Viviane quickly descended the stairs, her footsteps echoing through the empty hallway like hamr blows accompanying the turmoil in her mind. Her face was flushed, not just with anger, but with sothing deeper and more unsettling that she still refused to admit. Her hands were clenched into fists by her sides, trembling slightly, as her thoughts raced, chaotic and conflicting.
'That woman…' she thought, her face contorting in a look of disgust. 'Her audacity! She seed so satisfied, so... happy. Like she had won sothing important.' She ground her teeth. 'But who cares about her? Who cares about Sapphire? What worries is him.'
Her heart raced at the thought of Vergil's expression. He was different, smiling in a way that seed so genuine, so full of satisfaction. It hit her unexpectedly, a tightness in her chest that refused to dissipate. 'Why was he so... happy?' The mory of Vergil's gaze toward Sapphire made sothing inside her twist.
Unconsciously, Viviane stopped at the bottom of the stairs, her feet planted firmly on the cold marble floor. Her nails dug into her palms as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to regain her composure. 'He betrayed his wife,' she thought vehently. 'This is unacceptable. He is... He is dishonoring everything I thought he was.'
But no matter how hard she tried to feed this outrage, the knot in her chest wasn't made of just anger or disillusionnt. It was sothing more, sothing she didn't want to acknowledge. Because admitting that would an facing the real reason for her pain.
'Jealousy?' The word sliced through her mind like a blade, sharp and relentless. Her eyes flew open, and she shook her head as if she could banish the thought. 'Ridiculous! I'm not that type of person. He is my master, my duty is to serve him, nothing more.'
But the mories kept returning. The tis when she watched him from afar, admiring his strength, his determination. The monts when he praised her, even if casually, and her heart seed to leap in her chest. The days when she desperately wished to be more than just a servant to him.
Viviane bit her lower lip, feeling the familiar mix of frustration and fear of losing sothing that was never hers. 'He doesn't even know... He'll never know,' she thought, trying to convince herself that this was just a passing weakness. But the images of him with Sapphire, the laughter, the glances, the kiss... it consud her, like fire licking her thoughts and leaving only ashes of doubt and sorrow.
'Sapphire... that crazy bitch who forced to be his personal servant,' she thought bitterly. 'Now she's going to steal his attention too? She always wins, doesn't she? She always gets what she wants.'
Viviane started walking again, her steps more controlled now, but still heavy.
She stopped in the middle of the hallway when she heard Vergil's familiar voice echo behind her. Her whole body stiffened, and a chill ran down her spine. 'He followed ?!' The thought struck her like lightning, and her heart began to pound in her chest. Taking a deep breath, she tried to compose herself before slowly turning to face him.
Vergil was standing there, in the middle of the hallway, his posture relaxed but with that penetrating gaze that seed to see right through her. His hands were in his pockets, but his eyes sparkled with sothing between curiosity and mild concern.
"Why are you acting like this?" he asked, his voice carrying a tone that oscillated between authority and curiosity. He tilted his head slightly, as if analyzing every nuance of her reaction.
Viviane felt the words caught in her throat. She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing ca out. She quickly looked away, trying to avoid that gaze that seed to disarm her completely. "I... I don't know what you're talking about, Master," she replied, her voice slightly trembling. "I'm not acting any different."
Vergil took a few steps toward her, closing the distance between them even more. "Viviane," he said, his tone firr now. "I know you well enough to know when sothing is wrong. Don't try to lie to ."
She instinctively took a step back, but stopped when she realized she was cornered between the wall and him. "It's nothing, I swear," she insisted, looking down at the floor. Her hands gripped the sides of her dress tightly. "I was just... thinking about so things."
Vergil raised an eyebrow, clearly not satisfied with the answer. He took another step forward, now so close that Viviane could feel the warmth of his presence. "What were you thinking about?" he asked, his voice lower, almost a whisper.
Viviane finally lifted her eyes to et his. Vergil's steady gaze locked onto hers, and in that mont, she felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the hallway. 'How does he manage to be so…?' She couldn't complete the thought. There was sothing in the way he looked at her, sothing that made her want to confess everything, but also run away forever.
"I... I saw you," she finally admitted, her voice barely audible. "With... Sapphire."
Vergil tilted his head, a small smile forming on his lips. "Ah," he said, the realization evident in his tone. "So that's it. You're bothered by what you saw?"
Viviane felt the blood rush to her face, her cheeks turning an intense shade of red. "I... That's not it!" she protested, although her own voice betrayed her, full of nervousness and hesitation. "I just... thought it was inappropriate, that's all!"
Vergil crossed his arms, the smile on his lips widening. "Inappropriate, huh?" he repeated, his voice laced with soft sarcasm.
"You're thinking too much, you know?" he laughed. "I just claid my reward," he said, playing with the words.
"Reward?" Viviane asked, confused. "She said if I won against the Firebird, I could ask for anything. So I asked for her." Vergil shrugged casually, as if it were normal to request his mother-in-law as his own.
"You... asked for her?" Viviane repeated, her voice a mix of disbelief and sothing dangerously close to indignation.
Vergil laughed, a low, provocative chuckle that seed to embody his bold personality. "Yes, I asked. It was a fair bet, Viviane," he explained, with an almost teaching tone, as if instructing her. "She put her soul on the table. I won. And, well... a soul is much more interesting when it's... accompanied."
Viviane blinked a few tis, trying to process it all. But what bothered her more than the already absurd situation was the way he spoke about it, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"This is... unacceptable!" she said, finally gathering the courage to voice her opinion. "She's... your wife's mother! How can you just... ask for sothing like that? Like it's... an object!"
Vergil raised an eyebrow, his smile still fixed, but his eyes now sparkling with a glimr of interest. "An object? Viviane, do you really think I see people like that? No. I see their potential. And, by the way, Raphaeline has a lot of potential... in many areas."
The words made Viviane gasp, and she took a step back, her face now a mixture of embarrassnt and anger. "You're impossible, Master!" she said, walking away.
"Hey, wait, where are you going?" Vergil asked, but Viviane just replied, "I'm going to see soone." She added, "It's none of your business." He followed her, and a woman was waiting for her in the mansion's hall.
"It's good to see you, Emmily," Viviane said, looking at a woman Vergil had never seen in his life.
"Who is she?" Vergil asked, eyeing the older woman, who was indeed attractive.
She stood about 1.65 ters tall, with no striking body like Katharina or Sapphire, nor a radiant beauty like Roxanne. However, she resembled Ada slightly, though her body was much more common. Of course, that didn't take away from the fact that she was simply beautiful. Her hair was light green, and she wore a gradient dress that started blue and faded to white at her feet. She had an Asian appearance, much like Ada, but her deanor was far more serene than anyone Vergil had ever seen in this world... she was mysterious.
"She's a witch with whom I have an exclusive contract. She does so work for , and I pay her. Her na is Emmily," Viviane introduced, and the woman bowed without saying a word, seeming quite reserved.
"I thought you lived isolated in that place. Who would have thought you had contact with witches?" Vergil said, analyzing the woman. "You know that if Sapphire sees this..."
"It's fine. I asked Sapphire for permission before contacting her," Viviane said. "Don't worry too much." She turned back to Emmily.
"Apologies for the unexpected visit, Vergil Agares," she said, bowing again. "Your servant contacted to gather so information, and I ca as soon as I finished." She spoke in a calm, serene tone, waving her hands, and a white mana bird appeared in the air, flying around Viviane before landing on her hand.
"As the lady requested, inside this dove is all the information regarding the Weapon you're looking for. Honestly, it wasn't easy, but I was able to find so interesting details worth looking at," Emmily said, allowing Viviane to take a look.
Viviane took the dove, and with a swift gesture, she absorbed it into herself, as if pulling it inside her.
"Huh? What's that?" Vergil asked, directing his question at the witch, who smiled.
"My magic is quite unique. I can compile information into a spell. Miss Viviane is simply reading all the information, which goes directly to her mind," Emmily explained simply and practically.
"I see..." Viviane suddenly responded, her face contorting into a sad expression, as though sothing had broken inside her.
"Huh? Are you alright?" Vergil asked, noticing the change in her deanor.
Viviane remained silent for a long mont, her eyes empty, as if lost in a distant nightmare. Then her expression twisted, and she finally uttered the words, her voice breaking like glass.
"Excalibur... was destroyed," she said. "No... it can't be..." she murmured, her voice growing weaker.
In an instant, she collapsed to the floor as if being torn apart from the inside. Her eyes shattered completely, and a desperate look fell over Vergil before she began to cry.
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