CHAPTER 474: TO COME AROUND

"Well, tough luck!" Rubius pushed himself back up on his feet, "You cannot. Not with magic or any of the nonsense you’re probably thinking about,"

As Rubius readjusted the cuffs of his blouse, Silas’ glare lay on the old man as though attempting to set him on fire in his spot.

"You’re being of no help," the vampire grunted.

"Sure I am! I told you everything you needed to know already,"

"She is safe for as long as I keep her content," he half asked, "What’s that supposed to mean?"

At that question, Rubius stopped all doings to stare back at Silas with the driest, least amused look on his features.

One would think Silas had asked the stupidest question to ever be... Asked.

Why was it so hard for the man to be honest and direct? By then, it was clear that the curse, whatever it was, could not be stopped with magic, but Silas still had no idea whether it was because of how powerful it stood or something else. Something more mundane that still irked Rubius to articulate out loud.

With the lack of cooperation, Silas saw no other alternative but to turn back towards the book.

That was when something leaped at him from the pages.

As Rubius had told him before, the curse spared some women. Among them a certain Gwendoline Tabitha Sterling who, judging by the absence of a death date, lived as long as ninety years and was probably still breathing as they spoke.

"What about this Gwendoline? The book shows you two are approximately from the same generation," the vampire pointed at it, "How did she survive the curse this long?"

Rubius held his hands behind his own back and marched closer towards Silas as well as the book. Upon stopping, he gazed down at the woman in question’s name, "Her and I are ten years apart," subtle nods took over his head, "I hear she is still happy caring for her family,"

"Have you spoken with her recently?"

The old man took a deep breath, smiled then exhaled, "The only person she truly kept contact with after getting married was her sister, Annaleese who you will notice is still alive to this day as well,"

Looking at the names of their husbands, it was noticeable the two sisters had married into the same family.

Though before Silas raised any questions on the matter, Rubius spoke again, "The two of them cut all ties with the Sterlings once Analeese got married with the excuse that it was their husbands’ wish that it’d be that way, and that, despite carrying on a business relationship with us as it had been agreed upon when the marriages were arranged,"

"How is that relevant to the curse?" Silas fired question after question whenever Rubius stopped talking.

"Well, I never truly cared to maintain a bridge with my cousins. At the time, I only cared that business was done as usual. It was only later that I had realized that Gwen had won her husbands’ heart but most importantly, he had won hers," after a meek chuckle, he murmured, "I realized it too late,"

The more Rubius spoke on the matter, the more things clicked in Silas’ ears. They did not exactly fall into place like puzzle pieces, but some things aligned... Namely the way the old man refused to cut to the chase, beating around the bush.

At first, he gave the impression that he was toying with Silas’ feelings to aggravate him but then that notion slowly faded from sight.

"There is no real curse, is there?"

Rubius’ eyebrows twitched, his smile still faint but his eyes unwavering from the book, "In many senses, yes, but not in the sense you first believed, indeed," Silas did not need to think of something to say as the old man continued, "I’ve seen that poor thing that trails behind the prince... And to think it almost became my own granddaughter’s fate...," the tears in his eyes appeared shy, clinging to his sockets with all of their might, "I wonder how long she would have lasted under his care,"

"It didn’t happen," Silas stated dryly, shutting the book at once, "She saved herself and won my heart on the way,"

"And you won hers too," Rubius still stared at the closed book, "Good," he finally made eye contact with the vampire, "Make sure to keep it that way,"

"If you can’t speak your mind freely with her then start slowly," Silas took the book and walked over to the shelves before holding it up so that it flew back to its rightful spot, "Arabella is too close to heart for you to be truthful. Start with the other two relatives you still have. Write them and tell them how you truly see things now and how you look back on the past,"

Rubius pushed a sigh before his words, "If you are speaking of Gwendoline and Annaleese-"

"They will come around eventually if you remain sincere," after a short pause, Silas added, "They cut you off for one reason only. Plus, Arabella would be delighted to learn that she has great aunts and cousins who just like her made it in life,"

That brightened Rubius’ face, "You know, you are a lot better at reading people than you let on," he nodded, a feeble smirk on him.

Silas walked past him, heading for the exit, "You never truly gave my kind a chance,"

"I suppose I haven’t," the old man finished his sentence with a chuckle.

"By the way," the vampire stopped in his tracks but did not fully turn around, "At what time will you be departing?"

"Somewhen around the evening. Near sunset I presume. I am not sure, the decision does not lie with me,"

Upon lifting a foot to march on, Silas stopped once more, "And I am sorry for roughing you up,"

"Like I said," Rubius walked forward too, "It can’t be good for my health, but I reckon I deserved it,"

"Just... Don’t tell Arabella about that part if you do end up speaking with her," Silas cleared his throat and sped away.