Chapter 3

Manfred's expression shifted slightly as he stopped the guard who was about to rush forward. "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said," Carly replied, spinning the Holy Court's blood-testing crystal in her hand. Rosemary gasped, terrified she might smash the precious artifact.

Carly said, her smile cold and never reaching her eyes, "The Holy Court issued a new decree last month. As a count of the empire, you must've heard about it, right, Father?

"Any bride offered to a pure-blood clan has to have her blood tested by a Holy Court supervisor before the Embrace.

"Grand Duke Morton wants the perfect 'Holy O-Type.' But if I remember right, Mia has never had her blood type tested in public.

"Every time she got sick, Mother made me give my blood to her, so her aura is tainted with my holy blood."

As she spoke, Carly's gaze slowly shifted to Mia lying on the bed, her eyes sharp enough to cut through every layer of Mia's fake weakness.

"But fake is fake. No matter how much borrowed blood she's got, her real blood will show up in the Holy Court's latest testing ritual.

"If Mia's true blood type isn't O-Type, but some impure blood that violently rejects Holy Pure Blood, then the moment Grand Duke Morton embraces her, he'll suffer a backlash from her blood's toxins!"

As soon as Carly finished speaking, the air in the room turned icy cold.

Manfred's pupils shrank in terror. He was a self-serving man, but also a cunning yet timid nobleman. He knew better than anyone how ruthless the thirteen vampire clans could be.

If Harrison ever found out the Buckley family was trying to trick him with fake blood, it wouldn't just be the guillotine waiting for them.

The whole family would be turned into dried-up corpses. Their souls would be condemned to eternal torment in the fires of the underworld.

"Carly, don't accuse me like that. How could I possibly have fake blood?" Mia stammered.

Her body shook uncontrollably at the mention of "blood poisoning backlash" and "the Holy Court's testing ritual."

Her face, which was already pale, had lost all color, and her lips started turning blue.

Mia was scared. Only she knew the truth. She was not a Holy O-Type host at all.

All those little abilities she had shown since she was a kid were just temporary tricks, made by secretly drinking Carly's blood and using some special dark magic elixir.

"If you think I'm just spouting nonsense, why not prove it?" Carly sneered.

With two quick steps, she slammed the massive Holy Court's blood-testing crystal down hard beside Mia's pillow.

"Grand Duke Morton's advance team and the Holy Court's bishop should already be waiting in the reception hall downstairs, right? Mother, weren't you desperate to draw blood?

"Why don't we take this crystal downstairs, and right in front of Bishop Burton from the Holy Court, let Mia put a drop of her blood in and see what it says.

"If she really is Holy O-Type, then I'll stake my life on it. She can drain every last drop of my blood, right here, right now!"

Carly bent down, locking eyes with Mia's terrified gaze, her voice dropping to a devil's whisper. "Do you have the guts, Mia?"

Mia froze on the bed, her breath catching in her throat. She shot a desperate look at Rosemary, cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.

Rosemary was panicking too. She might have always favored Mia, but she knew exactly what would happen if this got exposed.

She stammered, trying to smooth things over. "Carly, stop making a scene. Mia's so weak right now. How could we just test her blood like this..."

"Bad news, my lord, my lady!"

Before Rosemary could finish her sentence, the bedroom door burst open with a crash from outside.

The Buckley family's butler, face ghostly pale and drenched in sweat, dropped to his knees, his voice trembling with sheer terror.

"Grand Duke Morton's black rose carriage has already crossed the old bridge and is right at the castle gates.

"Bishop Burton from the Holy Court has set up the testing ritual in the main hall. He's demanding that both young ladies come down immediately for the blood test!"

At those words, Mia's legs gave out and she tumbled off the bed, landing in a heap on the cold floor.

Carly stood over her, scooping up the blood-testing crystal from beside the pillow. The smile on her lips was like a nightshade blooming in the darkness, chilling and utterly resolute.

The butler's desperate cry echoed through the empty black stone bedroom, each word landing like a heavy hammer blow on everyone's heart.