With all her might, Alicia fought for calmness. She tried her best to hide the shock and horror that struck her as fast and efficient as she could, all the while hoping that Ezekiel noticed nothing yet.
"E-Ezekiel?" she managed to say, her eyes now narrowed, questioning.
Zeke said nothing and just stared at her. It seemed he had noticed despite Alicia's effort. Of course, she should've known that nothing could escape this man's eyes so easily like that. She sighed silently. She was not going to say anything about it even if he asks why she had that look in her eyes at the sight of his face.
"So that's your real appearance," Alicia added, acting cool as if the flash of horror in her eyes just a moment ago was nothing but an illusion.
Ezekiel's response was a flat "yes."
"Impressive." Alicia walked closer to him but maintained a wide distance between them. "I never thought you've been disguising all this time. I knew you are the one behind the vampire king and queen's disguise but you… actually disguising as well is really unexpected."
Unlike the vampire princes, the vampire king and queen's face were known to the world. The king and queen of the vampires were public figures, after all. So since the beginning of the computer era, the king and queen had been disguising themselves very well. They needed to look like they were getting older like normal humans. Thankfully, they didn't seem to have any problem while wearing their disguise all the time. Well, they were vampires. Things that human finds uncomfortable and tedious would probably just felt like a thick make up for them or nothing.
Alicia knew that their disguise must be an advanced invention because of how realistic it looked. She was sure it wasn't made out of anything magical also because if the guise were a work of magic, Alicia would've certainly seen through the disguise the moment she saw it.
After a while of silence, Ezekiel suddenly appeared just a few inches in front of Alicia. His head bent closer as his deep voice echoed near her ear. "What did you see?" he whispered.
His sudden action, his unexpected closeness, and that question nearly made Alicia step back. She even almost thought that the one who whispered in her ear wasn't Ezekiel but the devil himself. Still, Alicia steeled herself and squared her shoulders before she tilted her face to look up and meet his eyes. His eyes weren't a sharp and threatening blade, but they were probing and intense.
"Are you going to force me to tell you whatever it is that I saw?" she challenged, her silver eyes steely. Alicia refused to be overpowered by this vampire prince. But it wasn't easy because looking at his face this close gave her another flash of memories she wished she wasn't seeing. That face was like a dreamy painting that reminded her of nothing but a nightmarish, disturbing scene.
Ezekiel stilled, and Alicia began to feel the rise of tension in her nerves. There was something eerie with his stillness, and she knew she couldn't keep her cool any longer than this. His sheer aura was affecting Alicia, and she could feel something dark and dangerous leaking from within him. Despite his lack of expression, Alicia could only think that he might be struggling to contain himself because his body and his aura were completely reacting opposite each other.
But then, he answered "no," and he pulled away without breaking eye contact. He blinked, and the usual calmness around him was back.
At that moment, Zeres grabbed Alicia's arm and gently pulled her behind him, putting himself between Ezekiel and Alicia. "We are leaving, Kiel." He said simply, but his gaze on Zeke was alert and intense. And without waiting for the vampire prince's response, Zeres immediately turned to face Alicia.
Zeres's gaze was a little grave as he looked at her. "We're leaving," he told her, his hand still not letting go of her arm. Alicia was immediately reminded about why she came to this place, and she forced herself to bring her attention back to Zeres. He was right. They had to leave now. She was afraid she could no longer keep a straight face if she sees more of those memories.
Alicia threw a glance at Ezekiel before she nodded at Zeres, and just like that, the two witches disappeared from the scene in apparent haste.
The glow of light coming from the bodies of the two witches had disappeared along with them, turning the forest pitch black. Silence crawled on the ground and lingered in the frigid air for a while before Ezekiel finally moved.
"Let's go," he said, and Lucas nodded.
"Are we going to leave the kingdom tonight as planned?" Lucas asked as they leave the forest.
The prince didn't answer immediately. When they landed on the castle's watchtower, Zeke halted. He stood there looking over the city light. He let his midnight hair and his dark coat danced with the wind before he uttered an answer. "No. We'll stay for a while."
"May I ask why?"
"No."
"Then how long is the 'while' you're talking about?"
Zeke glanced back at the red-haired man behind him. "A hundred years certainly changed you a lot, but it seemed it did nothing about your nosiness, Lucas."
"If that's a compliment, then thank you, Your Highness."
In a heartbeat, Lucas caught a dagger that suddenly wooshed in the air like a stray bullet aimed at his heart. "If you want my compliment, then stop engaging with any form of fight against the witches… especially the silver-haired ones, even if you find them in the vampire castle's premise."
The red-haired man tilted his head slightly as he stared at the prince's dagger he caught. "Okay, I understand. But may I know why…"
Lucas couldn't even finish his question because the prince he was talking to was already gone. Scratching his head, Lucas sighed and followed after Zeke's trails.
