The history II

Anna bored her eyes on Dominic, who was examining his finger, vainly trying to squeeze blood out of it.

The sight of him tearing the skin on the tip of his other finger made her skin crawl. It was sickening, especially when his eyes showed no emotion as he was doing it.

Indeed, the puppet spell was a potent slavery spell. It made the victim become a loyal dog that was willing to do anything for the caster, perhaps even at the risk of their own life.

"Enough!" Anna bellowed the order.

Dominic looked up, staring at Anna as if seeking another confirmation.

"That's enough," Anna repeated and held out a hand, asking for Dominic to pass the leaf cup to her.

Dominic did as instructed. He passed the leaf cup to Anna with his uninjured hand while licking the other, healing them instantly. Healing spell or healing potion wasn't needed to cure small injuries, for his saliva was enough.

"Anna, what's the matter?" he asked when he saw the troubled expression she showed every time she attempted to drink the blood.

"Based on my memories, someone must drink the spellcaster's fresh blood to free them from a curse. So, you must not delay! Just imagine drinking strawberry milk," Dominic encouraged with some sort of anticipation on his face.

Seeing the gleam in his eyes, Anna found herself getting irritated again. Except that this time she didn't bother to argue with him.

Without saying anything, she brought the leaf cup near her lips. The rawness of the blood made her gag. Pinching her nose, she drank the entire cup in one go. As soon as it entered her system, the lingering feelings she had for Dominic vanished.

A long breath escaped her lips, relieved that she was finally free from the spell.

"Fetch me some water," she instructed, and the puppet Dominic ran to the nearby stream, fetching some water using his version of a leaf cup.

Dominic's enthusiasm to accomplish every instruction brought a cunning yet solemn smile to Anna's face. It made her recall her past where Damien would handle issues like this. He was her defense —the hurdle her enemies had to cope before getting to her. Only when he was cornered would she act. Such was the case in the past...

Now, she had to do everything alone.

Sighing, Anna willed for the pensive thoughts to go away. She looked at Dominic, who was bringing the water she asked for, and recalled everything he had told her. It was intriguing, especially the part about the Noblebloed.

"So, you're really a Noblebloed?" she mused while taking the case from Dominic's hand.

"Yes, but I came from one of the side families, not the main family," Dominic replied, although knowing that it was more like a rhetorical question.

"Oh! just like Damien," Anna muttered and immediately berated herself for thinking about him. Again.

"Excuse me?" Dominic tilted his head in interest. He only saw her shaking her head with a faint smile on her face.

"So, what's the thing about the-" Anna spoke as she craned her head to the right while pointing to her neck. Her intention was easily understood by Dominic, who then took a seat right in front of Anna.

"Hmm, how should I explain this. I've talked about how the Noblebloed is hailed as the strongest bloodline and about the idiot who made everything go south. Well, it turned out this idiot is a Noblebloed. Knowing this, others started to look down on us.

Until a hundred years ago came. A pureblood showed up on that day, and his appearance brought back the glory of the Noblebloed. Fast forward to ten years ago. Someone from the main family discovered that by consuming this pureblood's blood, the curse that chains our freedom would be lifted. It was… I'd say. I still couldn't believe it," Dominic whistled as astonishment embellished his face.

"But, as good as it sounds, it wasn't a guarantee. Some Noblebloeds suffered after drinking his blood. They grew fangs and became a blood-sucking monster. We referred to them as the fallen."

"The fallen?" Anna frowned.

"Yes, the fallen. They're not dangerous to us, but to normal humans, they could be deadly," Dominic replied.

"I see. So earlier, you saw me as one of this failures?"

Anna's sarcastic remark caused Dominic to cower in fear. He lowered his head until he heard her next question.

"Who was that person?" Anna asked. "The one who discovered the blood's ability to lift the curse," she explained once he saw the confusion in Dominic's face.

"She's-"

"Who?" she asked.

Dominic hit his head with his right hand. "This is weird. The information is there, but I can't talk about it," he complained.

Dismayed, he looked at Anna, who was also looking at him in the same manner.

"Forget it. What about the pureblood? What's his name?" Anna changed the question, and once again waited patiently for Dominic to respond.

Dominic thought for a while, and for a second, his mouth opened only to end up closing slowly.

"I can't," he declared, raising both arms.

"That's strange," Anna remarked. She was intrigued by the new mystery. Just when she wanted to dive deeper into it, a scream entered her ears, making her stop. Both she and Dominic looked at the direction of the scream and saw Ruby run towards them at full speed.

"Miss Anna! I'm sorry for falling asleep!" she yelled as she ran.

Anna didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she saw Ruby run as if something scary was chasing after her. Instead of using the proper route, she jumped over the bushes, rocks, and the flowing stream as if it was nothing.

"Don't run! You'll fall!" Anna shouted from the distance while giving a signal for Dominic to leave. There were many unanswered questions that needed answers, but now wasn't the correct time to unveil the mystery.

"Hello, sir!" Ruby greeted Dominic in passing. She bowed at him before rushing to Anna. The urgency made her fail to notice the glare in his eyes.

Dominic harrumphed as he left the garden. He was angry that Ruby woke up too soon. If not, he would spend more time with his new master.

Unbeknown to Anna, these two would be the source of her headache in the near future, simply because both would try to overtake each other in every mission she would assign them to.

"Oh my god! I have a nightmare!" Ruby spoke in between heavy breaths. It took her several deep breaths to breathe normally again. Bowing her head slightly, she said to Anna: "Miss Anna, I'm sorry for falling asleep."

"It's okay," Anna responded. Her eyes were eyeing Ruby head to toe and reverse. There was something different about her, which made her look more appealing than before. She thought about it and realized that it was her timidity that was missing.

'Was it Dominic?' she thought, reminding herself to scold him for messing with Ruby's personality. Her plan was to train her into a strong, unyielding woman, but if Dominic played a hand in this, it wouldn't be as much fun as she initially thought.

"Miss Anna, it seems that your relationship with Young master Dominic is getting better. You always looked like you were in pain when you met him before," Ruby chatted, bending her knees so she could fix Anna's messy gown.

"I did?" Anna frowned. "Did something happen between him and me?" she quickly asked.

"Hmm," Ruby's active hands suddenly stopped moving.

"Nope," she responded and continued fixing Anna's dress, ignoring the sigh of relief coming out of the other's lips.

"Enough. Let's go back. It's faster if I take a bath," Anna tugged her gown, releasing it from Ruby's attentive hands. She turned around and paced towards the exit with Ruby behind, following her. When on the bridge, she stopped and returned to where she came from.

"Miss?" Ruby asked, looking at the direction of Anna's eyes.

"Tomorrow, bring someone to pluck a leaf from all of these plants," Anna spoke. She looked at Ruby, who was also looking at her.

"Do you understand?" she asked.

Ruby nodded, although inside she was curious to know the reason for her to give such an instruction.

"These are herbs. With the right concoction, they could improve the constitution of someone's well being," Anna explained. She knew of this because of the cumulative experience she gained as a reincarnator. Although the effect was minimal, with the right nutrition and proper training, its effect would create a tremendous change in someone's physical strength.

Hearing Anna's explanation, Ruby's eyes widened in admiration. She promised to do everything accordingly.

"Good!" Anna exclaimed. Then, she turned around and beckoned for Ruby to follow her. The two left the garden and entered the mansion discreetly.