Indecent Folks

Norah gave me a sweet smile, but I could see that I reminded her of a bad memory. "I'm sorry that you had to tell me this."

She chuckled and waved her hand in the air to dismiss my apology. "It's nothing. We're all together and happy. What more could I wish for? Once Sir Rougan comes back, you should ask him for more specifics. He will gladly tell you everything. It's been a while since he had a companion in this mansion. Other than the handmaids and some guards."

I bit my lower lip and turned to the books again to find anything about vampires. "Do you know what a kingmage is?" I asked.

She didn't respond, so I glanced at her. She just cautiously stared at me while her mouth was slightly ajar. I smiled at her and shook my head. "You probably can't tell?"

She smiled apologetically. "It was something that we found out some centuries ago. However, since Sir Rougan hadn't told you, then it means that you must not find out yet."

I sighed and walked to the next shelf, running my fingers onto the spines as I read the titles. "Do you want me to teach you how to read?" I offered. Then I saw a book that seemed close to what I wanted to find.

"I'm already four centuries old. I don't think I ever need to read," she replied.

I ignored her reluctance and picked up a book before turning to her. "But I can see that you want to," I teased.

She scratched her nape and shrugged. "How did you know?"

"Your eyes are honest. You wanted to be able to read these books, aren't you?"

She managed a sweet smile before nodding. "I wanted to help you find that book that you were looking for, but I couldn't be of much help.”

I chuckled and looked around. "There was no paper or quill here. Let's go to Rougan's room. He might have one."

"Oh, I'm not allowed there."

"Why?"

She showed me the blue rose embroidered in her dress. "I'm only allowed to enter the living rooms in the mansion. Sir Rougan doesn't want too much chore for a single handmaid, so we divided the parts of the mansions among several of us."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed her wrist so we could go out. "Don't worry about Rougan. You are my guest."

She chuckled and turned to me. "But you are the guest."

"Then we are each other's guest."

**

After teaching her the basic alphabet, I wrote some reading exercises. She was a fast learner. "Was it easy because you're a vamp? Does it heighten your intelligence?" I asked, laying on my back against the couch's armrest.

She was seated on the floor while she stared at the papers scattered on the table. Beside her sat the empty plates from our lunch that another handmaid brought. "I'm not sure, but I sure am enjoying this," she replied, a little amused. I chuckled and let her read the words aloud as I scrolled the pages on the book that I took from the library.

"The forest was windy while the river roared at a distance. A couple of night...night...nighting-"

"Nightingale," I continued, staring at the sketch on the book that I was reading. It's a melting sun dripping onto a tree, while above the tree was a dome. On the lowest part of the page, I found the term kingmage. I stood straight and raised my palm in front of Norah so I could concentrate on the book.

"Someone's coming-no, they're many!"

Norah's voice interrupted my train of thoughts, prompting me to look at her. She faced the door while someone indeed approached the room. We heard some footsteps as the door flung open. It revealed Sawyer, whose eyes landed on Norah before he gestured to her to go out. Norah smiled at me and raised the paper she was holding. "I'll practice at home."

I watched her leave the room, and when she saw what was outside, her hand flew onto her mouth. "What happened?"

"Don't tell anyone," Sawyer ordered, so Norah nodded and sprinted away.

I walked past the couch to find out what she saw. Sawyer walked in with another vamp as they held Rougan by his arms to help him walk. My jaw dropped at the sight of his crippled body. I stepped back and watched them lay him on the bed while two handmaids walked in with a bucket of water, some towels, and a small briefcase.

"What happened?" I asked.

Sawyer turned to me and audibly sighed before he took a deep breath.

"He was attacked. We don't know who they were or how did they find out."

"Why would they attack him? Do they know that he's..."

"They do." He pointed at Rougan's upper body while a handmaid cut his tunic in the middle with a pair of shears. "They shot him with a siphon bullet. It was cursed to cause pain and bleeding on any mystic breed, even those with healing ability."

Rougan growled in pain, and his agony sent me shivers. It was horrifying to watch him like this. I went to the other edge of the bed opposite the handmaids and sat beside him. "Hey, do you hear me?" I asked as I glanced at the almond- shaped scar below his collarbone. It's odd.

He clenched his jaw and nodded. "Yes. You're loud."

I pursed my lips and watched him closed his eyes while he frowned and endured the pain. My shoulders dropped when he stared at the ceiling, revealing his red eyes and the black veins under them. "Pain heightens my senses, so forgive me if I'm ugly," he whispered.

His lips were pale, and he was sweating so bad. I gently shook my head and turned to the handmaid, who poured a powder on his wound. Rougan growled louder, and it didn't sound so human. I held onto his hand while he coughed from the pain.

"You were never ugly," I whispered, turning to the handmaids to avoid his gaze. Sawyer went out to take care of some things while the handmaids finished tending Rougan's wounds. They packed their stuff and left, so I let Rougan sleep in peace while I stacked the papers on the coffee table.

Someone knocked on the door twice, prompting me to turn to it. "It's open," I said.

Paige walked in, smiling at me before she glanced at the bed. "How is he?" she whispered.

I furrowed my brows when a realization came to mind. "Why aren't you here earlier?"

She crossed her arms as she stood by the door. "I'm not Rougan's doctor, and I was in the stables, tending to a wounded horse. That creature needed my help more than him."

I sighed deeply and sat on the couch's armrest. "The handmaids told he's going to heal faster than a normal person, but slower for a vampire."

"It's a siphon bullet?" she asked.

"Yes, who do you think has those kinds of bullets?"

"It could be anyone."

"Even humans, then," I concluded, a memory flashing in my mind.

"Oh, I hate those huntsmen. Don't they kill mystic breeds for money?" she asked.

"Only the mystic breeds who don't reveal themselves to the authorities," I defended.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why do we need permission from pesky human beings?"

I pointed my finger at her. "Because of that. You view us like some insignificant creatures. This is why crimes of mystic breeds against humans across the world don't stop."

"As much as vampires are concerned, humans are simply food. It's nothing personal because that's how the food chain works. Humans eat cows and pigs, and they think it's justified, but they hate that another breed feeds on them. The hypocrisy is blowing my mind."

My shoulders dropped as I looked away. "You could've just registered your guild. You have money, and they can provide enough supply in Peravenan blood banks."

She chuckled and ignored the idea. "Anyway, Sawyer told me that you softened the moment you saw Rougan's helpless face."

I frowned at her. "I did not soften. I'm just...concerned. And I'm concerned in general. I even taught Norah to read today." I showed her the papers in my hand.

"That's nice, but you should prudently choose who to concern yourself with."

"What do you mean?"

"We might disturb his sleep. Let's talk somewhere else," she said before leaving the room.

I sighed and placed the papers back on the coffee table before following Paige. We headed to the balcony on the other side of the mansion. I looked around found a vast field and the dense forest past the village walls. So this is what it looks like behind the village. "What do you want to talk about?" I asked Paige.

She crossed her arms and sighed deeply. "I have a speculation," she informed me. "You're about to leave, but suddenly, Rougan trapped you in a deal because of what you saw below this mansion, didn't he?"

Just a heads up: FindNovel.net is the only place to read the complete version of this book for free. Don't miss out on the next chapter-visit us now and continue your journey! "Y-yes, he did."

She nodded and pouted her lips as she squinted her eyes. "Had it never crossed your mind that Rougan might have deliberately led you to that cellar? So he could have something to hold against you?" she implied.

I froze at the thought as I looked away and hugged myself. The cold wind blew on my face, but it didn't comfort me one bit. "No, I, I heard someone. The man was calling for-" My mouth hung open when I realized that I never knew who screamed down there. Someone called for help, but no one was in pain. No one needed help.

Paige slowly turned to me. "Do you get it now?"

I don't know where to put my gaze while I tried to think as deeply as possible. "Why would Rougan do that?"

"Because he had no plan of letting you go," she responded immediately. "For him, you're valuable."

"I don't get it."

"That's for Rougan to explain, but I've said everything I plan to say." She leaned forward and whispered, "In short, don't trust him."

I leaned against the balcony and stared at the floor. "But why are you telling me this?"

My suspicion grew when she smirked at me. "It's because I don't want you here. You might be valuable in Rougan's eyes, but you're not to me. We don't need you here, and I don't want you here... Lady Jones," she said. The last words were mocking as usual.

"Why do you hate me so much?" I asked.

She smiled and gently slapped the balustrade. "Because I can smell your greed, and it stinks," she taunted before leaving.

My shoulders dropped while I watched her back. I couldn't figure out what she meant, but I clearly understood her point. Fucking Rougan. What the hell does he want from me? I stormed back to his room and found four handmaids preparing dinner on the table. My anger subsided upon seeing them. One smiled at me as she held an empty tray in both of her hands. "Dinner will be ready in a minute, Lady Jones."

"Dani," I corrected lazily before sitting on the couch. My eyes landed on the book that I was reading earlier, so I grabbed it and quickly flipped the pages to where I left off.

The sketch was hard to understand, so I turned to the next page. I gasped in surprise when I found a whole text of important information.

The Legend of the Kingmages I gulped and cleared my throat as I stared at the entire page. My heart raced while I sighed deeply and prepared myself for what I am about to read.

A powerful witch named Eydis lived with her four daughters along the river. Her husband left her, and she was fooled several times by men who showed her kindness at first. Despite being powerful, she caught a disease that no amount of

magic could pacify. She was scared to leave her children with nothing because of her distrust of people's intentions, so she used her remaining strength to make the first kingmages in the body of her four children.

"I could recite that legend for you."

I jolted in shock when Rougan spoke behind me. The handmaids were gone, so we were left alone. I held on to the book as tight as I could in fear that he might snatch this from me. "I don't trust you."