At the same time, while Melanie and Simon walked away from the art building, inside the dungeon of the restricted forest, Conner struggled to catch his breath. He started to feel his head turning light and his eyes hazy.

  Luciano held no pity for the humans, and one death didn't matter to him.

  "Elder Luciano!" Someone hurriedly stepped inside the dungeon, and it was none other than the headmistress, whose eyes were wide, and she gasped for air, as she had rushed to come here as quickly as she could. "You will need to let him free, right this instance," she demanded.

  "You forget you are just a person who was appointed by us to manage the university, Eloise. You aren't an Elder to order me to do or not to do something," the Elder vampire reminded her, and Ms. Dante gritted her teeth. She quickly came inside the cell, and she said,

  "I think you forget that when the latest agreement of Veteris university was drafted and signed, all the students who are studying here and the people who work here come under my care. And if you find someone guilty, need the majority of the vote before taking the decision," the vampiress reminded him. She turned to look at the student, whose skin was turning pale, and his body was turning lax. "I don't know what he has done that you are punishing him."

  Luciano slowly let go of Conner's neck, and the human started to cough, gasping for air.

  "Punishing him? He's from a hunter's family, do you know how much damage he can do to us?" the Elder vampire demanded the woman, his eyes flaring in anger. "He was snooping and sniffing, and soon he will relay the message to the hunters about us. Not to mention, I hear that the compulsion wall in his mind is breaking. And you know what it means for a human when he or she cannot be compelled. Or has your empathy towards humans clouded the rules of our kind?"

  Ms. Dante stared back at Luciano, not scared that he was an Elder vampire. She had never been intimidated by the presence of the Elder vampires, and it might have been one of the many reasons why she had been picked to manage the entire Veteris university in their absence.

  She said, "It isn't about empathy but about what is right or wrong, and to handle things without doing things in haste. Isolde is working on fixing the situation."

  "Hmph," harrumphed Luciano, and he said, "The field of science when it comes to the vampires hasn't moved that far to fix a broken mind. This boy shall not leave this dungeon, and his verdict of punishment will be passed when the other three come here. We'll hold a meeting."

  Ms. Dante gave him a nod, "That sounds fair."

  Conner, who was still coughing, he wheezed while hearing conversation exchanged between the two vampires. He couldn't believe that their headmistress was a vampire too. And who were these three vampires that this blondie was talking about? How many more vampires were there here?

  He looked at both the vampire and vampiress with fear in his eyes. Conner asked Luciano again, "Were you the one who killed her?"

  Luciano rolled his eyes, looking down at Conner as if he was an insect, "I have no idea whom you are even talking about."

  "My girlfriend. She was short and had brown hair. She was with me. She didn't die due to a heart attack," Conner shook his head, "Someone killed her?"

  Luciano stared at the human, while Ms. Dante realized about which girl Conner was talking about. The Elder vampire asked her, "Do you know what this human is asking about, Eloise?"

  Conner turned to look at the headmistress, looking at her for answers, but Ms. Dante pursed her lips.

  "Ah, now I know," responded Luciano, remembering it, and he said, "You must be talking about that girl whom Donovan had killed a few weeks ago. It wasn't me, but him. He had this misunderstanding that she was Moltenore's girlfriend, and he killed her."

  Conner's throat turned dry, and his lips trembled, "She was killed……?"

  So far, what he had was only assumptions and theories of what he dreamt and he didn't have any solid proof about Reese's death. But hearing she was indeed killed by a vampire, he couldn't believe it.

  "What do you mean Moltenore's girlfriend?" Conner's voice trembled, his eyes darting between the two vampires.

  "We Elder vampires aren't too keen on the existence of humanity except for the blood that we survive on. Donovan wanted to get rid of Julianne, but seemed to have mistaken the girl and he killed her. To think the little witch escaped near death," Luciano huffed, and he then looked at Ms. Dante. "How about we have a little chat outside, Eloise?" and he walked out of there.

  Ms. Dante gave a look at the human student, who looked as if in shock. She then left the dungeon to follow Luciano. The Elder vampire, who stepped out of the dungeon, noticed the university counsellor, standing a few meters away.

  "Looks like all of you work for each other and less for the Elders," commented Luciano, his eyes slightly narrowing, while Mr. Evans didn't change the expression on his face.

  In the boy's Dormitorium, Melanie followed Simon, walking next to him, and some of the students turned to look at them. They jerked their heads, whispering things that Simon couldn't help but smile, while Melanie paid no heed to it.

  When they reached the floor where Conner's dorm was located, they turned to the right. When Melanie was about to take the initiative to knock on the door, Simon raised his hand, stopping her, and he said,

  "Why don't I handle this part, hm?"

  Melanie stepped away from the door, and Simon was pleased to see that she was listening to him now. Stepping forward, he raised his hand and knocked. When the door opened, the boy who had earlier invited Melanie, opened the door.

  Simon offered a charming smile to the vampire, and he said, "You don't mind if we come in, do you?"