Vampire Hunter D: Dark Nocturne Read Online Free Page B

D.
    â€œThat’s the rumor. Almost twenty years ago—” Ry began, recounting the tale exactly as Amne had told it to him. D listened without saying a word, but then he suddenly turned his gaze forward. Following his lead, Ry let a gasp escape.
    Nestled in the sea of green into which the narrow road dissolved was a magnificent mansion that could almost be mistaken for a palace.
    â€œWhat’s the matter, haven’t you ever seen one before?” Amne teased, but the boy didn’t even seem to notice.
    The closest of the Nobility’s castles was still a hundred miles or more from Ry’s village—no small distance. While he’d heard vile tales about them before bedtime, he’d never actually seen a real Noble. What’s more, there was the matter of the song.
    â€œAre there any victims of the Nobility left in your village?” asked D.
    â€œDon’t make me laugh! They were all disposed of. I’m sure it’s the same everywhere.”
    â€œThat’s not necessarily the case. When someone didn’t completely become one of them , there have been cases where their family took pity on them and kept them hidden and locked in the basement.
    â€œThat’s revolting! In that case, what are they supposed to do after that? Victims who’ve progressed to a certain degree toward becoming Nobility stop aging. If their family died out, would those things just be left living alone in the basement till the end of time? I wonder what they’d do about food? Would hunger torment them for all eternity?”
    â€œYou just say whatever the hell you feel like, don’t you?” Ry said, his voice laden with anger. “You can put down the Nobility all you like. But their victims are human, just like us. You could choose your words a little better.”
    â€œWhat are you putting on airs for all of a sudden?! If you’ve been bitten once by the Nobility, you’re one of them, and that’s all there is to it. You’re such a softy.”
    Ry was disgusted. Was that all this girl who’d been so worked up about the whatever-it-was club at school had to say? She was far too callous.
    â€œAnd you’ve spent too much time with your nose in books!”
    â€œOh, is that a fact?!”
    After that, no one said anything and the three of them merely listened to the rumble of the engine.
    The front gates grew closer.
    â€œStop here,” said D.
    â€œWhy? Aren’t we going into the courtyard?”
    â€œI heard a horse whinnying. It seems someone else has gotten here first.”
    Ry and Amne looked at each other.
    â€œYou suppose it’s those guys?” asked the boy.
    The wagon stopped. D got out first, saying, “You’d better stay put.”
    â€œBut—” Ry protested.
    â€œThose men are after you.”
    â€œOh, great! You mean to tell me there are people on your trail?”
    â€œPut a cork in it.”
    While the two of them were arguing, D raced over to the gate with his coat streaming out behind him. Pushing the rusted iron panel open, he entered the courtyard.
    The garden where women in white dresses and men in black capes had come long ago to admire the elegance of the night was now laid bare to the light of the sun, leaving the ravages of time painfully displayed. Various spots around the white mansion that’d been destroyed must’ve been the work of villagers who’d slipped in after the Nobility had left.
    D entered the vestibule. Its large door had collapsed.
    â€œWelcome,” a youthful voice called down to him.
    Quietly looking up, he found a golden light that danced on the landing directly ahead of him, where the two staircases leading to the second floor converged. Blond hair. The cold and youthful face it framed played host to a refined smile.
    â€œForgive our lack of manners last night. Seeing that you’ve made it out here, I take it Kurt must’ve been wounded.” The young