The Baroness Misbehaves
Chapter 263: One Last Try (1)

Chapter 263: One Last Try (1)

Seconds, minutes, and more minutes gradually passed by with Madeline showing no signs of getting back up. She remained in her spot, crying to herself at how useless she had become in a matter of a seconds, and now, it felt like everything they had struggled for, everything they worked so hard on had been for nothing, and it was all her fault, or so she thought, but that was until she heard Napoleon’s voice speak behind her.

"Don’t you find it strange that a hill can be this elevated? But when you get close enough, it looks like a mountain cave with steps that lead you straight up to its peak." He mused, sounding unlike his usual self, and Madeline, who had forgotten Napoleon was still around, turned her head to see him crouching just outside the circle that had been formed. The look in his eyes softened, and he went on.

"You know, I don’t really say stuff like this but you’ve been doing an incredible job so far. Accepting your fate, risking your health to come all the way here and perform the spell ritual, how can you not be afraid? Frankly speaking, It would have been more bothersome if you weren’t." He didn’t hide the fact that he would have been more worried if she wasn’t broken down.

"Your Mother was also afraid when she tried to create the spell on this very spot, I mean, she didn’t have to fight monsters to make it to the top, but... she was still very much afraid." He clicked his tongue at the memories, "it’s never easy to work on something, especially when you know more than a thousand lives depended on it - the anger, the frustration, fear is all a part of it, and you’ve dealt with it way better than anyone else could. I can say I relate to that frustration, but you wouldn’t be blessed with such a gift if you weren’t capable, Madeline. Look at Monica for example."

Their gazes darted to Monica who was still tied to the pillar. "She’s your cousin, very unique in her own way despite having no powers yet. She could have been the gifted one, but she isn’t, her elder sister, your uncle and Aunt, none of them have the powers you possess." He rose to his feet, "before I became county council, I didn’t believe I could rule over Whitebridge, but if there’s one sensible thing I believe Osvaldo told me, it was about setting a goal and not quitting till you attain it, and well, here I am."

"But I have tried."

"Trying is not enough." Napoleon disagreed, "If you wish to succeed, you need to remind yourself of your main goal. Why did you come here? You didn’t come here to lose to them? Right, That cannot be the main goal, no?"

Madeline’s teary eyes followed Napoleon, and her disoriented mind seemed to grab what he was trying to hint at. She looked at her fingers that were still painfully numb from numerous tryouts, and she balled them into fist. She had set a goal since the beginning of her journey, and she was already close to attaining that goal, she’d be nothing but a fool if she quits now. Orson, Inna, Elian, Cassian, was she really going to let them all down because of her own insecurities??

Sniffling back her tears, she wiped the teardrops from her eyes and tried to rise up again, but this time, she wasn’t going to fall till she created the spell.

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Below the top of the hill where the battle still went on, Abbot had risen to his feet, but despite his stomach losing a lot of blood due to the stab from the twin sword, he showed not a hesitant sign of giving up as well. Cassian was no different, his lower abdomen had been targeted severely, but he was still rising to his feet.

"Ahhh.... Now you look like one of us." Abbot contentedly said to Cassian who had turned full Vampire on him. They both circled one another, and Cassian’s glinting eyes carried deadly promises that only excited Abbot the more he stared into them.

"Do you understand the feeling of being buried underground?" Abbot asked, and then chortled at his own question, "how can I forget, you’ve experienced it yourself, haven’t you? I’m sure it must have felt suffocating." Abbot clicked his tongue and shuddered to himself, "if that human ends up creating the spell, we’ll end up in a place much scarier than being buried underground!" The fear and desperation in his tone only made Cassian tilt his head to the side, unfazed.

"I.... I shouldn’t do this." Cassian said in one shaky breath as he looked at his fingers that had elongated due to his Vampiric powers. "I’m not supposed to do this. Am I?"

"That pathetic human won’t complete you, Cas." He said, pointing to himself, "I’m the one who’s going to complete you, when you died I made sure you stayed alive! It’s not too late, join me, and we can have this Earth to ourselves, with our Kind, and no humans to rule over what we must, and mustn’t do. We’ll have the upper hand!"

"We?" Cassian snorted out loud, "you....killed my Uncle and made everyone believe he was mad, you killed my wife’s family, separated people from their families and turned their ghosts into.... I had taken up the case out of mere intrigue, I found it rather exciting from the beginning! You know, strange disappearances and stuff like that, the adventures I’d encounter, I was pretty naive, but I guess I’m a fool for realizing my main purpose at the end of it."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is..." Cassian unhurriedly picked up his blade, "in order to save everyone, it’s a must that you and I must cease to exist. You have nothing to fear down there, I’m more than prepared to join you in that dark abyss, we’ll rule it...together." a sneer curved his lips.

"You bastard!" Abbot’s fist clenched hard, his gaze shifted to Elian who was equally glaring at him from a corner. "You are all useless, bunch of fools!"

"And you talk way too much." It was Elian’s turn to exact revenge as he charged at Abbot with his crimson eyes filled with rage, but to Elian’s surprise, Cassian swiftly blocked his path, intercepting his blade with his, and Elian’s eyes momentarily widened.

"What are you doing?!"

"Turn human." He whispered, "I need you alive, Elian. Turn human, now! Before it’s too late." There was a slight desperation in Cassian’s voice, and the pleading look in his eyes made Elian’s crimson orb turn green again.

"What are you going to do?"

"Look after Orson and Inna for me, Abbot is mine to deal with."

"You haven’t answered me yet." Elian was expecting Cassian to turn human as well, but he remained in his Vampire form and quietly pulled back. "Keep those monsters distracted for me while you’re at it, I need to fix this problem for Madeline, can you hold them off for me? Till I’m done?"

Elian was too unsure of how to respond to that, he could see Cassian needed his assistance but despite being clueless on what his motives were, he nodded anyway.

"You can trust me on that."

"Thank you." Giving Elian’s shoulder a brotherly pat, he turned around and dashed off, going after Abbot who had used their distraction as his moment to go after Madeline. Nearing the entrance, Abbot halted in his steps when he got cornered by Cassian.

"Get out of my way!!"

"I already told you." Cassian’s glinting red eyes held a bit of humor. "We’re going to rule the underworld together."