The Count did not sit this time, he remained standing before them, though the strength seemed to drain from his body with every passing second. His gaze wandered briefly over the garden, the roses his wife had tended, before settling back on the two witchers.
"…I do have a son," he said quietly. Then, after a pause, more bitterly, "Or rather… I did."
The Count dragged a hand across his face before continuing.
"He was… an illegitimate child of mine. I loved his mother, truly. But I was already bound to Elin. And my Elin…" His jaw tightened. "She could not bear children."
A flicker of regret crossed his features.
"I know what it sounds like. I know what I did. But it was not some calculated betrayal. It… happened too quickly, too deeply. And when the boy was born, I could not abandon him, that is not how I wanted things to unfold, but I had to take care of my son."
His voice softened slightly.
"So I hid him. From everyone I know, from my associates, the servants… from my wife."
Sebastian's eyes remained fixed on him.
"The mother?" he asked.
"Dead," the Count replied, his tone hollow. "Not long after childbirth. After that… I entrusted the boy to caretakers. Paid them well. Made certain he lacked for nothing. food, safety, comfort… everything."
He exhaled slowly.
"No one knew. Not a soul, save myself… and those I paid to keep him hidden. It remained that way for a good three years."
Then his voice tightened.
"Until they disappeared."
Vesemir's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Disappeared how?"
The Count shook his head faintly.
"They were just.. gone. The caretakers… and my son with them. I didn't get a warning, and no letters left behind, nothing."
Sebastian spoke then, with a calm tone, "So you were unfaithful to your wife. Hid your child, and built your life on a major secret."
The Count didn't argue.
"I understand what I did," he said quietly. "I never denied it. I only thought…" He swallowed. "…if there were consequences, they would fall on me. Not on my wife. Not on my child."
Sebastian tilted his head slightly.
"Do you have any idea what happened to them?"
The Count hesitated, then nodded faintly.
"Before they vanished… the caretakers began asking for more coin. Said their work had become dangerous. That someone had started asking questions, strangers, prying into matters that should have remained buried."
His lips pressed thin.
"I thought it a ploy. A way to squeeze more gold from me. And I paid. Of course I paid. Because in the end, only one thing mattered to me, my son's safety."
He looked down.
"They honored their agreement for some time… until they didn't."
Vesemir folded his arms.
"You searched for them?"
"I did more than search," the Count replied bitterly. "I bribed officials. Merchants. Guards. Anyone who might have seen them leave Ard Carraigh."
He looked up, eyes hollow.
"No one did. No one saw them leave. The boy or the caretakers."
A silence settled.
Vesemir spoke quietly.
"Ever considered that they never left at all?"
The Count gave a weak, humorless breath.
"Of course I did. But what does it change? I found nothing. So I assumed…" His voice faltered. "…that they were killed. Or that the caretakers disposed of the boy and fled... this was five years ago... he would have been nine this summer.."
Sebastian shook his head slightly.
"I don't think that's what happened."
The Count looked up at him, something fragile flickering in his expression.
"…Then what?"
Sebastian held his gaze.
"We found your will, and it looked very real to me."
The Count blinked.
"That… that's impossible... That document was never here. I entrusted it to some important people, an official who happens to be a friend of mine."
Sebastian continued, unrelenting.
"Then this friend of yours sent it back here, because it was in a chest. Hidden beneath your wife's bed."
The Count's face drained of color.
"No…" he whispered.
Sebastian's voice remained calm.
"That document was crumpled, whoever read it wasn't exactly pleased, but they didn't get rid of it."
The Count staggered back half a step, shaking his head.
"No… how would she even know…?"
Sebastian stepped closer, his tone sharpening, breaking through the count's denial.
"I think it's clear to me, your wife discovered everything," Seb went on. "The child. The letters. The will that named him heir to everything you own."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"She felt betrayed and replaced. And in that state…" he paused, "…people don't always think clearly, they might make horrible decisions."
The Count's breathing grew uneven.
"No… no, Elin wouldn't...she couldn't.."
"The caretakers disappear," Seb continued. "Your son disappears. No one leaves the city. And now your wife is haunted."
He paused before continuing.
"A specter tied to guilt. To blood, and to seriously messed up wrongs."
Vesemir spoke then, almost certain.
"I think I know what kind of specter we're dealing with."
Sebastian gave a faint nod.
"Me too. But there's one last thing to confirm."
The Count looked as though the ground itself had shifted beneath him.
"This can't be… she asked questions, yes, but I thought nothing of it… gods, how did I not see it…" His voice broke slightly. "Albrecht… my son..."
Sebastian's gaze shifted suddenly, past the Count, toward the stone wall lining the garden.
"…You can come out now you know?"
The Count blinked, confused.
Sebastian didn't look at him.
"You've been listening long enough."
A faint shuffle followed.
Then, slowly, from behind the low garden wall, the old cook stepped into view.
Her hands rubbed nervously against her apron, her posture slightly hunched, not from age alone.
"I'm… I'm sorry," she said, voice trembling. "Didn't mean to listen, I swear it… but I heard enough, the lady I know why she is cursed."
The Count turned toward her, eyes wide.
"You… knew?"
She didn't meet his gaze as she looked down.
"I did," she admitted quietly. "For a long time now."
Vesemir let out a slow breath, crossing his arms.
"Well," he muttered, "another piece of the puzzle."
Sebastian's eyes settled on the old woman,
"Then please, speak." he said. "I want to hear everything you have to say."
The old woman stood there a moment, wringing her hands as if trying to scrub away years of silence. Her eyes flicked between the Count and the two Witchers, hesitation written all over her face, then she drew a breath.
"Lady Elin…" she began, voice uneven. "she wasn't herself, not for a long while. At first it was just… moods. Quiet days, then angry ones. But then the tantrums started."
The Count's head snapped up slightly, but he said nothing.
The old woman continued, her gaze dropping to the ground.
"While the Count was away, I heard her one night. Loud and shouting in her chamber. Doors shut, but walls don't keep everything out… not when someone screams like that." Her hands tightened together. "She was giving orders. To some of the guards."
Sebastian's eyes narrowed.
"What kind of orders?"
The woman swallowed.
"She told them to bring a child here." Her voice trembled faintly as she repeated the memory. "Offered them jewelry… anything they wanted. I heard it clearly."
She hesitated only a second before forcing herself to continue.
"Her exact words were… 'Bring that bastard here at any cost. I care not what you do, nor who you kill. Do it, and you'll not spend another day guarding this estate's gates.'"
Vesemir let out a slow breath, a faint smile on his face despite the grimness of it.
"Well," he said with dark humor, "that explains why only two guards are left. Probably the ones who didn't get the chance, or the stomach for that sort of work."
Sebastian didn't smile.
The old woman shook her head slightly.
"I didn't know who the child was… or why she wanted him. But it felt wrong. Wrong enough that I kept quiet, thinking… hoping this would pass."
Her voice dropped further.
"It didn't."
The Count's expression had gone pale, completely hollow now, like something inside him had already died.
The old woman continued, slower now.
"The other servants… they heard her that night too. They talked about it. Whispered, questioned…" She closed her eyes briefly. "I know you thought some of the servants left the estate, but they didn't leave the estate, my lord."
The Count's lips parted, but no sound came.
"They died," she said softly. "I am certain of that. She had them silenced, and I was so afraid I couldn't bring myself to leave or speak about anything, I still fear for my life even today."
A long, suffocating pause followed.
Sebastian spoke into it, "You're saying she brought the child here."
The old woman nodded immediately.
"Yes, master Witcher."
Sebastian's gaze hardened.
"You're certain?"
Her answer came without hesitation this time.
"I am."
She drew in a shaky breath.
"There was a night… not long after. I woke to a scream."
Her fingers trembled slightly as she clasped them tighter.
"…It wasn't right, It didn't sound human. Not fully. It…" she swallowed, "…it made my blood run cold."
"And after that?" Vesemir asked.
The old woman's voice dropped to almost a whisper.
"The next morning… one of the servants, the girl who handled the laundry she came to me pale as death. Said she found blood on Lady Elin's clothes. Big stains, but the Lady was fine, so that blood didn't belong to her."
Sebastian and Vesemir spoke at the same time.
"Shit."
Neither elaborated, because they didn't need to.
Behind them, the Count staggered slightly, as if the weight of everything had finally come crashing down all at once.
"No…" he breathed, shaking his head faintly, eyes unfocused. "No… this isn't right...she wouldn't, Elin wouldn't..."
But the denial had no strength behind it anymore.
/-\
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