Married To The Mad Vampire Lord-Chapter 199: The reflection in the mirror

Belle was helped by the two human servants to bathe and to dress into a gown that had been purchased by the servants for her when they first arrived here, as she had not brought any of her outing dresses when leaving Nightbrook.

The dress was not that extravagant, but it was beautiful enough to put her in awe at how it looked. It was maroon in color with a full skirt and a fitted bodice, and it had its own corset, which meant she didn’t need to wear one underneath.

But while Belle watched herself in the mirror, smiling upon noticing how her coloring had improved overnight and still recalling how charming her husband had been a while ago before he left, the servants tightened the corset lace from the back.

Suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach. A suffocating sensation consumed her, and her eyes swirled in dizziness. Her knees weakened, and she quickly supported herself with the bedpost she had been holding onto.

"Is something wrong, my lady?" the servant helping her with the corset asked as she noticed the lady breathing with difficulty and leaning heavily over the bedpost, holding her stomach like she was in pain. "Should I get Master?" she asked in alarmed concern, as the lady was not replying and was still clutching her stomach and breathing strangely.

Hearing that she wanted to go and get Rohan, Belle quickly managed to shake her head to stop the young maid. "No. It’s nothing serious, just loosen the corset. I think it’s too tight," she said with a little difficulty, as she could not breathe enough air into her lungs. Her stomach was cramping painfully, like it had once done many weeks ago when she first returned from the land of the dead and was preparing to go into Grimvale, only it felt worse now.

The servant hurriedly loosened the lace of the corset from behind and then peered at Belle, who had her head bent slightly, her hair pouring on both sides of her face, covering her expression of controlled pain. "How about now? Does it feel any better?"

Belle did not reply. She remained in that slightly bent position, trying to get her bearing by taking in large gulps of air into her lungs and trying to calm her heartbeat. To her great relief, the pain began to subside quickly, and her breathing began to return to normal.

She slowly straightened as her vision began to clear from the swirling black dots, and when her eyes adjusted enough for her to see her reflection in the mirror again, she froze.

For a fleeting moment, she saw something in her reflection, dark veins crawling across her forehead, down her neck, even spreading faintly beneath her eyes. Her hazel irises seemed to flicker, overtaken by a flash of deep, unnatural black.

She almost gasped aloud in horror at the sight, her breath catching sharply in her throat. But the moment she blinked, it was gone, like a trick of the light. The veins had vanished, and her eyes were back to their normal warm hazel, leaving her wondering if she had imagined it all.

"Did you see that?" she asked the servant girl who was standing beside her, but the girl looked confused at the question as she asked, "See what, my lady?"

"In the mirror, I mean, on my face. Didn’t you notice something just now?" She turned to the girl, who was a brunette and young, and had been looking at her in the mirror as well.

The young girl blinked. "Did you mean if I noticed your skin coloring has improved, my lady? Yes, I noticed the good changes in your face this morning. You look more beautiful. Is the dress corset loose enough or is it still too tight?" The girl asked, returning her attention back to the lace she had yet to tie, believing that the lady was only fishing for compliments just like most nobles do by asking if she noticed something in the mirror when there was nothing there.

She had not seen the dark veins and eyes, Belle decided as she turned back to her reflection, doubting now whether she had imagined everything, including the intense pain that had momentarily gripped her, as it was now completely gone, and she felt normal again. This was strange, so strange she couldn’t point a finger on the feeling.

She was in a daze the whole time the girl helped her finish preparing, doing her hair, and applying a little makeup to her face. However, looking at her reflection again by the time the girl finished, Belle’s mood improved a great deal and she forgot about the momentary nightmarish experience of pain.

Throughout the month and weeks, she had not bothered to cut her bangs at the front, and the hair had grown long enough for it to be combed back. She cared little to no more about the small scar across her left brow now, and for some reason, even when she looked into the mirror, her eyes barely lingered on that part, as it wasn’t that obvious to her anymore and did not bother her. She had made peace with that past, that the scar was just there.

Her hair was styled so that it poured down her shoulders in soft golden waves and curls, it almost looked like melted gold catching the morning light. For the first time in weeks, she felt a renewed sense of confidence, more sure of her appearance than she had the night before.

As she walked down to meet her husband, who waited for her at the foot of the stairs in the grand foyer, a flutter of anticipation stirred in her chest. The moment Rohan’s dark eyes lifted toward her at the sound of her descent, she felt even more beautiful, seen, cherished.

His dark eyes softened and roamed her from head to the hem of her dress, and a smile touched his natural red lips, a smile that indicated he liked what he saw. She flushed and smiled back at him.

He did not look bad as well, in fact, he looked a great deal good and handsome in his attire. No one would call him a vampire with that natural tan he had to his glowing skin and dark eyes, and when he grinned to reveal his crystal white teeth, Belle felt her heart somersault within her chest.

When she stepped on the last step, he wordlessly reached out his gloved hand to her, and she placed hers into it, where his fingers closed around hers and tightened ever so gently.

"You look gorgeous, sweetheart, but we can’t afford to have you freeze outside without a coat." As he spoke, Belle was surprised to see Rav walk out and hold out a fur coat to Rohan.

She was about to point out the risk of having him out in the daylight with humans around the house when she noticed his eye color, it had changed from red to brown now. She blinked in astonishment, almost believing she was misseeing things again, but Rohan assured her in a low voice as he leaned to say,

"I got him a potion last night to hide his red eyes," he told her. Seeing the question in her eyes, as if asking how he had gotten the potion and when, he smiled and raised his hand, gently tucking a strand of gold hair behind her ear. "There are witches everywhere. It’s not hard for me to trace them, and I traced one last night and got her to make the potion, or risk getting exposed as a witch to the king. It wasn’t so hard to get her into complying."

With the look in his eyes, Belle could already imagine him threatening a witch with a smile playing on his face. No wonder he had gone out last night for long, and she had fallen asleep before he returned.

However, Belle could not help but feel more relief now that she would have familiar faces around the house.

"Good morning, my lady," Rav greeted her with a respectful bow of his head when she looked his way.

Belle returned the smile, still not fully used to the startling difference in his appearance. She couldn’t get past how much the brown color altered the entire impression of his face. The red eyes had always made him seem blank, unreadable... almost emotionless.

But now, with those warm brown irises, he appeared far more human, more grounded, and kind.

For the first time, she noticed how sharply defined his cheekbones were, how well-sculpted his jawline looked, and the way his face creased with quiet charm when he smiled. There were dimples tucked into the edges of his cheeks, masculine ones, that could easily sway any woman’s heart. Any woman... but her, of course.

"Good morning, Rav," she replied with a kind smile, still slightly mesmerized by the change.

Before her gaze could linger any longer, Rohan stepped in and took the coat from Rav’s hand with swift precision. He draped it over her shoulders and gently helped her slip her arms into the sleeves.

Then, without a word, he began buttoning it up for her, his fingers working with calm ease while his eyes shot a deadly glare at Rav as he spoke through their link, "Get lost. I don’t like how she’s looking at you like that. Go and get the carriage ready."

Rav quickly nodded his head and turned to disappear from the sight of the lady, who he could still feel her eyes on him. He could tell Rohan was clearly displeased by the way her eyes had lingered on him, and his possessiveness bled through every motion of care he offered her, from the way he adjusted the collar around her throat to how he positioned himself ever so slightly between her and Rav, who was already leaving. freēnovelkiss.com

’As if I have any interest in his woman. I’m not the kind that takes another man’s woman, or any woman. Che,’ Rav complained as he walked out of the manor, shaking his head at his master’s unnecessary possessiveness. If only his master knew that his only priority in this life that was given to him by the master was seeing that he was safe and had everything. Rav had no interest whatsoever in other things.

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