Cursed Together With Mr.Vampire; I need to drink his blood!

31. Shocking News

"It's been a while, Triana," Said the man with white hair and round glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

"It is, Mr. Winston. But the look of this house hasn't changed at all. The courtyard is still as beautiful as ever," Triana said after taking a sip of her tea.

"That's what my wife likes. She has talented hands," The man chuckled. Then he adjusted his glasses. "Then, may I know what brings you here? I believe you're not just out to visit your former teacher, am I right?"

Triana smiled slightly and nodded. "I'd like to ask a little favour, Mr. Winston. But can you make this a secret?"

Brows wrinkled, Mr. Winston tilted his head slightly. "I didn't think your request would be so serious that we had to keep it a secret,"

Nodding, Triana answered in a low voice with a palm next to her mouth, "It happens that this is a rather sensitive matter,"

"Well, if you say so, then I will promise not to tell anyone. But I hope that helping you won't get me into trouble,"

Triana chuckled as she waved her hand in front of her nose, "Of course it's not. I wouldn't have come here to trouble you, sir,"

"Very well. Then, what can I help you with, Triana?" The white-haired man asked.

Glancing at Mr. Vlador who sat silently beside her, Triana cleared her throat and started to speak, "This friend of mine... He has been cursed by a witch,"

Mr. Winston's eyebrows rose. "Is that true, Mr. Vlad?" He stared at the light-brown-eyed man that Triana had introduced earlier as her friend named Dortan Vlad.

"It is true," Vlador nodded. "My ancestors were witch hunters. Unbeknown to me, one of the witch's surviving descendants held a grudge against my family and attacked me when I was off guard,"

"Witch hunters, huh? It's been a very long time since I last heard of them. But you're too neat to be seen as one, you know?" Mr. Winston rubbed his chin.

"The work had been stopped since my father's birth. I'm not a witch hunter,"  Vlador replied. Then he took a piece of cloth from his pocket and handed it to Mr. Winston. "I found the witch who cursed me dead in her lair. And I also found this thing there while figuring out how to lift my curse,"

Opening the cloth, Mr. Winston frowned as he stared at its contents.

"We came here because you are the only person I know who can read witch writing. You were the one who taught me the witch language," Triana said.

"Excuse me, Lady Triana. I don't think I ever taught you the witch language. What I remember is that you were secretly reading my notebooks, am I wrong?" Mr. Winston smiled with narrowed eyes.

Scratching her temples with a finger, Triana smiled awkwardly. "I-I thought you would allow me,"

Sighing, Mr. Winston got up from his chair and led Triana and Vlador into his room which was full of bookshelves.  Then, he approached his desk to change his regular glasses to thicker reading glasses.

"It's an ice witch," Mr. Winston said with his eyes still focused on the note inside the cloth. Then he raised his gaze to look at Vlador. "Isn't anyone in your family able to read it?"

Vlador shook his head. "I believe there is none. If there is, it still took me too long to get one to read it since my hometown is five days journey from here,"

"Oh, that's indeed far," Mr. Winston clucked. Then he took a thick book from the bookshelf and opened it.

"That book is a dictionary of the witch language that Mr. Winston got from the witch hunter," Triana tilted her body to whisper to Mr. Vlador just to get a slight nod from him.

After a while of reading the notes, a dictionary, and writing something down on a piece of paper, Mr. Winston put down his pen. He lifted his face to look at Triana and Vlador who immediately looked back at him full of expectation.

"I've finished translating it. Do I need to read it too?" Mr. Winston raised an eyebrow.

With her hands clasped together in front of her chest and eyes sparkling, Triana nodded quickly. "Thank you very much, Mr. Winston. You are the best. Yes, please… Please read it for us,"

Lifting the white paper, Mr. Winston began reading the contents, "A blood curse will bond them. The red blood that is still or the one that is alive will only be separated by the magic of the  white-haired blue blood. Death by time is negated until the curse is lifted. However, the Black Crow ceremony can only be performed by a mortal girl."

Frowning, Triana turned to Mr. Vlador and found the man dropping his gaze to the floor with a tense jaw. From his face, she suspected that something was wrongful.

"That… sounds weird. I'm afraid I don't understand," Triana said to Mr. Winston.

"It's not wrong if you don't understand, because I don't either. As ordinary people who have never been involved with the world of magic, we certainly will not understand the contents of this note," Mr. Winston replied. Then he looked at Vlador. "Mr. Vlad, I'm afraid you're in even more trouble than you think. From what I've heard, ice witches are powerful and rarely found,"

"I know that," Vlador said.

"Then, was she the one who cursed you? I thought they never bothered humans and live where it keeps snowing?"

"You are right. But the one who cursed me was an earth witch. I don't know why that note is written in the language of the ice witch," Vlador replied thoughtfully.

"Excuse me, but may I know what the curse that ensnared you is?" Mr. Winston asked.

Vlador was silent for a moment, then replied, "I will never feel full and can never sleep – that's my curse,"

"Oh, you poor young man," Mr. Winston sighed. "If that is the curse, maybe I am mistaken in thinking that it was a curse between two persons. The word Mortal Girl also sounded too out of place compared to her curse. Did I mistranslate, perhaps?" he was about to reach for his dictionary again.

"That's not necessary," Vlador said quickly. "I believe the translation is accurate enough. I will study its meaning and will look for someone more familiar with magic. Now, may I have the translation, please?"

"Of course. Here you go," Mr. Winston handed Vlador the paper with the translation and the piece of cloth.

"Everything about witches is confusing. I hope you won't have to confuse yourself after this. Thank you for helping me, Mr. Winston. But it looks like I have to catch up on time again," said Vlador to the white-haired man.

Mr. Winston nodded. "Of course. I hope you manage to take off your curse and live well. If your trip is long, I will prepare some supplies for you,"

"Oh, it's very kind of you, Mr. Winston. But I'm afraid we will burden you," Triana said after thanking her former teacher.

"That's not necessary, Triana.  Incidentally, my wife cooks quite a bit today. If you can't leave my house on a full stomach, at least you brought something from here," Mr. Winston said as he took his two guests into the living room.

"Then, are you going straight back to Gelev Castle? Oh, I thought I should tell you this: Actually, I was afraid my wife and I wouldn't be able to make it to Lady Rubby's wedding because it will be the day my son is on his medication, so we'll have to accompany him as usual. However, I will still send a letter to Lady Catherine," Mr. Winston said to Triana.

However, Mr. Winston made Triana frown in confusion. She looked at the man and blinked rapidly. "Lady Ruby? Are you talking about my sister?"

"I know no other Lady Rubby than your sister," Mr. Winston replied.

"Wait a minute. My sister is getting married? Where did you hear that from?" She asked directly.

Staring at Triana confusedly, Mr. Winston answered, "I don't think you should be this surprised since everyone in the kingdom knows about this. But because you asked, it was your mother; Lady Catherine, who told me. It's just yesterday I visited Gelev Castle. I'm sorry I didn't greet you – They said you were sick and resting in your room. I got your sister's wedding invitation that day,"