283: Deadly Stain With Tint

Deadly Stain With Tint

"What was that all about?" Mr. Pratt asked when the Duke and his daughter left.0

"I have no idea." Rosalind shrugged.

"Ah… it seems that the Princess is thinking too much," Mr. Pratt said. "Shall we discuss the rest in my study?"

"Of course," Rosalind beamed. She was about to become a very wealthy woman.

"How was Alma and Madam Lucilla?" Rosalind asked as they started walking towards Mr. Pratt's study.

"She is doing very well. All thanks to you. She has been asking her mother to come back to see you. Perhaps one day, I will agree once everything is safe."

"The war at the borders of Rakha was something that I never expected to happen." Mr. Pratt continued.

"Ha! Wars happen all the time! It is one big business!" Mr. Montgomery said. "Speaking of business… me actually have something that me wanted to show you, Miss Lin."

"Father, can we do this later? Miss Lin still needed to accept her gold."

"What me have is more important than gold."

"What?" Mr. Pratt said. He immediately made sure to lock the door of the study behind them. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, Mathies, show her… go on…"

Mathies who had been silent since earlier immediately nodded and handed Rosalind a cloth.

"What— is this?" Rosalind frowned. "A cursed weapon?"

"Open it. As much as me would like to touch it… we cannot. The last person who tried to touch it suffered from burned skin. It was not a pleasant sight."

"Oh…" Rosalind opened the cloth that was carelessly used to wrap around a long object. "An arrow?" she touched the old and rusty arrow that had a shaft made of dark metal. She could feel a thick curse inside the arrow.

"What a sinister curse."

"We found it in one of the beasts. We believe that this might have been used a long time ago… during the great war against the Dark Lord."

"Are you saying that this might be the Dark Lord's arrow?" The Dark Lord was well known not just for his curses but his expertise in a lot of weapons such as a sword, dagger, bow and arrows, a halberd, and a large ax.

She frowned. The shaft of the arrow seemed to absorb the light instead of reflecting it. Its barbed tip was stained with what looked like dried blood, and the fletching was made of black feathers that might be because it was already too old.

"That's impossible," Mr. Pratt said. "How could an arrow survive that long? Perhaps this has been used to shoot a beast. The beast survived and corrupted the weapon. How could it be something that the Dark Lord used himself?"

Just as Rosalind gripped the arrow, she felt a chill run down her spine. Just like most cursed weapons, the arrow emanated a malevolent aura that seemed to repel everyone else, but seemed so attractive to Rosalind.

Almost immediately a jolt of fear and revulsion hit her. It was as if her hand had been burned by a cold fire. Then she started hearing the voices and sounds of hundreds of people in her mind.

All of them were screaming and wailing in agony.

Then Rosalind let it go.

She looked at Mr. Montgomery.

"This is something very sinister," Rosalind said.

"Me thought so too. So, I would like to give it to you."

"Why?" she inquired. They could sell something like this at a very expensive rate.

"Well…" Mr. Montgomery did not need to explain her point as the arrow suddenly floated in front of Rosalind.

Rosalind took a step back, dropping the cloth in her hand. Is this the same as the dagger?

The malevolent memories of the arrow started filling her head. The voices had a crescendo, almost overwhelming her senses, leaving her gasping for air. A cacophony of screams and wails made her head ache.

Rosalind staggered as she felt the terrible fate of the people who had been hit by the arrow. The darkness that filled her memory seemed to suggest that this arrow had lived a long, long life.

Then there was a chanting that turned into singing. At first, she could not make out the words from the voices.

'Three weapons gleam and glint'

'All deadly stain with tint'

'A whisper in the night'

Just as everyone inside the room had expected, the arrow vanished too. Then, Rosalind felt pain in her hand. She did not need to see to know that it was another tattoo.

She had absorbed the arrow just like how she absorbed the dagger.

"That— Me thought that Miss Lin could use it to become more powerful in the future. Instead of letting it go to the hands of the wrong person. Me thought it would be best to give it to you so you can use it in the future."

Rosalind said nothing. The things that she saw this time were different from the things that she had seen when she absorbed the dagger.

"Thank you," Rosalind said.

"You look pale. Do you need to rest?" Mr. Pratt eyed his father-in-law and Mathies. The three of them saw when Rosalind accidentally absorbed the dagger. So, they did not act so surprised this time. However, the three men still could not hide the fascination in their eyes.

It was as if they were reading each other's thoughts.

"I can prepare a room for Miss Lin and—"

"Food," Rosalind said. Her throat felt so dry and her stomach was now grumbling as if she had not just eaten something with Lucas. This was the effect of using her Blessing. She needed to be more mindful of this and bring food next time.

"I do not need to rest, I need food," she added. If only, she could find a way to bring food in her spatial bag. Of course, she chose to push this out of her head and tackle the elephant in the room.

"Of course, let me call some servants."

Rosalind nodded. She took a seat and examined her hands. Then she thought of the arrow.

Almost immediately it appeared in her hand.

What could this possibly mean? Rosalind thought.

Just as she was about to hide it back, the window opened revealing Lucas in a mask.

"Your— Your Grace—" Mr. Pratt looked just as surprised as everyone else. However, Lucas ignored everyone instead, he looked at Rosalind and the arrow in her hand.

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