Chapter 56: Coming to Snatch Someone

While staying alone at the manor, Lin Shu helped Saphina handle some trivial matters.

She decided to wait for Saphina to return before making decisions on the remaining important affairs.

She also arranged for the staff to clean the frequently used areas of the castle again.

“The library hasn’t been cleaned in a while. We can take this opportunity to do a thorough cleaning,” Lin Shu instructed the maid beside her.

She held a few freshly picked rosebuds in her arms, intending to place them in Saphina’s bedroom.

Before she could take more than a few steps, hurried footsteps echoed from behind her.

“Miss Lin Shu,” a vampire guard called out while running toward her. “The eldest daughter of the Terpus family has arrived. She’s at the manor entrance.”

Lin Shu was startled. “Leah?”

She had actually come again.

“Yes, she said she wants to see you,” the guard added. “And she came alone.”

“Our family broke ties with the Terpus family long ago, and Miss Lin Shu has already followed the Head. What is she still doing here?” the maid nearby couldn’t help but interject.

Lin Shu remembered their last meeting and the words Leah shouted as they parted: “I’ll wait for you forever.”

‘Is she here to ask for my final answer?’

“I know what this is about. I’ll go and make things clear to her,” Lin Shu said, handing the bouquet to the maid.

“Are you sure? Perhaps it’s better to wait until the Head returns?” the maid suggested weakly, unsure of what to do. “I’ve heard she has a violent temper. I’m worried she might hurt you.”

‘If I tell her that my choice is to stay at Drago, she definitely won’t be able to accept it,’ Lin Shu thought.

But things had to be settled.

“Don’t worry, I am the Head’s familiar,” Lin Shu comforted her with a smile.

The guard also nodded and added, “It’s fine. We have Lady Eve’s doll guard squad here, and the Head strengthened the manor’s defensive field not long ago. If a conflict really breaks out, we can handle it.”

Lin Shu followed the guard toward the manor entrance.

A faintly visible red barrier enveloped the entire manor, and the entrance happened to be the boundary of that field.

The solemn black iron gates stood open, flanked by guarding vampires.

From a distance, Lin Shu could already see Leah’s silhouette.

Her blonde hair was tied into a neat, high ponytail, and a black dress outlined her slender waist.

As Lin Shu approached, Leah’s crisp and haughty voice reached her ears.

“Why so slow?” Leah grumbled. “Did you even report my arrival? I have something important to discuss with her!”

“Lady Leah,” Lin Shu called out.

“Lin Shu!” Leah’s eyes lit up, and she hurriedly took a step forward, only to be blocked by the guards on either side of the gate.

“Is there something important?” Lin Shu stopped just inside the barrier.

Leah instinctively glanced at the guards on both sides and bit her lower lip, seemingly finding it hard to speak.

But seeing that Lin Shu had no intention of talking to her privately, Leah made up her mind and spoke.

“I’ve been thinking about you these past few days—about your answer…”

Lin Shu said, “I’ve found my answer. You were right; Drago did have a human maid in the past.”

A smile instantly bloomed on Leah’s face, and a light of hope flickered in her eyes. “Right? I knew it. In that case—”

“But I won’t be going back,” Lin Shu interrupted her. “Thank you for coming to find me and showing me the answer, but I won’t look back.”

Leah froze. “W-What did you say?”

She stood there blankly, seemingly unable to process the response.

“I’m not returning to the Terpus family.”

“Lady Leah, Drago and Terpus have gone their separate ways. The Terpus family needs you too. Please return to the life you were meant to lead.”

Lin Shu could see that Leah was lowering her stance again and again, but for Lin Shu, the future was never a choice between two sides.

The light in Leah’s eyes gradually dimmed. She slowly lowered her head, her entire body trembling.

A few crystal-like tears slid down her face and dripped onto the ground.

Leah raised her hand and wiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. “I gave you time, but your answer is still the same.”

When she looked up again, only obsession remained in her eyes.

She gritted her teeth and shouted, “Lin Shu, I won’t allow this! You can’t stay by the side of someone who doesn’t treat you sincerely!”

“I have no choice but to use other means… This is all for your sake!!”

She raised her hand and pulled a giant scythe out of thin air. Gripping the handle, she slammed the butt of the weapon onto the ground with a loud *thud*.

The dolls guarding the manor quickly raised their longbows, and the guards in the back row placed their hands on their weapons, blocking the path in front of Lin Shu.

“Lady Leah, this is the Drago Manor. Please mind your behavior,” the guard warned sternly.

“What’s wrong with taking back someone who belonged to me in the first place?” Leah sneered, lifting her chin slightly.

She swung the scythe backward in a sweeping motion, tearing open a massive spatial rift.

From the crack, a group of vampire warriors slowly emerged. Clad in armor, they pulled their weapons from their sheaths and stood in an orderly line behind Leah.

It was the Terpus combat team.

“Have you lost your mind? This is a declaration of war!” the head guard shouted in disbelief.

“I should have done this long ago!” Leah screamed. “From the day Saphina, your Family Head, snatched Lin Shu away, I should have directly attacked your family!”

“At least then, Lin Shu wouldn’t have been deceived by her and trapped here!”

The guard barked back, “Shut up! You’re from Terpus. What right do you have to judge our Family Head?”

Lin Shu stared at Leah with a grim expression.

‘It actually came to this.’

Lin Shu scanned the scale of the combat team Leah had brought.

With this many people, she would never have been allowed to bring such a force without the tacit approval of the family elders.

Saphina wasn’t here, and only Lin Shu was familiar with Leah’s fighting style.

‘I have to take responsibility for the command.’

The Terpus warriors had already rushed forward, striking their swords and giant axes against the barrier protecting the manor.

The barrier rippled under the impact.

Lin Shu turned to the head of the guards. “Can we hold them off?”

“Before she left, the Head specifically strengthened the barrier. This level of force won’t be enough to break through.”

“Good. Then let’s focus on defense. Don’t let them get close,” Lin Shu ordered.

The doll squad raised their longbows in unison, aiming at the Terpus warriors.

Arrows whistled through the air. Some warriors were hit and collapsed, slowing the momentum of the assault.

“How annoying.” Leah rushed forward, swinging her scythe. The blade slammed violently against the barrier.

With a massive crashing sound, cracks actually appeared on the surface of the barrier where it was struck.

However, the barrier automatically repaired the cracks almost immediately.

Lin Shu breathed a sigh of relief, but just then, a mature female voice drifted down from high above.

“The little bird my daughter likes seems to have indeed become more adorable.”

Lin Shu and the guards looked up.

A voluptuous female vampire sat in a carriage high in the sky, her legs crossed. Her lips, painted with dark lipstick, curled upward as she fixed her gaze on Lin Shu.

Lin Shu gasped.

‘Is that Leah’s mother?!’

The woman glanced down at the barrier below and chuckled softly. “It seems my daughter needs a little help.”