I reached for the name plate and looked at it. It couldn’t be a mere coincidence that two vampires had the exact same name…
But those local werewolf soldiers had said that the slave Ashley was an abandoned vampire. How on earth could she have come from the Maurice clan?
The Maurice clan was one of the biggest, most powerful vampire clans. They were so well-known that even I knew about them, since my mother had mentioned that name when I was young.
Several wars between vampires and werewolves had been started by this clan, together with other forces.
After the werewolf race and the vampire race signed a peace treaty, the Maurice clan withdrew from the public eye. I hadn’t heard anything about this clan in years.
So why was there a name plate with that clan’s name here in this wardrobe? It was very likely that this was the old castle of the Maurice clan.
I slipped the name plate into a hidden pocket in the dress I was wearing and retreated from the wardrobe.
“Do you think this Ashley Maurice is the same Ashley we saw in Geoffrey’s pack? That vampire slave?” I asked Yana curiously.
Yana thought for a while. “I believe so. They should be one and the same vampire, so this castle probably isn’t that far from the pack.”
“I’m really confused. The local soldiers all said that Ashley was a loser without any special power and that was why she was abandoned by her kind, but if she is really of Maurice descent, then how could she have ended up a slave?” As I talked to Yana, I kept searching the room for more clues.
Members of big clans were usually united, at least on the surface. No matter how serious the internal conflicts were, they had to maintain dignity when facing the outside world.
If Ashley really was a member of the Maurice clan, her clansmen should have protected her and she wouldn’t have become the lowliest slave in a werewolf pack.
“There must be a very complicated story behind all this,” Yana said in distress. “I really want to go out now. It’s getting too stuffy here.”
“Hold on a little longer. It’s almost time for dinner,” I comforted her.
As I spoke, I silently took a mental note of the layout of the whole room. After making sure that there was nothing else to see in the room, I blew out the candle.
“Why’d you do that?” Yana whined.
I knew she didn’t like darkness, so I explained to her patiently, “The candle might be useful later, so I need to save it.”
“Oh, I see. Maybe it’ll come in handy when we escape!” Yana came to her senses at once. Her cunning tone made me chuckle.
“Yes, so calm down, okay?”
“I promise I won’t be nervous. I’m a very brave wolf now!”
“Good! Yana, you’re the best.”
I praised my wolf happily, and what would’ve been a dull waiting period became less boring with her around.
I sat on the edge of the bed and rested idly. Then I stood up and walked back and forth in the dark room.
“What’re you doing, Sylvia?” Yana asked curiously.
“I’m taking note of the size of the room.” I leaned against one wall and walked slowly to the opposite wall, counting the steps.
“How’s that useful?” Yana was clearly confused.
“If we can find out how many floors and how many rooms this castle has, we can calculate its overall size.”
I found myself hoping that the castle would be dark all the time. That way, it’d be convenient for me to make my escape.
By listening to the clock tick, I knew roughly what time it was. It wasn’t until it was almost eight o’clock did I sit back down in bed, waiting as though nothing had happened.
“It’s been so long. When will they come?” Yana started squirming in my mind anxiously.
“Wait just a little longer. Why don’t you take a nap? I’ll wake you up when someone comes,” I suggested.
But just then, I heard the sound of familiar footsteps.
Sylvia’s POV
I heard the sound of the key unlocking the door, and soon, the door swung open.
A dim light in the corridor streamed inside the dark room. I squinted at the sudden light. When my eyes adjusted, I saw a woman outside.
She was wearing a black suit dress. A pair of spectacles sat on the bridge of her nose, connected to her dress by a chain. She looked like she was in her early forties, but even I could tell that she must’ve been beautiful when she was young. When she started talking, I immediately recognized from her voice that she was the housekeeper, Nicole.
“It’s time for dinner. Come with me.” Nicole’s tone was flat and emotionless.
“Okay.”
I quickly straightened my dress and followed Nicole obediently.
The whole castle was dimly lit with dark yellow lights. I casually looked at my surroundings as we walked, and soon, we made it to a winding spiral staircase I touched the carving on the railing and found that each stair tread was carved with a different pattern. Put together, the patterns should make a complete painting.
I walked slowly on purpose.
I had carefully counted the rooms I had passed by on the way. I estimated that there were four rooms on this side of the gallery, while the number of rooms on the other side would remain unknown for the time being.
The banquet hall was probably on the first floor, and from the top of the spiral staircase, I could see that we were on the fourth floor. Judging from the crystal ceiling right above us, this was the top floor.
“Please hurry. My master is waiting,” Nicole turned to me and urged.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just not used to this dress.” I smiled at her apologetically. Then, I picked up the hemline of my dress and quickened my pace to walk past her.
“There’s no need to walk. We can take the elevator.” Nicole’s voice sounded from behind me.
“Oh, I see,” I said perfunctorily, but I didn’t stop walking until I reached the first floor.
Nicole had no choice but to follow me.
I didn’t stop until I found the door to the banquet hall. I looked around quietly. Although the style of this castle wasn’t over-the-top and extravagant, it still exuded a sense of luxury and refinement. A simple wooden shelf with antique vases on it alone looked extremely expensive.
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