Chapter 99: An Old Acquaintance.
Chapter 99: An Old Acquaintance.
Yet somehow, it tasted better than most of the meals he had eaten at the Roosevelt estate.
Osborne felt even better.
He continued eating until there was nothing left.
He then leaned back slightly.
’That was good.’ He thought, feeling a bit satisfied.
His stomach finally felt satisfied. Well, for now, anyway.
Osborne looked at the empty bowl before standing up.
He picked up the dishes and carried them out of his room.
The hallway was quiet.
There was no sign of Vivian.
Osborne walked toward the kitchen and placed the dishes there.
He glanced around.
The house was strangely quiet.
’Where did she go?’
Osborne focused his senses.
The enhanced hearing he had gained from his demonification immediately picked up several faint sounds.
He could hear breathing.
One came from Nicholas’s room.
Another belonged to Abigail.
Both were sleeping.
Osborne’s eyes narrowed slightly.
’They’re both asleep.’
He focused again.
There was no sound coming from Vivian.
Osborne turned his head slightly.
Perhaps she was still outside.
He didn’t bother looking for her, since there was no reason to.
After all, this wasn’t his house.
He had already eaten, and there was nothing else he needed at the moment.
Osborne returned to his room.
He closed the door behind himself before walking back toward the bed.
For a brief moment, he simply stood there in silence.
Osborne vanished into the sub-space.
The familiar darkness surrounded him for a brief moment before his body appeared several meters away from where Vanessa had been left.
The sight that greeted him remained exactly the same as before.
Vanessa was still standing in the same position, her entire body frozen in stone while maintaining her werewolf form.
Her white fur, sharp claws, enlarged fangs, and muscular body had all been turned completely grey, leaving her looking more like a statue than a living creature.
Osborne walked toward her.
He stopped directly in front of her and raised one hand.
The petrification covering Vanessa’s body immediately began to crack.
CRACK...
Small cracks spread across her stone-like body before pieces began falling away one after another.
Her fur regained its original colour, her skin returned to normal, and the stone covering her body gradually disappeared until she was once again completely free.
The moment the petrification vanished, Vanessa’s knees gave out.
She dropped to the ground and immediately gasped for air.
"Haa... Haa..."
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she desperately sucked in air, one hand pressing against the ground while the other held her chest.
For several seconds, she didn’t even notice Osborne standing in front of her.
Her body was trembling.
Eventually, Vanessa slowly raised her head.
Her eyes met his.
The moment she saw those familiar cold eyes staring down at her, her body stiffened.
Fear immediately appeared within her gaze.
Osborne remained silent.
Instead, he carefully observed her.
He couldn’t help but notice that something was different about her.
The last time he had seen Vanessa, she had been aggressive, confident, and completely willing to attack him despite knowing almost nothing about what he could do.
Now, she looked completely different.
Her body seemed thinner.
Her movements were slower.
Even the aura surrounding her was noticeably weaker than before.
Osborne narrowed his eyes slightly.
’She’s become weaker.’ He didn’t know exactly why.
𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
The sub-space wasn’t supposed to affect outsiders in such a way, at least not from anything he had experienced himself.
But Vanessa’s current state made it obvious that something had changed during the time she had been trapped here.
Vanessa lowered her gaze.
Her thoughts were far more chaotic than her expression suggested.
’It’s been so long that I almost forgot how long...’ Her heart trembled just remembering the countless months she’d been trapped here.
While she was petrified, she could still perceive everything around her, as strange as it was.
And that was what truly terrified her: being stuck in a world of absolute silence, with no one or thing around her but a vast grassy plain and the blue sky.
She couldn’t even remember exactly how long she had been here anymore.
At first, she had been furious, screaming and cursing him in her mind day after day.
But with time, she stopped, realising there was nothing she could possibly do.
The difference between being locked up in a cage and being frozen in place, unable to do anything but look ahead, was far more mind-wrecking than one could realise.
The only thing she could hear during all those times was her own heartbeat.
Thumping away in her chest.
For what felt like an eternity, that had been the only thing accompanying her.
Vanessa had never imagined that silence could become so terrifying.
She had spent her entire life surrounded by people.
Even when she wanted to be alone, there had always been someone nearby.
Yet inside this strange place, there had been absolutely nothing.
At some point, she had tried to keep herself occupied by thinking about escaping.
But no matter what she thought of doing, her petrified body simply remained in place.
All she could do was wait, day after day, in place, her mind gradually growing numb from the isolation.
Her thoughts slowly becoming darker, wondering if she would ever leave this frightening yet peaceful space.
What even scared her further was the feeling of her strength slowly being sucked out of her with time.
There were moments when she genuinely wondered whether she was losing her mind.
’If I had stayed here any longer...’
Vanessa’s fingers trembled slightly.
She didn’t want to think about it.
She had already come dangerously close to madness.
Even now, hearing the sound of her own breathing made her feel uncomfortable.
Her gaze slowly returned to Osborne.
’Just what exactly is this man?’
That question had crossed her mind countless times.
She had originally believed he was nothing more than an arrogant young noble.
Someone troublesome, perhaps, but ultimately insignificant.
Yet everything she had seen since then had completely destroyed that belief.