To His Hell and Back
Chapter 49: Swept Under The Rug

Chapter 49: Swept Under The Rug

"You’re overthinking the impossible," Mayor Pascal said with a frown, waving off his subordinate’s concerns. But as his gaze drifted to his darkened house, his head tilted slightly. "Has everyone gone to sleep already?"

"But Mayor," the woman protested urgently. It was Agnes, the same innkeeper who had let Cassius inside earlier. Her face still held the purplish blue bruise underneath her eyes, looking even more ghastly under the moonlight, the swelling casting stark shadows over her cheekbones. "Something isn’t right with those new guests. We should look into them more carefully before it’s too late."

"Let it go, Agnes," Pascal sighed, rubbing his temples. He had just returned from investigating reports of a strange, rotten stench lingering near the forest. The task had drained what little patience he had left, and he didn’t want to bother with any more futile requests from the panicked town folks. All he wanted now was to return home, to sink into his chair by the fire, and to enjoy a quiet evening with his wife and sons. But Agnes had been waiting for him.

She had stood restlessly near his house, waiting for his return. The moment she spotted him, she had rushed forward, desperate to warn him about the peculiar vampire and human couple who had checked into her inn.

Pascal, however, saw no reason to interfere. He knew well enough that humans and vampires were rarely allowed to be in a relationship, but he had no intention of getting involved as long as it wasn’t against the law. He wasn’t pleased that a vampire had entered his village, but he also wasn’t foolish enough to challenge one. He understood all too well how powerful they were, and how easily he could be slaughtered if he made the wrong move.

"There’s something wrong with that vampire," Agnes insisted, her voice low and hurried. "And you wouldn’t want anyone to know what happened—"

"Enough!" Pascal’s voice lashed through the night, sharp and furious. His nostrils flared as he fixed Agnes with a piercing glare. "Do not forget what you have done, Agnes, and what I have done for you! As long as you keep your mouth shut, no one will ever know the truth. Forget the vampire- he’s just a simple merchant."

Agnes flinched. She wanted to argue, to force the words past her lips, but her mouth clamped shut, the weight of unspoken secrets pressing against her tongue. She knew she had no choice but to stay silent.

"Now go home and-" Pascal’s words hung as he seemed to remember something that he didn’t want to utter, "It’s for your own sake, Agnes. Rest and forget everything. You’re just shaken, and that causes you to overreact on things that won’t happen."

Agnes knew that she wasn’t wrong and that she should warn the mayor about the couple. When she looked at Cassius earlier, something about him felt regal, and it scared her. But the mayor was firm in his words, and she couldn’t go against his words considering all the help he had given her.

Downcast, Agnes walked away after bowing her head politely to Pascal.

The mayor watched as the woman left his house, sighing briefly as he muttered, "Forget it, what’s done is done..." He then made his way toward his house, placing the key into the keyhole and was about to turn the round door knob when he frowned.

The door was already open.

His heart sank. Something in him suddenly felt threatened, which caused his throat to bob.

Looking at the darkness of his house when his wife usually would remain awake until he came home was already odd, but he didn’t think of it as anything alarming as he considered that his wife could have fallen asleep due to exhaustion.

But his wife wouldn’t let the door open, she is a very meticulous woman. She wouldn’t have left the door open knowing the current situation of the town. If one door was unlocked, she would be too uneasy to even fall asleep.

This only meant that something- someone- was currently waiting inside the house.

Despite being afraid, Pascal let himself in. He had pushed the wooden door that creaked like a snake’s hiss. His face peeked inside to see the two glowing red orbs that floated over his favorite chair.

It took a moment for the realization to settle in: a man was sitting there, his long legs casually crossed, his crimson eyes fixed on the window. The faint moonlight illuminated his shadow, casting an eerie silhouette that made the hairs on Pascal’s neck stand on end.

Before he could call out for help, a voice cut through the tension, smooth and chilling.

"I noticed something odd about this town, Mayor Pascal Heigh. But what do you think the cause might be?"

Pascal froze, his blood turning cold at the sound of that voice.

A drop of liquid then dripped from Pascal’s neck as he realized someone’s dagger had pressed against his vein, making him to panic as his eyes went thrice the size wider.

"M- My wife, My s- son!"

"They are alive," Cassius replied, his voice as cold as the night air. His gaze never wavered from the window, his crimson eyes burning with an unsettling intensity.

While Pascal felt relieved, Cassius tilted his head slightly, the corners of his lips twitching upward in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "For now." His voice dropped lower, sending a chill through the room. "I need you to answer my questions, Pascal. I have little patience for those who test me."

The air in the room seemed to thicken with tension, and Cassius’s words hung in the space between them like a threat. "It would be wise to answer my question now, before my patience runs out."

"I— I shall answer! Anything— just please, leave my wife and son out of this!" Pascal stammered, his voice quivering with desperation. His mind raced, trying to think of a way to protect them from whatever fate Cassius had in mind.

Cassius’s chuckle echoed through the room, cold and menacing, a sound that made Pascal’s skin crawl. It was a laugh that promised nothing but pain.

Suddenly, the fireplace beside him flared to life with an intense, hungry flame, its light casting sharp shadows that revealed Cassius’s face in full view. Pascal’s breath caught in his throat. The vampire’s face it was oddly familiar, yet he couldn’t place where he had seen it before. The realization lingered like a half formed memory, just out of reach.

Before he could make sense of the thoughts racing through his head, the figure behind him who had held the dagger across his neck pushed him forward with brutal force. Pascal stumbled and fell to his knees, unable to catch himself as his hands slammed against the cold floor.

His heart hammered in his chest, and his breath came in ragged gasps. There he was, kneeling in front of the monster, Cassius, who looked at him with a cold, calculating gaze. His lips that were smiling were beautiful but nontheless deadly.

"Where do you want to start talking from? The sorceress, or this odd air in the village?"

Pascal’s face went pale. The things he had tried to hide were about to be discovered!

"W- Who are you?" Pascal whispered in fear.

"Who else?" Cassius laughed, "Your crown prince, silly," he remarked.