Elena took several deep breaths and got out of bed. Just as she was about to reach the door, she couldn't help but glance at her vanity mirror. There, in red letters, was the message: "Second time, future visible."
"Big sister, are you there? It's Alucard." A voice came from outside the door.
"Yes, Alucard, I'm here," Elena replied. Just as she was about to open the door, she suddenly remembered that she was still in her nightgown. In the first "future visible," this had made both Alucard and herself very embarrassed.
"Please wait a moment. I'm changing my clothes."
Elena found her dress and changed into it, her mind constantly worrying about the frogs' croaking. But until she finished changing, she didn't hear a single frog's croak? Wait! Why was this so? According to the first "future visible," she should have been annoyed by the frogs' croaking by now. What was the difference between this time and the first?
Soon, Elena discovered the key. The only difference was that she had opened the door and seen Alucard the first time. But this time, she didn't open the door because she was still in her nightgown. Could it be that seeing Alucard was the trigger for her frog disaster? Of course, it could also be opening the door!
"Today is your coming-of-age ceremony. It should be me, your brother, who accompanies and escorts you. Please hurry up, big sister. It's not elegant to keep others waiting for you," Alucard coldly urged again.
Elena took a deep breath. No! She mustn't open the door!
"Alucard, I'll go to the lounge by myself. You go back. When the ceremony starts, I'll ask you to escort me," Elena said.
There was a moment of silence outside the door. "You're making it very difficult for me, big sister. Can you tell me why?" Alucard asked coldly.
"Because I don't want to see you, just as you don't want to see me," Elena replied coldly.
There was another moment of silence outside the door. "If that's the case, then I completely understand your feelings, my sister. Alright, see you at the ceremony." With that, the footsteps outside the door gradually faded away.
Finally, when the footsteps disappeared, Elena gathered her courage and opened the door. No frog croaking... No frog croaking! Elena walked slowly outside, past the pillars, down the stairs, but she didn't hear a single frog's croak. Sure enough! Alucard was the trigger for her disaster! It wasn't her mother's prophecy at all! Was Father lying? If not, then what was the disaster brought by her mother's prophecy? Was it the "other self" she saw before she died?
Elena thought carefully. But why did Alucard do this? Did he hate her that much? Then what did the stepmother do? Was it her who made one of her guests missing? What was the truth about the "other self"? What kind of strange being was she? And why did she say she was her hundredth guest? Was her guest list complete or not?
Elena suddenly felt a splitting headache... Boom! Suddenly, there was a huge thunderclap outside the castle. Then, dark clouds filled the sky, and the entire castle was plunged into darkness by the sudden storm. Pitter-patter... Heavy rain poured down instantly, filling the world with noise.
Elena stared at the rain outside the window with her blood-red pupils, her eyes full of fear. There was no such rain in the first "future visible"... Could it be that this rain was related to her not hearing the frogs' croaking? Elena stood by the window for a long time, tense. But the frogs, who loved the rain the most, didn't make a sound in this downpour. She let out a sigh of relief. Indeed, there were no frogs in the castle.
Elena continued walking towards the lounge. Gradually, she felt a chill. Maybe it was because of the sudden drop in temperature due to the rain. But soon, she noticed something was wrong. She found that blood was seeping through the ceiling and slowly trickling down the walls. In an instant, the air was filled with a sickening smell of blood.
Another thunderclap rang out. She looked out the window and saw that the rain hitting the window had turned blood red.
Mary Aunt's third piece of advice: Blood should only be found in wine glasses. But now it was everywhere—on the ceiling and outside!
Elena slowly walked towards the corridor. Wherever she passed, blood seeped from the ceiling and walls, and the smell was unbearable. Under the gothic window, a huge blood disaster flower raised its "head" and opened its dense eye slits, saying, "Hello, my beautiful princess. How can I be of service to you?"
"What can you do for me?" Elena stopped and stood gracefully in front of it.
Elena felt a sudden urge to perform a "Princess Burial of Flowers" for this creature just by looking at it. "Giggle giggle giggle... I'm sorry to be so bold, but you are truly a charming princess," the blood disaster flower excitedly said. "I can eat anyone for you, and all I need is a little reward."
Could it eat anyone? In her first future vision, Elena had never paid attention to this potted plant, so she had never wanted to know about it. But now, she couldn't help but use the [Cognition of the World] skill on it.
[Blood Disaster Flower]
[Age]: Old
[Level]: ???
[Faction]: Lawful Evil.
[Ability]: Devour.
[Weakness]: Has a pathological obsession with delicious meat.
[Brief Introduction]: As a beautiful potted plant in the vampire castle, it not only provides an elegant visual experience for the vampires but is also a powerful force in the castle, always guarding its safety. However, be careful not to feed it delicious meat, or it might make a terrifying deal with the intruder and switch sides.
Elena looked at the introduction of the blood disaster flower and suddenly changed her opinion of it, thinking that it might be a reliable ally.
"To be honest, my beautiful princess, your beauty is so captivating. If you would give me just a little bit of your flesh..."
"I can give you one of my eyes and ask you to eat me," Elena said with an elegant and charming smile.
[Blood Disaster Flower sanity -2]
"You are truly a humorous princess," the blood disaster flower closed its eyes and turned back into a quiet potted plant.
Elena once again reached the corridor. Now, blood was seeping from the ceiling and walls everywhere, making the dim corridor even more terrifying. Tap tap tap! Elena's high heels echoed in the corridor, but it felt like the sound of blood dripping on the ground.
In front of the third painting, Elena stopped once again. [Portrait: Clever Gnome] She felt that this painting would definitely provide her with crucial information, but she didn't know how to make it speak. The blood on the wall slowly trickled down outside the frame, filling her nostrils with the smell of blood. A flash of lightning outside made the dim corridor bright for a moment. With the flicker of the lightning, Elena's delicate face was reflected on the glass covering the oil painting, and her blood-red eyes made her feel a bit scared.
Rumble rumble rumble! The thunder finally came. The gnome in the painting looked at her mockingly.
"Good morning, Princess," a passing maid smiled at her.
Elena nodded in greeting, but when the maid passed by her, she suddenly shuddered. "Wait a moment," Elena called out to her. "Is there anything you need, Princess?" the maid turned around and asked politely.
"Could you... give me a lipstick?"
The maid smiled. "Of course."
In a moment, Elena carefully applied color to her lips in front of the third painting, then smiled contentedly at her reflection in the picture.
At this moment, [The value of the Illusory Mirror drops by 0.1].