My Wonderful Second Life

Chapter 24- A Spring Night

Warning:

 The first part mentions some dark topics (nothing more than a phrase or a paragraph). Caution is advised.

***

Already on that day, on our way back home, I took the time to ask Jenni about our invitation to the Castello's. Adding that it was the talk of the moment besides the actual ball.

Jenni nodded, though I was not sure if with intention or because of the carriage's vigorous shakes. Made of hard stone and gaps, the city grounds didn't allow for smooth travel. But right after, she let a remark hang in the air.

"It is only normal. They hardly go to social events."

"Why do it now, then?"

Jenni shrugged nicely. "It is only right for the Great Duke to invite other great families and for them to accept it. However, I believe it was because the Duke of the East, Lord Castello, has father in great esteem." she said.

I arched my eyebrow. That was new. So she had been told to invite them.

"A feeling that is reciprocated." finished Jenni, who looked at the ever-changing view outside.

Interesting.

"I hadn't heard of it before." I said, hoping to get more information out of her.

Jenni shot a brief glance at me before replying. "Father is quite private in his relations. Besides his family..." she took a scant breath. "... and Emmanuel, there are few people who he considers friends and he hardly talks about them."

I pondered on her words in silence for the rest of our trip back. For a man so dramatic and attached to his daughters, the duke sure had several secrets. Though it could be just me. But something told me Jenni knew little either, which probably irked her. My expectation was that she was waiting to meet Lady Amelia, to better understand the dynamics between the lords.

However, Amelia Castello was not someone people would have a good time meeting. At least not according to what was written of her and her actions in the book. The Bloody Dame was cruel and dangerous. She killed people as easily as if she were to choose a dress (and she did both at the same time in the book). To keep herself youthful, she would bathe in the blood of young girls, having them tortured before for days to make their blood more potent (how that was possible it was never told and I was never really interested in delving into such macabre tendencies).

Her daughter had been a rival of the main character, Eloise's daughter, though less deadly. But Amelia intervened when she saw her daughter's failures in securing any of the princes. It was then that she sent the Flor di Aniz to the main character, hoping it would kill her. Thankfully, Wolff caught it in time and she was not hurt.

And there was more... much more. Yet what was most interesting was that she hated the Mountnero Duke with passion, plotting to kill him and destroying his fortune and name at every turn possible. There was no one else she despised more than him, except for the Empress, Jenni. Why? There was no real reason explained, and I always assumed it was because she had before her eyes on the royal princes, Cedric and Francis, and was unsuccessful. It was the logical conclusion, since both Mountnero ladies married into royalty.

We arrived at home and left the carriage, and I continued to think about Amelia. About the Castello's. The book had never mentioned the previous Lord Castello. He hadn't been important to the story, though he was now. How Amelia had been in the book had to come from somewhere. She for sure had to be shaped by him. Thinking of it and the fact that he was friends with Gobbie, it didn't look good. Not one bit.

That night I had a dream. More a nightmare, really. Of a bathtub filled with my blood and a girl as beautiful as a goddess smirking at me. Not sure if she was supposed to be Amelia, though there was no other explanation. The haunting of it all was that we both kept staring at each other until the darkness consumed me.