Chapter 19. House of the Nobilities

Dizzy and slightly unsteady, Vero walked out of the mansion complex. She stopped in front of the gate overlooking the lake, then squinted to look at the Noblebranch on the other side. Even in the sun, the place still looks scary.

Even though when she first came to Duradel, Vero thought about buying one of the mansions there, now she was reluctant to even set foot there. A black veil of cruelty seemed to envelop the place, but Vero couldn’t explain why she thought that way.

After all, Noblebranch is just a bunch of giant old houses and not a place to harbor monsters. Vero folded the brown envelope from Ms. Caroline, then put it in her sweater pocket. Today she was wearing a maroon sweater that was as dark as blood.

After taking a deep breath and having difficulty letting it out due to the mucus clogging her nose, Vero started her walk to Noblebranch. She traced the paved path at the edge of the Caravons Depth.

The road ended at the edge of the forest and turne