Kapitel 511: Vespucci Villa Ⅱ

Returning her gaze in front of her, Tiffany's hand subconsciously tightens around that of Emalia's. The two young women wander in silence through the Vespucci gardens with Emalia leading them down many small paths in the direction of the stables. Every now and they pause to admire a beautiful flower, before moving until they reached the edge of the gardens near the stable.

A piercing female scream suddenly splits the evening air causing both girl's heads to whirl up, before clasping their skirts up and running towards the source of the sound. The screams abruptly cut off with a chilling silence now in place. From inside the Vespucci manor, adults begin to pour out onto the grounds like ants all heading towards the source.

Breathless at this point with their hair in utter disarray, but neither young woman genuinely cared as Tiffany and Emalia rounded the corner of the open stable doors. The two young women come to a frozen halt in sheer shock. Emalia weakly falls onto her knees and covers her mouth with one hand as she faintly mutters, "Dio Mio, Vasco!"

Tiffany loudly gulps holding back the urge to vomit and covers her mouth with her hand not trusting herself to not make a sound and throw up. However, she is unable to clench her eyes shut as she continues to observe the horrifying scene before her. It was that of her betrothed with Carina, his lover killed and caught in the middle of a tryst.

The young man's white button shirt is still on, but completely open in the front. His trousers were on the ground around his ankles with at present his body slumped onto the corpse of his now-dead lover beneath him. Thankfully, his pale, white arse is still modesty covered by the trains of his white shirt.

The female in question's upper bodice is pressed down revealing her blood-soaked breasts. While her skirts are up and bunched around her waist, where her male lover had hastily shoved ahem up and out of the way, to do her so to speak. In this fairly intimate act, and awkward position is how the romantic duo had been caught and killed with their throats being slit open.

Swallowing loudly, Tiffany suddenly realized the acute danger they were in. Glancing anxiously around, Tiffany tugs Emalia roughly to her feet and whispers, "Let us go. We do not know who and where the killer has gone!"

Emalia to numb and shocked at seeing her only sibling dead at her feet does not react beyond letting out a loud wailing sound. Tiffany almost slaps the young woman across the face in fear and fury for calling attention to them. However, understanding the current emotional, near-catatonic state of Emalia, Tiffany somehow manages to haul Emalia to her feet with a rather loud grunt.

The loud crunching sound of a boot behind them caused the hairs on the back of Tiffany's neck to stand on end as she whirls her head around all the while still holding the sobbing figure of Emalia up. Tiffany's eyes widen in terror as she sees the figure of a young man standing between them and the exit.

The young man in question is a rather attractive youth roughly around the age of Emalia. He has a rather suave, sophisticated air about him ruined by the effect of his wild, crazed eyes. It was though looking at a cornered wild animal that did not know what to do, nor much less how to react except to attack. But even more disconcerting is the spray of crimson wet across his elegant clothes causing the still drying red droplets of blood to appear rather vivid against the white collar of his shirt, and his face.

"Emalia," the unknown murderer whispered with a French accent. "I did not 'izh to do diz, but your broduer touched, my Carina. 'Ow could dey? My Carina told me zee loved me. And yet 'ere I 'ave found 'er like a prostitute 'ith 'er legz zepread 'ide open!"

Emalia merely lets out a loud whimper as her legs turn into limp noodles and flopped onto the ground with great teardrops pouring down her face. Emalia is much too shocked to speak only letting out a scared whimper, before clutching Tiffany's skirt in fear refusing to let go.

Tiffany's own eyes are wide with fear, but she takes a deep breath, before trying to imitate Bethanie's soothing tone of voice. "Monsieur, I completely understand," Tiffany gently said as she held her palms out to him to show that she is unarmed and poses no danger to him.

"Liez!" The young murderer roared wildly in fury. "All 'omen ar' liarz!"

"I beg to differ, Monsieur," Tiffany slickly interjected. "For you see, Monsieur, that young man whom you just have slain is my betrothed, Vasco Vespucci. And much like yourself and your Carina, my betrothed to has betrayed me with her."

The young murder's wand is slightly lowered at hearing her words. Looking much more uncertain now, the young murderer says, "Mademoiselle iz betrothed to dis cur?"

"Yes," Tiffany replied. "My name is Tiffany Topsy and we have been betrothed since my second year."

"'Ee iz a blackguard!" The young murderer bellowed in outrage. "'Ee iz bringing down de integrity of marriage! I am 'ery zorry, mademoiselle."

"Thank you," Tiffany somewhat awkwardly muttered in reply

The young murderer glances at the young women before him somewhat uncertain now. He could not very kill her now for she was just like him. They had both been betrayed by their lovers.

The young murderer feeling a tad of guilt now glances down at the silently weeping figure of Emalia on the ground. "Mon cher, and Mademoiselle, I am zorry," the young man said he slowly raised his wand.

Emalia petrified in fear can only let out tiny hiccups of fear instead of screaming or wailing. Tiffany can only bite her lips to keep herself from crying out but stubbornly refuses to close her eyes. If she was going to die, she would rather stare her killer in the face until the very end.

The young man flashes them a rather regretful, and sad smile as if at long last awakening from a horrible nightmare. His hand flutters for a moment as if still uncertain, before growing still. He had, at last, made his decision.

"Pardonne-moi, mon cher et mademoiselle, I did not mean for dis to go so 'ery 'rong. I am zorry," the young man said at long last raising his wand back up again. Tiffany bites her lip hard enough to bleed and finds that she is breathing rather shallow starting to feel a bit faint herself.

The young man begins to mutter something under his breath and rather sharply moved the wand's direction to his neck. The bright flash of a cutting hex slashes through his throat and caused him to slump onto the ground with his wand slipping on to the ground out of his rapidly weakening fingers.

Emalia lets out a shocked cry, before finally slumping backward against the ground in a dead faint. The scene of her same year mate killing himself after having murdered her younger brother and friend was finally too much for her. And in fact, she rather welcomed the blanket of darkness that overwhelmed her and took her far, far away.

Not even understanding herself nor as to the reason why, Tiffany hurries forward and places her hands firmly against the neck of the young man. Tiffany tries to staunch the flow of blood as best as she can. Tragically, she did not know any healing charms. But Terry knew many as he wanted to be a healer, and she now rather desperately wished that he was here with her and that she had bothered to learn a charm or two.

The ghastly paling young man has rather gorgeous sea-green eyes that stare up at her in wide disbelief and are full of questions. Tiffany's hands within seconds are already soaked through by blood as she tries to keep her voice calm and soothing. "It will be alright, you'll see," Tiffany explained. "We'll able to save you, and then you will be able to tell your side of the story, Monsieur. Otherwise, no one will ever know the tragic events that led up to today."

A rather wistful expression is on the young man's face as he tries to speak through his gurgling breath but is unable too. However, his sea-green eyes convey his unspoken message, 'How I wish that I could have met you instead."

Tiffany feels a faint trace of moisture in her eyes at the fading expression of the young man in her arms. Maybe, it would have been better if the two would have met. And in which case, Vasco would have been able to be with his Carina. However, maybe, in another lifetime, there is such a world, where this tale did not end in such a tragedy, but in joy instead.

The young man lets out one last gurgling breath before his body finally succumbs to death and the light goes out of his eyes. With an unexpected tenderness on her part, Tiffany closes the young man's eyes and lays him to rest on the ground.

"May in death, may you find peace," Tiffany muttered the often-spoken words at funerals that she had heard before, but never understood before.

She could not claim to understand, why exactly the young man before done the rash deed that he did. But she could understand the feeling of being hurt by someone you trusted or were supposed to trust in her case. In the end, there is always a price to be paid for trifling with another's feelings. And though extreme Carina had not just paid for sin, but so had Vasco. The sheer and complete utter irony of the situation.