Castle William on the outskirts of Paris.
This castle has a long history, with nearly six centuries of time condensed on its mottled outer wall. Looking from the tallest tower, the Seine River runs through the gorgeous Paris like a ribbon.
But to Muggles, this is just a castle that was abandoned many years ago. They rarely have the idea of going out here to find out. Once they get close to the castle, they will think of something important to do immediately, and then turn around and leave.
This is a blessing for them.
This castle is inhabited by members of the Jonifan clan. The leader of the family is Count William, who was once granted the title by the Sun King Louis XIV. According to history, he should have died two centuries ago.
The wizarding society has always had a hard time controlling its relationship with vampires. Normally the magic department wants to deal with vampires the same way they deal with other magical races - as long as they don't carry wands, anything is negotiable.
However, vampires need to suck blood.
For vampires who live together in families, the Ministry of Magic tries its best to provide them with convenience so that they can find legal sources of blood - such as setting up blood donation stations in Muggle society...
Moreover, the Ministry of Magic respects vampires' insistence on 'dominance'. Within their castle, all matters are decided by themselves. If an unsuspecting outsider breaks into their castle, they also have the right to treat them as their own prey in order to obtain fresh blood.
Simply put, the Ministry of Magic usually wants to live with vampires under the order established by the International Statute of Secrecy. You can suck blood and hunt, but firstly, don’t be discovered by Muggles, and secondly, don’t be discovered by those passionate wizards.
If discovered, the Ministry of Magic would have to come up with its own 'Four Steps to Dealing with Crisis' plan.
…
Within the castle.
The owner of the castle, William II, had a full beard. He had just finished sucking blood and was lying in front of the fireplace, picking his teeth out of boredom.
He was still savoring the sweetness of the fresh blood. The William family has close ties with several major hospitals in Paris and can obtain blood from patients during operations in the hospital - which is originally treated as medical waste.
"Bah... damn John... I told him not to go to the orthopedic hospital to get blood. Bah, bah, it's all bone residue left over from the surgery. Bah... the blood sugar is still so high, it will affect the taste."
The count complained unhappily as he picked his teeth.
At this moment, a round figure ran from the stairs. As it ran, it shouted:
"Your Majesty the Earl..."
However, before it could even finish shouting, the Count waved his palm, and from a distance of dozens of feet, the figure seemed to be slapped directly against the wall by an invisible hand.
William II said lazily: "How many times have I told John, be elegant, be elegant, what is the difference between those who shout so loudly in the castle and lower creatures like humans?"
The figure struggled to get up and walked under the candlelight - it turned out to be a pig wearing an evening dress and a bow tie!
The pig man named John stood up, walked slowly to the count on his two fat hind legs, and bowed to him very elegantly:
"My Lord Count!"
"Yes." William II nodded and wiped the blood on his hands with a towel: "Tell me, what's the matter?"
"Those wizards are here again."
"Again?" William II frowned: "Same as before, let them go! I, William, are strong-willed and will never betray my own people!"
"But..." John snorted twice, as if he had something to hide.
"But what?"
"But there was another person who came with them, who seemed to be some kind of special consultant..."
"Who?"
"Aaron Custer."
"who?!"
With a 'boom', William fell from the chair. His face was full of panic, panic, and disbelief!
"That evil star? Why is he here again!"
"It seems that he is the consultant invited by the wizards, and they want him to come and ask for advice on the problem of amnesia..."
John Pig thought he understood what his master meant, and said resolutely: "Don't worry, Lord Earl, I will go out and drive them away..."
Before he finished speaking, John was slapped by the furious William and flew out.
"Go quickly! Invite the man named Aaron in! If you make any mistakes again, I will cut you into pork chops!"
William yelled in a voice that was almost a growl.
…
A silver teapot was boiling on the fire. In the living room of the castle, Aaron sat on the sofa that had just been cleaned and looked at the earl opposite him indifferently.
Lady Catherine, the castle's maid, stood aside to serve. A squeaking mouse ran past her. Lady Catherine's eyes lit up and she quickly picked it up——
It's the mother's.
Lady Catherine felt a sense of loss and let it go.
"Ahem!"
William coughed twice to signal the foreign guests to be present and to be dignified.
"It's okay, we are all old friends, there is no need to be so solemn." Aaron smiled and took a sip of tea.
William smiled reluctantly - could he dare not be solemn? The last time Aaron came, William specially arranged a human banquet to entertain him, but the other party extorted a bottle of eternal wine on the grounds of "I don't eat beef."
It can be said that since William's stupid second son wanted to take Aaron as prey, their castle has never had peace.
"What does Mr. Custer want to do when he comes here this time?" William rubbed his hands and asked nervously.
"I was entrusted by someone to ask Mr. Count if he knows any clues about the recent loss of shadows of wizards in England and France?"
"Oh, I really don't know. What does the wizard losing his shadow have to do with us vampires..."
William said very 'sincerely'.
"Really?" Aaron put down the tea cup. He raised his hand, and a drop of mercury quickly came out of his cuff. Following Aaron's movements, it shuttled between his fingers at high speed, like a sharp arrow.
"Think about it again, Lord Earl. Did you remember something?"
"Listening to what you said, it seems that it is really..." William said quickly: "Actually, it can't be wrong that the wizards started investigating from us, because the magic that takes away people's shadows did come from vampires... …”
"Did you do it?" Aaron raised his eyebrows.
"That's absolutely impossible." William quickly brushed himself off: "As you know, our clan is good at refining potions. When it comes to playing with shadows, several clans in Kalimara are better at... …”
"What does losing the shadow have to do with them committing suicide?"
"This is an ancient magic. I only heard about it..." William explained very patiently:
"It is said that there is a spell that can take away a person's shadow and then strip away all the negative emotions from that person. From then on, that person will no longer be angry or sad..."
"That person will lose all normal and abnormal desires - because according to a certain theory of vampires, human desires are also one of the negative emotions. From then on, the whole world will be empty and boring to him, and over time, people will naturally become I don’t want to live anymore.”
"Oh! There is also such a spell..."
Aaron was a little surprised. Can vampires develop such a magical spell?
"Yes, yes, but I only have some understanding of this spell. It was developed by the Kalimaras. I didn't hide it from my friends..." William focused on proving his innocence.
Aaron smiled faintly: "Of course I know that Mr. Earl is my loyal friend - I want to ask, who was this spell passed to? Who took away the shadows of wizards and Muggles?"
"Well, you might as well ask the tribesmen in Kalimala..." William was very hesitant, and it was obvious that he didn't dare to tell this answer.
"Are you going to ask me to make two trips?" Aaron said unhappily.
"No no……"
William hesitated for a moment, thinking that if this evil star could be sent away as soon as possible, it would be worth taking some risks...
So he sighed and said in a compromised tone: "It's the Purifiers - an organization that once disappeared from the history of your wizards. Now, they are back."
