Chapter 16: A Hopeless Romantic
Edward stared at him, utterly speechless.
After a moment, he scowled and leaned in close. "If you are already privy to the knowledge that there is someone out there who wants to kill you, then why not just go kill the bitch right now? Must you wait until that day comes?"
Dante did not reply immediately and just smiled. After a long silence, he sighed softly and shook his head. "There are a lot of reasons I can’t kill her just yet."
"...?" Edward arched a brow, clearly unable to make sense of it. At the same time, he could feel Dante’s heart thumping faster as he stared at the picture. After trying to sense his emotions further, he realized that it was not out of fear.
His eyes then widened in sudden realization. "Wait a minute. Do you love this bitch?"
He pointed an accusing finger at Dante, his mouth agape. "A-are... are you a hopeless romantic?"
"...?" Dante scowled and grew defensive. "I don’t love her, I like her. Those are two different things. And by the way, what’s wrong with being a hopeless romantic? Huh? Huh? Huh?!"
Edward swallowed hard and took a step back with every "huh?!"
Then he finally threw up his hands in resignation. "Nothing!"
"Good!" Dante huffed, crossing his arms. "Besides, I said that there are a lot of reasons that I can’t kill her just yet. I still need to find out who is manipulating her and why they want to kill me. And don’t worry. Liking someone doesn’t mean I won’t try to get rid of them if they threaten my life. I’m not stupid."
"Ah..." Edward nodded slowly, letting out a breath. "I see."
He then went on to study the many other notes pinned to the board. He could see entries like the Order of the Sanguine Chalice, The Black Silt Ring, Teaching Assistant Miss Vi, and a lot of other names, places, and key dates.
As for Dante, he went back to compiling his survival manual.
’I had burned my diary at the Labyrinth because I was afraid that if those guys succeeded in robbing me, they’d take it. Even though the words were written in English, they could just give it to a High Priest to translate it. Fortunately, the loss of that book isn’t problematic...’
***
The next day...
——
The sound of cutlery scraping against porcelain echoed across the dining hall. At the moment, the only people at the long mahogany table were Isabella, Caterina, and Dante.
The Count was apparently away attending to urgent matters, while Arno barely ever ate breakfast with the family. If Dante were to guess, he was probably keeping that woman, Genevieve, warm in his room.
Dante took a bite of a sausage as he mentally planned his day. ’I’ll first go to the black market in the Carnal Quarter to purchase some artifacts. Then I’ll head over to Val-de-Grâce Penitentiary. I had told Vincenzo last week to get me the permits for that place. He said he’d get them before today. I hope he has them.’
While he was still lost in thought, he suddenly heard his mother’s voice.
"Are you going to be busy today?"
Dante slowly looked up, then nodded. "Yes, Mother. But I should be back before dusk."
"Oh." She dabbed her lips with a silk napkin. "Let’s meet in private when you return."
"Okay," he replied with a subtle nod.
Meanwhile, Caterina turned to her brother. "Tomorrow is Monday, so I’ll be leaving for the academy today. You know I only came back to visit because I missed you."
Without turning to look at her, Dante chewed calmly and replied, "I didn’t ask you to come visit me. I was honestly beginning to wonder why you were still here. Get lost already."
"Tsk." Caterina scoffed and looked upset for a brief second, before her expression softened. Then she asked, "By the way, aren’t you going to come back to the academy?"
Dante swallowed and, after a beat, replied casually, "If I’m done with all I need to do, then... I should return next week."
"Oh." Caterina nodded absentmindedly and turned away. And then it hit her. "Wait — what? You’re really coming back?"
She had thought he would say he had no plans to return. That was why she was so shocked when he gave a definite answer like next week.
The academy session had already begun several weeks ago, but after spending only a single week there, Dante had suddenly packed up and left, claiming he simply didn’t like it. He even left the Imperial Capital entirely and returned home to Ravena.
Both their mother and father had not complained, letting him do as he pleased. If he didn’t like the place, he didn’t have to go. End of story.
Caterina, however, could not understand it and had always wondered why he left so abruptly. She even worried he had been burdened by the fact that he couldn’t cast magic like the others.
Meanwhile, the true reason was none of those things.
’I only went to the academy to complete my registration, and stay for the induction ceremony, amongst other boring things,’ Dante thought as he took a sip of his tea. ’After that, I needed to get back to Ravena to search for anything that could raise my survival odds. Now that I’ve successfully become an Apostle, there’s no reason not to return.’
***
Sometime later, Dante stood before the mirror, having dressed in a muted charcoal wool suit paired with a matching newsboy cap. It was simple and well-fitted, designed to let him blend in without drawing unnecessary attention as a high aristocrat.
After putting on a pair of round, thin-framed glasses, he smiled and said in a mock English accent, "Reminds me of a certain... Shelby."
Just then, Edward, who was dressed in the exact same outfit but without the glasses, tilted his head and asked curiously, "Who’s that?"
Dante thought to himself, before replying aloud, "Just an old friend of mine."
"Ah..." Edward bobbed his head in understanding.
Dante, on the other hand, turned and walked over to an oak cabinet near the wall, where a reinforced metal box sat partially hidden.
It had a brass combination lock built into the front. After spinning the dials to the correct sequence, he unlatched the heavy lid. Almost immediately, a cold, pale frost spilled out into the warm room air.
The interior of the box was lined with magical cooling runes and packed with ice, preserving several sealed glass flasks of fresh blood.
These flasks of blood had been given to him by his mother some time after they had returned from Sylveria. As for where she got them from, he didn’t know, and he didn’t ask.
"Oh, can I have one? Can I have one?!" Edward bounced on his heels, pointing eagerly at the chest.
Despite receiving a flask every day, he still looked giddy every time the stash was opened. He secretly wished Dante would double his daily allowance... or better yet, let him drink the whole chest at once!
Dante smiled, took out one cold flask, and tossed it over. The young boy caught it with expert ease, opened it, and gulped down the crimson liquid in a few eager swallows.
Edward had just finished when a knock sounded on their door. He set the empty glass flask down on the side table and vanished into thin air just as Dante began walking toward the door.
After opening it, Vincenzo came into view holding a thick leather folder.
"Good morning, Signor." The man with black hair and black eyes gave a subtle bow, opening the folder to present a sealed document. "Here’s the permit for Val-de-Grâce Penitentiary. The warden marked it for full access. You will have permission to spectate the courtyard games, along with a requisition pass for a private cell block meeting."
Dante smiled and took it. This bribe had cost him about fifty gold crowns. He studied the official wax seal and signatures on the document before slipping it safely into his inner jacket pocket.
Seeing him satisfied, the man said without emotion, "I’ll be coming with you, Signor. That place is dangerous."
Dante didn’t have a problem with that, so he nodded calmly. "No problem. But I have to stop by a Black Market Exchange first."
The man simply bowed his head. "Understood, Signor."