451 Mother's words
Eve was interested in seeing this mansion that Vincent thought would entice her. But before it, they had to see Marceline to the House of Purgatory.
“When you said coffin… do you mean your grandparents are not alive anymore?”
Vincent stared at Eve before he replied, “Something like that. You will know when we reach the place.”
The carriage continued moving in the darkness, with lanterns hanging outside and inside the vehicle to keep the darkness away. In the next hour, even Eve had fallen asleep along with Marceline, leaving Vincent awake.
When he went to move his arm away from the window, his hand brushed his coat, and a slight crumpling was heard from the nearby pocket. He slipped his hand inside the coat pocket, feeling the coarse parchment in there, looking outside the window at the trees that passed them.
And though his eyes looked outside, the memory in front of his eyes was of the time when he and Marceline were young. When his mother was still alive. It was one of the incident when he had made his sister cry.
‘He doesn’t consider me his sister!’ A young Marcelina wailed, before hugging her mother, who held a frown.
‘I don’t think it is true, Marcie,’ Lady Katherina gently stroked her daughter’s head. ‘Tell me what happened so that I can help, hm?’ Marceline continued to cry with tears streaming down her eyes.
The young girl then said, ‘He always makes fun of me in front of everyone.’
A young Vincent, who was walking by with a blank expression, was stopped by his mother, ‘Vincent.’
The boy stopped in his tracks and answered, ‘Yes, mother?’
‘What did you tell Marcie that has her in tears?’
Vincent stared at his mother before his eyes shifted to look at his spoiled sister and replied, ‘She cries easily. It isn’t my fault.’
Hearing her brother’s words, Marceline cried and accused, ‘You only care about other people, not me! I am your sister, but he doesn’t wait for me. He just left me and came home by himself. And he tells the meanest things to me, mother!’
Lady Katherina said to her son, ‘Why don’t you offer your handkerchief to your sister so that she can wipe her tears, Vince.’
‘She has one in her hand,’ Vincent pointed, and this brought a chuckle out of the Viscountess, who smiled at her children, where one was crying, while the other stared blankly.
‘It’s all wet,’ Marceline sobbed.
Vincent rolled his eyes and passed her the handkerchief.
‘I don’t think your brother meant to leave you, Marcie. He doesn’t like being around people very much. Why don’t you go in and clean yourself up. My pretty and good daughter shouldn’t shed so many tears,’ and she called a maid before the maid took Marceline to wash her face. She turned to her son ‘And you…’
‘She had a carriage to ride back home, and she was doing something stupid I didn’t want to take part in. Low brain company,’ the boy replied, and Lady Katherina pulled him to her side.
‘Being her big brother, you should help her. When she cries or when something bad happens, I want you to be there for her. To help her,’ Lady Katherina tried to convince her son. ‘Your sister looks up to you, Vince, and I tell you that because I know she wants your approval. We are a family, and if we don’t help each other, no one else will.’
Sitting inside the carriage now, Vincent took a deep breath before releasing a sigh. He had spared Marceline’s foolish actions for his mother, and he doubted he could forgive his sibling anymore.
‘Sometimes, people show they aren’t worth saving,’ Vincent thought to himself, but because Marceline was his sister, he couldn’t help but put her in her place.
Before the wake of dawn, where the sky was still covered with clouds, the Moriarty carriage finally reached the intended first destination, where Marceline was going to stay.
Eve’s eyes parted open, and her eyes fell on the large wall higher than a mansion’s regular height. She noticed the number of guards, who guarded the walls even though there were no gates.
The gates to the place opened, and as the carriage continued to move, Marceline woke up from her rest as she had slept without a hint of worry, looking forward to living alone in the mansion as if she was the mistress of the place.
p、A,nd A-n、o、ve,1
“We have,” Vincent remarked, while Eve looked worried about what would happen once Marceline would find out where they were.
“Looks like I can have a good meal and then get some rest,” Marceline softly harrumphed, already building the proud airs around her. She peeked outside the window and said, “It seems a little different than the last time we were here. Did father change some things here?”
“This is the back gate. The front gate is covered with snow, and they said it would take an hour before we can use that path,” Vincent lied right through his teeth, and if Eve didn’t know him better, she would have blindly believed him to be telling the truth.
Marceline, who was aware of how her brother was, didn’t appear to be too convinced, and there was a tingling feeling in the back of her mind that gnawed at her, but she brushed it away as she was excited to start afresh. She said politely, “As much as I hate to admit it, I am glad that you accompanied me, Vince. For old times sake, as we might not see each other again.”
Eve felt bad that the entire family was deceiving the vampiress, but Marceline had paved her path to this place.
The carriage stopped, and the coachman quickly jumped down and opened the door for the Moriarty family members to step outside. Vincent was the first one to step outside, followed by Marceline, who blocked Eve’s way so the human wouldn’t get down before her.