A continuous loud banging on the door woke the Baron of Edelfort from his slumber. With a grunt, he pushed the young courtesan away from him who was resting above his hairy chest. The naked woman shrieked when she almost stumbled out of bed at what he had just done.

“B-Baron Iver...” The prostitute whimpered when she saw the grumbling aristocrat picking up his long robe on the floor.

“Fuck! How dare these lowly bastards to disturb me while I’m resting?!” Hector Iver muttered, fuming in anger.

He walked towards the door with heavy steps while tying his robe to his waist and opening it to see who it was. His butler, Vlad, was standing outside waiting for him. His auburn hair was neatly combed on the side and a calm, eloquent smile was seen on his pale face.

‘This guy... How long has he been working in my fief? Is it a year already?’ Baron Iver remembered that ‘woman’ who referred this person to him. And true to her words, Vlad, his new footman carried his work efficiently. The business had been booming since then. It would ruin his relationship with that ‘woman’ if he killed this man out of spite. He was pretty useful after all.

“Pardon for interrupting your sleep, Baron Iver, but there are intruders that cause quite a commotion inside the manor,” the butler informed him.

“What the fuck did you say?!” The news was maddening. He tightened his fists and slammed the door which caused the hinges to break and fall apart. No one should know about his illegal activities! ‘It must not reach the emperor’s ears!’

“Assemble the knights and the mercenaries! Don’t let those fucking bastards escape and bring their heads to me. Let the hounds feast in their headless bodies!”

The naked courtesan on his bed shriveled in fear and made a faint sobbing sound upon witnessing the Baron's display of rage. With a grave face and a bloody knuckle, the Baron coldly ordered the butler to dispose of the prostitute before walking out of the room.

Palm on his chest, Vlad, the butler, bowed his head to his master with eagerness in his voice, “as you ordered, my Lord.”

“Hukk! No! Please, no sir! Please, don’t kill me! Have mercy on me, my Lord!” The despairing cry of the woman echoed in the empty room as the butler slowly treaded the carpeted floor while putting the black gloves on his hands.

The butler’s eerie smile remained, eyes devoid of good intentions while staring at the quivering naked prostitute. Like a demon in disguise pretending to be genial. The girl trembled at the sight of him as the butler’s face became even paler and pallid. Reaching the bed, his eyes turned bloodshot red as his tongue traced his lips sensuously while roaming his eyes on her bare body.

Vlad leaned his body towards the lady and whispered in her ear, “Nothing to be scared of, my lady.”

Without waiting for her reply, his rubbered hand seized her slender neck. A muffled scream escaped from her mouth, and horror-struck eyes were swelling in tears as she tried to get away from his strong grip.

“Mm—plea...se, don—ack! Kill...me... ple...help l... p...” She gagged while the butler mercilessly strangled her with his gloved hand. Her struggle was futile as his grip got even tighter which made it harder and harder to breathe.

Vlad gave out a maniacal laugh as if he was drugged with ecstasy. “Ahh... more... scream some more for me, my lady!” He uttered.

His other hand moved the white sheets away that were covering the rest of her body to give him the full view of her nakedness. The young prostitute kept struggling to break free, her shaking body and painful screams were taking him to a euphoric state. With this—big, sharp fangs emerged in his mouth as his tongue played the nipple that was sticking out of her breast trailing the soft mounds and finally ascending to her clavicle.

He released her neck momentarily and saw the visible bruises on it. She was coughing like crazy.

“M-My Lor—ack... have mercy...” She kept begging for her life, but it was soon followed by another deafening scream from her.

Vlad tore the flesh of her neck with his fangs without any warning! The noise gradually disappeared as fresh blood poured ceaselessly on the white mattress but her body was still jerking from the pain.

“Hmmm… taste like fresh filth!” Vlad cussed, licking the blood that was dripping around his lips. “I’ll have that main course soon…” The smell of the white witch tarried in his nose somewhere within the mansion and a sigh of satisfaction was released. Then the butler went back to draining the blood of the maiden like an animal until her breath ceased.

Clink!

Clank!

The sound of heavy metals clashing against each other was heard in the back foyer of the Baron’s manor. In the center of it was the Archduke of Levonne single-handedly fighting the Baron’s knights and mercenaries. There wasn’t even a mark of struggle seen on his face as he easily defeated the charging knights.

With one swift movement of his sword, blood spurted from the Baron’s knights’ armored bodies. Even the mercenaries who were using dirty stunts were no exception. His prowess in battle was unmatched. Those glowing golden eyes of his, and his sword soaked in crimson were like a moving painting of Mirodet, the great war artist. The Grand duke was a piece of art.

Celeste witnessed it all.

For a moment, she was stunned to see him in action. She didn’t know she was already puffing hefty breaths at the sight of it. Memories of her previous life rushed swallowing her mind. ‘Argh! Grip yourself, Celeste Evergreen! You are not the Archduke's enemy at this moment!’ She scolded herself.

“My lady, let’s go!” Aron Berkley shouted in the distance.

‘He’ll be okay, right?’ Her thoughts lingered on the Northern Lord who was busy fending off the Baron’s henchmen. ‘Geez, why am I worrying about him now?’

She looked away from Ezekiel to stop the strange thoughts and guided the children to safety. They successfully managed to get out of the mansion and ran to the gate as fast as they could. However, monster hounds were waiting for them in the garden.

“What the hell? Not again!” The sunken secretary whined about their sudden troubling situation.

The hounds growled in an excessive low-range snarl, moving rigidly from side to side looking for the right time to pounce on them. Celeste saw the kids getting agitated which wasn’t good at the moment. They could smell fear which will only stir the hunger of the hounds even more. The monsters were also sensitive to sounds so they need to stay quiet as they could.

“What to do now? Grand Duke isn’t here...” Berkley said wearily. “I don’t want to die... I don’t wanna...”

"Sir Berkley, please keep your voice down..." She told him, almost in a whisper.

They need to remain silent but the damn secretary called for help ignoring her request!

“Your highness, help us! I can’t fight these monsters alone! Your Highness!”

Celeste was never the type to get mad so easily but Aron Berkley tested her patience. The monster hounds began surrounding them, and Celeste had no choice but to put Berkley into silence. He was a tall man, indeed... so when the secretary turned around to run back inside the mansion, the white witch quickly leaped reaching his nape, and struck his neck with the side of her palm. He slumped to the ground, leaving him unconscious.

‘Gosh, I hope the children won’t do this at home!’ She looked at the kids whose eyes sparkled in amazement at what they saw. 'I hope not!'

“Stay back!” She told the children with authority, swaying her hand. They obediently followed her which was a relief. Now, facing the angry hounds they even got more furious when they smelled the mana emitting from her body.

Celeste began summoning the plants, “Come, serve me! The Witch of the forest is commanding you! Bind those who stand in my way, grind their bones ‘till their groans are buried deep to the ground!”

Her green eyes sparkled like jewels as the plants heeded her call and ravaged the attacking creatures. The white witch extended her arm, and the vines took the blade from the dead knight lying nearby. One beast tried to reach her with its sharp claws, but she deflected it and impaled the monster with the sword. The creature groaned as life escaped from it.

Celeste raised her hand and crumpled her fingers to form a fist. The monster hounds who were caught by the vines howled in agony as the plants stiffened their grasp and squeezed the life out of them. After fulfilling their master’s request, the vines crawled back deep into the ground.

“Now, it’s over,” she puffed, feeling the jolt of exhaustion. One thing she wasn't confident of was her stamina. Her eyes sought the secretary who was still sleeping like a baby on the ground.

With the last touch of her scheme to hide her identity, Celeste bent her knees to a squat position and put the sword she was holding on Berkley’s palm before ripping his clothes to look more realistic of him fighting the beasts by himself—the excuse she would give to the Grand Duke.

She couldn’t believe that the Archduke had kept someone so incompetent in life-threatening circumstances by his side. With her memory of Berkley in her past life, he looked rather neat and calculating though she had not seen him fight. Now, her impression of the Archduke changed a little, leaving her doubts about the rumored exalted noble De Clarzus that was feared by many.