Lady Dhampir
Chapter 11

Milena felt completely taken by surprise. With so many people at the party, she hadn't expected to have the Prince come and talk to her so soon! A few seconds too late, she finally did her reverence, immediately copied by her friends behind her. Prince Ellias smiled and slightly bowed properly. "Indeed, Prince, it is nice to see you again. I have been well, thank you for your concern."

"I hope I'm not disturbing you and your friends, but I was curious to know if you were done reading that book?"

Milena was a bit surprised. Had he not seen the scene just earlier? Or was he pretending he didn't? Either way, she decided to ignore it and behave normally.

"Of course not, we were just enjoying the refreshments. Indeed, I finished that book's third volume last week. I felt that the author's style had changed, and it turns out a ghostwriter took over. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it." The Prince seemed a bit surprised.

"Really? You have been observant! I didn't even realize the changes."

Milena smiled, a bit proud. The Prince couldn't ignore her friends any longer and turned to them. Yasina had managed to get the cream off of Lylin's dress, but the girls still cooperated to have her at the back so she could hide it a bit.

"Good afternoon, ladies. I hope you are enjoying this Tea Party my mother has organized."

"It is very pleasant, Your Majesty," replied Helena.

Milena was a bit impressed with how calm and composed her cousin was while answering the Prince. It seemed to be part of Helena's personality, to be naturally very good with her emotions and manners. The other girls said a few words, but all were blushing a bit and intimidated; Prince Ellias soon turned to Milena again.

"I remember you had a distinct passion for flowers. Is my mother's garden to your liking?"

"It is splendid, Your Majesty. I wish I could explore every corner of it; Her Highness has exquisite tastes."

"I'm glad to hear that. My mother is known to be extremely picky when it comes to gardening! Maybe I can give you a tour when we get a proper occasion?"

This sudden proposal was truly unexpected. He was basically asking if they could meet again privately! Milena felt the stares of her friends on her, all waiting for her answer. She tried to imitate her cousin and stay as composed as she could. "It would be an honor, Your Highness."

Ellias smiled, his green eyes shining brightly.

"Then, forgive me for keeping you busy, my Lady."

After also saluting her friends, the Prince left to talk to other people. As soon as he was far enough, Milena's new friends surrounded her.

"Milena, you have a date with His Highness!"

"What date! We just agreed to walk together in Her Majesty's garden..."

"Oh, please, nothing is insignificant here!" said Cassidie, smiling from ear to ear.

"You're one of the duchesses; any interaction with the Prince will be scrutinized by everyone," added Helena.

"Speaking of duchesses... Look who he went to talk to."

Milena followed Yasina's gaze. Prince Ellias was indeed in a deep conversation with a young girl in a pretty, blue dress. She had her blonde hair held by a cute headband and smiled a lot.

"Philomenie De Winter, first daughter of the Duchy House De Winter. One of your rivals..."

Milena was well aware of the Duchess De Winter. Her family, like Milena's, was one of the most influential and powerful in the Kingdom. Known as strong allies to the crown, they also had several companies under their name, a few properties, and a good reputation. Though there was no history of a feud between the House De Crescent and the House De Winter, they often competed on several grounds with their businesses, political views, and relationship with the Royal Family.

"To be honest," said Cassidie, "I heard Philomenie is being trained by her family to become a princess."

Helena frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"They give her a lot of classes: etiquette, beauty trends, ballet, music lessons, dancing classes, speech techniques, etc. I heard she even has a personal dietitian, beauty expert, and trainer just for her."

"That's way too much!" exclaimed Lilyn. "I would die if I had to do all that on top of my current lessons..."

Milena, however, couldn't help but chuckle. Helena turned to her.

"What is so funny, cousin?"

"Well, Cassidie's probably right. She's perfect. Look at her."

Indeed, there wasn't a single thing to change in Philomenie De Winter. She was as pretty as a doll, had perfect mannerisms, and even her smile was angelic. They couldn't know what she was talking to the Prince about, but seeing them together, they indeed seemed like a perfect little couple. A bit lost, Helena turned to Milena again, whispering.

"Do you think she's in the wrong?"

"No, she's acting exactly as she should. Indeed, she seems like the perfect shell for a future princess..."

"A shell?" repeated Helena.

Milena nodded.

"Didn't you notice? Everything Cassidie mentioned focuses on her outer appearance. I doubt the De Winter Family would think this is enough to make a future queen. Even if those rumors are true, I doubt this is all there is to it." "You think she's fake, then?"

"No, I think she's polished to be a princess. But I'm more curious about what kind of person she really is behind that perfect mask..."

Helena shivered. Milena's cold, amethyst eyes had a very strange shine at that moment. Looking at her, she could actually see why the De Winter Duchess had to make so much effort. It took only one glance to see how beautiful Milena was. Her Dhampir genes had gifted her with a natural, cool beauty that didn't need any polish. Her sleek and shiny black hair, her mesmerizing purple eyes, her lips as red as blood... Helena couldn't help but feel a bit of jealousy. They were only children, but the two Duchesses were already way too special compared to them!

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I guess it will be interesting to get to know her, then," she sighed. "She is the only one who will be the most favored candidate for both princes..."

That was one thing that was a bit particular about weddings.

In Human couples, there was no issue. Vampires, however, needed a Human partner to procreate. Hence, if a Vampire was born in any family, their future spouse would naturally be chosen among the Human nobles, making all the Vampire noble ladies ineligible as candidates for the Vampire Prince.

Milena, however, was the only one with a question mark. Could a Dhampir bear the children of a Vampire? There was no record of such a thing before, but no proof it was impossible either...

She glanced once again at the Human Prince. She had yet to meet his twin, the Vampire Prince, but it was very unlikely that she would be chosen as a candidate for him as well. Even if he wasn't picked as the Crown Prince, a Vampire's fertility rate was low and he probably wouldn't want to risk not having heirs by marrying a Dhampir bride.

Yet, Milena was curious to see if the other Prince was as charming and handsome as his brother...

"Milena?"

Her brother Lucian had come back to them, and after saluting her friends politely, took his sister a bit away from the crowd to walk with him in the garden. Milena told him all about her exchange with the Prince, and Lucian listened with a frown. "Everyone was watching when you two were talking, Millie. You should be careful...

"I cannot avoid talking to His Majesty, Lucian. I will be scrutinized anyway. I'm too much of a freak to be invisible here, I suppose..."

"You're not a freak! I don't want you to say such things..."

Milena chuckled, a bit touched by her brother's cute, annoyed look. She put her hand on his arm, and they walked a bit farther arm in arm in one of the garden's aisles, among the roses.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. This isn't any worse than being trapped in a cage in the middle of monsters..."

"So you're not afraid?"

"Afraid of what? Some teenagers and children having tea and comparing their dresses? Not really. I'm more worried about the adults. The Queen was staring right at me earlier, did you see? Father and Grandmother have never told me about her. Is she an ally to our Family?"

"I don't know either... My professor said she was from the House De Boreal before she married His Majesty the King, but the De Boreal don't have any girls to be Bride Candidates for her sons. I suppose she will choose a favorite differently if she picks one? She was observing the De Winter girl, too, you know."

"Really? She might really be evaluating us, then..."

Suddenly, Lucian stopped and turned to her. Behind him, night had fallen already. Milena knew this meant the Vampire children and nobles would soon arrive too. Her brother put his hands on her shoulders.

"Do you want to become a princess, Millie?"

She chuckled.

"You're so serious today!"

"It's not funny! This is dangerous! Our mom was killed while trying to protect you, and now that you're back, you will be in danger again. I don't want all this fighting, but I want to protect my Family. Father told me there are only a few families of Humans and Vampires like us. There are a lot of people trying to attack us."

Milena became serious again. She already knew all that. They were only children, but they were constantly exposed to threats because of the Family they were born into.

"I want the exact same thing as you, Lucian: to protect our family. Now stop being so serious. Come with me, we can't be absent for too long."

Despite Lucian's unhappy expression, they walked back to the main area of the Tea Party, but the atmosphere had changed. With the night falling, the Vampire nobles, children, and some adults had arrived. It was like an invisible wall was erected between Humans and Vampires; most of each group stayed on their side of the garden. Some couldn't even hide their fear of the Vampires, and awkwardly stayed away. She could count on one hand the Humans who were talking to the Vampires.

Milena sighed and started walking. She wasn't afraid at all among the Vampires, and many of them stared at her, a bit surprised. But she found her brother, Raphael, quite quickly.

"Big brother!" she saluted him with a smile.

Behind her, Lucian saluted him too, and the two youngest started telling him what had happened before his arrival. Like Lucian, he didn't seem too happy about Milena's interactions with the Prince. He was about to say something when the soldiers came again. "Please rise for His Highness Prince Rayan!"

Milena turned around, a bit curious. A large silence had fallen on the garden, like a cold wind suddenly blowing in.

A young boy entered, in a black and red outfit. She was stunned. Prince Rayan was the exact copy of his younger brother. The twins had exactly the same traits, the same size, the same face. She felt like she was looking at Prince Ellias, with only three differences. Prince Rayan had black hair like the feathers of a crow, a Vampire's crimson eyes, and most discernibly, a horrifying burn scar on a third of his face.