"A man who steals another man’s woman shouldn’t be surprised when the debt comes due at home." --- Your Author
Just as the sun fell down the horizon, Adrian walked through the inner district of the city.
While his vampire body could regenerate and heal his wounds very easily, Adrian was holding back on that.
He had to show Lady Eleanor what her son did to him.
He had to be patient if he wanted to taste the forbidden fruit.
In no time, he reached the towering, wrought-iron gates of the Montfort estate.
It was heavily guarded, but for him it was nothing much. He walked along the stone walls and soon turned into the corner and scaled the stone wall, and dropped silently into the garden.
He slipped smoothly from the garden into the ground floor of the grand castle, and sticking to the dark shadows, he paused when the soft chatter of two maids echoed down the corridor.
"Is Young Master Julian back yet?" the first maid asked.
"No, he is not in the castle. I think he went there again." The second maid replied in a whisper. It seems Julian’s visits to the gambling house and the brothel was a well known secret.
"And the Lord is still away too," the first maid continued, "We better be careful for the time being."
The second maid nodded, balancing a silver tray with an ornate glass of wine, "I am just taking this up to Lady Eleanor’s study. After that meet me in the kitchen."
A pleasant smirk curled on Adrian’s lips. He won’t have to blindly look for Lady Eleanor’s location in this grand mansion.
He got behind the second maid, following her silently through the corridors as he let her lead him all the way to the upper wing.
It was Lord Monfort’s study. Lord Montfort was currently out of the capital, and Lady Eleanor was alone tonight, likely managing the family’s endless ledgers.
He waited outside as the maid delivered the wine, and the moment she stepped back out, Adrian moved, and slipped through the narrowing gap just before the doors clicked closed making no sound.
Before making his move, Adrian paused, reached behind his back, and dug his fingers into his wounds, and ripped them back open.
Fresh, dark blood instantly spilled down his torn academy uniform and splattered onto the floor.
Now the stage was set. It was time for his performance to begin.
"Ummh!" He stumbled forward dragging his feet to make his steps sound heavy and erratic, he let out a loud, pained groan.
His knees buckled, and he collapsed dramatically onto the rug right in front of the massive mahogany desk.
THUD!
"Eenh!" Lady Eleanor did not sense anything and she jumped in her seat. She dropped her quill, her eyes going wide in shock and surprise.
"Who...?!"
Lady Eleanor was the elegant symbol of nobility, with timeless elegance that despite her age made her appear to be in her late thirties.
Her golden-blonde hair was pinned into a clean bun, striking aristocratic cheekbones and pristine porcelain skin.
Though she wore a tailored midnight-blue velvet gown, the neckline dipped low enough to struggle against her massive breasts.
But right now, she was a concerned woman staring at the bleeding, half-dead boy who had just collapsed in her sanctum.
"Who...?!" Eleanor gasped, rushing around the massive desk, and she dropped to her knees beside the groaning figure.
She gently grabbed his shoulder, turning his face slightly toward the light to inspect the intruder.
As the study’s dim light caught his pale features, her breath completely caught in her throat.
She knew this boy.
"Adrian? Adrian Ravencrest?" she stammered in shock.
Her hands hovered over his burnt chest, trembling as she saw the severe burns on his chest, "Gods above, what do I do?"
"Please! save me!" Adrian barely managed to speak in a weak, barely audible voice.
"How did this happen?" Eleanor asked in confusion, her eyes roaming all over his body.
"Your son! Julian did this," Adrian rasped out, coughing up a small amount of blood onto her rug, "He ambushed me.... I didn’t even fight back, Lady Eleanor. He just... He just wanted to kill me in front of everyone."
As his words set in her mind, panic began to rise, and her mind raced.
The rumours of the disastrous Awakening Ceremony had already reached her ears. She knew Duke Ravencrest had publicly disowned the boy and likely wouldn’t lift a finger to avenge him.
But the Duke wasn’t the real problem.
If Lady Katerina, his obsessively protective mother, learned that Julian had ambushed her son, she won’t care if it Adrian provoked Julian or not. She won’t care if her son was at fault.
There would be no trial.
That crazy woman would spark a blood-feud.
She would personally level the entire Royal Capital and slaughter the Montfort family before the King could even intervene.
"Stay still. Please, stay still," Eleanor pleaded, already pulling a high-tier healing potion from her spatial ring and tipping it toward the open burns on his back. "I will heal you. We can fix this. Julian is a fool. He did not know what he was doing. I will compensate you, Adrian. Gold, artifacts, anything. Only keep this quiet."
He caught her wrist before the mouth of the bottle could touch him, and she gasped and let the potion drop rather than risk breaking the arm of a boy who was already coming apart in her hands.
"Compensation," Adrian repeated, and he did not let go, "You think a purse of gold is going to cover the fact that your son tried to kill me in public?"
"Adrian, please, let go of me," Eleanor said, trying to keep the Lady in her voice even while she refused to put any real strength into the pull, afraid that force itself would become another injury she would have to explain.
He sat up slowly, reached into the ruined coat with his free hand, and brought out the black ledger the system had given him.
He set the ledger on the floor between them.
"Do you know what this is, Lady Eleanor?" he asked, and he let the question stay quiet.
She stared at the scuffed black hide and the syndicate stamp with her brows drawn together.
"This," Adrian spoke, staring at Lady Eleanor, "This is a ledger from the Black Lantern Syndicate."
"You must know of them. They run the gambling floors and the brothel under the old tannery district."
"The same place your maids already know your son visits in the dead of the night."
"It records how much he has gambled in his own name, how much he has spent after midnight, and how he has tried to keep the collectors from coming to your family gates."
Eleanor’s breath hitched. "That is impossible. You are lying."
"Am I?" He leaned in and rested his palm on the cover, over the wax. "Then open it. Your son was very thorough with the blade against his neck. He chirped like a bird.
"It outlines exactly how much your idiot son has been illegally gambling. Massive debts. Debts he tried to pay off using the money your husband embezzled from the royal funds that he is supposed to be managing."
"There are names in here. There are dates."
Lady Eleanor looked at Adrian’s eyes and then at the ledger below his palms. She had an urge to look at the ledger herself.
"You have your doubts. I can see that. You also know your son. He is a sloppy, arrogant brat, and he leaves trails because he has never believed anyone would be allowed to follow them."
"What do you think happens if I walk out of this room and set this book in front of the King tomorrow morning?"
"Your husband will answer for royal funds that were not his to spend. He will most likely be executed for treason, and Julian will be sent to the borders to die."
He let go of her wrist.
Eleanor went down onto the rug as if the strength had gone out of her spine, her composure breaking in a single ugly motion, and she pushed herself backward until the desk stopped her.
"What do you want?" she whispered. "If you wanted to destroy us, you would have gone to the King. Why are you here?"
"As expected," Adrian said, and he stood with the kind of smile that did not belong on a boy who had been dying in the street an hour ago. "You are smart."
[DING!]
[Starter Skill Unlocked: Lust-Inducing Vampire Pheromones.]
[Would you like to activate?]
’What is this?’ Adrian thought, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at the glowing prompt, ’Explain.’
[The Lust-Inducing Vampire Pheromones is a biological surge unique to your bloodline,]
[It is designed exclusively to break down the inhibitions and defenses of women. It will force her body into a state of horniness. To her, this is just your natural, overwhelming aura.]
[Consider this a small courtesy from the System to get you started. The quest still requires you to finish the work with your own hands. I will not seduce Lady Eleanor for you.]
’Activate it,’
Adrian’s eyes flashed, as he unleashed the skill, and the air instantly thickened. An intoxicating, sweet scent of crushed roses filled the room.
"Huh?!" Eleanor gasped as the scent hit her lungs, and her pupils dilated.
A pink unnatural flush spread rapidly up her neck and completely covered her cheeks.
Her breathing grew heavy, and she reached behind her, gripping the edge of her dress.
Adrian meanwhile crawled closer to her, caging her against the edge of the desk. He slowly reached out and brushed the back of his knuckles against her burning cheek.
Eleanor shuddered at his touch. He trailed his finger down her jawline, letting his hand slide down to rest on her collarbone.
His touch was slow and deliberate, using his actions to tell her exactly what he wanted from her as payment.
Eleanor tried to turn her head away, but her body was betraying her. Her chest heaved heavily against her dress.
"Adrian... stop this," Eleanor pleaded, her voice wet and weak, "I am a married woman. You can’t do this."
"Ohh! I can. After all, you are a desperate mother," Adrian corrected as he reached up and tangled his fingers in her perfectly pinned hair. He pulled her head back making her look up into his eyes.
"Adrian!" Eleanor instinctively let out a soft moan. She hated herself for that, but his touch was pushing her on the edge.
"Your son humiliated me in front of everyone today," Adrian whispered directly against her lips. "He took what was mine."
"So, tonight, it’s only fair that I am going to take what is his."