Lady Dhampir
Chapter 13

Milena stood there, completely destabilized by the Queen's intriguing question. What does one need to rule a Kingdom? That sounded like an enigma for politicians, not something a nine-year-old child could answer! But Her Highness was waiting for her to reply, and Milena had to think about it. She thought about every book she had read, but none seemed to have the answer. She knew about politics, military power, aristocracy, nobles, and science, but none of this seemed to be the correct answer... "A great queen," said a voice behind her.

Milena turned around. She instantly knew who had spoken before her. A thin girl, around her age, with Vampire features and a black and yellow dress. Her black hair was cut in a blunt bob, with no hair decorations on it. However, the star on her necklace gave away her identity right away. "Duchess De Nova," said Milena as an introduction. "Nice to meet you."

Young Duchess Rachael De Nova, the only Vampire of the three peers. Other than Philomenie, she was the only girl in the room who could speak on equal terms with her. Moreover, Rachael was the only child of the House De Nova so far and the main heir. "Delighted to meet you again, Your Highness," said Rachael, doing a perfect reverence.

"Good to see you as well, young Duchess. It appears all the finest young ladies of this Kingdom are gathered here."

Milena wondered if the Queen was talking about the three Duchesses or more broadly about all the noble girls present. She exchanged a glance with Rachael, who couldn't ignore her any further in front of the Queen.

"We meet at last, Duchess Milena De Crescent."

Her tone was polite but cold. It was not surprising, however.

The House De Crescent and House De Nova were openly rivals and, for the most part, hated each other. It was a feud that was decades old and had many reasons. From what Milena had heard, even her great-grandmother, Archduchess Maribella, had been a fierce rival to Rachael's own great-grandmother back when the two Duchesses competed inside the Royal Palace itself. It was most likely that history would repeat itself once again...

However, the two girls couldn't say anything in the presence of the Queen. Milena didn't have anything against Rachael, but the girl's animosity towards her was palpable. She mentally sighed, and thought she should ask her grandmother more about this feud when she got home...

"Indeed. I look forward to meeting you more often in the future," politely replied Milena.

No matter what, she had no reason yet to add fuel to the fire. Rachael seemed a bit surprised by her response but didn't add anything. Instead, she turned to the Queen.

"You heard my answer, Your Highness. I believe a great ruler needs a good partner to shoulder him. Someone with the power to assist him."

"Are you implying His Majesty the King would be powerless without me?"

The Queen's cold voice surprised both girls. Milena glanced at Rachael. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then gathered her self-confidence to reassert her answer.

"No, Your Highness. I think a king has many difficulties to face, and a Queen can help him in his task."

"I see... An ambitious answer, as expected from a daughter from the House De Nova."

Milena wondered if this was meant to be praise or not. The Queen was truly a master at hiding her emotions... Her Highness then looked at her, and Milena realized she was waiting for her answer as well. She thought about it for a few seconds, then gave it. "I would say a ruler would need knowledge first and foremost."

The Queen's eye twitched. "Knowledge?"

"I believe so, Your Highness, even if it's only a nine-year-old girl's modest thoughts. Whoever bears the responsibility of the land should know about many things to rule over it properly. About the people, the land, the resources, the commerce, the economy... A true ruler is one that would perpetually seek knowledge."

"I see..."

Milena felt Rachael's intense stare on her and wondered if her answer was a bit strange. She was mostly waiting for the Queen's reaction, though.

"Knowledge will not be enough when it comes time for action, young Duchess. I hope you are nurturing your body as well as sharpening your mind."

"... Yes, Your Highness. Thank you for your words."

Milena felt like she had been scolded. Was her answer bad? The Queen didn't add anything else, as a servant came to talk to her, and the two girls were implicitly dismissed. As soon as the Queen turned her attention somewhere else, Rachael clicked her tongue. "I didn't expect the De Crescent daughter to be a bookworm..."

"I suppose you would be expected to be the one spending her time in libraries, given your family's accomplishments."

"I am not like my family," replied Rachael.

Milena thought that was probably the case. The House De Nova was renowned for all the generations of scholars it had given birth to, many of them famous for major discoveries in the scientific or medical world. Legends said that their name came from one of their ancestors who had been the very first to draw an accurate map of the stars. The House De Crescent, on the other hand, was renowned mostly for its military records, as many had served as generals or the King's guards.

"That might be better..." she muttered to herself.

"Excuse me?"

"Choosing our own paths. As you said yourself, we are not our families," said Milena.

Rachael seemed surprised for a second, then she became almost as red as Milena's gown, and turned to her.

"Do not get mistaken into thinking I would ever be your friend, Lady De Crescent! Do you know how much my great-grandmother has suffered because of your own ancestor's petty schemes? Moreover, I do not like your attitude or your casual way of talking to me. The Queen may have praised you a bit, but this is not over. You and I are rivals!"

With those last words, Rachael took off, obviously annoyed. Milena was left alone, a bit distraught. She sighed. What could her grandmother have done...? She now had an official rival as well. It seemed like the war between the two Houses was not ready to die out anytime soon. "Lady De Crescent?"

She turned over and was suddenly faced with her other rival. Philomenie De Winter was even prettier from up close, if possible. Her cheeks blushed slightly once Milena's eyes caught hers, and she did a perfect reverence.

"Please pardon me for being a bit too pushy, but I noticed you and Lady De Nova and I couldn't help but think I wanted to introduce myself as well."

Of course. Unlike her, Philomenie and Rachael probably had seen each other quite a few times since their birth. Milena, on the other hand, was the only question mark, the one they didn't know at all. It was inevitable that the other children would be curious about her, and even more so for the two young duchesses. In contrast to Rachael, however, Philomenie was smiling, looking a bit shy but very gentle.

Milena did her reverence as well and introduced herself. Philomenie's smile immediately got brighter.

"I couldn't wait to meet you! I've heard all sorts of rumors, so I have to admit, I was a bit impatient to finally introduce myself!"

Though she was quite bright and straightforward, her attitude felt genuine. Milena relaxed a little.

"Thank you, Lady De Winter. It is my first time attending a social event like this. I'm happy to be able to meet everyone."

"Oh, these are so stressful, aren't they? Her Majesty is a wonderful person, but these gatherings feel a bit too uptight. We are only children!"

Milena couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her cute pouting. Philomenie was surprisingly childish and wilful.

"Isn't it the same for you, Lady De Crescent? Honestly, I feel suffocated, studying hard day after day..."

"I am quite lucky. My family is more laid back with me, probably because I love to study so much by myself anyway."

"Do you really?"

"I'm fond of literature. Don't you like reading, Lady De Winter?"

"Not so much, sadly. I have to read dozens of books until the letters get blurry. I am more of an outdoor person. I love horseback riding and gardening."

"I like gardening too," said Milena, surprised to replace a common hobby with her.

The two girls went on to discuss their favorite flowers for a while, and Milena was shocked by how knowledgeable Philomenie was on the subject. She didn't learn through books, but by spending time with her family's gardeners and had her own winter garden and veranda at her family's manor.

"By the way, did Her Majesty ask you that strange question as well?" inquired Philomenie.

"What makes a good ruler?"

"Oh, so she really did ask you and Lady De Nova as well! I wondered if she was asking every lady, but it might only be the three of us..."

"May I know what you replied, Lady De Winter?"

Philomenie blushed a bit, putting one of her golden strands of hair behind her ear. She really looked like an angel or a fairy that had stepped right out of a book, thought Milena.

"It was probably a silly response... I didn't think too much and said a king or queen needs empathy."

"Empathy?"

"Isn't it the most important thing for a ruler? If you know your people's hearts, you know what they want and how you should help them. My mother always says we should behave with kindness and compassion towards our people."

Milena was completely struck. She thought that was a very good answer and one that befitted Philomenie's character, too. She would never have come up with something as idealistic as that. It took someone truly good-natured to think of such a response. She nodded, thinking deeply.

"Did Her Majesty say anything?"

"She said it was indeed very important, and noble hearts deserved the best. Isn't it good that Her Highness thinks the same?"

This was completely unexpected from the Queen, and Milena thought Philomenie had found an answer that truly pleased the Queen...

"What about you, Lady De Crescent?"

Milena told her about her short encounter with the Queen, including her own answer and the Queen's reaction to it. Just like herself right before, Philomenie seemed a bit surprised by her answer.

"Lady De Crescent, you are so smart! I'm feeling so childish right now... A king should definitely be skilled in many things! I am far from being so wise."

The two girls went on to discuss the possible answers to the question, eventually deciding this was too vast of a topic to replace a definite answer for now. Philomenie sighed.

"You know, I sometimes wish I wasn't born into such a high-ranked family..."

"What do you mean?"

"I love my father and mother, and my brothers as well, but there is truly too much to worry about every day. How we behave, what we eat, how we study, who to write and talk to, so many names and things to remember... I just wish I was a normal girl! I don't really need to live in such a big house, either."

Milena didn't say anything, but she understood Philomenie's point of view. However, that was because the young Duchess De Winter had never lived in poverty. Milena knew what it was like to be cold, famished, and sick. She lived the first years of her life never feeling warm or safe enough. Now that she was living in the De Crescent Manor, she treated every day as a blessing. Everyone around her thought it was a given because of her birthright, but to Milena, it was something she could never stop being thankful for. Next to her, Philomenie didn't notice her mixed emotions and kept speaking honestly.

"You know, my maids live in much smaller houses! They told me their family all sleep in one room, next to each other! Isn't it adorable? I wish I was that close to my siblings, instead of having bedrooms far away from each other."

They probably hadn't gone into too much detail to protect their mistress' feelings...

"Do you want to become a princess, Lady De Crescent?"

Her blunt question was totally off subject, and Milena hesitated before answering. However, Philomenie didn't wait for her answer.

"I told my father that I don't really mind if my husband is not a prince. All I want is to marry a kind man. This way, we can live a good life and be nice to others. I want to help poor people as much as I can. As nobles, isn't it best if we give others what we can?" The more she listened, the more Milena felt Philomenie was truly too optimistic about this world. If poverty could be ended as easily as that, it would have been dealt with long ago. But the problem wasn't only about money: it was about resources and the dark times they were living in. Since the Great Catastrophe, the Kingdom had many issues to deal with, and the population was suffering from it. As nobles, they were naturally shielded from the common people's daily troubles, but Milena definitely knew it wasn't as simple as Philomenie made it seem.

"It is good to be generous, but don't you think you need power to help others?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you don't have power, you cannot act freely and make the right changes." Philomenie shook her head.

"The High Priest said it. If you have a generous and pure heart, it is the most powerful you can be."

Milena didn't answer that. The Church... The most powerful religious organization in the Kingdom, and not to be ignored. They had resources and a great number of believers and followers, even among the nobles. She didn't know too much about it, but she could tell her own family wasn't one of them.

"Oh, pardon me, Lady De Crescent; my brother is calling me. I would be glad to talk again later!"

After exchanging a few greetings, Milena watched Philomenie walk across the Garden to meet with an older boy who looked a lot like her. At the same time, Raphael came back, looking a bit worried.

"Sorry for leaving you alone for so long, Millie. Are you having fun?"

"Not really. But I made new friends."

She told him about her encounter with the two young duchesses and the Queen, and Raphael frowned the whole time.

"I see... You should definitely talk to Grandmother about all this. She knows more than us about whatever this is all about."

"Isn't it clear though? Her Highness is testing us..."

"It's never that simple, Millie. But yeah, you're surely right. Anyway, don't think about it too much, you're still young... Also, the Oracle is here. Do you want to go see her?"

"... The Oracle?"