Shadows of London: 3-19 Father and Son

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This day has finally arrived.

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Style: Required: Vincent Goodwill Lv. 6 Recommended: East of the Baltic Sea, Her Life (Dress), Rose Plucker, The Year 1666, Open Wisdom's Door, Born Human, Proverb of Parting Rewards: 3,000 , 600 , 3 , 1 , 1 , Blueprint: Mrs. Warren's Profession

Mrs. Warren's Profession

Transcript

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• Edward insists that I change into something dry and warm before he agrees to accompany me for a walk.
• When he excuses himself, the first thing I do wasn't to open my luggage for the clothes inside—
• But rather to reach into the bottom of it.
• Intuition, not logic, compels me, like an air raid alarm that cannot be stopped.
• I see what I'm rummaging for. The cold gleam of the silver dagger reminding me... that I need it.

• It is almost dawn.
• Threads of light stream into the night sky, transforming the oppressive darkness into a deep purple dawn pregnant with hope.
• I wrap my clothes tightly around me and turn to look at Edward, who is silently walking with me.
• You: Can I go out after daybreak?

• Edward Grey: ...

• You: The letter I wrote to Priscilla is still with me, but Rhys is now hanging on by a thread.

• You: I just need to get to the blockade and hand the letter to Scotland Yard, then I'll be back in no time.

• Edward Grey: You should not risk your safety for something so trivial. Let's find someone to help you deliver this letter.

• You: And who would that be? Everyone is so busy right now.

• You: Just a trip to the blockade, and a quick chat with Scotland Yard, that's all. I'll be fine on my own.

• Edward Grey: Then I'll go with you.

• You: We need you here, Doctor Grey. What do we do if someone falls ill? And what if Rhys' condition worsens?

• You: You can't just abandon the safety of hundreds of people for my sake.

• Edward Grey: But...

• Still, he hesitates, unwilling to relent. I raise my eyebrows slightly.
• You: Are you determined to keep me from stepping foot outside this workhouse?

• Edward Grey: I have absolutely no intention of doing so.

• Edward Grey: However, you have weakened yourself by giving away so much blood. I simply cannot be at ease with you out and about on your own.

• Edward Grey: It is my hope that we can keep you safe from the forces of darkness, Caroline.

• You: By imprisoning me and keeping me from the world, Edward Grey?

• It is as if hearing his name awakened the vampire hunter in him. His expression turns cold, and he stares with piercing eyes, as if trying to decipher my motives.
• But what comes out of his mouth remains gentle and polite. It will take more than that to dispel his gentlemanly demeanor.
• Edward Grey: Caroline, I don't want there to be tension between us.

• Edward Grey: I had hoped Jesse's predicament would have served as a cautionary tale for you.

• Edward Grey: Especially when there are still vampires roaming the streets of London.

• You: Is that not what you want? Vampires still roaming the streets of London?

• Edward Grey: What is that supposed to mean?

• You: You've been keeping a lot of things from me, Edward Grey.

• He did not answer. That face is still devoid of warmth and emotion, reminiscent of the pastor in my dream.
• You: Are you not planning to explain yourself?

• Edward Grey: I admit that I have kept many things hidden from you, but I have not made you a prisoner.

• Edward Grey: I am here to keep you safe.

• You: It is not up to you, sir. Whether this be seen as captivity or protection.

• You: If you really want to protect me, why did you reveal Aunt Petit's address and spread my blood all over the Eastern District?

• These words finally shatter his calm and stern facade, revealing a sudden panic in his emerald eyes.
• Edward Grey: How did you—

• You: I have Roger and Vincent to thank for figuring this out.

• Roger Evans: It has been several months since the Baroness discovered your true identity, but last night was the first time they attacked you.

• Roger Evans: Before yesterday, the Elder knew very little about you. But by nightfall, he seized the opportunity when you happened to go out.

• Roger Evans: This can't all just be a coincidence, can it?

• You: You mean... someone told him where I live?

• You: Someone... who knows who I am, and knows about the Elder... and knows where I live...

• You: And they could have only revealed all this to him yesterday.

• Roger Evans: Do you have any idea who this person may be?

• Vincent Savile: I don't know what's happened between you two, but you should at least have an understanding of the current situation.

• Vincent Savile: Your friends have no idea where you are, and the scent of your blood is all over the Eastern District.

• Vincent Savile: You're hiding in a strange workhouse that is heavily guarded and where the Blood Clan cannot draw near.

• Vincent Savile: Unless you step out on your own, no one from the outside will be able to find you.

• You: There isn't much of a list of people in London with connections to vampires AND know where I live.

• You: I didn't want to think it could be you...

• Edward Grey: And yet you did.

• Edward Grey: Enlighten me, Caroline. You'd sooner believe a human, rather than a vampire, would betray you?

• Edward Grey: Wouldn't Vincent Savile have more of a reason to sell you out to his kindred?

• You: Had you not gone and distributed a vaccine, with my blood in it, all over the Eastern District, I might actually suspect Vincent instead.

• You: But alas, this is much too elaborate—not to mention unnecessary, for the vampires. This is something more in YOUR character, Edward.

• I strive to lift my chin and smile mockingly, but the piercing pain in my heart grows increasingly intense.
• At the same time, he eases his expression, smiling helplessly, and speaks as if coaxing a child.
• Edward Grey: Caroline, think carefully about it.

• Edward Grey: Assuming what you are saying is true, what would be my motives?

• Edward Grey: The person who revealed your address clearly intends for you to fall into the hands of the vampires. I, on the other hand, have opposed your leaving the workhouse for your safety.

• Edward Grey: Don't you think these two things are in conflict with each other?

• You: ...

• Edward Grey: I know you've been under a lot of pressure lately and not getting enough sleep. It is understandable you might be getting a bit of cabin fever.

• Edward Grey: Things indeed appear to be inexplicable but please believe in me, Caroline.

• Edward Grey: I will not allow danger to come to the most important person in my life.

• I tremble. Right down to the tips of my toes. I instinctively take a step back, hands over my chest.
• He has been lying to me—Even now, he is still lying.
• You: You asked me for a motive? You just said so yourself, Edward.

• Edward Grey: ...

• You: You claim to be protecting me from danger, but all I've told you was that a ghoul once attacked me. We never discussed WHY the ghoul attacked me.

• You: And yet you know I am being pursued by the Elder of the Blood Clan. But how could you?

• You: But if Rhys becomes my delivery boy, won't the Blood Clan attack him?

• You: What if he ends up like Jack?

• Edward Grey: Although there may be some risk involved, I don't think Rhys' chances of getting attacked would be higher than that of anyone else if he were to travel alone.

• Edward Grey: He's different from Jack. Jack was obviously your coachman, but no one would think that Rhys is acquainted with you.

• Edward Grey: After all, you're the Elder's true target. So there's no need to worry.

• You: On that night of the full moon, you heard the Baroness say that I am the perfect vessel for the Elder, didn't you?

• Doctor Grey falls silent for a long while before asking in a low voice.
• Edward Grey: You think I must have an ulterior motive to want to protect you?

• As composed as he sounds, I know this is Edward Grey himself talking, and not Edward Grey, the vampire hunter.}}
• You: (I wish so badly that I could trust you...)

• But I simply can't.
• I can't forget his calm and composed demeanor when he lies, nor can I forget how he does everything with a calculated purpose, or how he puts reason above all else.
• I cannot forget his calm, his restraint, his courteous congeniality, all while what's in his heart is out of reach of everyone.
• I understand, as well as he does, that this day will eventually come.
• The day has arrived.
• You: I am not your optimal solution, Edward.

• The night wind grows wild with a gloomy and low howl in our ears.
• ???: Hehe... You've chosen a very difficult woman to deal with, Edward.

• Edward reacts in an instant.
• He quickly pulls me behind him, while his right hand reaches into his pocket and pulls out a gun, aiming it at the workhouse's entrance.
• From the thick darkness of the night, a figure slowly emerges.
• ???: ...

• It is as though this person apparitioned out of a waking nightmare, wearing a black pastor's robe and a belt of deep red...
• It bears a face that has not changed at all, still appearing to be in his forties, with a righteous bearing.
• ???: You went to such great lengths, kicked up a storm. All just to get me to show up?

• ???: Your wish is granted. Here I am. What? No embrace for a long-awaited reunion with your father?

• Doctor Grey's imposing frame remains unmoved. However, his back stiffens.
• Edward Grey: ......It's impossible......

• I cannot see the reaction on his face, only a soft muttering under his breath.
• Edward Grey: It can't be...

• The middle-aged man in a pastor's robe walks in slowly.
• Under the watchful eyes of Doctor Grey and myself, he steps across the threshold and surveys the workhouse with a profound sense of awe, paying no heed to the barrel of a loaded gun staring down at him.
• ???: I'm finally back...

• Edward Grey: Enough with the theatrics. Who exactly are you?

• ???: You know my name, Edward.

• Edward Grey: You cannot possibly be William Akerman. Why are you pretending to be him?

• William Akerman: Why is it impossible? Because he's dead? Because you killed him?

• You: !

• I startle and instinctively take a step back. The man who is claiming to be William Akerman turns his attention towards me.
• William Akerman: Yes, Caroline. It's time you know who this man truly is.

• Edward Grey: Don't listen to a word he says, Caroline.

• You: ...

• William Akerman: I don't NEED her to believe what I say. Miss Rayes has her own mind and can discern what the truth is for herself.

• William Akerman smirks, as if pleased to see a hint of fluster beneath Doctor Grey's composed demeanor.
• William Akerman: Well played, son. You indeed took me by surprise thirteen years ago.

• William Akerman: Fratricide, patricide, arson, and a whole new identity after all that...

• William Akerman: That is quite the accomplishment for a fourteen-year-old. I ought to applaud you, Edward.

• William Akerman: Tell me, what was on your mind when you left London after sending so many to a fiery death?

• William Akerman: Did you give yourself the backstory of a poor orphan in order to fool someone into adopting you?

• William Akerman: Poor Dennis. Does his spirit come a-knockin' on your door in the dead of night?

• Edward Grey: Isn't that exactly what you want, Father?

• His voice may be calm and cold, but an unmistakable and deep-seated hatred is etched into his every word.
• Edward Grey: Only a person capable of such bone-chilling acts can inherit your bloodstained vampire-hunting legacy, is it not?

• You: Bloodstained... legacy?

• Edward Grey: It is a cruel joke that William Akerman is still lauded as some kind of saint in all of the Eastern District.

• Edward Grey: Meanwhile, these people had no idea they were merely guinea pigs to this so-called "saint."

• Edward Grey: Did I hit the nail on the head, father? The head of London's League of Vampire Hunters himself has been secretly conspiring with the vampires.

• Edward Grey: Some sell slaves to plantation owners, others hold prisoners of war for ransom from kings. You, however, sell the helpless poor to vampires.

• Edward Grey: I should be applauding for you.

• William Akerman was the representative of certain noble families in England at that time.
• Vincent's words clash with Edward's narrative while I gradually untangle the thoughts in my mind.
• You: Why would he want that? Aren't vampire hunters and vampires enemies by nature?

• William Akerman bursts into laughter.
• William Akerman: Enemies by nature? Only someone as straight-laced and orthodox as my dear Edward would believe that.

• William Akerman: The only thing that lasts forever is the exchange of interests, not enmity.

• William Akerman: Humans have coexisted with the Blood Clan for a long time, and depending on the situation, it is certainly possible for both parties to make deals.

• William Akerman: The Blood Clan is a gift from the heavens.

• You: What?

• William Akerman: They possess extraordinary abilities and eternal youth, but most importantly, they will never die of natural causes.

• William Akerman: Yet you see them as a scourge, nemeses you spent years to eradicate?

• William Akerman: What you should be doing is to subdue them.

• I stare in astonishment at the man dressed in holy robes. What comes out of his mouth is blasphemy. Heresy that enrage the divine.
• You: (You are insane......)

• Doctor Grey is not surprised. He looks at the person who looks like William Akerman sternly. His hand holding the gun cold and steady.
• He has his other hand around me, trying to protect me.
• Edward Grey: Pay him no heed. He has gone mad, as you can clearly see. He has been mad for a long time.

• Edward Grey: He shall not receive any mercy from us. He has lost all his humanity!

• Edward's hatred is no longer roiling like magma but rather seething, underneath his calm words. Yet they are as unyielding as the mountains.
• This must be the first time I've witnessed Edward Grey revealing such profound emotions.
• William Akerman: Careful there, Edward. I don't recall raising you to be an impudent lout.

• William Akerman: I had thought you might not have understood my aspirations in the past as you were too young to comprehend their greatness.

• William Akerman: I'm beyond disappointed that even after all this time, you remain incapable of grasping the truth.

• William Akerman: Perhaps I could have spent all my time and effort nurturing Dennis instead...

• You: Dennis? Edward's younger brother?

• You: Didn't he die from an illness and a lack of medicine?

• Edward's eye twitches.
• Edward Grey: No... We weren't sick at all.

• Edward Grey: Our bodies were afflicted with experiments, not disease!

• Edward Grey: William Akerman, our... foster father, this revered and "compassionate" saint of the Eastern District, injected us with all sorts of concoctions!

• Young Edward: Dennis... Are you feeling better? Do you still want some water?

• Young Edward: Dennis?

• Dennis: ...

• Young Edward: Den - Ah!

• Young Edward: I'm sorry, Dennis... I...

• Young Edward: Medicine!

• Young Edward: *gulp*... I've drunk it... I won't die... I will survive...

• Young Edward: I'm really sorry, Dennis... *sobs* I've been such a selfish brother...

• Dennis: ...

• Dennis: —Hey.

• Young Edward: ......What?

• Dennis: Hehe, hehehe. — Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!

• Young Edward: —!

• The boy can't comprehend what is happening before his eyes.
• Edward's brother, so thin and pale, had passed away in silence. But before he could even grieve, a transformation occurred.
• The icy-cold body starts to move on its own, like a malfunctioning machine, eerily waving its limbs.
• The familiar lips curve into an inhuman arc, and the eyes that opened once again are a deep crimson.
• Young Edward can't understand what's happening. He is certain, however the approaching monster with bared teeth is definitely not his brother.
• Young Edward: ...a fiend of the night...

• Edward feels his hand graze a gun, and by its shape, it is the very one that his foster father cherished.
• The block of iron is cold to the touch of his warm palm, chilling even young Edward's heart. The boy is astonished to discover that he's remained calm.
• His body doesn't even hesitate. He knows exactly what he has to do... and has known from the very beginning.
• Young Edward: Evil must not be spared.

• He speaks softly for the first time, a phrase that will be repeated countless times in the future.
• He holds the gun with both hands and pulls the trigger with his right.
• Young Edward: The wicked shall receive their just punishment.

• With the right hand, the trigger is pulled. With the left, the hammer is swiftly pulled back. Again and again, all with such precision as though it is the most natural thing.
• The magazine has six bullets and young Edward fires five of them.
• Young Edward: Ha, ha, ha...

• The smoke clears, and Edward beholds the monster that lies on the ground, its body contorted, its skin tinged with iron gray.
• In an instant, it disintegrates into a pile of bones before his eyes.
• Edward felt pleasure. He's destroyed the monster. He's protected himself. He's survived the ordeal.
• Young Edward: Hahaha... Ha...

• Young Edward: *sniff*... *sob*...

• He must have laughed so hard that tears are now flowing from his eyes.
• He wipes his face with one hand, then looks down at the gun in the other. His mind is made up.

• A silence hangs in the air.

• He holds my hand, trembling slightly. It is a hand that I have seen many times on the operating table, a hand that would not waver even if it were amputated.
• Edward Grey: You injected us with a drug that caused people to mutate, Father.

• Edward Grey: You said they could help us stay healthy. When Dennis wasn't feeling well, you used that as an excuse to pump him with even more drugs!

• William Akerman: I needed to create a control for my experiment, Edward.

• William Akerman: I needed to see the effects of subjects receiving different doses.

• Edward Grey: I understood what you were trying to do, father. I studied medicine, remember? I knew since then we were nothing more than guinea pigs to you.

• William Akerman: Oh, but you were so much more than just a guinea pig, Edward.

• Edward Grey: You were observing us throughout the week when we were struggling in the cabin, weren't you?

• Edward Grey: The kind of changes we will undergo when we died, after we died...

• Edward Grey: ...That gun. You put it there for us.

• William Akerman: That's right. And your reaction thrilled me.

• William Akerman: You were amazing. Perfect. You were the perfect successor sent from the heavens. The most exceptional child I've ever seen.

• William Akerman: I genuinely wanted to nurture you to your fullest potential.

• William Akerman: I didn't think I would raise someone who would bite the hand that fed them.

• William Akerman's relaxed demeanor suddenly turns a shade of darkened mood at this point.
• On the contrary, Doctor Grey, who is suppressing his contempt, reveals a gleeful and indifferent smile.
• Edward Grey: That was a mistake of your own making, father. Did it not occur to you to keep track of how many shots I fired while you were making your observation?

• William Akerman: ...

• The remark stuns the man dressed as a pastor into silence but he almost immediately responds with applause.
• William Akerman: Whatever it was that happened. That's in the past, Edward. I am your father after all.

• William Akerman: You have turned out to be an excellent man, worthy of being celebrated.

• William Akerman: As your reward, I have here a present. I'm sure you'll like it.

• He claps his hands again. This time, a figure emerges from the darkness behind him.
• Edward Grey: ...

• In the faint light of dawn, the figure's identity becomes apparent.
• Unconsciously, I release the hand that has been tightly gripping on to Edward's clothes and take a step towards the direction of that figure, as though I have lost all sense of self.
• William Akerman: Do you like this gift, Edward?

• The night wind sends the man's long robe billowing, and his black cloak flutters in the wind.
• He lifts his chin proudly, his arrogant expression a better match for his crimson eyes than the devout facade of a holy man.
• William Akerman: How many bullets do you plan to put into Jesse Lindvall this time?