Lady Dhampir
Chapter 100

"You look tired, my Lady... You should have slept some more."

awoken early by her maids.

Milena ignored her maids' concerns, keeping her eyes closed. She was tired indeed, but she had struggled to get any proper sleep anyway. She just couldn't rest when there was so much to think about, and her late discussion with Raphael had given her more food for thoughts. Moreover, she wanted to welcome her father, Valentin and Lucian when they'd be back from the Royal Castle. Milena even felt somewhat guilty that she had gone home to sleep while they most likely worked all night. Hence, she had insisted on being She was dozing off while Olivia and Dinah were brushing her hair and preparing her dress. The black dress from the previous day was exposed in one corner of her room. Milena really liked this dress, and didn't felt like it belonged to her wardrobe yet. Maybe she'd get to wear it again. With a little sigh, the young Duchess raised her fingers to caress her neck, where the little scars of Rayan's bite could be felt. They were barely visible to the eye, but she could feel it. A little shiver ran down her spine. How was the Prince, after the previous night's havoc? Milena was already set on going back to the Royal Castle today, and see how she could help him. "My Lady, may I?"

Digory the Head Butler made his way in, bringing a silver tray with a teapot. Milena's eyes opened at the smell. Finally, something to drink. She stood up, still in her robe, and immediately reached for it. Her eyes fell on the black letter put next to it, though. "What is this?" She asked, picking it up.

The Butler didn't need to answer though, Milena recognized the seal immediately. So Raphael had already told the Society of Vampire overnight about her questions... She opened it, and to her surprise, it was an extremely short note of Congratulations for being picked as one of the Princesses. Milena snickered. This was such a simple but efficient way to confirm their support towards her. She nodded. "Fine. No need to answer this."

"They also sent some flowers as congratulations, my Lady. Shall I bring them in?"

Milena rolled her eyes without thinking. She was rather fed up with flowers these days, and those sent by the Society of Vampires meant really nothing to her.

"No, just put them wherever," she said, throwing the letter into the fireplace.

She then turned to Olivia, and got into her dress for that day, a dark grey one with red embroideries. She grimaced as Dinah helped her lace her corset, regretting the one from the previous day. She really needed to get some sense into Yasina about the painful truths of women fashion...

"I understand, my Lady. Also, we received word the Duke and the young Masters are on their way."

"I'll be there, please let them know I'm coming down."

"Yes, my Lady. I shall prepare breakfast for everyone, then."

After bowing once more, Digory left the room to prepare everything. Milena glanced at her reflection in the mirror and started putting on her makeup herself. Thankfully, her dark circles were nothing some concealer couldn't hide. She picked up Dinah's frown on the side as she picked up her black liner.

"Dinah? What is it?"

"This creature... Do you think there will be more in the future, my Lady? I'm worried you'll get hurt, now that you'll be staying in the Royal Castle..."

"Don't be silly, Dinah, our Lady will be protected there too," retorted Olivia, scolding her.

"But we don't know those guards! I'd prefer our Lady to stay here with the De Crescent Guards..."

"Dinah, enough."

Milena's cold voice got both maids silent. She was well aware of their concerns, but no matter what, if her maids were caught gossiping against the Royal Castle's security, it may cause issues.

They helped Milena get ready and, once she was, she managed to get into their Dining Room right when her father and brothers walked in as well. To her surprise, Valentin was the first one to come to her, and suddenly hugged her too. It wasn't often that her older brother would display his affection... Milena had always perceived him as the less sentimental of them. It was nice, though. He caressed her hair, and hugged her shoulders gently before releasing her. Milena couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

"Is everything alright?" She asked, holding on to his arm.

Valentin nodded.

"Yes... For our family, at least. Sorry, I just was so afraid for you last night, I needed to hug my little sister just once to convince myself you were okay..."

"You big softie," chuckled Lucian, taking a seat at their dining table.

Behind Valentin, their Father walked over too, and gently kissed Milena's forehead, as a greeting. Just like her oldest brother, the Duke wasn't talkative, but this simple kiss was enough to express a lot. They all sat down, Milena sitting on her father's left, opposite to Valentin. Raphael arrived right after them, and they all sat down.

Everyone looked tired, the lack of sleep painted on their faces. The butler and maids expressly served some strong black tea before scattering back to their duties. The Duke exhaled longly, massaging his neck.

"So? What happened?" Asked Milena, restless.

"Not much that you didn't already saw, Millie. We helped pick up the dead, counted them, checked every inch of the Ballroom for clues."

"With the servants we found outside of the Ballroom, it amounted to fifteen deaths," sighed Valentin. "Four were nobles, but no one we were close to. The nephew of the Marquess De Chalm, The younger brother of Duke De Sunien, a cousin of the Baron De Cornal, and the Elder Duke De Rosella."

Indeed, no one they were close to, but still... Milena reckoned all the victims were male and human. Is that why the Wendigo of the Queen hadn't attacked her as fast as the others? Because she was compelled by her instincts to attack male humans first? "That damn thing... How the hell did they do that to the Queen? How can we send our sister when their security is...!"

"Calm down, Lucian," said Milena. "You know if people want to get to me, it won't be about the Manor De Crescent or the Castle."

"Our sister is right. Father, ask the King for Millie to bring her own guard! If she is given some of the De Crescent Knight, we will all be more at ease!"

"I already did. Milena, you can pick any and as many Knights as you want. That goes for your maids, too."

Milena smiled and nodded. It was so like her father to go ahead and ensure her security. Though he wasn't saying anything, he was probably upset about sending his only daughter and youngest child to live in the Royal Castle.

"So, that's it? Millie is going to live there from now on?"

"Milena and I have an audience with the King and his son this afternoon, to settle the Nuptial Agreement. She'll decide when she wants to move out of the De Crescent Manor."

Milena couldn't keep herself from blushing. She had completely forgotten about that agreement, and the bet she had made with Rayan! That audience was going to become a war zone once the Duke heard about those terms... She tried to hide behind her cup while gulping down her tea, but Raphael smirked across the table, having caught that reaction of hers.

"What else did you replace?" He asked, pulling their gaze towards him instead of his embarrassed sister.

"No one knows what happened, but the maids who served the Queen are all dead. More likely, someone made sure they were murdered by their own mistress as soon as she turned..."

"That window that broke open was strange, too. From the looks of it, someone had purposely undone the lock so it could break open at any time."

"They managed their spooky effect," said Milena. "But, why?"

"Probably to cause as much commotion as possible. It was sure the Wendigo would do more victims if people panicked, and in the dark with so many people running around, even vampires were at a loss."

"I don't know about you, but I could barely see anything, most of the candles were blow out," grumbled Lucian.

Milena had thought so too. With her Dhampir eyes, she had struggled to see something for a few seconds until her eyes adjusted, and it had probably been worse for her human brothers. Moreover, even if they mentioned fifteen victims, they were probably a lot more people injured. Milena herself had gotten bruises from all the struggling and people pushing each other to getaway.

"That's what worries me," said Valentin. "We have no idea who their target really was."

"Thankfully, the Royal Guards and Lady De Nova handled the situation well," said Raphael, nodding.

Her father remained quiet, but Milena knew he wasn't too happy about the outcome. Their eyes met, and Milena looked down.

"I am sorry, Father. I was reckless and put myself in danger."

The Duke was unhappy indeed, but he eventually shook his head.

"It's fine, as long as you were safe... However, do not act like this again, Milena. You are not a Knight. Use your bodyguards, your maids, I don't care who but don't let yourself be attacked like this again. Your brothers and I won't be in the Royal Castle to protect you. You'll have to do wisely with whoever you take along."

"I understand."

Milena had been aware of this for a long time already. The Bridal Selection had been a tough challenge for one week, but from then on, it was going to be a long, long endurance race. Her enemies were never going to disappear. For each she could get rid of, she was going to get new ones. Becoming one of the biggest political faces of the Kingdom came with such a cost.

"Do not worry, Millie, you're still our younger sister," said Valentin gently. "You can come to us whenever you need it."

"That's right! I'll happily kick that arrogant Prince's a*s if..."

Lucian interrupted his sentence, though, as all four other people at the table were sending him dark glances. The younger brother made a grimace and grabbed his cup with a grown. Milena sighed. Her brother was as hot-blooded as always... However, Anton turned to Raphael, with his red eyes going a bit darker. "We will have to work harder to protect Milena from the inside," he said.

Raphael went a bit whiter, looking guilty. Milena realized this was linked to the blood supply incident they had mentioned the previous day... Was their father holding him responsible for not providing enough information to her? Milena frowned, a bit confused. If their Father already knew about the Society of Vampires, why wasn't he part of it himself? The Duke De Crescent was more involved in the Military Council than the Politics, but it still didn't keep him from joining some higher circles...

Anton De Crescent was known for hating such matters, though. The House De Crescent was often seen as the Royal Family's Guard Dog, due to their undying loyalty. They had a lot of wealth and power, but they had never competed with the House De Solar, and only married their Daughters to the Princes a few times in History, like how Maribella had been married to the King's uncle. Maybe it wouldn't be so easy to retain that neutrality from now on. No such thing as the rivalry between the twin brothers had been seen before in the history of this Kingdom... Milena was suddenly hit with the fact that agreeing to Rayan's proposal may have changed the fate of her whole House.

"Brothers... Would you leave me a moment alone with Father, please?"

All three brothers looked surprised by her request, exchanging intrigued glances, but none of them refused. Valentin stood up first.

"If you'll allow me, father, I'd like to go check on my fiancé. I'll go straight to the Royal Castle after that."

"I'm going to bed," said Raphael. "Rowena just fell asleep and I'd like to catch some too."

"Same here," added Lucian, though he was sending curious glances to his sister the whole time.

Slowly, all three brothers left, and once they did, Anton sent the maids away as well, leaving father and daughter alone in that room. Just as they found themselves alone, the Duke seemed to finally relax, leaning in his chair. "Are you tired, father?"

"Worrying about my daughter's safety is using my lifespan, Milena."

She smiled a bit. Her father was never straight-forward with his feelings, that trait run down in their family. Milena extended her hand on his, holding it gently. Her father's cold skin had always given her a strange feeling. Her first memory of him was when he had held her, as a nine-year-old frightened child, all those years ago. He was an unshakable figure to her, and probably the person she respected the most in this world. They never exchanged many words, but there was still this strong, unbreakable bond between them whenever they stood in the same room.

Milena smiled a bit, and got up, deciding on a whim to sit on her father's lap. She hadn't done that in years. Having the usually so composed young woman act like she was a little girl again was enough to finally put a smile on the stern Duke's face. He chuckled, hugging his daughter, while Milena rested her head on his shoulder. He caressed her long black hair.

"What is it?" He whispered.

"I don't know. I just... want to be my father's daughter for a little while longer."

"You silly girl. That fact is never going to change, Milena."

She smiled, but there was something sad in that smile. Milena was always thriving for more time. If she could, she would have stayed in the De Crescent Manor to live forever. That was the first place she had felt safe, her safe house. The one place where she trusted everyone and knew she could breathe with worries.

"...I know."

"... Why did you agree to marry Rayan De Solar?" He suddenly asked.

Milena took a deep breath. She could feel her father gently caressing her hair, something that made her feel a bit sleepy again. If anyone else had been in this room, she would have been embarrassed, for sure. Yet, for now, she wanted to feel childish, just one last time.

"I think I can trust him... I've had this feeling for a while. I can't really describe it. When we were younger, I thought he hated me. Now, he's been acting differently, I don't really know why."

"...You don't remember him?"

Milena suddenly sat back, staring at her father with a concerned look.

"What are you talking about...?"

The Duke sighed. Milena was almost certain this was about that same thing her grandmother had mentioned, that part that linked her mother's murder and Rayan. Since he was so reluctant to ever speak about his lost wife, she had given up on asking her father, but... Now, Anton was the one to bring it up. Even if he didn't mention Elizia, this was clearly what this was about.

"Father?" Milena asked again. "Do you know something you should tell me."

Her father was making a grumpy face, but Milena could tell there was something he knew. She frowned, mimicking him without knowing it. After a long silence of his daughter's purple irises staring at him, Anton De Crescent sighed.

"When you were... very young, you played with him."

"With Prince Rayan?"

"I... I don't know the details. Silverius was struggling about the birth of twins with the Senate, and the rising of the Vampire extremists against the Church. I had to do a lot of... work for him."

In other words, her father was hunting down the opponents to the crown for King Silverius. It was a public fact that the House De Crescent would do such tasks for the Crown, if needed. Milena was more or less aware that the King had faced some opponents due to his many changes to the law, in his young years... Yet, what did it have to do with Prince Rayan?

"Your mother took you often to the Royal Palace. She was a friend of the Queen, and she helped her after her sons were born. She'd take you with her, as you were young."

Milena was surprised to hear this. She had somewhat understood that her mother and the Queen were close, and it wasn't unusual for noblewomen who had their first children to get advice from more experimented mothers but to think she and Rayan had met in such a way...? Moreover, Milena couldn't be older than two years old, back then. What had happened at the Royal Palace?

"Elizia said you liked Prince Rayan... Back then. I don't know why you liked him more than his brother as a toddler, or if he got attached to you then. I didn't mean to hide it from you. It was all before the incident, and your mother had only mentioned it a couple of times. I didn't even remember that detail before I saw you two standing together last night..."

"So, Rayan and I really met... When I was a baby?"

"... He was there, Milena. The Day you disappeared. He was there."