Read Novel Full Chapter 178: Weaponary Room
Chapter 178: Weaponary Room
It was the day Seamus had to say goodbye. He and Madeline would return to Rowani, leaving the north behind with its silence, its snow, and the unease that clung to everything beneath the surface.
After the incident at the secret party, Bianca decided to be silent. Whatever explanation existed, Seamus would have to ask Isolde.
Even her reaction afterward had been strange. Bianca had seemed unsettled, perhaps it fears or anxiety. He couldn’t tell which disturbed him more.
The investigation of the fire was handed to Draemir, with Ulrich overseeing it. That alone spoke volumes.
As for Seamus, he was given the contact information for Dr. Dominique and Dr. Daniel, reassured that he could reach out whenever he wished.
Yet none of that eased the real problem pressing against his thoughts.
Isolde.
What to do with what he knew, and what he suspected.
Should he confront her now, force the truth into the open, or bury it and wait for the right moment to use it?
He knew his limitations. He was not cunning like Isolde, not naturally inclined toward layered schemes and half-truths.
Still, ignorance was no longer an option. He needed answers, even if they cut him in the process.
"Take care of yourself, Seamus," Andrew said quietly.
Maria stood beside him, nodding, while the children waved with earnest smiles.
Dylan did not come. Seamus noticed, then chose not to dwell on it. Some distances were needed.
"We are ready," Madeline said, her hand slicing through the air.
A mirror bloomed into existence, its surface rippling like disturbed water.
Only one person could travel safely. That was why the Emblems needed him. They could reside within him, shelter inside his existence, just as Madeline already had.
Her form dissolved into light, and the tattoo along his arm ignited, crawling across his skin until it settled into his palm, warm and alive.
’Go, Seamus.’
He turned back one last time. "I will return in four days."
Then he stepped forward and crossed the threshold.
Isolde stood waiting on the other side, her expression soft, composed, perfectly arranged.
"How was your vacation in the north?"
"So so," he replied, lifting a shoulder.
The mirror shattered behind him. Madeline appeared briefly at his side.
"I will leave. You handle her."
Then she was gone.
Seamus released a slow breath.
Isolde tilted her head slightly. "Why do you not stay for lunch? Or do you still have classes?"
Seamus disheveled his hair, "Damn, I missed college in three days!"
"Don’t concern yourself with that." She reached for his hand. "Come. I want to show you something."
She pulled him along before he could refuse. The gentleness in her touch unsettled him more than open hostility ever had.
Isolde was only sweet when it served a purpose, when she was guiding someone exactly where she wanted them.
What does she want this time?
The thought lingered, irritating and sharp. Especially when he remembered Diane, and how easily Isolde had maneuvered events until something fractured between them.
Or perhaps that fracture was precisely the goal.
He narrowed his eyes. Isolde’s mind was not a puzzle to be solved but a weapon waiting to be misused.
She opened a door and ushered him inside. The room revealed itself as an armory, lined with traditional blades, firearms, and tools crafted for killing creatures that did not always stay dead.
"Why bring me here?"
"So you may choose," she replied calmly.
"Mutation Blood Style is powerful, but power is meaningless if it can be suppressed or absorbed."
She gestured toward the display. "Short weapons are efficient. Easy to conceal. Perfect for a surprise."
Seamus did not move. Accepting something from Isolde was never neutral. It always came with expectation.
Then he spoke about the question he had been holding back since the beginning.
"Why did you let the vampire hunters know I was here?"
Isolde drew a dagger from its sheath, inspecting it with casual interest. Silver iron gleamed beneath the light, ruby eyes embedded in the viper coiled around the handle.
"What do you think, Seamus?" she asked, finally meeting his gaze.
His grip tightened. "We are bound by a blood pact. You don’t get to keep secrets from me. I want to know everything you are planning."
She slid the dagger back into place, then took his hand and pressed the weapon into his palm, her fingers lingering deliberately.
"I have already told you," she said softly. "I want every Crest. We already have half of the Vessel of Sinner. We have Madeline and Aconite. Four remain."
A faint smile curved her lips. "Two of those belong to houses your father destroyed."
Her eyes gleamed with quiet anticipation.
"Now," she said, "what do you think will happen when they learn you are here?"
Seamus let out a short chuckle, hollow and disbelieving. "You want me to defeat an Emblem? You are insane. I don’t even know the full extent of their power."
"Even after sleeping with Madeline?" Isolde sighed lightly, as if disappointed.
"Strange. Oh well. There is always a way, Seamus. There always is and I will help you find it."
"You and I will be punished for this by the Emblem you wanted to take the Crests from."
His fingers tightened around the dagger, the cold weight grounding him more than he liked.
She waved the concern away. "You forgot something important. As long as Madeline remains with us, they cannot touch us. Not directly."
His jaw clenched. "Then what about the Crest in the north?"
"That is a special case," Isolde replied calmly.
"The Crest developed a sense of self, likely due to the leak. An anomaly, not a rule." Her lips curved faintly.
"You could always demand more information from them. They despise me enough to be honest out of spite."
"Who doesn’t hate you," Seamus muttered.
His gaze dropped to the dagger resting in his palm. It resembles the weapon Isolde gave to her mom.
When he looked back at Isolde, the feeling settled deeper. This was not a coincidence. It felt ritualistic, like she was dragging him back through old wounds just to watch them bleed again.
Everything looping back on itself, misery disguised as destiny.
"Do you not want to know what your father did for you as well?" Isolde said suddenly.
"I almost regret how I used him. Your childhood must have been dreadful."
He laughed, sharp and bitter. "You feel remorse? For once?" His eyes hardened.
"Enough games. Tell me what you want. Stop speaking in riddles and using me to stir chaos."
He stepped closer until there was no space left between them. Their gazes locked, sharp and unyielding.
"I know how to revive Viviane. And I know I need your core."
"So you intend to kill me?" Isolde gasped, clutching at her chest with exaggerated shock.
"My, my. A stepson murdering his own stepmother. Is it not enough for you already?"
"What are you talking about?"
Her grin widened, cruel and triumphant. "Your biological mother. You kill her too, right?"
The words struck like a blade.
Seamus froze, eyes widening as the world seemed to tilt beneath his feet.
Isolde’s hand rose to his throat, slow but relentless, fingers closing with calculated pressure.
Not enough to kill him but enough to remind him who held control.
"Be good, Seamus," she whispered. "I will give you everything you want, everything you need."
Her grip tightened just slightly.
"And you will not have to dirty your hands at all."