CHAPTER 878: CHAPTER 878: THE DEPARTED BRIDE

Betty quickly helped Ann Vaughn sit down next to her, then hurried off to get hot water without delay.

Ann Vaughn certainly wouldn’t just sit there obediently waiting for her return.

She remembered that when she had walked over, a right turn through the courtyard would lead to the restroom...

Ann Vaughn felt her way along the wall in that direction, pretending she stumbled to avoid others realizing her eyesight had returned.

Who would’ve thought that one stumble would reveal something unexpected.

As Ann Vaughn leaned against the wall, she suddenly heard the sound of a hidden mechanism activating.

Immediately, the section of the wall she was leaning on collapsed inward unexpectedly—

"Bang!"

As the wall door closed automatically, Ann Vaughn was completely isolated behind it, surrounded by darkness as far as she could see.

Her heart trembled, and she hurriedly pushed against the wall door with all her might, but it wouldn’t budge an inch, leaving her feeling a bit disheartened.

Ann Vaughn knew well that The Royal City was filled with countless mechanisms and secret passages, but being trapped inside was a wholly different experience.

She forced herself to forget her fear of the dark, calming down to examine her surroundings.

Pale sunlight cascaded from above, faintly allowing her to see.

Looking up, Ann Vaughn saw spiraling stone steps covered in mottled moss and gray-white walls extending beyond sight.

The lamps on the walls were rusted and precarious, indicating they hadn’t been repaired in ages.

However, when Ann Vaughn gauged the height of the spiraling staircase, her mouth twitched.

...Why did she have to clip her own wings at birth?

Flying up would be so much easier!

After mentally joking to herself, Ann Vaughn didn’t rush up the stairs; instead, she took a note from her dress pocket.

This was slipped into her pocket by the maid who bumped into her earlier.

That’s why Ann Vaughn sent Betty away, intending to examine the note in the restroom.

Unfolding the note, aggressive handwriting leapt to her eyes.

[Tomorrow midnight, room balcony.]

Ann Vaughn initially thought that with The Royal City on lockdown these days, Cyrus Hawthorne wouldn’t risk checking on her situation, but he evidently knew.

Others didn’t know about her eyes almost fully healing, but since she used the medicine from Cyrus, he must be well aware.

She couldn’t help but smile and reread the note several times before tearing it into shreds, discarding them in a stairway corner to avoid discovery.

Having done this, she lifted the hem of her dress with one hand and steadied herself with the wall with the other, resigned to climbing the stairs.

She was thankful she could see now; if she were still blind in this situation, she’d truly be helpless.

After who knows how long, the stairs finally turned into flat land before her.

Sunlight filtered through a skylight, and Ann Vaughn leaned against the wall, panting softly to rest. Looking up again, she saw a dark red, ancient, solemn door at the end.

On it was carved the intricate national flower of the Kingdom of Gothasen — White Mandala.

"An exit?" Ann Vaughn pulled back the bandage from her eyes for a glance, then walked forward.

But there were no locks on the door, only a pair of golden lionhead rings, with eerie ruby beast eyes glowing.

Ann Vaughn tried to pull the ring, and with just a gentle tug, the door unexpectedly opened.

Looking at the dim light emanating from inside, Ann Vaughn hesitated for two seconds before stepping in.

"Click."

As Ann Vaughn entered, the door automatically closed behind her.

With light streaming in from an unknown source, Ann Vaughn navigated to the window and drew back the heavy curtains—

To her surprise, this wasn’t an exit but a room.

Exquisite colorful murals adorned every wall, vivid and striking.

As sunlight touched them, the murals seemed to come alive, swaying with the light.

Just a glance made it hard to look away.

Ann Vaughn squinted at the murals, her eyes showing amazement.

If these murals were placed outside, they’d likely cause a sensation in the art world.

The room had little furniture, only a dark red couch beneath the carved ceiling, seemingly for sitting and admiring the murals.

When she sat on it, Ann Vaughn realized these murals formed a series of stories.

The first wall depicted a handsome man in a black cloak, looking lonely and desolate. Each sunrise, a small dagger pierced the sky.

The second wall showed a stormy sea, ships adrift, passengers swept into the tempest, death looming over the vessel. A man tearfully cried for help as a dark red glow appeared, and he grasped it with bloodshot eyes.

The third wall had the storm subsiding and the ship safe, everyone rejoicing, except the man who bowed thrice to the void, his back to the sun.

The fourth wall showed the man returning home, and soon his wife gave birth to a daughter. As she grew into a beautiful woman, she became ill-tempered, pointing disdainfully at something... Suddenly, overnight, she died.

The fifth wall...

The further Ann Vaughn looked, the more uneasy she felt, as if she had accidentally triggered a secret switch.

The stories on these murals...

She seemed to have seen them somewhere before.

Ann Vaughn clutched her knee tightly, inexplicably panicked, but her eyes couldn’t help but look further.

The murals depicted a total of eight girls, and whenever they showed disdain for something, they perished overnight.

Until the last mural—

Ann Vaughn was startled, removing the bandage from her eyes for a closer look.

It was completely blank.

This wall lacked any carved murals, making it seem out of place.

"Did they forget to carve?" Ann Vaughn walked to the stark white wall, lightly touching it with her fingertips and unknowingly activating a switch.

With a sudden rise, the wall revealed what was concealed behind it—

It was a wall half-covered with dark red velvet, each photo on it torn. Ann Vaughn counted roughly and found the number of photos matched the number of girls in the murals.

"Deceased brides?" Ann Vaughn read the Gothasen text along the edge, puzzled as she looked at the photos.

Near the bottom, Ann Vaughn’s eyes widened.

Wait, how did an extra photo appear?

Ann Vaughn bent down to check the bottommost photo, the only intact one in the room. The girl in it seemed somewhat familiar...