Chapter 296: The Curse And The Heir
[Music recommendation: The Weeknd & Mike Dean - The Lure (Main Theme)]
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When Aliana offered no further objection, Alester began.
"A long time ago, our ancestors thrived on power and wealth while holding the noble title of Duke. They served the king faithfully, using their influence and fortune to support the crown.
But generations later, one of the Dukes grew greedy for even greater power. He betrayed the king by selling valuable information to his enemies. When the king discovered what he had done, he was furious and was prepared to punish the entire family for his treason.
However, the Duke’s wife was the king’s own sister, and she pleaded with her brother to spare them.
The king ultimately showed mercy out of his love for his sister. Instead of executing them, he banished the couple to a distant land, stripped them of their titles and took away everything they possessed.
At the time, they had no other family left. The Duke’s wife had also been told that she could never conceive a child. For the Duke, it seemed as though everything he had built had come to an end. His title was gone, his wealth was gone, and he believed his life had been reduced to nothing but disgrace.
With no hope left, he eventually decided to end his own life. But his wife managed to stop him.
Watching her husband’s physical and mental health deteriorate, she desperately searched for a way to give him a reason to live. She began believing that if she could somehow have a child, perhaps they could start their lives anew.
That was when she heard of a mysterious woman who lived deep within the forest and was said to possess knowledge beyond that of ordinary people.
The Duke’s wife sought her out, and when she finally found the woman, she begged her for help.
The mysterious woman told her that her wishes could be granted, but only if she was willing to perform a ritual.
If the ritual succeeded, she would be blessed with the very things that had been taken from her. Her health would be restored, she would be able to conceive, and wealth and prosperity would once again find their way to her family.
But there was a price."
"What price?" Aliana asked quietly.
Alester replied. "She was told that she would have to renounce God and pledge her bloodline to the entity the ritual was performed for. From that day onward, the heir of every generation would be required to offer their blood to the entity to renew the pact and maintain its blessing.
If they fulfilled their obligation, their wealth and prosperity would remain.
But if even one generation refused, everything that had been given to them would begin to be taken away.
Their wealth would vanish, and the members of the bloodline would eventually fall gravely ill before dying."
Aliana stared at her father in disbelief. "Did... did our ancestors ever try to break the pact?"
Alester’s expression darkened.
"Of course they did. Over the centuries, there were those who tried to free themselves from it. But every attempt ended the same way. Those who refused to offer their blood began suffering from incurable illnesses. No treatment could save them, leaving them with no choice but to continue the ritual, only for their health to be restored."
A cold wave of shock coursed through Aliana on hearing all of it. After sometime she found her voice, "Are you... saying that I am expected to offer my blood as well?"
Alester looked at his daughter with a flicker of genuine guilt and pain passing through his eyes. "Yes. If you refuse, the pact will eventually claim us all. The Vanderbilt name... everything our ancestors built... will cease to exist."
Aliana’s heart skipped painfully at the thought of her parents dying because of her.
But then another thought entered her mind, and she asked softly, "Then... will the same thing happen to me?"
Alester’s brows knitted together before he answered, "No. We married you off, which means you are now considered part of your husband’s family. Portia and I were once told by a powerful shaman that marriage would spare you from this horrible fate.
The pact only binds the heir who remains within the Vanderbilt bloodline and household. Once a female heir marries and becomes part of another family, she is no longer bound by the terms of the pact. However, this can only be applied to daughters, because male heirs remain within the Vanderbilt household even after marriage and therefore remain bound by the pact."
He paused before adding, "But even though you are exempt, you remain the only heir to the Vanderbilt family and still carry our blood in your veins."
Aliana was stunned by his words, and a slow realisation settled deep within her. "So... all this time, you were pressuring me to get married. Was it... was it just to exempt me from the curse?"
Alester gave her a warm smile. "You are my only daughter, Ali. And I have always loved you with my whole heart. Even if you choose not to give your blood, at least you can live on to fulfil the destiny that awaits you."
Aliana’s eyes filled with tears, and a tight lump formed in her throat as she heard the sincerity in her father’s words. For a moment, she could only stare at him. All those years of frustration over her parents’ insistence that she marry had suddenly taken on an entirely different meaning.
Before Aliana could speak, Jade interjected. "But how is any of this connected to Ali’s birth?" All eyes turned toward her. "You said Aliana’s birth was the gift you all had been waiting generations to receive."
Alester nodded slowly. "Right. That was the second thing the mysterious woman told the Duke’s wife. She gave her a prophecy."
He paused, his eyes settling on Aliana. "She was told that the family would be blessed with only one male heir in each generation, a son who would carry on the family’s legacy. But one day, a daughter would be born under the light of a full moon.
A daughter who would be different from every heir who came before her. The prophecy said that she would be destined for something far greater than simply carrying on the family name."
Alester’s eyes softened. "She would be the only one capable of breaking the curse that had bound our bloodline for generations... and freeing us from the pact that demanded our blood."
Aliana stared at him for a quiet moment before asking, "So... am I the only daughter who has ever been born since then?"
Alester gave her a solemn nod. "Yes."
Aliana felt as though her mind were about to explode from the sheer weight of revelations crashing down on her all at once. Everything she had believed about her life and her upbringing suddenly turned out to be far from the truth.
She still did not fully understand what her so-called destiny entailed, but something deep inside told her it was linked to the strange abilities she possessed.
"Dad, were any of our ancestors ever recorded as having some kind of power?" Aliana asked cautiously.
Alester paused to think. "Not that I am aware of. I have never come across any family records that suggest such a thing." His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her expression. "What kind of power do you mean?"