the vampire body. It would eventually become weak, infected by a disease that slowly killed the brain and destroyed every healthy cell in the body.

If he had been hiding it all this time, then it meant the corruption had started slowly, and he had hidden it well from her.

Rav, who sat behind the locked door with his back pressed against the wooden frame for support, heard her question and a bitter smile graced his face.

“Telling you about it wouldn’t have changed anything, my lady. It can’t cure me of this disease or make me better,” he said, purposely making his voice sound harsh so she would go away and believe he didn’t deserve her love or loyalty. “And I quite believe that if I had never let myself fall for your charm and seduction… my heart wouldn’t have turned bad. So go away and let me be, ma’am.”

His words struck Evenly straight in the heart. He was building a wall between them, creating a distance where there had once been understanding and care for each other, reverting to calling her formally when they had already come this far, with a child on the way.

“Christian… I swear, if you don’t stop talking to me like that, trying to push me away, I will—”

“I don’t care!” Rav interrupted sharply. “Don’t you understand that I don’t want you here anymore? Our relationship was a big mistake that shouldn’t have happened, and I’m only realizing that now.”

Rav clutched his right hand against his chest as the pain tore through him so violently that he nearly screamed, but he bit it back, refusing to let it show in his voice. His tone remained cold, reaching toward the woman who wanted him enough to sit there for hours, refusing to leave.

Please, go away, Evenly. Don’t make me say hurtful words I don’t mean. Don’t make me hurt you like this. You are the only woman I have ever loved, and because I love you, I must make you let me go. Leave me, Evenly. Live and continue your life with our child.

What was the need to make her still want him when he was going to die? If he would leave this world behind, he didn’t want to leave someone else burdened with his loss, like he had been forced to carry his son’s. Corruption easily crept into a heart that had suffered too much, and having her carry so much pain and grief would lead only to the creation of another corrupted heart.

He had always believed she deserved better than a man like him anyway. Perhaps this was the only way she would ever find someone better, someone who could live for her when he no longer could.