Chapter 45: The Witch in the Field

Francis’ eyes followed my gaze toward the hallway.

“What is it?” he asked calmly. “What’s going on?”

I hesitated for a moment before answering.

“One of the girls,” I said slowly, “she’s our neighbor.”

Francis raised an eyebrow.

“And?”

“She’s also… a friend of ours.”

For a moment Francis simply stared at me.

Then he gave a small shrug.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” he said lightly. “It’s perfectly fine.”

I shook my head slightly.

“No… it’s not that simple.”

His expression shifted just a little.

“It’s risky,” I continued. “She lives with her uncle. And he’s already starting to become suspicious of us.”

For the first time since we arrived, Francis’ smile faded slightly.

The room felt colder.

Then he tilted his head slowly.

“Do you think I’m some sort of monster?”

His voice was calm, but there was a sharp edge beneath it.

I raised my hands slightly.

“That’s not what I meant.”

Francis cut me off immediately.

“I was literally telling you a few seconds ago,” he said, his tone tightening, “that it would be inconvenient if you ended up ripping their heads off while feeding.”

He leaned forward slightly.

“And now you assume I’m going to kill them.”

His pale eyes locked onto mine.

“Is that really what you think of me?”

I shook my head again.

“No—that’s not what I meant.”

He stared at me.

“Then what did you mean?” he asked.

His voice lowered.

“Hm? What exactly did you mean?”

The entire room went silent.

No one moved.

For a few long seconds the only sound was the faint ticking of a clock somewhere in the house.

Then Timi suddenly stood up.

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Francis,” he said calmly.

Francis slowly turned his attention toward him.

“It’s just that Daniel here has grown rather fond of the girl and—”

He didn’t finish.

Francis burst into loud laughter.

The sudden sound filled the room.

He leaned back in his chair, laughing as if he had just heard the most amusing thing in the world.

Francis’ laughter slowly faded as he wiped the corner of his eye, still smiling.

“Oh, relax,” he said lightly. “I was only joking.”

The tension in the room eased slightly.

He waved a hand casually.

“You’re free to go talk to her if you wish.”

Then his expression turned slightly serious.

“But remember… she came here of her own free will.”

I nodded.

“Thank you.”

Without waiting any longer, I stepped away from the table and followed the same hallway the girls had taken.

It led into a large living room.

The moment I stepped inside, I had to pause for a second.

The place looked like something out of another century.

The room was wide and elegant, filled with antique furniture that looked both vintage and incredibly expensive. Dark wooden shelves lined the walls, holding old books and decorative artifacts. A massive chandelier hung from the ceiling, its warm golden light reflecting softly across polished floors.

Two large velvet sofas sat across from each other near a marble fireplace. Thick Persian rugs covered parts of the floor, and several classical paintings hung in ornate golden frames along the walls.

Everything in the room felt refined… old… and valuable.

It was the kind of place where every object probably had a history.

Across the room, the girls were exploring curiously, whispering to each other as they looked around at the mansion.

But Collette wasn’t moving.

She was sitting quietly on one of the velvet sofas.

A glass cup rested in her hands.

When she noticed me standing there, our eyes met for a brief second.

Then she quickly looked down at the floor.

I didn’t care that she looked away.

I walked straight toward her.

Her friends were still wandering around the room, admiring the furniture and whispering to each other, completely unaware of the tension building between us.

I stopped in front of her.

“Can we talk?” I asked.

Collette slowly looked up at me.

Her expression was guarded.

“Talk about what?”

I sat down beside her anyway.

For a moment neither of us spoke.

Then I looked at the glass in her hand before turning back to her.

“What are you doing here, Collette?”

Her jaw tightened slightly.

“Whatever I’m doing here,” she said coldly, “is none of your business.”

I leaned closer, lowering my voice.

“You need to leave.”

She frowned.

“What?”

“You have to get out of here,” I said quietly. “You’re not safe here.”

For a second she just stared at me.

Then she let out a small chuckle.

“I don’t know who you think you are,” she said, shaking her head slightly, “but you need to stop acting like you know me, okay?”

Something inside me snapped.

I stood up.

“Fine.”

I turned to leave.

Behind me, she spoke again.

“Are you going to tell Olivier about this?”

Her voice carried a hint of challenge.

I paused for a brief second before answering.

“Whatever you’re doing,” I said without turning around, “is none of my business.”

Then I walked out of the living room and headed back toward the dining room.

I returned to the dining room.

Francis was still seated at the head of the table, calmly watching the rest of them.

“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, “but I think I’m going home.”

Timi immediately stood up.

“So are we,” he said. “Sorry for leaving so soon, Mr. Francis.”

Juliet and Ayara also rose from their chairs.

Francis looked genuinely surprised.

“Leaving?” he said. “But it’s barely past midnight.”

He gestured lightly around the room.

“The night is still young.”

His eyes moved between us.

“And if you’re worried about feeding because you happen to know one of the girls… then there’s no problem.”

He leaned back slightly.

“We don’t have to touch them.”

He smiled faintly.

“Besides… we haven’t even gotten to the real reason I invited you here.”

We hesitated.

After a brief moment, we slowly sat back down.

Francis nodded with quiet satisfaction.

Then he raised his voice slightly.

“Matthieu.”

A few seconds later, the butler appeared in the doorway.

“Yes, sir.”

Francis turned toward him.

“Make sure our guests remain comfortable in the living room. Do not let them leave.”

Matthieu nodded.

“Of course, sir.”

“And give them anything they ask for.”

“Very well.”

The butler bowed slightly and disappeared again.

Francis stood up from the table.

“Now,” he said, adjusting the sleeve of his jacket, “I would like to show you something.”

He gestured for us to follow.

We walked with him through a long hallway and out the back door of the mansion.

The cool night air greeted us immediately.

Behind the mansion stretched a wide open field. The grass was short and soft, glowing faintly under the moonlight. The land stretched far into the distance, quiet and empty.

Francis stepped forward into the field.

We followed.

After walking a short distance, he stopped and lifted his hand, pointing somewhere ahead.

“That,” he said, “is where we’re going.”

I followed the direction of his finger.

At first I saw nothing but darkness.

Then, far in the distance—

A faint yellow light flickered.

As my eyes adjusted, I realized it was coming from a small cabin sitting alone in the middle of the field.

The light glowing through its window was dim, but unmistakable.

Juliet looked toward the small cabin in the distance, the dim yellow light flickering through its window.

“What’s in there?” she asked.

Francis didn’t hesitate.

“A very powerful witch.”

Timi frowned immediately.

“A witch?” he said. “How does that work?”

Francis glanced at him.

“How does what work?”

Timi gestured toward the cabin.

“A witch and a vampire living in the same place. Don’t witches and vampires usually hate each other?”

Francis chuckled softly.

“Don’t they?”

Then his eyes shifted calmly between Timi and Juliet.

“Isn’t your mother a witch?”

The words landed like a stone dropping into still water.

Everyone froze.

Francis slowly turned his head toward Juliet.

“And you as well.”

Silence swallowed the field.

Timi’s eyes widened slightly.

Juliet stared at Francis, completely stunned.

Even I felt a chill run through me.

How does he know that?

Francis noticed our reactions and smiled.

“Ah,” he said lightly. “I suppose I should explain.”

He folded his hands behind his back.

“I didn’t want to spook you earlier. That’s why I pretended not to know your story.”

His smile widened a little.

“And I must say…”

He glanced at Timi.

“That lie you came up with in the dining room was quite impressive.”

Timi said nothing.

Francis gestured toward the cabin again.

“Come,” he said calmly.

Then he started walking toward it.

None of us moved immediately.

We all exchanged uneasy looks.

Ayara shook her head slowly.

Her expression clearly said she did not want to go anywhere near that place.

Timi noticed.

He gently took her hand.

Then he gave her a small reassuring smile and nodded.

Ayara hesitated… but didn’t pull away.

Finally, we began walking after Francis, the dim yellow light of the cabin slowly growing brighter as we crossed the field.