Chapter 149: Why is Lia depressed again?

Inside the Scarlett Castle…

Within the vast garden stretching beyond the castle walls, the empty air suddenly distorted.

Then, a portal shimmered into existence out of nowhere.

A moment later, two women stepped through from the other side.

“What a hassle…” the grey-haired maid muttered under her breath, lazily waving a hand behind her.

The portal immediately folded inward before disappearing entirely.

Beside her, the crimson-haired woman glanced in her direction.

“You didn’t do a thing the entire time,” she said in a dry tone.

“What are you talking about, Lady Vivienne?”

“Watching humans get tortured is far worse than doing nothing.”

Selthia said with a shake of her head, looking genuinely offended, though there wasn’t a shred of dread or unease on her face.

Vivienne didn’t say anything else.

Trying to talk to this maid was simply a waste of effort.

Without another word, she clicked her tongue and walked away.

Her eyes briefly lowered to herself, noticing that her clothes were slightly stained with blood.

Even her hands were completely covered in blood, dark crimson droplets slowly sliding down her fingers.

But before they could reach the ground, flames erupted around her hands, instantly burning the blood from her skin.

Just as she was walking through the castle, a sudden thought crossed her mind, and she immediately headed to her room first.

Several minutes later, she emerged, wearing a fresh set of clothes.

She was about to head toward Amelia’s chambers, but upon noticing a maid standing nearby, Vivienne immediately approached her.

The maid lowered her head the moment she saw her.

“Where is Amelia?” Vivienne asked.

“Lady Amelia is in her chambers.”

Vivienne gave a slight nod, but before she could walk away, the maid spoke again.

“Miss… she hasn’t left her room for several days.” Her voice came out slightly hesitant.

“And she hasn’t been opening the door either.”

A frown formed on Vivienne’s face.

She fell silent for a few seconds before giving a small nod.

Without asking any further questions, she continued toward Lia’s chambers… only to discover someone already standing outside them.

“What are you doing here?” Vivienne asked.

Selthia stood there with her hands casually clasped behind her back.

The grey-haired maid immediately smiled.

“Well, I simply wanted to see our Young Miss.

I didn’t even get the chance to meet that man properly.”

“That’s because you spent your time roaming around the human world,” Vivienne said coldly.

“And you haven’t informed your father that you went to Earth, have you?”

The moment those words left Vivienne’s mouth, Selthia’s expression froze.

The smile on her face stiffened, and she immediately turned her head away.

But then, without missing a beat, she changed the subject.

“Anyways… where is that newborn?”

Vivienne stared at the shameless maid who had so audaciously ignored everything she had just said.

Eventually, after a few seconds, she let out a sigh.

“I don’t know. Mother took him away.”

“Hm…?”

The sound slipped from Selthia’s lips, and for a brief second, she failed to process what Vivienne had just said.

Then, her eyes widened.

The Duchess?

Took a newborn somewhere?

Seeing the surprised look on her face, Vivienne added further.

“A week ago, she took him as her disciple.”

The shock on Selthia’s face deepened even further.

How… how could a newborn—a lesser vampire—become the Duchess’s disciple?

Did he possess some hidden talent? Something special that made him stand out?

And all of this had happened during the short time she had been away?

Vivienne couldn’t care less about her shock.

She simply walked up to Amelia’s door and knocked on it.

But even after several knocks, the door didn’t open, nor did any reply come from the other side.

Vivienne waited for a moment, then—

“Amelia, open the door,” she called out, knocking harder this time.

But still, the other side remained completely silent, and just as a frown began to form on her face—

“Get lost.”

A small mutter finally came from the other side, so faint it would have been inaudible if not for her heightened senses.

Vivienne’s frown deepened even further, but rather than wasting her time knocking on the door any longer—

Her body dissolved into mist and passed through the door effortlessly.

The moment she entered the room, her body reformed completely.

But the instant she materialised, her eyes twitched as she took in the sight before her.

The room was a complete disaster.

Items were scattered all across the floor, pillows had been torn apart, their white stuffing strewn everywhere, and faintly burnt in places—most likely Lia’s doing.

Even the furniture bore several visible cracks and burnt scorch marks, darkening the wood.

And within it all, a woman sat on the edge of the bed, completely still, staring into the space before her.

Amelia.

Her black hair—mixed with several crimson strands—had become disheveled and messy, partially concealing her eyes as though she hadn’t bothered combing it for days. Perhaps she had even pulled at it herself, leaving it even more unkempt.

Her skin remained pale and beautiful, yet there was no life in her expression.

Her eyes were hollow as she stared at the status window before her with an empty gaze.

Outside the chamber, Selthia finally recovered from her shock, only to realise Vivienne had disappeared.

She then turned to the door to Lia’s room and immediately decided to go inside.

At least she tried to.

Unfortunately, the moment she reached for the handle—

Whoosh!

A wall of fire exploded across the door, suddenly startling her.

“Fudge…!” Selthia cursed as she jerked her hand back.

The flames before her had naturally been set up by Vivienne, who had already anticipated the curious maid’s next move.

“Tch.”

Selthia clicked her tongue softly and glanced at her hand, checking for any burns.

After a moment, she considered simply opening a portal and entering the room that way.

But there was no telling whether she would be burned the instant she stepped through to the other side.

Then her eyes suddenly lit up.

“Kanna might know something.”

She immediately turned around and walked away, trying to find that emotionless doll.

Meanwhile, Vivienne turned her gaze away from the ruined room and settled her attention on Lia.

The atmosphere inside felt heavy as she took in the sight of the young woman sitting on the bed.

“Why are you brooding over there, you brat?” she asked directly, narrowing her eyes at the blank expression on Lia’s face.

Lia slowly turned her gaze away from the screen—which instantly flickered away—and turned toward Vivienne.

There was no shock on her face even though the redhead had suddenly appeared inside her room from thin air.

She simply didn’t care.

“I said get lost,” she repeated coldly.

But of course, it wasn’t like Vivienne was actually going to listen to her.

Vivienne was genuinely confused now.

She had only been gone for a week. During that time, her mother hadn’t returned home yet, and neither had her disciple.

And somehow, this girl had managed to lock herself inside her room and descend into… whatever state this was.

“Are you worried about that boy?” she asked casually.

Hearing those words, Lia trembled slightly, her gaze darkening even further.𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

“So that’s it, huh…” Vivienne muttered, clicking her tongue softly.

“I already told you, didn’t I? That man is with my mother, and she won’t kill him without a reason.”

Her words hardly sounded comforting.

Because even Vivienne knew that Lucian might get himself killed if he acted too cocky around her mother.

Just because she had tolerated him until now didn’t mean she wouldn’t kill him if he crossed the line… maybe.

Yet despite hearing her words, Lia remained silent, her eyes drifting elsewhere.

A faint vein popped on Vivienne’s forehead.

She was standing here, talking to someone she could kill with a flick of her finger, actually trying to console her…

And this girl wasn’t even reacting to her words.

She had even turned her gaze away from her!

“Phoo…” Vivienne took a deep exhale, doing her best not to burn the entire room down in frustration.

Then, a thought suddenly struck her, and immediately her lips curved slightly.

“You love that bastard, don’t you?”

Lia’s head suddenly snapped toward her, her eyes widening ever so slightly.

Seeing her reaction, Vivienne continued.

“But you won’t be able to be that man’s partner if you stay like this.”

Lia froze.

“…Partner?” she muttered, her voice hoarse, almost uncertain.

Vivienne’s eyes twitched as she watched Lia latch onto a single word instead of listening to the rest of the sentence.

“Partner… lover… whatever you want to call it.”

Lia’s eyes widened completely, and the lifeless darkness within them regained a trace of light.

Her ears instantly turned red.

“W-What are you talking about…?” she asked, flustered, as though the hollow, empty look from moments ago had been nothing but an illusion.

Vivienne almost laughed, but she continued speaking with a neutral expression. Though inwardly, she was enjoying the shattered expression on Lia’s face far more than she wanted to admit.

“But that isn’t possible if you remain as weak as you are right now.”

Those words instantly poured water over the previous shock.

“My mother herself is training that boy, and when he returns, he’ll be stronger than he is now.”

That wasn’t just a speculation on her part.

She had seen it herself.

Lucian was already stronger than his original rank, and just before her mother had taken him away, Vivienne had seen that he had reached C Rank—perhaps ranking up during the blood feeding, strange as that was.

Even while being only a D-Rank Awakened, he had been somewhat stronger and faster than a normal vampire of the same rank… and that was before he had received any real training.

He lacked the skills to fight properly, but that bastard hadn’t stayed on the ground for more than thirty seconds, no matter how badly she beat him up until he bled.

And while he was out there training with Valentina, Lia was still a D Rank.

Even though she possessed a noble bloodline and all the advantages that came with it… she hadn’t trained for a single day.

Heck, she hadn’t even stepped out of her room for a minute. Not even after Seraphina came every day to call her out.

“You are pathetically weak to be called a Scarlett Heir.”

Those mocking words made Lia frown, a flicker of irritation surfacing within her.

A vampire—especially one from House Scarlett—instinctively hated being called weak.

After several seconds of silence, Lia slowly opened her mouth.

“Then… what do I do?”

She hated asking the hateful woman in front of her, but she didn’t want to be left behind again.

Vivienne instantly smiled dangerously.

“Do what? Train until you become strong enough to overpower that bastard.”

Her smile widened as she imagined the expression on Lucian’s face when his own sister would surpass him and leave him completely helpless.

The frustration.

The embarrassment.

The look on his face when there was nothing he could do about it.

“Hehe…”

A small, sadistic smile crept onto her face, sending a dreadful shiver down Lia’s spine.