Chapter 128: The Brother-in-Law’s Reproach

The unfamiliar lady had already visited the bride's dressing room earlier that day and remained there until Sulpicia arrived. The moment the breathtakingly handsome young Alec began politely ushering guests out, the women from the other vampire covens all took the hint and excused themselves without protest. 

Alec did not even need to release his black mist. He merely had to adopt the posture of seeing guests out. Without a single word or even a change in expression, the entire vampire world instinctively made way for him.

After all, who would dare offend Alec, a living weapon capable of cutting through an entire newborn army by himself?

"May I ask you something?" After pointing Sophie toward the dressing room, the female vampire could no longer suppress her curiosity. "Are you one of the Volturi Guard?" she asked apologetically. "Forgive my impertinence. You appear to be extremely close to Jane, yet you aren't wearing the family's crest. We were worried about behaving improperly and wanted to know what etiquette we should observe around you."

In all twenty-odd years of her life, Sophie had never experienced anyone treating her with such cautious reverence. They were not intimidated by her strength as a newborn vampire. They were showing respect to the royal family that ruled the vampire world. She opened her mouth, only to discover she could not bring herself to declare that she had nothing to do with the Volturi.

"That..." she answered vaguely. "I suppose Aro will decide after my newborn period is over."

After bidding the kind-hearted woman farewell, Sophie almost fled toward the dressing room.

Garrett had warned her before. A vampire protected by a coven lived an entirely different existence. Once separated from a family, freedom came with poverty, loneliness, and the constant danger of being hunted down, torn apart, and burned alive by other vampires. That was the true price of living alone.

Halfway there, Sophie happened to run into Alec escorting Aro's wife.

The noble lady possessed unmistakable Greek features. Tall enough to stand nearly eye to eye with Alec, she towered over Sophie by nearly a head. Though Sulpicia had lived for more than three thousand years, there remained an innocent purity about her. Sheltered almost like a cherished prisoner throughout her immortal life, her heart had hardly matured beyond that of an ordinary eighteen-year-old girl.

The instant Alec spotted Sophie approaching, he instinctively stepped protectively in front of Sulpicia, worried that a newborn vampire might accidentally frighten or injure the delicate woman. Lowering his head slightly, he asked, "Sophie, where are you going?"

Seeing a familiar face, Sophie relaxed immediately. She unconsciously quickened her pace and stopped beside Alec before looking up at him. "I'm heading to the bride's dressing room to borrow a ribbon." She lifted the object in her hand and waved it proudly. "Look. Isn't it pretty?"

She was holding a string of tiny white blossoms whose fragrance drifted softly through the air.

The elegant lady leaned forward with curiosity, joining their conversation. "Those are jasmine flowers. What did you use to string them together?"

Thousands of years had given Sulpicia an astonishing breadth of knowledge. Aro delighted in lavishing every luxury upon the wife who rarely left the palace, even transporting plants from continents, oceans, mountains, and frozen tundras back to Italy just to please her. There were few flowers or trees she had never seen.

"A rose stem," Sophie replied, delighted to finally learn the little flowers' name. Holding up both ends for them to see, she explained proudly, "Once you remove the thorns, you can split the stem into thin strips. They're surprisingly perfect for threading jasmine blossoms."

By then, Alec had already figured out what she intended to make.

"So that's why you need the ribbon," he said. "You're making two bracelets, one for each wrist."

"No." Sophie shook her head. "One for me, and one for Jane. She was the one who removed all the thorns from the rose."

Silence immediately settled between Alec and Sulpicia.

The atmosphere became strangely awkward.

Sophie glanced back and forth between them in confusion, sensing she'd somehow said the wrong thing.

As the elder, Sulpicia felt it inappropriate to interfere directly. Instead, she quietly poked Alec in the back, signaling for him to speak.

"...Jane gave you a rose?" Alec stammered. "Then.... did you... did you accept the rose she offered you?"

"That's a long story," Sophie replied, hoping to change the subject as she tried to slip past them.

Unfortunately, both Alec and Sulpicia looked genuinely eager to hear what had happened. Together they blocked her path.

Still holding the bouquet of roses Aro had given her, Sulpicia made the decision for everyone.

"Then tell us the short version."

After making sure no one else was nearby, Sophie lowered her voice.

"The flowers at this wedding are really strange."

"In what way?" they asked together.

"No matter how many times Jane tried to hand me that rose, I just couldn't touch it!" Sophie said helplessly. "Then she got angry and sad... and slapped the entire flower apart. After she left, I cleaned everything up and secretly picked up the stem. Then I thought... maybe I could recycle it into a bracelet or something to cheer her up."

Unlike Sophie, Alec and Sulpicia knew exactly what had happened.

"That rose..." Sulpicia began, intending to explain Aurora's gift.

Then she noticed something in the distance.

Immediately realizing she should remain silent, she stopped herself.

Alec smoothly took over.

"There probably won't be a suitable ribbon in the dressing room," he said, deliberately steering Sophie' attention elsewhere. "Come with me. I'll take you to the storage room instead."

"Alec, you're coming with me? But..."

A familiar voice interrupted before Sophie could refuse. "My dear Sulpicia," Aro said warmly, "have you met the bride yet?"

No one in the world could silence Sulpicia with nothing more than a glance, except Aro. "I have," Sulpicia replied with a smile. "Aurora is absolutely lovely. Her gift is truly extraordinary."

Alec immediately stepped aside. Taking his wife's hand, Aro gently enclosed both of hers within his own as he read her thoughts, smiling tenderly all the while. "If Palazzo dei Priori were filled with flowers like these," he murmured affectionately, "it would be a magnificent sight indeed. You've almost made me wish to hold another wedding with you."

The two of them walked away together, completely absorbed in exchanging embarrassingly sweet words of affection. Now that Aro had taken over, Alec's escort duty came to an end.

"Come on," he said. "I'll show you the storage room."

The young man, dressed in an immaculate black suit, casually pinched the back of Sophie' neck and guided her forward. The gesture carried a faint hint of threat, and it even reminded her a little of Caius.

Why does Alec seem so much ruder today? Sophie wondered. Did I accidentally offend him somehow?

The storage room lay in the opposite direction from the dressing room. Having already familiarized himself with the church's layout in case of emergencies, Alec confidently led Sophie through several winding corridors before stopping in front of two nearly identical walnut-colored doors.

Each bore a brass plaque labeled in Finnish. Naturally, Sophie could not read a single word, and the only visible difference was that the doorway on the right had been reinforced with metal, clearly intended to secure valuable equipment.

Ordinarily, guests were not permitted inside the storage room. Then again, no human lock had ever been capable of stopping a vampire, just as no vampire territory could truly keep the Volturi outside.

Neither of them bothered searching for a key. Alec simply twisted the doorknob off the left-hand door. "Go on," he said calmly. "This is the church's storage room. You should be able to find what you're looking for."

Ever the considerate guard, he had escorted Sophie all the way to her destination. Having completed his task, he turned to leave.

"What's in the room next door?" Sophie asked casually.

Alec read the Finnish words aloud before remembering she only spoke one language. "It says... Equipment Room."

Compared to watching a young woman make flower bracelets, Alec would much rather return to his sister. There were still questions he needed answered.

About the rose.

Both twins had helped Chino develop Aurora's supernatural gift. They knew perfectly well what powers the flowers Aurora cultivated possessed.

Jane had given Sophie a rose. The very idea was astonishing.

Just one month earlier, Demetri had patiently explained to Alec that girls needed close female friendships, something a younger brother could never replace. What Demetri had neglected to mention was that intimacy did not end with friendship.

It could become love.

Perhaps there had never been friendship to begin with. Perhaps they had all been misled, and even Alec himself had believed Demetri's misguided advice.

Meanwhile, Sophie remained completely absorbed in searching through the storage room for a ribbon suitable for weaving Jane's jasmine bracelet. She knew absolutely nothing.

Though she stood at the very center of everything, she would probably be the last person to learn the truth. Alec had no intention of telling her in advance.

To be fair, the girl truly cared about his sister. Among everyone in the world, only Alec himself loved Jane more.

But if he were being completely honest, what exactly made Sophie worthy of becoming Jane's mate?

From head to toe, Alec could find fault after fault. She was too short, nowhere near as elegantly proportioned as Heidi. Her appearance was ordinary, hardly a match for Jane's exquisite beauty.

Her gift was mediocre, nowhere close to Chelsea's. She was carefree and impulsive, lacking even a fraction of Sulpicia's gentle obedience.

Jane's only flaw was probably her terrible taste in partners.