The Duke's imposing carriage had been rolling for several hours now through the woods and hills of the deep Romanian countryside, cleverly avoiding approaching the main roads, which were far too busy and surely watched by hidden agents of the Connections. According to the obese merchant's estimates, they should reach the valley and the village shortly now.

While the Duke was busy holding the reins and directing his horse, Emily and Karl were in the back of the carriage, in the middle of a mess of all kinds of objects intended for purchase. The place wasn't very comfortable, but at least they didn't have to finish the trip on foot, and they were sheltered from the wind and the rain just in case. However, the bullet wound Heisenberg had received in the shoulder during the struggle had Emily worried, and she had insisted heavily, despite Karl's stubbornness, to tend to the wound. The Duke allowed them to help themselves to the medical supplies in the stock, telling them they could pay for it later. Emily opened a cardboard box and found a bottle of medicinal alcohol inside, along with some new bandages. Items in hand, she turned to Karl.

_"Come on, take off your shirt." she asked.

Heisenberg rolled his eyes, huffing in annoyance but obeyed knowing she would insist and took off his jacket, then his shirt, now shirtless as he sat down on a crate. Emily, seeing him shirtless like this, blushed very slightly but didn't show it. He was quite a handsome man, she thought, but focused on healing. She came up behind him, leaning down to first examine the wound which had stopped bleeding but wasn't very pretty.

_"Hmm, we first have extract the bullet, but... I have no way to do it effectively." said Emily.

_"For that, I take care of it." replied Heisenberg.

Under the young woman's puzzled gaze, Karl used his metal control power to draw the bullet out of the wound, which inflicted a deep pain that made him groan and clench his teeth, and drop a little blood once the projectile was extracted, which Karl dropped to the ground.

_"But... you are completely crazy!" said Emily.

_"And it's only now that you notice it, princess?" Karl told her, looking at her with a mocking smile.

Upset, but having also worried internally for him, Emily did not hesitate to reply and to punish him for this attitude gave a small pat on the wound.

_"Ouch! What the fuck are you doing?!" Heisenberg growled at her. "You're supposed to heal me, not hurt me more!"

_"Then stop acting like a brat, or I'll put a bandage around your mouth too." Emily replied, scolding him like a nurse would a recalcitrant patient.

Initially, Heisenberg had reacted impulsively, even being ready to hit her, but it was restrained. Growling, frustrated, he sat down on the wooden crate and let Emily do it, and she could finally begin to heal the wound. She soaked a clean cloth in the medicinal alcohol and began to apply it to the wound to clean and disinfect it. Karl felt the pain inflicted by the alcohol acting on the wound but didn't growl, only grimacing a little. While cleaning the wound, Emily got a better view of Heisenberg's body, and noticed all those scars on his skin, especially on his back and on his arms. Some looked like stab wounds, some looked like gunshot wounds... Then she remembered his army dog tag which he wore hidden under his shirt and dangling around his neck.

_"I was a soldier before..." Karl then said darkly without turning around, as if he had guessed Emily's gaze on his old wounds. "To be honest, I barely remember this life, who I was before...before I became who I am now, against my will. You can't imagine what it can feel like when you're deprived of your freedom, of your identity... You feel alone, a prisoner, and there's nothing you can do about it, except let your rage consume you."

Karl's voice darkened as he spoke, his fists clenched, as if trying to contain the anger he still held within him. Emily didn't answer right away, feeling sorry for him and as she started applying the new bandage around the wound to stop the bleeding, she spoke.

_"I understand, believe me... I never knew my mother, and my father... Well, let's say he was never very present for me. Every time he looked at me , I could see sadness in his eyes, as if... I reminded him of something painful... When I was a child, he almost never allowed me to go out. I felt like a prisoner in my own house, without knowing who I really was... If only I had known who my father really was... So, you see? You're not the only one towards whom fate has been cruel."

The young woman's throat tightened as these painful memories came back to her memory. Heisenberg remained silent, but had listened to every word. Inwardly, he felt a bit silly for judging Emily too quickly, calling her a princess and other ridiculous nicknames. It's true, the suffering did not exist only for him. He had been selfish, letting himself be guided by his own pain without caring about what Emily might be feeling. He turned to her, then saw that she was wiping the beginning of a tear that had started to flow from her eye. Emily then felt Heisenberg's rough hand land gently on hers, and their eyes met.

_"I'm sorry for what happened to you... And... thank you." he said in order to be forgiven, but also to thank her for the bandage he now wore around his shoulder.

Emily smiled at him and blushed a little, which he noticed but didn't comment on it and smiled back. That's when the Duke's voice was heard from the front of the carriage as the duo felt the vehicle slowly come to a stop.

_"We have arrived, my dear friends."

Emily's heart clenched in her chest. That's it, she had arrived at her destination. She picked up her father's suitcase while Heisenberg got dressed, put his hat back on his head, his hammer in hand and opened the back doors of the carriage. Dismounting, he held out his hand to Emily and helped her down, like a true gentleman, which she appreciated and thanked him with a look. The ground was loose, earthy, damp and partially covered with grass. The air was pretty cold. Karl walked with Emily to the front of the carriage and both looked down at a sight that Heisenberg thought he would never see again and that Emily saw for the first time.

_"Emily Shepard... Welcome home." Karl said.

The young woman was speechless, fascinated by the landscape that presented itself in front of her. A huge and isolated valley, surrounded by a chain of large snow-capped mountains. And in the center of this valley was a village that seemed to come from ancient times and most of whose houses seemed long abandoned. Further upstream was a gigantic castle whose towers almost seemed to touch the sky, both majestic and terrifying, medieval Gothic in appearance, fit for a vampire lord.

_"Dimitrescu castle..." Karl commented to explain. "That's where your friend Mathias lives now, with his beloved countess."

Emily stared at the castle, thinking her friend was there, not even suspecting that she was here now. She almost thought she was in another world, the landscape was so surreal.

_"But... and you? You don't live in the castle?" she asked.

_"Ha, surely not!" Heisenberg replied with a laugh. "I have my factory, down in the valley. I'll take you there later."

Emily smiled and nodded. Meanwhile, near them, the Duke lit another cigar from which he blew a first smoke and gave the pair a friendly greeting as they began to walk along the sloping dirt road towards the village.

_"Thank you again Duke." Emily then said thanking him.

_"The pleasure was all mine, my dear." he answered with a satisfied smile.

Side by side, Heisenberg and Emily took several minutes to descend the long, sometimes steep, sloping path through bushes and shriveled trees, finally reaching the entrance to the village. A heavy silence reigned among the alleys and the houses, the only noises heard being the whistling of the cold wind, but also the creaking of the old wood of the walls or the roofs. Emily gulped as she saw several half-eaten and decomposed animal carcasses in some places, but also as she saw the dilapidated state of the houses, like a ghost town. There was no sign of life anywhere. The duo finally entered the village and started walking among the houses. Out of the corner of her eye, Emily sometimes felt like she saw stealthy shadows moving and disappearing behind walls or roofs, and saw nothing every time she looked.

_"Uh, Heisenberg, I don't really like it... I feel like we're being watched." Emily confessed, a little wary and worried as she approached him.

_"Don't worry, but above all stay close to me." Karl advised her.

Emily took his advice and almost stuck to him, even taking his hand in his, which he seemed to accept. They walked through this ghost town until they reached a small open square where there was an old marble statue of a woman carrying a sword and a shield. A little further on, at the end of a steep path, was a small church behind railings, and further still was a large gate that seemed to lead straight into the castle walls. From this distance, the castle looked even taller and more intimidating, like the most terrifying castles in dark fantasy tales, and flocks of crows could be seen flying around the tallest towers.

Suddenly, Emily cried out in surprise when she felt a cold, hairy, clawed hand roughly grab her wrist from behind. She spun around, and saw with horror right in front of her a humanoid creature, a mixture of man and wolf, with blood red eyes, dirty hair and a jaw full of sharp fangs, dressed in patched rags, roaring at her and him blowing his fetid breath in her face. Heisenberg's reaction was immediate and with a masterful kick in the stomach, violently pushed back the creature which rolled on the ground and moved away quickly out of fear.

_"Are you okay?" he asked Emily who nodded but still stood in shock and checked her wrist, and luckily she had nothing.

Other similar creatures, all dirtier and more horrible than each other, began to appear everywhere around the square, through the alleys or on the roofs of the surrounding houses. Emily stuck close to Karl, who showed no concern, even smirking. Some of the creatures were armed with machetes, axes or sharp agricultural tools. All grunted or roared bestially, flailing and looking at Emily with a mad desire to devour her, but refraining from approaching.

_"What... what are these things?" Emily asked suspiciously.

_"Lycans." replied Heisenberg. "They used to be humans before, but Miranda turned them into monsters with her experiments with the Mold. Don't worry... It's true that they aren't very smart, but at least they know how to obey their superiors."

Heisenberg slammed his hammer hard on the ground, causing a shock that left a mark and the sound of the blow immediately made the lycans recoil, showing Emily that they were afraid of him.

_"Hi, you bunch of big dirty rugs, did you miss me?!" Heisenberg shouted loud and clear to everyone. "And now listen to me, I won't repeat myself. This young woman here is my guest and is under my protection. Whoever tries to hurt her will have to answer for it in front of me, do you understand?!"

The lycans listened to one of their lords and seemed to immediately obey his command, lowering their heads and kneeling as if to show understanding and submission. Emily was impressed to see this. Heisenberg was feared and respected here, and it reassured her to know that she would have nothing to fear from any creature now that he had given the direct order. Knowing that this prey was now compromised for them, the lycans turned around and dispersed in the village.

_"Barely returned and you are already starting to get noticed, aren't you Heisenberg?" Then came a voice that made the duo turn around.

The young man who had just entered the castle gate and was walking down the sloping path Emily recognized, although he had his long hair tied back in a ponytail and was dressed in those black boots, those black trousers, those mittens. leather, this white shirt and above this vintage black frock coat. Emily smiled when she saw him.

_"Mathias..." she said.

The young Lord Derune stopped short and opened his eyes wide, surprised, as if he didn't believe at first what he was seeing, but very quickly his gaze cleared.

_"Em... Emily? Is that really you?"

_"Of course! Who else do you want it to be?!" she said, laughing with joy.

Very quickly, the two friends expressed their common joy at seeing each other, running towards each other and hugging each other tightly, under the gaze of Heisenberg, who remained silent. They had last seen each other on video, chatting on Facebook shortly before Mathias left on a trip to Transylvania and disappeared from circulation. After the hug, Mathias and Emily looked each other up and down, as if to check that they were real to each other.

_"It's...it's really crazy! If I had known you were coming...Wow, it's really good to see you again, Emily! I missed you so much!" confessed Mathias still in shock of surprise but also very happy.

_"Same for me." Emily replied, sharing the same sentiment. "And look at you. You look like a real lord like that."

_"Thanks." replied Mathias, scratching the back of his head timidly. "It's true that there have been a lot of changes in my life for a while, it's a long story. Besides, Emily, I wanted to apologize for not having given news since..."

_"I understand, don't worry." Emily said putting her hand on her friend's shoulder. "You know, I too have experienced a lot of changes in recent days. And precisely, excuse me for changing the subject so quickly, but if I came here, it is not only to find you."

Mathias raised an eyebrow, seeing that his friend could not be more serious.

_"What do you mean?" he asked.

_"It means that our time is running out." said Heisenberg, coming to join the conversation. "Since our departure from Canada, Emily and I have been the targets of several kidnapping attempts against us. These people are well equipped, and above all, they are able to be anywhere without being seen."

Mathias' gaze then became darker, more pensive, as if he was afraid of being told that, and very quickly, looking more than serious, he beckoned to the duo.

_"Come with me. There is a lot to say. Alcina is waiting for us."

Looking at each other and intrigued by the grave tone of the young Lord Derune, Karl and Emily immediately followed him to the castle.

The trio crossed a wooden bridge over a stream in which some fish were swimming, to then pass through the tunnel of a cave lit by torches hanging from the walls, which finally led them outside, within the grounds of the castle. They were now walking along another dirt road, and Emily noticed on the right a few rows of sleeping vines, occupied by a few crows letting their hoarse cries be heard. Closer still, the castle became even more intimidating, but Emily didn't allow herself to be overpowered by fear, knowing that she was not alone and desperately wanted to know more, and for that the lords could surely help.

Mathias pushed open the two black doors of the entrance and entered inside, followed by Karl and Emily, who was pleasantly surprised by the soft warmth that reigned, but was also admiring the architectural beauty of the place. If the castle looked medieval from the outside, inside it looked more like the Victorian era, still imbued with that gothic atmosphere. At the end of the hall, Emily noticed this large antique portrait of these three beautiful young women, each wearing a different colored dress and flowers in their hair. A small plaque stood at the foot of the portrait and indicated their names: Bela, Cassandra and Daniela Dimitrescu.

_"That's wonderful." Emily commented to Mathias as she followed him to a single door on the left that led into a hallway.

_"Yes, I had the same impression the first time, even if I was also a little scared." Mathias replied. "It took me a while to be able to get around here without getting lost, it's very big and a bit labyrinthine, so stay with me."

Emily nodded, trusting him. Karl, walking beside her, hadn't said a word since they entered, his gavel on his shoulder and looking a little grumpy. He obviously didn't like this place, Emily thought. Mathias pushed open the doors again, this time letting them enter a splendid living room. The high-quality wooden floor had given way to a smooth black and white parquet, like a checkerboard. A staircase adorned with magnificent chandeliers led to the upper floor, and on the right was a beautifully ornate fireplace, surrounded by two knight's suits of armor and in front of which was a sofa and armchairs. From the ceiling, a very large chandelier of glass and gold hung, twinkling with a thousand lights.

As she gazed around this room in fascination, Emily noticed the large portrait above the fireplace and was more than surprised. It was Mathias, in his lord's garb, standing straight and dignified, and by his side was a very elegant lady, with black hair, red lips, dark beauty, dressed in a long colored ivory dress with a brooch in the shape of a black rose at the level of the chest, an adornment of pearls around the neck and a large black hat on the head. But what amazed Emily the most was the unusual size of this woman. A real giantess, who must surely have reached almost three meters in height. She showed a very dignified, distinguished, almost authoritarian air. Emily guessed it was probably the Countess Alcina Dimitrescu she had heard of.

_"Not bad huh?" Mathias then said, coming to Emily's side. "It was right after our engagement. We wanted to capture that moment forever."

_"I...wow...that's amazing..." said Emily who was still surprised by the size of the lady and Mathias noticed it.

_"Yes, it's true that Alcina is like no other woman, but that's what makes her unique." Mathias explained. "At first, she terrified me, but in the end, I discovered in her an exceptional being, capable of strength but also of an unparalleled feeling."

Emily looked at Mathias and listened to him speak, guessing from the way he spoke of Alcina how much he admired her, but also loved her with sincerity. Emily smiled, thinking back to all those times when she was chatting with Mathias online, the two of them discussing their fictional loves, and how much Mathias loved characters of strong, tall, non-human women. She hugged Mathias again and smiled at him.

_"I'm happy for you, really." she said, and Mathias thanked her with a look.

_"I expected anything but that to be honest." Heisenberg commented more withdrawn. "The world will never cease to amaze me."

Emily huffed at Karl's remark but Mathias, who had been used to it for a long time, didn't show any offense and preferred to laugh. Then, the sound of doors opening upstairs was heard echoing.

_"Ah... she's coming." Mathias said. "Our friends have just arrived, my love!"

Footsteps were heard and descending the stairs with a slow but sure step, Lady Dimitrescu presented herself for all to see, showing a serious and rather serious face as she looked towards Heisenberg and Emily. The young woman recognized that the countess seemed even taller and more impressive in person. Mathias put his hand on his friend's shoulder, assuring her that she had nothing to fear and walked over to Lady Dimitrescu whose hand he took like a true gentleman. The countess appreciated the gesture, smiling tenderly at him, but quickly became serious and cold again towards the other two. First she looked at Heisenberg.

_"Well... you are back." she said in a rather chilling dark tone. "I would lie by saying it's a pleasure."

_"Believe me, if I could, I would never have set foot in this fucking valley again." Heisenberg replied in an equally scathing tone. "But circumstances have decided otherwise."

Emily could feel the palpable tension between the two who clearly didn't like each other. Mathias meanwhile, expected this kind of welcome but was still reassured to see that they were content just to talk and not to throw themselves on each other to fight, even if they had parted on "good terms" after Miranda's defeat. Not wishing to dwell on Heisenberg any longer, Lady Dimitrescu turned her attention and lowered her inquisitive gaze to Emily who stood right and dared not move when the countess stood right in front of her, crushing her by her impressive waist.

_"Alcina, may I introduce you to Emily Shepard, the very good friend I have often told you about." Mathias then said. "She often helped me by supporting me."

_"Uh...hello. Nice to meet you." Emily then said to be polite.

Lady Dimitrescu didn't speak right away, leaning forward to bring her face closer to Emily's, as if to get a closer look.

_"Mathias spoke highly of you, Miss Shepard." said Alcina then. "He told me that you two met on this thing called social networking, when he was in a dark period of his life."

_"Yes that's right." Emily replied, Mathias and her meeting their eyes and sharing a smile. "It was ten years ago, when he had a nervous breakdown due to bullying at his high school. We talked and discovered many passions and points in common, and little by little a strong friendship was born between us, even though we had never met in person. I am happy and proud to have him as a friend."

_"And reciprocally." added Mathias with a knowing wink towards his friend.

Lady Dimitrescu listened and remained silent, then she looked towards Mathias, her gloved hand gently caressing his cheek.

_"Mathias means a lot to me." said Alcina. "I had never met a man who looked at me like he did. Despite what I may have put him through at first, he never hated me...He saved me life, and that's how I understood that he was the man who could love me for who I am... Thank you, Emily Shepard, for supporting Mathias in his moments of darkness... Consider yourself welcome in my castle and under the protection of the Dimitrescu family."

_"Thank you, Lady Dimitrescu." Emily replied respectfully with a smile.

Mathias looked at his wife and smiled at her proudly. However, the clearing of the throat from Heisenberg caught everyone's attention. The man with the hammer then looked Emily in the eye, then his gaze indicated to her what she was holding in her hand... Her father's suitcase.

_"Oh yes, that's true." said the young woman, presenting the black suitcase to Mathias and Alcina. "Forgive me for seeming so rushed, but I didn't come here just to find Mathias. My father, Gleen Shepard... sacrificed his life so that I could bring you this suitcase, or at least this it contains."

Mathias was shocked and showed a sincere sorry look for Emily for having lost her father, seeing in her eye that she was deeply affected by it. Alcina, however, reacted to Gleen Shepard's name instead with surprise, as if she knows him and approached Emily.

_"Gleen Shepard was your father?" asked the countess, as if to be sure she had heard.

_"Uh...I...yes...that's right." stammered Emily, a little surprised.

Heisenberg raised an eyebrow, puzzled, and Mathias was also taken aback by his wife's reaction.

_"My love... Did you know him?" he asked.

Lady Dimitrescu didn't answer right away, looking pensive and bewildered by the mention of the doctor's name. Under the gaze of all who shared the same puzzled looks, the Countess walked to the living room fireplace, gazing up at the throbbing flames.

_"I knew him yes..." breathed Alcina thoughtfully. "He came once, to the village."

_"What?!" Mathias and Emily gasped together.

_"Wait, that's impossible..." Heisenberg intervened. "I don't remember seeing a guy like that come into the village."

_"That day, you were in your factory, as usual." Alcina replied, then continued her explanation. "It was a winter's day. He had come, as an emissary from a mysterious organization, in order to form some kind of agreement with Miranda. But after this meeting, this doctor Gleen came to see me in secret in my castle, in order to give me something... a key, which he said he had obtained from a friend of his, a woman named Sophie Derune."

At the mention of that name, Mathias gasped in shock.

_"My mother?" he said.

Emily was also left in shock to discover that her father and Mathias' mother knew each other without them knowing.

_"Yes..." answered Alcina. "But that's not all. When he showed me this key, I recognized it. This key had once belonged to my dear friend whom I considered a sister, Alice Derune, who once reigned by our side on the village. Little before fleeing the village, Alice made me promise one thing: to keep this key, which was a family treasure, if something were to happen to her. Unfortunately, she was forced to flee with the key, and until today, I thought it was lost forever."

_"I think I can guess what happened next..." then said Mathias darkly. "The key has been passed down through the generations. But when she fell fatally ill, my mother could no longer keep the family treasure with her and as she did not want me involved in this, she called on Emily's father."

Alcina nodded silently as she looked towards Mathias and felt sorry for him.

_"I'm sorry, my love..." she said sincerely. "I wanted to tell you, but Alice made me promise to keep it as secret."

Mathias knew very well that Alcina had not acted out of dishonesty and made her understand with a tender smile and a short kiss that there was nothing to forgive.

Heisenberg scratched the back of his head, totally confused by this implausible story. Emily, despite the shock of the revelation, had a flash then. Looking down at her father's suitcase, she then looked at the lock that held it sealed... There was this hole... this keyhole... What if... But in that case, why would her father have made a heyhole on this suitcase based on the key of this Alice Derune?... It was total fog, but having a doubt, Emily turned to Lady Dimitrescu.

_"Do you still have this key?"

Lady Dimitrescu showed a most serious look, and started to walk towards the doors which was at the end of the living room.

_"Come with me." she said to everyone.