Chapter 37: Terror of Shadows and Palace Calm
As darkness crept into the alleys of London, Edward went inside and sat with Lilian for a meal. The atmosphere was strangely quiet, charged with tender emotions Edward hadn't felt in a long time. They exchanged glances shyly, talking about old memories before debts and wars consumed their innocence. There was a glimmer of romance in Lilian's eyes, as if she saw through the "monster's" mask to the boy she had always loved.
Meanwhile, Morgan was in his carriage heading toward the central bank of the Barclay Family, pride still consuming him. Before his feet could touch the bank's doorstep, the blood froze in his veins.
Tula suddenly appeared in front of the carriage—not as a human, but as an apparition emerging from nothingness, his crimson eyes piercing through Morgan's soul. Morgan screamed in terror and collapsed to the ground: "Get away from me! What is this thing?!"
The driver jumped from his seat in a panic and rushed toward his master: "Sir! What's wrong? What happened?" Morgan pointed a trembling finger at the void in front of the carriage, screaming hysterically: "Don't you see him?! He's standing right there... looking at me with that cursed smile! Drive him away! Kill him!"
The driver looked left and right, but the street was completely empty. There was nothing but the thick London fog. The driver replied with confusion and fear: "Sir... there is no one here. You're imagining it, maybe it's exhaustion."
The driver left his master, whispering to himself that Morgan had lost his mind. At that moment, Tula leaned into the ear of Morgan—who was shivering on the ground—and whispered in a voice only he could hear, a voice like the hissing of snakes: "This is just the beginning, Morgan... The money you spat on today will be the price of your shroud and your family's. I will make you long for death and never find it."
Tula vanished again, leaving Morgan in a state of absolute disorientation and terror, while the driver looked at him with contempt, believing he had gone completely mad.
Back at the palace, Edward smiled as he saw the peace in Lilian's eyes, unaware that Tula had already begun turning his enemy's life into a living hell