CHAPTER 484: JUST A BREAKDOWN

Convincing Ada to keep her mouth shut on the matter was rather easy. A lot easier than convincing herself she’d be able to cook up a plan that would deliver Arthur without great repercussions.

While human, she no longer lived by Lustrisian rules and furthermore, had become a member of a nightwalkers’ family thus any interference on her part could yield devastating waves in her life as well as every person that surrounded her. Especially her husband, mother- in-law and friends.

So, at the very least, if the plan backfired, they would have had plausible deniability to rely upon. Hopefully, that was...

The door opened without a knock prior which meant it was either Silas or Persephone. Sure enough, her husband made his way towards her around the desk.

"For how long have you been staring at those maps?" he asked, towering over her figure.

"I am not sure," she chuckled feebly.

At once, he put an arm behind her back while the second one went under her knees before picking her up in order to sit under her.

"Hmm...You don’t look so tired," his eyes studied her face as they breathed inches from each other.

No surprises there since Arabella had turned to sneaking drops of his blood in her tea when no one peeked.

"Lots of tea and many splashes of cold water kept me up," she grinned.

"I don’t really like the sound of that," he shook his head.

The young woman asked for no updates concerning Allegra’s search as the defeated look on him told it all. There was that and the fact that things were calm.

Had they found the slightest leading trace her way, the roof of that manor would have been flipped upside down, running through the hallways, whispers and loud conversations, cries of both frustration and joy... Yes, there was nothing so, she spared him the empty words.

"I am fine. I promise," she leaned her head against his chest.

"You are not meant to stay awake for twenty four hours straight,"

"I took short naps," she squeaked.

"Still," Silas paused before noting the date on the map sprawled over the desk, "This map is over two hundred years old," he pointed out, "What are you searching for exactly?"

"A place discrete and large enough to house a vampire that was erased in recent maps,"

"Good strategy," he nodded.

"The credit for this idea goes to Rubius, actually," she pouted.

The vampire tightened his hold, squeezing her even closer, "Do you suspect his involvement as well?"

"At this point, honestly, I can no longer tell who is involved with what," a long sigh escaped her lungs, "I truly hate that we can only be reactive to things. It’s like being stuffed and confined into a sealed box that barely fits my entire body, and I hate even more that I brought all of this upon you,"

"You didn’t bring anything!"

"Yes I did! Pretending I didn’t won’t make it true," Arabella attempted to stand off his lap but he held her back.

"Will you ever stop blaming yourself for what is out of your control?"

In response, there was only more pouting and staring at the embroidery decorating his vest.

"These people would have come onto my path sooner or later. You simply shined a spotlight on their actions,"

That wasn’t true of course... In no other world would have Reubon traveled to Umbraria had she not found refuge there.

In no other world would have Rubius and the prince gone after them.

And maybe, in a different world, had she never stepped foot under that roof, Edna would have still been breathing, and Allegra might have never gone missing.

The silence that had fallen seemed to irk Silas more than her since he had been the one to shatter it, "About earlier today... I must ask again; did the prince say or do anything other than what you’ve told me?"

"No!" she squeaked almost instantly.

"I am asking because I have seen you distraught before and today that was truly reminiscent of some of the reactions you had under extreme circumstances," he painted invisible little circles on her cheeks with his thumbs, "Hearing it was about an emerald mine... Do you understand why it seemed implausible to me?"

In response, Arabella sighed again, "I suppose I do understand now how that came across but no, there was nothing else," those deceptive words clawed at her throat whilst coming out, "I think it might be the accumulation of everything else on top of it that caused me to temporarily break down,"

Silas said nothing else for a moment and merely played with her hair as she basked in his warmth before his attention drifted towards the door.

"Is someone coming our way?"

The vampire took a deep, theatrical breath as if catching a delicious scent in the air, "Someone bearing tea,"

"Oh then, that must be Ada," Arabella chuckled, "She’s been a true pillar and a godsend the past few days,"

"She could do with a raise, couldn’t she?" he tilted his head.

Arabella started giggling uncontrollably at those words. The fit of laughter doubled upon seeing the confusion on him.

"Ada has confessed to me before that she hoards her money instead of spending it," after some more laughing, she added, "In fact, according to her, many of the daytime staff gather their money instead of spending it...," she simmered, allowing the smile that remained to go dimmer, "I think I understand why they do that,"

Silas’ mouth opened but he did not get the chance to share whatever he had in mind as a knock interrupted him.

"Come in," he said instead.

Ada peeked from behind the door very sheepishly, "I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was in the kitchen, and I didn’t hear that you had returned home, my Lord," she curtsied with the silver platter in her hands.

"That’s alright," he lifted his as well as Arabella’s weight up before settling her back on the chair, "I simply came back for a quick shower anyways,"