Atticus [BL]
Chapter 21 Bride

Chapter 21: 21 Bride

"Is that the bride you have chosen, Atticus?"

Nolan felt Atticus’s arms around him tightened.

A soft laugh reverberated through the veil of darkness, "I’m not going to steal him from you, so relax. I’m just here for a quick visit."

"What do you want?" Atticus asked in a firm, cold voice.

"I told you, I’m here for a quick visit. Aren’t you happy to see your uncle again?"

Atticus didn’t answer. He remained seated on the bed while holding Nolan close to him.

Nolan on the other hand, was listening intently to the jovial voice that was talking to his butler.

"Tsk. You’re no fun as always."

And with that, Nolan was yanked from Atticus’s arms. It happened so abruptly that before he could even react, he was already suspended in midair.

He fell into a panic, his whole body floating as if he were in an infinite void of darkness. He couldn’t feel his physical body, nor he could see his physical body despite moving his arms around. It was like he had become one with the darkness itself.

The pure darkness that veiled them negated his senses. Although he had opened his eyes, he felt like they were still closed.

"A-Atticus...!" His voice trembled. Fears began to manifest in his heart.

He tried turning his head from left to right, but he couldn’t see him. He could not see his butler.

"Touch him, and I’m going to kill you."

Nolan heard Atticus’s voice, but he couldn’t see his figure nor he could pinpoint where his location was. However, it was enough to settle the fear that was manifesting in his heart. He worked to calm his nerves and didn’t worry about anything else.

Atticus would not let anyone hurt him, he had always promised that to him.

Suddenly, the veil of pure darkness instantly vanished. A pair of arms reached for Nolan and once again, he was back in Atticus’s arms.

Atticus stood firmly, holding Nolan in his arms. His gray eyes were cold and oppressive as he stared intently toward the darkest corner of the room. But Nolan did not see anything or anyone there.

Although the dark veil had vanished, a laughter of amusement echoed in their ears, before it spoke amidst his laughing.

"That man has an enormous trust in you. It would only take seconds for him to reach the paroxysm of his emotions. He could have died in panic and fear back then."

Nolan swallowed and looked around to search for the entity, but there was no other person in his bedroom but him and Atticus.

"I guess the orthodox church of this realm isn’t a threat to the safety of your bride."

Atticus didn’t say anything. His silent and cold approach made the entity scoff and sighed.

"It’s no fun playing around with you if you’re like that. Give your uncle a warm greeting at least..."

All of a sudden, a tall figure of a man materialized in front of Nolan’s study table. Nolan could finally see the intruder, curiously scanning his bedroom.

The man had white hair and scarlet eyes that glimmered. However, only half of his body was visible—his form from the stomach down to his toes was engulfed in darkness like a shadow, yet still held a tangible shape. Each step he took left behind a hazy black smoke that vanished in an instant.

"Hnn... I have been imprisoned for more than 10 years, I didn’t get the chance to explore the human realm." said the man, examining Nolan’s bedroom. His scarlet eyes darted everywhere, to the bookshelves, Nolan’s bed, and the chandelier that hung on the ceiling.

"Not bad, although the designs are so bland and basic." he commended, nodding subtly.

He paused and turned to the two who were watching him in silence.

Atticus who was carrying Nolan stared at him with his cold and sharp eyes and a nonchalance expression while Nolan who was still wrapped in a blanket watched him with pure curiosity in his eyes.

The white-haired man smiled at the sight of the two.

"Atticus, you have your uncle entangled in your games. It’s quite entertaining, so I’ll play along. I better go, your father’s watching."

And with that, the man stepped into the corner and merged into the darkness before completely vanishing.

Atticus stared at the spot where his ’uncle’ disappeared with a pensive expression.

"There’s an owl..."

Atticus gazed down at Nolan in his arms before he turned to where Nolan was looking. By the open window, a screech owl was perched on the window frame, its wide eyes watching them intently.

The screech owl let out a haunting trill before it flapped its wings and flew away. Nolan then glanced up at his butler. He had so many questions in his mind.

Atticus’s face was so close, and he couldn’t help but examine his features. His white hair was almost similar to the man that intruded his bedroom with streaks of gray, his sharp gray eyes, his eyebrows, nose, and lips.

Atticus looked down at Nolan and caught him staring at his face. Nolan’s purple eyes flickered slightly when he was caught.

"Uh..." Nolan muttered, trying to break the silence, but unable to say anything.

"You better head to bed now, Young Master." Atticus said and walked towards the bed,

"You must be tired, rest for now."

What? Are you not going to explain what just happened? Nolan almost blurted out.

Atticus gently laid Nolan down on the bed and carefully tucked him in. Nolan didn’t break his eyes away from his butler, staring into his eyes as if telling him to explain what had just happened.

Yet, it seemed like his butler was avoiding his gaze on purpose.

"Will you stay for a while until I fall asleep?"

His question prompted Atticus to pause for a moment and instantly look him in the eyes.

A small smile graced Atticus’s face. He then removed his glove from his other hand before he reached for Nolan’s forehead and brushed his hair.

"Of course, Young Master."

Nolan felt Atticus’s bare hand brushing his hair, wiping the beads of sweat on his forehead that he was not aware of from earlier’s panic.

"Atticus, who are you?"

His butler sat on the edge of his bed, his hand still caressing his hair, gently soothing him to sleep.

"Soon, Young Master."

Atticus said nothing more, and Nolan chose not to ask any further questions. What had just happened was enough to prove that the rumor about his butler was no mere rumor.

Atticus was not a human, he was sure of that now.

But, what does the intruder mean about the bride?

Suddenly, Atticus’s hand trailed down to his chin and tilted his face up, his gray eyes gently staring at Nolan’s.

"Young Master, sleep. It’s already late in the night, close your eyes now."

*

"Help! Somebody help me!"

A cry for help, piercing the stillness of dawn, disturbed the small village of Cerefina. A feeble voice of an old woman woke up the sleeping villagers.

"Please...! Somebody help me! My granddaughter..."

Hearing the poor, old woman’s cry, the woken villagers went to their windows in confusion.

They immediately saw an old woman crying on the ground, her hand clenched on her clothes over her chest as she gasped for air from crying so much. A basket filled with bread lay on the ground, its contents spilled out.

Several villagers quickly ran to her.

"Gisella! What happened?!" A woman asked who quickly ran out of her house to aid the poor old woman, "S-stop crying for a moment, you’re having a hard time breathing!"

However, Gisella cried even harder as she clung to the woman’s arms. "M-my granddaughter Leslie... she’s..." the old woman wasn’t able to speak properly amidst her wailing, "H-horrible...who... who would..."

"This is useless, somebody go and check on Leslie in their house!" yelled a man, unable to watch the old woman weeping.

It would be a waste of time to wait for the old woman to speak when she could barely make out a word amidst her crying.

The woman who ran to Gisella aided her to stand up and brought her inside their house, still trying to calm her down.

Several villagers lingered outside the house, trying to gossip about what was happening.

It did not take long for the two men who went to check on the old woman’s granddaughter to come back. However, the villagers were confused to see the expression on the two men’s faces.

"What happened? Is Leslie alright?"

The two men, whose faces were so pale, trembled uncontrollably. Their complexion had turned sickly.

"D-dead...she’s dead..."

Almost immediately, the two men vomited, causing the villagers who had gathered around them to gasp and scatter.

"Police! Call the City Police, quickly!"

Panic and confusion erupted amongst the villagers.

"N-no... I don’t think police is the right choice to ask for help." said the man as he wiped his mouth with his arm, "Church...call the church...a priest! Deacon Frantz!"

"What? Why?"

"Deacon Frantz! Yes! Called Deacon Frantz!" cried Gisella as she ran outside the house, "Quickly, quickly! Somebody, go to the Chapel and call Deacon Frantz!"

The entire village was at a loss, confused, and nearly frightened by the uncertainty of what was happening, especially after Gisella and the two men—who had checked on Gisella’s granddaughter—insisted on calling Deacon Frantz.

Why would they need the Deacon’s help?