Cecil looked at the unconscious girl in Leon's arms and his face turned white. He stuttered, "W-what is she doing with you?"

Leon chuckled as he came forward to Cecil. "It would have been easier if you had just told me that she was the one."

Cecil stepped back, his hands turning into fists. "What do you mean?"

The vampire left Olivia seated on a couch and glanced at Cecil. "Cecil, I thought you would help me to find her."

By that time, Cecil's hands were shaking. There were small beads of sweat on the bridge of his nose.

When he said no word, Leon muttered, "Did you know something?"

Cecil stayed quiet for a while and sighed. He said in a near-whisper, "I had my suspicions, but I never thought they would be right."

The red-haired man stood still, his face still pale in disbelief and shock. He did not move, nor did say a word. Leon sat on the floor and leaned against the wall. A moment of silence passed by.

Cecil broke the silence and uttered, "Why did you bring her back here?"

"She does not believe me now. Mrs Leroy definitely knows everything. Ophelia cannot help believing her."

Cecil did not say another word, as if he did not hear what Leon had said. Instead, he walked to where Olivia was seated, unconscious. There was a bruise on the bridge of her nose which made Cecil look worried. He turned to Leon, who was still sitting on the floor, almost dozing off.

"What happened to her?" asked Cecil with a look of concern. Leon jerked at the sudden sound of his voice and looked at Olivia. He snickered and said, "She is quite a reckless girl."

Cecil waited for Leon to say more, but it went in vain. His eyes were dull; his gaze was fixed on Olivia. He ran his fingers through her hair and caressed her head.

Out of the blue, Cecil whispered, "To be honest, I never wanted to let her go."

With a sigh, he jumped onto his bed and pulled the blanket over his head. He muttered, "Do whatever you want with her."

"I will take her to her home at midnight."

Leon felt wry hearing the sudden change in Cecil's mind. He could understand why Cecil did not want to let her go, but it could not be avoided.

"On the day she was missing, a peculiar man came to me. He was asking if I knew a girl named Ophelia Silverton. Of course, I said no," said Cecil in a weak voice.

Though Leon was amused to hear it, he did not say anything in return. The two of them did not talk to each other the rest of the night. Leon spent his time wondering. Minutes stretched to hours and Leon knew it was finally time to leave.

Taking Olivia in his arms, he stretched his raven black wings out and flew out of the house. The roads were empty and quiet. Leon was able to move freely without the fear of getting caught.

Within a short time, he had arrived at his destination. It was a small house with a yard full of flowering plants. Leon landed in the yard and looked around for a while. Later, he opened the front door silently and entered the house. Though it was dark inside, Leon could walk effortlessly. He was a nocturnal being after all.

Entering a small room, Leon found a teenage girl in her slumber. He walked to the bed with Olivia in his arms. He laid the girl on the bed, beside the teenager.

Goodbye, for now.

He walked out of the house and closed the door. Stretching his wings out, he rose and disappeared into the sky.

***

A ray of sunlight fell on Olivia's eye. She took a loud breath with her eyes closed. She turned to her side and felt the presence of someone sitting beside her.

"Olivia!"

A young girl's ecstatic voice was heard. Hearing the familiar voice, Olivia's eyes shot open. Suddenly, it felt like a dream.

Before Olivia could get up, the girl jumped onto her and gave her a tight hug. "I-I thought I would never see you again..." the girl said in a trembling voice.

"A-Alice?" whispered Olivia, trying to believe what was in front of her was true.

Olivia closed her eyes and felt the soft fabric of Alice's nightgown underneath her palms. Her eyes filled with tears but she held them back.

"Olivia, where have you been? I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you too," replied Olivia in a shaky voice.

Alice got up and ran out of the room in excitement. "Mother, Olivia is back!"

She brought her mother into the room as Olivia got up from bed. The woman looked at Olivia from head to toe and pulled her in a bone-crushing hug. She was more than overjoyed at Olivia's mysterious return. She almost cried.

"Where have you been, Ollie? Are you alright?" the mother asked, pulling away from the hug. She saw the bruise on her nose and said, "Ollie, how did this happen? Did someone hurt you?"

She looked at Olivia's face. Her eyes were red and watery. "Mother..." she whispered, smiling.

Little by little, Olivia started to feel uncomfortable.

Suddenly, the two faces became unfamiliar. Feeling dizzy and suffocated, Olivia rushed out of the room.

Outside the house, all the neighbours were surprised to see her. Not being able to recognize anyone, Olivia ran to the woods.

The tranquil surrounding of the woods made her calm. She took a deep breath and sat under a tree. Warm sunlight forced itself into the forest through the gaps in the leaves.

Olivia rested her head against the tree and closed her eyes. The picture of a man with whitish skin and blood-red eyes came into her mind.

She gasped and opened her eyes. It was him, she thought. With a sigh of frustration, she tucked her hair behind her ears.

What a mess he got me into.

A girl's yelling was heard. "Olivia!"

Olivia looked in the direction of the voice. Alice was running towards her from afar.

The teenage girl was smiling as she came to Olivia and panted. Catching her breath, she said, "I knew you would come here!"

Olivia looked at her with confused eyes. Looking down, Olivia murmured, "I don't know what to say, Alice."

Alice sat beside her and chuckled, ignoring what she said. "Do you know what happened here?"

"What?"

Alice began to tell her side of the story. "On that morning I woke up and I couldn't find you anywhere. I thought you had gone to the bakery so I didn't care much. But when mom opened the coin box, she almost screamed!"

Olivia whispered as her face began to turn pale, "What happened then?"

"I went to her and saw the most surprising thing ever- the coin box was overflowing with silver coins! We both counted them- there were a hundred. I wonder how you got so many, sis!"

The girl hugged Olivia and said, "And then I went out to look for you because it didn't feel right. I walked up to Uncle Jacob's bakery to find you!"

Olivia patted her head while listening.

"I didn't find you and I was so scared. Do you know what happened then? Papa got a new job! At the Count's manor. At first, I thought it was all a dream, but now that you've come back, it feels real."

Olivia was more surprised than happy to hear it. Later, Alice wanted to know what happened to Olivia. Olivia hesitated at first, but she still told her story.

She showed her the scar she got from Leon's bite, the sign of the sun. Alice had even noticed the tint of violet in the lightness of her eyes.

She told everything about it, and none of it remained unsaid...

...or so she thought.

By the end of Olivia's narration, Alice had her jaw dropped.

"I don't want to believe it," pouted Alice.

"Me neither."

"Let's go home," said Alice.

Both of them stood up and began to walk. Alice was looking down at the leafy ground the whole time. She looked as if she were drowned in the thought of whatever Olivia said to her.

Olivia knew Alice was sad, but she tried to convince herself that it was all a lie.

Alice felt her stomach grumble. "Let's get some berries."

Olivia smiled. "Sure."

The two of them collected berries from the bushes and vines. They ate a lot as if they were starved for decades.

"I'm so full I can't even move!" yawned Alice. Olivia chuckled.

"We should get going."

Once they were out of the woods, they realized it was already noon. The sun was shining right above their heads.

Though Alice was disturbed by the heat, Olivia found it comforting. It feels like I haven't been in the sunshine for years.