Capítulo 10: The theories never end

***

[Vampire origin in one book--]

There once lived a powerful king who ruled over seven nations. He lived in luxury but was cruel and selfish. Nothing was ever enough for him. Believing that people existed to just serve him, he abused his subjects in numerous ways, depending on his mood. Quite often, he would have citizens entertain him by having them fight with each other to the death. On other numerous times, he would have his way with whoever that piqued his interest. No man, woman or child was safe from his tyrannical reign.

Moreover, on every other day, citizens were slaughtered for even the slightest of mistakes. For many years, harsh and brutal punishments kept the citizens in line. At first, it was something that the citizens had tolerated because of his inhuman strength. There was no hiding from him and they lived in constant fear. However, over time, the citizens grew weary of having to walk on eggshells. Not even the royal guards nor nobles were pleased with the continual sovereignty of the king. Everyone was soon against the ruling monarch.

After months of planning, all the people charged into the palace. They were ready to die trying to kill the monarch if it meant that peace would be restored. Upon searching the whole palace, they found the king deep within the dungeons. What they saw next was beyond their wildest imagination.

Crouched in the corner of a cell, the king was devouring the flesh and blood of a prisoner. The prisoner was bound and gagged, helpless to the king's despicable deeds. All the prisoner could do was succumb to his fate and hope that death claimed him quickly. Muffled screams rang through the cold walls of the dungeon.

The king was no longer sane and had long lost his humanity-- if there was any to begin with.

***

[Vampire origin in another book--]

Centuries ago, there was once a man who enjoyed pillaging villages and terrorising people. It was said that the very sight of blood and terrified screams of the innocent, excited him immensely. The man was evil incarnate. No one was able to stop him due to his inhuman strength that could take on dozens of strong men.

Quite often, he even kidnapped children from the villages rather than to slaughter them on sight. Many have speculated that he wanted to use the children as blood sacrifices to perform dark rituals as he wanted to obtain immortality.

Enraged and sick of having loved ones dying and tormented, the folks of many villages gathered and planned. Carrying whatever weapons they could find along with torches, they stormed into the dark cave where it was rumoured that the evil man resided. However, the sight that greeted them was beyond horrifying. The walls of the caves were stained with blood. Piles of decaying bodies and skeletons were scattered all over the place.

There was a putrid stench and many of the men present vomited. Then a sickening crunching sound brought their attention to the furthest corner of the cave. As their eyes adjusted to the dimly lit space, they noticed a pair of gleaming red eyes watching them. It was the evil man.

In his arms was a limp body of a child. He was ripping into the flesh of the child with his teeth.

***

[Present time--]

Isabella closed the book and placed it on one of the stack of books on the floor.

'These are the only stories I'd not come across in my past life. I've discovered nothing significantly new, nor did I even manage to attain any shred of written evidence of a vampire's appearance being of greyish-black skin and limbs of disproportionate lengths.'

Glancing at the stack of books on the floor that went up as high as the study desk she was sitting at, Isabella sighed.

'For the most part, the books make it blatantly clear that a vampire is a ruthless and despicable abomination. From the numerous records about the being, there were however a couple of descriptions that matched up. First, vampires have red eyes, and second, they possess inhuman strength. However, that is where the stories stop correlating with one another.'

From what Isabella could remember, the vampire she had met had actually entered the main palace to fight off the monsters. He was genuinely polite and made sure that the monsters were dealt with as swiftly as possible.

'From the various versions of the records, it can be concluded that no one actually knew for certain as to how exactly a vampire came to exist. If that is the case and with the brief encounter I'd had with the vampire, for what purpose were the stories painting him as the bad guy? Is there a reason behind it all? ...Or perhaps, if the vampire is actually an evil being and the stories were actually true in that aspect, does that mean that there are more than one vampire in existence? What should I do--'

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Ah. Yes?" Isabella turned to face the door.

The door opened and revealed that it was the Duchess, "Mother," Isabella said and began to rise from her chair.

"No, no. Please stay seated. I've heard from your maid that you were suffering from phantom pains and even refused to see a physician. Are you still hurting?" her mother asked.

'That was a few days ago. The news either reached her late or she was too busy to bother coming until today. My goodness… Mother will never be uncaring about me. Why did I even think that? Hah... I am definitely not the same Isabella I used to be… Although, I do wonder how long it would take for mother to notice my absence if I ever decide to run away,' Isabella thought to herself.

"Isabella?"

"Ah, sorry, mother. I was just lost in thought. No, I'm okay now. It was probably due to the nightmare."

"I see. Did you foresee something dreadful?" her mother asked in a low tone.

Ever since Isabella was young, she was able to foresee glimpses of events that were to come. It was a normal thing to feel phantom pains whenever Isabella foresaw the future that is to come. The degree of pain varies on the severity of the incident that is to take place. Thus, it was not far-fetched for her mother to assume that Isabella had a premonition of something terrible in the possibly near future.

Although the premonitions mostly came in dreams, Isabella had no control over when or what she foresaw. Nevertheless, the visions were the sole reason Isabella was selected as one of the candidates to be the next Empress-- though being a candidate is all a false pretense and it was just to appease the nobles and aristocrats. In reality, Isabella was already the fiance of the crown prince.

Moreover, having the 'foresight' meant that either she or her guardian would be appointed as the Head of the Rosenbloom Duchy. Since Isabella was to be the next Empress, it was her mother who became the head of the duchy. Thus, it can be concluded that everything relies on the fact that Isabella was blessed with 'the gift'.

'More like a curse considering everything that I'd experienced,' Isabella thought to herself and bit on her lips slightly.

"Yes," Isabella lied and fought the urge to avoid her mother's gaze. Although the monster infestation was in the future to come, Isabella had gained that knowledge from her past life and not from a premonition.

'What would happen if someone finds out that I've travelled back in time? … or worse, what if--'

"What is it? What will happen?"

"I... I can't say… Not just yet…"

Her mother sighed. It was not the first time Isabella had hesitated to share what she had foreseen. The only other time she had acted this way was when the Duke, Isabella's father, had passed away. The poor girl had cried for days and despite all her warnings and the extra precautions taken, no one was able to prevent the Duke's death.

Glancing at the stack of books and the handwritten parchments on the study desk and floor, Isabella's mother nodded. Knowing Isabella, the girl was probably researching as much as she could to see if there is something that can be done about what she foreseen.

"Okay, you can tell me when you're ready. Just don't overwork or stress yourself too much," her mother said.

"Yes, mother."

"Now, are you ready for the ball that will be held in a few days' time? Have you chosen which dress you'd like to wear?"

"I've chosen the light blue dress," Isabella replied quietly.

"That would match the crown prince's eyes perfectly. I'm certain that he would be dressed in a blue outfit or something that compliments the colour. You both will look like a couple made in heaven. Yes, I will inform the palace immediately."

Isabella just smiled awkwardly.

'No, he would be dressed in red and black. The exact colour combination that was not amongst the dresses the Emperor had ordered for me to choose from. Just hours before the ball itself, a royal servant will rush over to our estate to inform us about the change. It will be part of the prince's scheme to make a fool out of me since we will be frantically looking for a dress of that colour combination to match the prince's. As a result, I will arrive late to the ball. The second part of the scheme will be more humiliating as the girl by the prince's side will be his lover and not me. Moreover, she will be dressed in a red and black gown that perfectly matches the crown prince's outfit.'