The moon stood directly above the estate… full, white, and watchful… suspended like a celestial judge. Midnight had arrived. The air was dense with stillness. It was not windless, but even the breeze moved with reverence.
The Blanc Clan's estate was no crumbling relic of nobility… it was a living legacy, centuries old yet immaculately preserved. Its grand villas, nestled within the ancient woodlands of the north, bore the weight of bloodlines that had survived kings and empires. The clan head's villa, the largest and most secluded, stood beyond a vast circular garden. Stone pathways divided rows of meticulously maintained hedges and perennial blooms, shaped by invisible hands into elegant geometry.
