For over half an hour now, and without any explanation, the hordes of Lycans, yet numerically superior and having gained the advantage in the battle, had suddenly retreated and dispersed throughout the valley. This behavior had plunged the survivors of the castle, like Heisenberg and Donna Beneviento, in the most total perplexity. They suspected that Miranda was behind this sudden change, but why? She could have continued the attack, so ... what was she waiting for? Not being an idiot, Heisenberg stood at one of the castle lobby windows, peering outside and remaining on his guard. Miranda was up to another dirty trick, he was sure of it. His outfit and his face still soiled with the blood of the many Lycans he had killed during the battle, Karl lit a cigar which he smoked without saying a word. Further into the room, Donna sat in a seat, readjusting the dress of her doll, like a child with her toy.

During this time, and although the changing attitude of the lycans had surprised them as much as the others, Lady Dimitrescu and her two daughters were also plunged into a completely different state. A great feeling of pain and sadness, after the loss of the youngest daughter, Daniela, who in a desperate act to protect her two sisters, had lost her life. On her robe, Alcina bore the traces of blood of her battle victims, but now didn't care.

Gathered in the castle's family chapel, silent, dark and cold, Alcina and her two grieving daughters stood before an empty stone tomb. Unfortunately, having no body to bury, Alcina placed Daniela's pendant, adorned with the green gem, in the stone coffin which would henceforth be her eternal home. Standing by the grave, Cassandra could not contain her tears and clenched her teeth, supported by her big sister Bela, who although wanting to remain strong and dignified, could not hide the sadness that overwhelmed her. Leaning over the grave, after having placed her late daughter's pendant there, Alcina remained silent, dull. She too had cried as the dried marks on her cheeks could attest.

_ "Dear ancestors ..." sighed Alcina in a prayer, his hands clenched on the edges of the coffin "... please welcome my daughter Daniela among you. May she rest in peace forever .. . Daniela ... may you one day forgive me for not having known how to protect you as I had sworn ... "

With these words of excruciating pain to her heart, Alcina closed the stone lid of the coffin, allowing Daniela to rest forever in the Dimitrescu chapel. But now anger had taken the place of sadness in the countess. A powerful desire for revenge, which not even the most divine of bloods can satisfy. But Alcina also felt the effects of this hatred on her mutation, and felt that it could manifest and change her at any time. No, she thought to herself ... now is not the time to lose control of myself ... otherwise, I might not be able to bring revenge on my daughter as it should be.

After bidding Daniela a last farewell for the salvation of her soul, Alcina stepped back to make way for Bela and Cassandra who in turn came together to collect themselves to bid farewell to their little sister.

_ "Dear little sister ... we thought we had eternity together in front of us ..." said Cassandra first. "But your loss reminds us that even immortality does not protect us from pain ... to imagine this eternal life without you is a torment, but we will do it anyway, because we know that you will always be with us, little it doesn't matter where you are."

Cassandra had spoken in a painful, trembling voice, and then let Bela speak.

_ "Do you remember that song, Daniela? You loved listening to it because you said it reminded you of the three of us. That no matter the distance and the place, we would always be together, united by blood and love."

Cassandra guessed very well which song it was. Together, the two sisters, supporting each other in this most painful mourning, gently began singing this song, one last time for Daniela.

_"So close, no matter how far

Couldn't be much more from the heart

Forever trusting who we are

And nothing else matters..."

Standing further back, arms crossed and face dark under her large hat, Alcina watched her two daughters sing this song she too knew, having seen them listen to or sing it several times together. Although Alcina was never really interested in these modern songs that her daughters called "metal", having always kept at the bottom of her a certain attachment for the music of her time, she knew that this gesture on behalf of Bela and Cassandra would help Daniela to find the peace.

She let them do it and decided to give them as much time as they wanted in the chapel, and walked away without a sound.

Once back in the large living room of the castle, Alcina noticed the presence of Heisenberg and Donna, both seeming to be waiting for him in front of the fireplace where some logs were burning. Alcina looked at them quite coldly, not seeming too inclined to have a discussion with those, especially at such a time.

_ "Dimitrescu ... we have to talk ..." Karl said bluntly and rather somberly.

_ "I have absolutely nothing to tell you, so leave me alone, both of you." replied the countess curtly, coming to sit down on the sofa, her eyes dark.

But Heisenberg insisted and came and sat down on the armchair directly in front of her, as if to draw her attention to him. Alcina sighed with more than palpable annoyance and glared at the man. If her gaze could kill, he would be dead right now. Usually, Heisenberg loved to provoke her, but now he wasn't smiling. On the contrary, he seemed rather worried.

_ "Don't you find it strange that the lycans all left at once? Why would Miranda do that? Admit it's not normal." Heisenberg said.

_ "I don't care what they do." growled Alcina. "All I'm interested in now is finding Miranda and making her suffer."

Heisenberg sighed. It was anger that made her react that way, and in a way, he understood it, himself having a boundless hatred for Miranda and only wanting to destroy her. Donna, on her side, by the fireplace, remained silent as usual and observed the situation, although behind her veil, she too seemed to express deep concern.

_ "Look ..." said Heisenberg "... I'm sorry for what just happened, but we have to think about what we need to do next. I think that's what Miranda wants: that we let the desire for revenge dominate us and we go straight into the trap she is setting us."

_ "Oh yes? And how can you be so sure?" asked Donna.

_ "I spent all these years spying on this bitch ..." Heisenberg replied without hiding. "She's a born deceiver. Okay, I know I'm in a bad position to judge, but for now, our unexpected little alliance has allowed us to resist her attack, and we have to continue at all costs. It's not the moment to embark on personal goals."

Alcina had remained silent, her face tilted to the ground, and had listened to what Heisenberg had to say. She had to admit he wasn't wrong, but the mere thought of waiting until she could get revenge on Miranda after what she had done was excruciating.

But as the three lords were gathered in the living room, a noise at first tenuous but increasingly near, outside, ended the discussion and caught their attention. The noise stopped just as I opened the hall doors. They recognized ... sounds of galloping horses, followed by cartwheels.

Puzzled, Alcina, Karl and Donna left the warmth of the living room to run into the hall and look out the windows to the outside. The countess's heart leaped tremendously in her chest. It was the Duke's cart, stopping right outside the porch stairs.

_ "But ... what does that mean?!" Alcina said in utter confusion and hastened to open the large black doors to exit outside, followed closely by Heisenberg and Donna just as confused as she was. In her mind, immense fear gripped Alcina as her first thought turned to Mathias.

As the three lords stepped up the stairs onto the castle porch, the wooden cart doors creaked open, and the Duke appeared, the expression on his puffy face suggesting a bearer of bad news.

_ "Duke ... but ... what the hell are you doing here? You were supposed to take Mathias away from here, as our agreement said ... Where is he?!" Alcina asked with concern and anger.

_ "I'm sorry, countess ..." said the obese merchant. "Miranda captured him, after he managed to kill Lord Moreau. I saw it all, so I came to warn you."

This revelation was a violent electric shock for Alcina. Mathias, captured by Miranda? She who thought that the situation could not be even more catastrophic. You have to believe that fatality had a crappy sense of humor. Also, the news of Moreau's death at the hands of the young human greatly surprised Donna and Heisenberg. Lady Dimitrescu, clenching her trembling fists and teeth, then grabbed the Duke by the collar, refraining from cutting off his head with a claw.

_ "Why ... why did you leave him? I paid you for this service, and you disappointed me so badly. Now, because of you, Mathias he's maybe already dead." growled Alcina, who then showed a tear of anger beading on one of her eyes.

_ "Everyone is free to make their own choices ..." the Duke commented fearlessly. "And he made his... for you. He fought with all his might to be able to reach you... will you do the same, countess?"

Faced with this question from the merchant, Alcina let go and managed to channel his growing anger. His gaze then focused on the immensity of the snowy valley, and in particular on the large rocky hill, where the site of the ritual was located at the top. If Miranda was taking Mathias somewhere, it was sure to be there.

Seeing the countess spear her gaze towards the hill, Heisenberg and Donna easily guessed what she was thinking.

_ "What did I say about personal goals?" Heisenberg sighed heavily.

But Alcina didn't even listen to him, not looking away from her determined gaze and clenched her fists again.

_ "Do what you want ... as for me, I already know where I'm going." she said firmly.

All felt the weight of determination in Alcina's voice and knew that she would destroy anyone who tried to stop her from going to save Mathias. Donna and Karl gave each other a quick glance. Lady Beneviento said nothing but hinted at her desire to support Dimitrescu in this decision. After all, Donna had also been a pawn of Miranda, who had promised to bring back her deceased parents, but who until then had never kept her promise. Heisenberg huffed heavily, running his hand over his face, then annoyed, decided to join the mission anyway, pulling his hammer into his hand.

_ "I hope you won't make me regret this choice, otherwise I'll kill you all ..." he growled in annoyance.

Meanwhile, Lady Dimitrescu had continued to gaze at the distant rocky hill, and its summit where the ruins and the ritual site were located. In her mind, the countess's decision had already been taken a long time ago. She had lost a daughter today. There was no way she would lose her love on the same day as well.

Hang on Mathias ... I'm coming, she thought.