All Sides

July 1, 1863.

The American Federal Army and the Confederate Army engaged in a decisive battle at Gettysburg, where the South suffered a crushing defeat with nearly thirty thousand casualties. The initiative of the war shifted completely to the North, marking the turning point of the entire American Civil War.

"The young master sent a telegram saying he cannot rush over to celebrate the victory with you for the time being. He has important matters that require him to return to Edmonton first. The victory at Gettysburg has practically determined the outcome of the entire war, and we cannot play much of a role in the subsequent battles. Once the young master has handled his affairs, he will head to Washington to meet with you," Jack Pitt said to President Lincoln.

"Is James alright? Was he injured?" Lincoln asked anxiously.

Jack smiled, signaling for the President to set his mind at ease, and said lightheartedly, "The young master is fine; he has other issues to resolve, though I am not privy to the specifics. Also, the young master insisted that I pass on a message: Adam has escaped. He was severely injured and may need a considerable amount of time to fully recover, but you must be extremely careful, as he may be plotting something in the shadows."

Lincoln nodded slowly. The war was no longer in doubt, but the stubbornness of the enemy and the retaliation of the surviving vampires were still threats that had to be guarded against.

"Give my regards to James," Abraham Lincoln said solemnly.

"For the help of the Howlett Family, not only I, but the entire American nation will keep it in our hearts. The history and people of America will never forget the hope and support you brought during these cruel times. I cannot express my gratitude with mere words, and I look forward to the day I meet Mr. Howlett again soon."

Edmonton, beneath the Howlett Estate.

"Are you really okay?" James looked at Victor, who was wolfing down his food, with a strange expression, unable to help but ask.

After Victor swallowed the last bite of his steak, he growled in annoyance, "Stop saying such stupid things!" He carelessly grabbed a napkin from the tray to wipe his mouth, then said bitterly, "The war isn't over yet, there are still so many battles to fight, and you had to drag me back here now! You wanted to come back to be with your woman, so why drag me along!"

"You were bitten," James stared at Victor intently, carefully examining the whites of his eyes and his skin.

"I've been bitten plenty of times!"

"Adam is different."

"Tch!" Victor sneered disdainfully and continued, "So that's why you locked me in the basement and sealed the stone door?"

James put away the utensils Victor had finished with, feeling a sense of guilt, and said softly, "It wasn't locking you up; it was a form of... isolation. For your safety and the safety of everyone on the estate."

"Ha! Who knows what kind of nonsense you're spouting now," Victor cursed in a gruff voice. He strode over to a water basin nearby and gulped down water from a bucket.

After that night's battle, Adam had fled in a broken state. Judging by his condition at the time, such injuries were not something a vampire's self-healing ability could easily recover from.

Seeing Victor get bitten, James was extremely worried that his body and mind would undergo unpredictable changes.

He had forcibly brought Victor back without room for argument, even getting into several brutal fights to do so. Victor, having been beaten to the point of exhaustion several times, finally gave in and returned to the estate, where he had spent many days in the basement.

What James found strange was that Victor showed no abnormalities. He had also asked Marcus, the vampire imprisoned in the dungeon, about the process of being turned into a vampire after being bitten. Yet, Victor showed no aversion to normal food, nor did he exhibit symptoms of an extreme thirst for blood. His physiological characteristics hadn't changed either; there were no blood-red eyes, and his teeth and nails hadn't become any sharper—though they had always been that way.

He looked at the claw marks scattered across the training room and the shredded steel training equipment, sighed, and said with a feigned air of ease, "I suppose... you're fine. You can go."

Victor looked at James with some surprise, snorted heavily a few times, and strode away. As Victor turned his back, a flicker of red light flashed deep within his eyes, vanishing in an instant.

"Jack! Come here! And where is O'Hara? O'Hara! That girl, where has she run off to now?" The butler Vane held a telegram, hurriedly adjusting his gold-rimmed monocle, calling out anxiously for Jack Pitt and O'Hara.

"Jack, organize the men right now. Send Lauren and Chris to Victoria Harbour in Vancouver—O'Hara!"

"Coming, coming, Uncle Vane." O'Hara yawned. James no longer required O'Hara's care for his daily routine, mainly due to his unusual sleep habits and his frequent training in the estate's basement, which caused O'Hara to wake up later and later.

"Where is the young master? Go and invite him here at once!" Mr. Vane said to O'Hara, annoyed. Seeing her head tilted in curiosity, he said seriously, "News has come from Daniel."

James looked at the telegram in his hand, sent from a British resource port in Kenya, Africa. The content was not long, but he read it carefully for a long time before looking up and asking Butler Vane, "Have the men already been sent to Victoria Harbour?"

"Yes, as soon as I saw the telegram, I arranged for Jack to take the men there."

James thought for a moment and said with a serious expression, "That's not enough. Send word to the Governor's Office and have the British government send a letter to dispatch local personnel to protect them. Also, send a telegram to the White House. Use my name to ask Mr. Lincoln for help directly, and have the American government use diplomatic channels to strengthen communication with the relevant local government organizations in Kenya. If Washington has resources in Africa, ask them to send people to escort Daniel as well."

Butler Vane left the room quickly after hearing this. James glanced at O'Hara and muttered to himself, "Daniel's return must not go wrong."

Lady Elizabeth had been in good health over the years, but her mental state fluctuated. Having just turned fifty, as the matriarch of the Howlett Family, she should have been attending noble banquets and social parties for the wealthy and powerful every day. However, she had lived in seclusion for many years, and many outsiders did not even know that Mr. James Howlett's mother was still alive.

The Howlett Family was already one of the largest landowners in the Canada region. Since James began expanding into industry, manufacturing, real estate, and mining across North America, and rose to prominence during the Civil War, this family of colonial landowners, which began with William Howlett, had quietly become a behemoth spanning the North American continent.

Yet, the most noble lady of such a family only frequented churches and orphanages to perform acts of charity. When her mental state was poor, she could only rely on a few maids to attend to her while she remained locked in her room.

Lady Elizabeth no longer lived in the original old mansion on the estate with James and the others. Several years ago, James had built a separate residence for her on the side of the newly expanded estate castle. Since leaving the old mansion, her emotions had been much more stable.

The rain was heavy tonight. She hated rainy nights; they reminded her of unpleasant things.

Elizabeth had not been able to sleep for a long time, tossing and turning on her four-poster velvet bed. She faintly heard a noise from the French windows on the balcony. Annoyed, she wondered if the maid had failed to close the window properly, so she pulled back the corner of the quilt and turned to look.

An excessively tall giant, whose head seemed to touch the ceiling, stood on the balcony. He stepped into the room, wearing a coat, his messy long hair soaked by the rain, with water dripping from him.

BOOM! CRACK!

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and the light illuminated the giant for an instant—it was Victor.