Chapter 880
Fireplace Chat
Chapter 880 Fireplace Chat
Vilan paused for a moment, then his tone suddenly became more awe-inspiring: "...A prophecy?"
“Perhaps?” Victor sighed. “If Locke were here… it seems that the master gave him some very special memories.”
Thinking of their companion, the puppet, who was wandering somewhere, the two fell silent for a moment.
"Let's go." After a while, Vilan stood up first and said, "It's about time."
……
The Harrington family had no idea that, despite being heavily guarded by bodyguards, uninvited guests had arrived at their mansion.
After the little girl, Ollie, screamed in fright at the snails, the whole family woke up and found that they could see the slow-moving figures everywhere.
And those flying cockroaches actually swarmed right onto people's faces! The Harrington family, who live a life of luxury, have never encountered anything so terrifying.
Ollie's mother, the young and beautiful Sophie, was so frightened she nearly fainted. She screamed, jumped and scrambled, almost falling off the building!
"Damn it! There are so many bugs in the yard! Has Nick even bothered to tidy up the garden and lawn?!"
James Harrington, annoyed, grabbed his wife Sophie, picked up their daughter Ollie, and strode out, saying:
"This house is uninhabitable! Until the maid cleans it up, let's find a clean room to stay in!"
“It’s no use.” His sister, Victoria Harrington, dressed neatly and holding a cup of coffee, yawned and said, “We’ve already gone around the room once, and the other rooms are full of these damn bugs too.”
James's eyes sharpened instantly: "You found the bugs, but didn't even think to notify us?"
His wife, Sophie, also showed her displeasure.
"Blame me?" Victoria said lazily. "I was working overtime until midnight, and what about you? You guys go to bed at ten o'clock. What right do you have to criticize me?"
James retorted angrily, "Is this the same thing?"
"Enough, it's the middle of the night, stop making noise."
Brother-in-law Jonathan was also awake. He said in a low voice, "There's no electricity at home, and the backup engine broke down in less than three minutes. We only recently discovered that the humidity was too high, and all this stuff was getting in from the garden."
A voice came from behind Victoria: "After tomorrow, fire all those gardeners and hire some new ones. Every place needs to be disinfected and pest-free again!"
Victoria and Jonathan immediately turned around and said, "Father."
The true owner of the mansion, Richard Harrington, also came out of the room. He was upright and, even at 78 years old, was still healthy and full of energy.
After a pause, James whispered, "Father, are there bugs in your room too?"
“Of course.” Richard frowned. “Where are the bodyguards? Tell them to come and handle this immediately!”
Jonathan sighed: "I pressed the call button, but neither the bodyguards nor the butler responded. It must be because the rain was so heavy that the lines were broken."
“And the situation outside…” Victoria walked to the window, lifted a corner of the heavy curtain, and saw a storm whipping up rain, pounding wildly against the glass.
"Going there in this weather is neither safe nor realistic. It seems we can only endure it for the night and have someone deal with it tomorrow morning."
A brief silence enveloped the room, perhaps as everyone regretted not having left two servants in the main building. But now, in the quiet, the rustling crawling sounds around them were exceptionally clear and chilling.
Nine-year-old Ollie was so frightened that she started to cry.
"We can't stay here!" James said with concern. "I need to go upstairs; the bugs probably can't crawl over there!"
“No, go to the breakfast room next to the kitchen!” Richard said decisively. “The fireplace there is always burning 24 hours a day, and the insects will avoid it.”
Although insects will migrate to drier, higher places during heavy rain to survive, they will never like places that are extremely dry and have deadly high temperatures.
The Harrington family—
Richard, who is older but walks with a brisk pace, his eldest daughter Victoria, his son-in-law Jonathan, his youngest son James, Sophie holding Ollie, and finally, Victoria's daughter Elana, who is woken up.
They trudged through the insect-infested hallway and living room with considerable difficulty before finally arriving at the relatively clean breakfast room.
There are indeed far fewer insects here. Apart from a few ants scurrying around on the windowsill and in the corners, there are no snails, cockroaches, or other insects to be seen. Large chunks of oak charcoal are placed in the stone fireplace in the evening, which can burn slowly for seven or eight hours.
As is customary, a few hours later, the cook and maid would arrive in the kitchen to begin their work, and would also place a few pieces of cherry wood in the fireplace.
In this way, when it's time for breakfast, the air will be filled with a sweet fruity aroma, and you can also enjoy the flames with a pale purple glow.
Dark red firewood was placed next to the fireplace. Jonathan strode forward, threw in a few pieces of dried firewood, opened the damper and air inlet, and poked it a few times with the fire tongs. Seeing the amber flames rise, he immediately showed a relieved expression.
Soon after, a faint fragrance wafted through the air, barely dispelling the damp chill and putrid feeling.
After sobbing for a while, Olivia finally curled up and fell asleep by the warm fireplace, comforted by her mother.
The flames in the fireplace danced, casting flickering light and shadow on everyone's faces.
Richard leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes to rest, while Victoria took out several clean blankets and distributed them to everyone. James opened a bottle of red wine and poured a glass for each person.
“James!” Victoria looked at the number of glasses on the table and said coldly, “Elana is only seventeen years old and cannot drink alcohol.”
Before her brother could speak, her daughter Elana raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Why not? I can!"
She grabbed the wine glass and, as if in a fit of pique, gulped down a large mouthful.
Victoria shouted angrily, "Elana!"
"It's none of your business!" the girl retorted.
“Haha, right! Don’t listen to her!” James sneered. “Elana just drank a few years earlier than usual. Compared to what you guys did, what is that?”
“James!” Brother-in-law Jonathan frowned. “Put away your outdated ‘artist’s compassion.’ Our cause is for the development of all humanity; a few sacrifices are necessary!”
Sophie sat close to her daughter, unconsciously patting Ollie's back, her lips pressed tightly together without speaking, her gaze sweeping warily over her husband's father, sister, and brother-in-law.
“Compassion? I was just stating the truth!” James shrugged, looking at his silent father. “Look at us, Father…aren’t we like a bunch of rats on a luxury cruise ship? Glamorous on the outside, but already…”
"Shut up, James!" Richard finally spoke, his voice not loud, but carrying his usual imposing and cold tone: "Don't forget that you are also a beneficiary of this plan!"
James knew he should shut up, that his comfortable life came entirely from his father and sister's "charity," and that if he continued talking, his family of three might get into big trouble.
But something strange and unsettling was inside him; he couldn't wait to say something, to release all the words that had been suppressed for who knows how long, as if only by doing so could he gain a moment of peace.
Then James suddenly let out a cold laugh, which sounded abrupt and eerie in the quiet room.
"Vested interests? What vested interests? Like you, an immortal monster?"
"Why don't you tell me first how my mother died? Why won't you let me see her one last time?"
"And you, my dear father! Why are you always so energetic? Why do you look younger than me? Your skin is as firm as a baby's. Did you really eat a baby?"
He chuckled, as if he were making a harmless joke.
Seventeen-year-old Elana nearly spit out the wine through her nose. She covered her mouth to suppress the urge to cough and looked at her uncle in horror.
James... has he gone mad? How dare he say something like that?
What surprised her even more was that her grandfather Richard, who was always like a dictator and tyrant, did not scold his son. He paused in his hand holding the wine glass, and his eyes were a little dazed.
“You…you’re questioning me?” Richard asked. “You suspect that I killed your mother?”
"Isn't that right?" James asked, his neck stiff, ignoring everything else.
"No, no...it was an accident."
Richard seemed lost in thought, and slowly said, "The experiment failed, no one wanted it to. But her sacrifice was worthwhile... Your mother, she helped me find a path to a longer life..."
(End of this chapter)