Vanessa's body trembled and she was about to scream but had a cloth stuffed in her mouth and tightly held in place.
No matter how much she struggled, Vincent didn't let her break free.
Like a fish taken out of water, she made some aggressive attempts to be free, but eventually, she calmed down, knowing she couldn't win.
A thousand thoughts went into her mind, but they didn't wander to the negative side yet due to Vincent's sweet whispers of love towards her.
He kept saying comforting things to have her calm down. Most of it didn't get registered in her brain, but the some that did, it made her stop resisting.
"I know how you feel, and I just want to assure you, as your brother, I will never betray you. If the world goes against you, then I am against the world. I'll never leave your side, even if it means you're a witch. Now, the discussion for today isn't about whether you're a witch or not, it's something much different. If you really don't listen to me today, our house may not survive and we will all die."
"Tell me, Venny, are you going to bear such a responsibility? Do you wish to lay flowers upon mine and mother's grave?"
The words hit Vanessa like a truck. Her eyes got teary and a drop trickled down her face.
Vincent eventually softened his grip on her. He turned her around to face him and wiped the tears off her face, then removed the cloth from her mouth, hugging her back in his embrace.
"Sniff…" Vanessa couldn't hold herself from crying when she imagined her mother and brother's graves. She couldn't imagine a world without the two, and to suddenly have them gone was like taking away everything from her.
A world without the two was a world she did not want to live in.
Vincent lifted her chin and made her look up at him. The two pairs of scarlet eyes met each other.
Vincent smiled faintly and said, "You are such a strong young lady. What happened to you now? We haven't even had the main conversation yet."
"Sniff. Shut up." Vanessa wiped her tears and said with knitted brows.
For some reason, when she saw Vincent's smiling face, she was reminded that she was the older sibling in this relationship. To have this guy play her and control the conversation, it didn't feel right.
Vincent's smile widened. It seemed like Vanessa was somewhat back to her former self.
He kissed her forehead and rubbed her back.
Vanessa knitted her brows, thinking this guy was definitely treating her as the younger sibling, but didn't voice it out for now.
"Get to the topic. I am curious, what is it that will cause the family's fall?" Vanessa was back to her strong, dominant self.
Vincent nodded. He didn't fool around anymore and said, "The church will destroy us in about six days because they'll find out you're a witch and accuse us of witchcraft."
"Impossible." Vanessa spat. "That's impossible, how can they find this out? Nobody knows about me, not even mother."
Vincent nodded. "That's right, nobody knows, but what if someone discovers you when you're using your power? Think about it, when do you usually use your powers?"
Vanessa frowned and thought about it. "I spend my evening in the manor's underground training hall. I always make sure there's nobody there when I practice, so how is it possible that someone finds it? I have not used my power outside?"
Vincent sighed and rubbed her head. "Outsiders may not find it out, but what about insiders? How do you think I got to know about it?"
Vanessa raised her eyebrows and didn't reply, thinking about something.
Vincent was getting really good at bullshitting. He didn't even have to lie to hide the fact that his information came from the system. Vanessa already took care of it herself.
Vincent didn't let this lass's thoughts wander for long. He flicked her forehead and said, "Don't think of unnecessary stuff for now. I'll get to the point."
Vanessa knitted her brows and looked at Vincent hatefully.
Vincent ignored her looks and continued, "Well, during your practice, you would get noticed by none other than our father. He will go and inform the church, the church would believe him, and our house will then be destroyed by the Templar Knights."
"What!?!" Vanessa almost screamed loud enough to wake the whole manor up.
Vincent had to stuff her mouth with cloth again to calm her down. Her hands weren't restrained so she took the cloth off and asked hurriedly, "How is that possible? How could father find out? And why would he do that? Also why…"
There were many questions on Vanessa's mind and she asked all of them one after another.
When she was done speaking, Vincent stared at her silently, merely blinking and not speaking a single word.
Vanessa blinked and stared back. "What's wrong? Why aren't you answering?"
"I'm waiting for you to be quiet. Are you done already? Why don't you ask a few more questions?" Vincent shook his head after saying so.
Vanessa's lip twitched but she didn't reply. Doing so would only result in things backfiring. The worries she had suddenly seemed to have toned down and she was much calmer than before.
Finding her obediently listening, Vincent wrapped his arms around her more firmly so that she wouldn't jump from the upcoming tale.
He couldn't tell her he had the system or that their maid was a regressor. All he could do was mix up two truths with a lie and state how shitty their father was.
Vanessa's face went through a myriad of emotions. It was a pity that there wasn't much light to see everything clearly.
Eventually, Vanessa learnt of the truth and turned silent, letting out a sad smile. She didn't cry as there was never any familial love between them.
Their father had never shown affection or done anything for them. He was there as a formality as a Baroness would have a lot of suitors and it would be very troublesome without a male in the house.
"So… what do we do?" Vanessa's tone had gotten softer.
Vincent thought about it and said, "I'll let you know in the morning. Make sure to act normally as if you aren't aware of anything."
"Mhm." Vanessa hummed and placed her head on Vincent's chest.
Vincent rubbed her head and the two did not speak anymore.
Eventually, Vincent could hear Vanessa's even breathing. She fell asleep.
Vincent carefully got out and tucked her in bed, then made his way to another room to execute the remaining half of his plan.