<h4>Chapter 67: Endurance- Part 1</h4>


    When Heidi went down for lunch to the dining room, she was told by Stanley that she would be the only one having food as the lord had gone out and wouldn’t be back until the time of evening. She felt a little relieved hearing it as she didn’t know how to react and behave around the lord after seeing him kill a man with little to no remorse. As dinner approached, she visited the dining room to see the head of the chair empty which meant the lord wasn’t joining her for dinner either. At noon she had been somewhat thankful but right now she felt a little empty and out of space. The maid walked through the double doors with a tray to ce it in front of her. She stirred the food with her fork, lost in her own thoughts.


    “What is the matter, Lady Heidi? You hardly touched your food since you arrived at the table,” Stanley noted, who stood on the other side of the table.


    Realizing it, she blew the food before cing it in her mouth. Afterpleting to chew and swallow the food, she asked from her seat, “Is Lord Nichs having his food in his chambers?”


    “He is. Master is caught up with paperwork from the council due to the ongoing massacres that has been taking in towns. He should be able to join the table for breakfast,” the butler answered, nodded her head she took another bite.


    The weather that was warm yesterday had turned back to being cold. The rain pitter-pattering against the transparent window and the humming of rain that had fallen across the East empire. The firece at the dining room had been lit along with the candles in the entire mansion due to the dull and dark clouds that had made the sky as its home.


    “The sky is getting darker,” Heidi noted looking outside the window, the trees that were situated outside moved its branches and leaves with the wind and air, not standing still for more than two seconds.


    “You must be missing your town. Once you’re married I think you will be able to visit your family frequently,” he added his thoughts. Due to the truce which hadn’t beenpleted, Heidi was asked to stay at the Rune’s mansion. Once they would fulfill the truce, she would be free under the watchful eyes of the lords and the others outside the mansion, who were the council members.


    “I think I like it here,” she said, a soft smile on her lips.


    “That is a good news,” Stanley replied, his eyes looking at thedy who had stopped eating again. Remembering something, he said, “Thank you for saving master that night,” Heidi saw him bow his head in gratitude.


    “You don’t have to thank me,” she shook her head, “Anyone would have helped him.”


    “You are being modest, mdy. They wouldn’t,” the head butler looked at the window where water slid down the ss to blur some sides of the surface, “Being a human before turning to a half vampire, I know the wariness and contempt most of us humans hold against the vampires. I wouldn’t say it holds for every person but for most...Humans and vampires, there have been families who have instilled their thoughts on their offspring. The hate has been stemmed from the root which is difficult to eradicate. Your family is broad minded to bring you with an unbiased character which some of themck. That might also be the reason why the council decided to choose you to be Mr. Lawson’s bride,” he turned back with a smile.


    Heidi chose to smile, instead of talking about it. Her mother was a good woman who had brought her up without trying to differentiate people with their wealth or kind. But not the same held true for the rest of the Curtis’ family. Her family had conspired against the Lord by joining hands with Duke Scathlok. Since she had left Woville, she prayed and hoped that the Duke wouldn’t send her a letter as he had promised to do. She was scared of the man and worried about the little bottle he had given her, which nowid at the bottom drawer of her cupboard in middle of her clothes.


    Three more days, she thought to herself. Three more days and she would be meeting her family who had sent her as an offering instead of sending their own child here. Three more days and she would be officially engaged to Warren. She could feel her heart sink, deeper and deeper, lost in her worried mind until someone interrupted her thoughts.


    The butler after seeing thedy retire back to her room, went to his master’s chamber to serve him a ss of freshly drawn out blood. The lord was at his desk, writing something on the parchment when the butler stood at his side, holding the tray in front of him with his other hand which rested on his back. It took a few minutes before the lord stopped writing, to ce the quill in its stand, leaning his back against the chair.


    When he raised his hand, the butler ced the ss in his . Taking the thick liquid into his mouth in one holding until thest few drops in the crystal ss, he licked his lips for any remnants.


    “I’ll need another ss,” Lord Nichs said not satisfied with one ss. Being holed in his chambers working over the mess the ck witches had created had taken a lot of his time. Thanks to the witches, the death rate had increased to thrice the average death in the Empire. There was also the pressing matter of his own situation where he found out that the trader he had been using all these years had been caught like a fool.


    “Would you want me to summon any of thedies tomorrow?” the butler enquired if his master would need someone to feed on to. Though Lord Nichs didn’t mind feeding blood from a male or a female, he usually drank their blood through their wrists. Women from a high bred family were the only ones he preferred to drink blood from their neck.


    “That won’t be necessary. I have ns for tomorrow,” he stated, taking the parchment and beginning to roll it with his hands, “Where did I ce the ribbon?” Nichs pulled the drawers one by one, from the top to finally find it in thest but one drawer from the bottom.


    “I want you to deliver this after you’re done serving me the next ss. See to it that it reaches Dutton and no one else,” the lord handed the tied parchment to the butler.


    “What does it contain, master?” Stanley looked at it curiously.


    “Count Morris was caught yesterday near the south border when he was trying to smuggle the goods from one of Mythweald’s town. He won’t open his mouth wi but it will cause a lot of losses for us. I will have to get him out to see what caused the mishap,” the lord narrowed his eyes in slight irritation.


    Nichs didn’t like it when things didn’t go his way; he was a persistent man who always achieved his goals by either a straight or an indirect approach.