CHAPTER 374: BUILDING STORM (1)

Leandra looked at him for a few more seconds, trapped in a trance by his eyes.

She forgot what she was doing.

But soon, she came to her senses—as it wasn’t the time to be side-tracked when everything was on the line. She blinked and looked down to his hands in confusion—before she pushed it away, "I don’t have the time for this. Excuse me."

Not wasting a single precious second more on Cassian, Leandra turned away in search of Lucivar.

From their conversation last night, it was clear that Lucivar still held Delilah highly.

He adored her as his mother.

Since he was now planning to go against Master Tobias, finding out the truth about him, there’s a huge chance that Lucivar couldn’t go all out—simply because Master Tobias is the person Delilah loved the most when she was alive.

Lucivar might be thrown off and unable to plan as freely as he normally would.

Leandra knew how Lucivar operated.

As long as he wanted something, he would do absolutely anything necessary to obtain it.

Be it power, satisfaction, or anything he could think of in his wicked mind.

It was the sole reason why he was always on top of every situation, because he simply calculated everything, and had no moral restraint like most people do. He has no problem using dark and brutal methods as long as they lead him to what he wants.

However, against Master Tobias, he couldn’t exercise his normal means.

Thinking highly of Delilah would certainly put Master Tobias up there, too; thus, he wasn’t as effective.

’I need to remind him that he needed to do what was necessary.’

Leandra thought and walked away.

But Cassian wasn’t going to give up that easily.

"I think after you tried slamming me down," His voice rang. "I deserved to know at least your name."

Leandra’s steps halted mid-track.

He said it loud enough for the guests nearby to hear, and now they were looking at her.

All of them were silently sizing up Leandra.

"She’s pretty, but with a temper. Unclassy."

"Does she think this is the suburb? Resorting to violence that quickly is unladylike."

Hearing the chatters around her, Leandra clicked her tongue and turned around again.

She grabbed Cassian’s hand and pulled him away to the other room, away from prying eyes.

Upon finding a more private spot, away from the guests—who were mainly in the main room, Leandra let go of his hand—and crossed her arms over her chest. Her sharp eyes daggered at Cassian, "Can you tell me what your problem with me is?"

"Problem?" Cassian leaned back on the wall, also crossing his arms. "No problem here."

"Then why are you bothering me?"

"Missy... All I’m asking is your name, and you call that bothering?"

"It’s bothering since you still insisted even when I clearly don’t have any interest in sharing my name."

Cassian raised both of his hands in a surrendering gesture.

He decided not to pursue this any further if Leandra was so adamant about not telling her name.

"Then I apologize for taking your precious time. Do enjoy the party."

"Thank you. I hope you enjoy it too."

Leandra walked away, heading back to the main room to continue to search for Lucivar, but she stopped a few steps away, right on the border of the two rooms. ’His eyes... Is he a Vampire Hybrid? I don’t see any Vampire Hybrid here other than him. Is he here for Vanessa or Master Tobias?’

Hesitantly, she glanced over her shoulder.

Cassian was still leaning against the wall, facing away, sipping the glass that was almost empty.

Realizing that she was too hasty, Leandra bit her lower lip and walked away.

A minute later.

Cassian looked at his watch to check the time, but noticed someone stopping right beside him.

Glancing over, he was surprised to see Leandra holding two glasses—offering one to him.

"Oh," He raised his brows excitedly and took the offer. "Back for more? I thought I was bothering you."

"Don’t get so cocky," Leandra sipped her drink. "It’s a peace offer for earlier."

"In that case," Cassian clinked his glass against Leandra’s, smiling faintly. "Peace accepted."

Cassian sipped on the drink that tasted better than before, even though it was the same wine, then stole a glance at Leandra, who still lingered around instead of leaving again. "Do you have something to say to me, miss...?"

"Leandra," Leandra answered. "And yes, I’m curious about something."

"Well then, Miss Leandra, I’m happy to satisfy your curiosity."

"Do you know Vanessa personally?"

"Of course. How else am I invited here?"

"What about Mas—I mean, Tobias?"

Hearing this, Cassian’s eyes narrowed as he nodded slightly, realizing what Leandra was getting at.

"Are you asking me whether I’m here for Vanessa or Tobias?"

"Yes."

"Why do you want to know that? Do I look suspicious or something?"

"Avoiding the question?" Leandra scoffed. "I thought you wanted to talk to me."

"I do want to talk to you, b—"

"If that’s the case, start answering my questions, or this conversation will be over."

Leandra didn’t have the time to idle around.

She only wanted to make sure Cassian had something useful for her.

If he insisted on being difficult, then she’d rather go find Lucivar and help instead, which would he a far more promising move than wasting time buttering up Cassian, who might not even have anything for her, anything worthwhile.

After all, she was talking to him because he was a Vampire Hybrid.

Of course, it wasn’t fair for Cassian as he felt like he was being interrogated.

But then again, Leandra didn’t care.

"You’re quite direct, Miss Leandra," Cassian chuckled, surprised that someone so beautiful carried such a fiery edge. Her voice was dulcet, yes—but her words cut sharp, not soft. "I’m only here to celebrate a friend’s birthday, that’s all."

"I see..." Leandra fixed her hair behind her ear, disappointed.

Just then, a voice seeped into her eardrum, coming from the earpiece she was wearing.

Leandra didn’t react, only listened.

She was hoping that it was Elira, but it was Sabrina instead, informing her to tell Lucivar that Angel really didn’t find anything about Master Tobias’ past. Despite researching on her own and even asking around her secretary circle, none of them could find anything regarding Master Tobias.

It was almost as if he never existed at all.

’Or his records were erased.’ Leandra thought grimly.

As more information was uncovered, the more likely it was for Master Tobias to be the culprit.

Just then, she recalled something.

"Anything else Ms.Detecti—"

"Are you a Vampire Hybrid?"

Cassian smiled acutely when, once again, Leandra cut his sentence short.

She has no consideration for others at all.

"I don’t think it’s polite to as—" Cassian stopped mid-sentence again when he saw both of Leandra’s brows were knitted together as she looked at him sharply, warningly. "Err, I am a Vampire Hybrid. My eyes and fangs should make it obvious."

"Are you well-versed in the abilities a Vampire Hybrid would obtain from the snippets?"

"I’d say I’m quite knowledgeable around that area, why?"

"Do you know what kind of ability that can be induced through a bite?"

"A lot of Vampire Hybrids have abilities relating to biting someone. Be more specific."

"Ermm..." Leandra hesitated for a moment, but decided to speak—Cassian didn’t seem like a bad man, so it should be fine. "After the bite, this Chrysalis-rank Hybrid became completely paralyzed. She was recovering, but every time she tried to speak, she clutched her chest—and coughed up more blood. Does that ring any bells?"

Hearing this, Cassian rubbed his chin in contemplation.

He wasn’t expecting to be asked this kind of question, so he needed time to think.

Leandra looked at him expectantly.

Regardless of the truth behind Master Tobias, she needed to know what kind of ability Ravenna was suffering from in order to find a real cure. And perhaps, Cassian, who seemed to be a capable Vampire Hybrid, would recognize it.

"It can be transmitted to others, and it was inflicted by blood creatures," Leandra added.

All of those were confirmed when Professor Clara came a couple of nights ago.

"Yes, it’s possible."

"It can be transmitted? Oh," Cassian snapped his fingers. "That’s probably the Black Clot ability. Nasty one if I had to say, and only a Vampire Hybrid with high bloodline purity could access it. It can spread only through a bite and forms a black clot near the victim’s heart, which would attack the heart anytime the caster wanted to. Only a few Vampire Hybrids have that ability."

"What...?" Leandra gasped, eyes wide, but quickly shook her head to focus. "Could the caster add some conditions to it? Like... the clot attacks the heart whenever the infected tries to speak something—the caster doesn’t want revealed?"

"It’s possible," Cassian shrugged, "though setting a condition that specific would be difficult. It really requires a high level of mastery over the ability."

"But can it be done?"

"Yes, it can."

Leandra felt her legs growing weak as she leaned against the wall.

She felt weak, but her mind was as clear as it could be.

’Ravenna did say that Master Tobias has never been weak. He has always been a Hybrid...’

...

Meanwhile, outside of the mansion.

Mirel descended the staircase and took a stroll in the courtyard, taking in as much fresh night air as he possibly could. He felt suffocated inside from the tension and decided that Lucivar and Leandra could be the ones handling the heavy lifting.

"Lucivar doesn’t have a heart anyway. I’m sure he’d be fine." He muttered, kicking a rock aimlessly.

He stood by the fountain and looked at the crystal-clear water, at his own reflection.

Not once had he ever thought the family would end up like this.

All he could think of was his promise with Lucivar to become strong enough to create their own house.

"Maybe losing this family is necessary for me to create my own house," He mumbled inwardly, taking the good from the situation he was in. Then, he looked up at the starry night sky, "But still, I really want tonight to be over as soon as possible. If Master Tobias is the bad person here, so be it."

Though he said that, both of his fists were clenched tightly until they turned white.

Clearly, he didn’t want that outcome to be real

Just then, as he exhaled roughly through his nose and looked down, his eyes caught sight of a figure.

She was standing outside the fence, looking straight at him.

Mirel narrowed his gaze to see who the woman was, and soon, he noticed that the outfit she was wearing was almost the same as Sabrina’s outfit when she first became Lucivar’s personal maid. This woman was wearing a maid’s outfit.

It was then, he recognized who the woman was.

"Isn’t that Teresa, the head maid?" He muttered incredulously. "What is she doing here?"