A/N: I would recommend to put the video on loop. 

As usual his expression remained neutral. Another moment passed before his eyes widened in slight disbelief. He looked shocked, as though you had grown a pair of wings on your back and could now fly across the oceans of the world. This expression remained on his face until his purple orbs softened. Moving over to you, he rested his fingers lightly over your left cheek. A blush formed on your face while you glanced to the side.

"Thank you, my pet. You have no idea how much those words mean to me."

"You're welcome, though don't exaggerate the situation," you stated, pulling away from him slightly.

He smirked before linking arms with you and opening the portal. Not too long after, the two of you were back in the mansion. You were standing in the foyer while it rained softly outside. The candle light coming from the candelabras on the statues cast a faint glow in the room. Before either of you could move another step, Nafera walked down the steps, holding something in her hands. It appeared to be a rolled piece of parchment. Lucian unhooked his left arm from your right one and went up to her, accepting the piece of parchment. Secured by a thick black ribbon and a black wax seal, small letters were written on the outside of it. Going up to Lucian, you watched as he unsealed the note. Seeing that her brief job was over, Nafera walked back up the stairs and disappeared down the hall. Once the scroll was unrolled, you began to read the message imprinted on the piece of parchment.

Dear Lord Veneice,

In a week's time the annual Venefici Ballatio will be held. As is custom, every council member must attend the event. You are welcome to bring a partner of your choice. Attire will consist of the usual wear required for the occasion. Thus do not make the mistake of forgetting a mask.

Highest Council Member Regulus Fingold

You assumed that it was an invitation to a masquerade due to the mention of the word mask and the fact that ballatio looked like an extended form of the word ball. Furthermore, you realized that this was the first mention of Lucian's last name. It seemed strange learning it, for you forgot the fact that Lucian did have a last name. Rolling the scroll up, Lucian sighed and glanced down at you.

"Well my pet, it would seem that we have an event to attend. Tell me, do you know how to dance?"

"Umm..."

Personally, you wouldn't call throwing your hands up in the air to music dancing. Moreover, when you tried to practice formal dancing, you were always told to be patient and pay attention to the dance steps. You found yourself always wanting to lead and thus ended up messing up the dance. Thus you sighed and shook your head, realizing that you would probably have to dance at this event. Frankly, you were hoping that you could just stand to the side and enjoy the food table, thinking about all the gourmet food that would be at the event.

"Hmm, that works in my favor then. I look forward to teaching you, my pet."

Merely nodding in reply, you saw him set the letter on the statue before turning back to you.

"Though for now, I have some work to do. I must adjust the barriers surrounding this house. Currently, they are set to the old standards where anyone of my family line may enter, however after discovering that my cousin is the one who assassinated most of my family those barriers obviously need to change. Thus I will need to go around the perimeter of the outside of the house as well as the inside. I want you to accompany me. It will be a long procedure, but I don't want to run the risk of my cousin taking you away from me."

"I take it I have no say in this," you stated, figuring that the rest of the day was going to be fairly boring.

"Indeed. We'll start with the inside of the house first. There are fifteen barriers in total that protect the inside of the house."

Sighing, you nodded and followed him. The two of you started on the left side of the mansion, beginning with the dining room. You sat lazily on the table, swinging your legs back and forth while Lucian muttered quiet phrases and waved his hands in front the windows in slow fluid motions. Light dashes of pale blue color appeared every now and then in front of the large paned windows. Personally, you wanted to do something else. It was getting late and you could see the faint light of the setting sun coming through an opening in the thick clouds. So far it had already been thirty minutes and you figured that if every barrier took thirty minutes then you still had another seven hours to go and that was just for the inside.

Resting your chin in the palm of your right hand, you continued to stare outside until you saw Lucian place his arms back at his side, indicating that he had finished. At this moment though, the blue haired doll ran into the dining room and slammed the doors shut. You wondered what she was doing until you saw a large stone spike enter through the top of the doors. The doll managed to keep the doors closed even after force was exerted on them by the spike.

"What's going on?" Lucian shouted, demanding for an answer.

"Master, the stone structures in the entrance hall have come alive. Someone has intruded the mansion."

"What? Why would he attack so suddenly Lucian?"

"It would seem that my cousin after being thrown out of your mind grew rather angry. His patience was always lacking. Furthermore, he must have figured out that I would discover his identity after hearing about your dream and that I would reseal all of the barriers, leaving him little choice but to act quickly."

The spike retracted from the door before it impacted the wood rectangles again with the doll barely keeping the door shut. Getting worried, you jumped off the table and rested your hands on a chair. Such a weapon of defense would do little against a stone structure, but it was better than nothing. Lucian went over to the doll and signaled her to move back. Once again the spike was pulled out of the door before it quickly impacted again. This time the doors burst open, revealing the tall maiden statue, who held a candelabra in her hands. Her hollow eyes stared down at Lucian. Just as the statue was about to attack, he grabbed the pointed end of the candelabra. Within a moment's notice, the stone weapon exploded into bits of dust while the statue's arms crumbled to pieces. Without its arms, the statue became defenseless, allowing Lucian to rest his hands on its waist before sending another wave of air through it. As the statue crumbled to pieces, you could see movement behind it.

"Find the intruder and relay to me their location," he addressed the doll, who then ran off quickly into the entrance hall.

She ran off while the cherub statues ignored her, since their attention was locked on Lucian and you. All four of them ran at the dining room entrance. Lucian stopped three of them, blasting them to pieces; however the fourth one made it past him. It charged at you and you quickly raised the chair, intending to hit the side of the statue with it. Sadly, the cherub's spiked candelabra went through the chair, allowing the tiny statue to cast it aside. You grabbed another chair, but Lucian noticed the escaped cherub and ran over to you. Before the cherub could destroy another chair and possibly you, Lucian grabbed its head and blew it into flakes of dust while the body of the statue fell to the ground lifeless. Breathing a sigh of relief, you set the chair back down.

"My pet, are you alright?" Lucian asked concerned while he scanned you over for any injuries.

"I'm fine."

"Good, hmm it would seem that my doll hasn't sent me a signal yet, meaning that she hasn't found him yet or she has been destroyed and didn't have time to send me the signal. Usually, by now I would have received something. I suggest we stay here until I learn of his location."

You nodded in agreement, figuring that staying in one place would reduce the number of surprise attacks that Rezin could throw on the two of you. Seconds passed before a loud crash sounded from the inside of the kitchen before the red-eyed doll flew out, landing on the ground lifeless. In her chest was a butcher's knife. As you expected Rezin to walk out, you instead gazed upon a figure made out of the various utensils in the kitchen. Before you could take its appearance in anymore, it threw one of its knives at you. Dodging the blade, you found yourself slipping on the rug. Crashing to floor before Lucian could catch you, you saw another knife land mere inches from your face, though the figure soon crashed to the floor in a lump of burning metal due to a fireball being sent at it. Lucian pulled you up off the ground and kept a firm grip on you.

"My pet, I just received a signal from another doll of mine, stating that a figure ran into my room moments ago. Rezin must be looking for the mask pieces, what a fool to think that I would hide the pieces in such an obvious place. Well I suggest we head there immediately before anymore trouble arises."