Lady Dhampir
Chapter 147

Those words from her father sank deep into her heart. Milena slowly nodded, finally feeling convinced. She hadn't seen things from that angle before, but maybe she had been too attached to the idea of having her own children. She couldn't explain it, but she was well aware of the many things that could have influenced her - the doubts surrounding her fertility for a start, not to mention the lack of a mother figure, her position as a Princess, and the pressures that come with it or even her marriage to Rayan. Although she was aware of all of this, Milena was still convinced that her desire for motherhood was of her own free will, not some idea anyone else had implanted in her mind.

Her discussion with her father had done her a world of good. Not only was she more certain about wanting to be a mother, but she also decided to part with the pressure she had felt regarding it. It was as if now she had finally decided on what to do, a weight had now been lifted off her shoulders. Who was pressuring her to get pregnant? No one but herself, and people she didn't care about. She knew neither Rayan nor her family would care if she couldn't have a baby. Maybe she could adopt a child later, or raise one of her nephews to be her heir. So many things were unsure at this point, it felt almost silly to be so concerned about a matter she had no power over. Like Rayan would say, it wasn't like they weren't trying...

She took a deep breath, swallowing her last tears, and smiled at her Father.

"Thank you, Father. I think that might have been exactly what I needed to hear..."

"Well, Princess or not, you're still my daughter. I will always happily advise you on such matters of life."

Milena nodded, her heart filling with a gentle warmth. They remained silent a while longer, her head on her father's shoulder, as his hand gently caressed her back. She knew they'd have to return to the hustle and bustle of Valentin's wedding shortly, but just for now, she wanted to enjoy these rare quiet minutes with her Father.

"... It was nice to hear you talk about mother," she whispered.

"Elizia would have been furious at me if I let you endure such hardships alone," he sighed. "She was so stubborn. You and your brothers certainly inherited that trait from the both of us."

Milena chuckled. It was true indeed. Stubbornness was one of the strongest traits she shared with her brothers.

"... Although she'd certainly s***k your eldest brother first."

Milena blushed and suddenly sat up, staring at her father in surprise.

"Father! You... knew?"

"Of course I knew. Valentin is many things, but a good liar isn't one of them. Lady d'Iris seemed to mind her condition far less than him too, and she's made herself quite comfortable here." "You like her, don't you?" chuckled Milena with pleasure.

Her father sighed.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Valentin is so much like me, I'm not surprised he picked a wife like the young Countess."

"They will be fine," chuckled Milena once more. "It's only been a matter of weeks anyway. As we know Valentin, he will panic for seven or eight months and forget about all his troubles once the baby is born... What is it?"

The way her Father's expression had sunk when she mentioned Valentin had erased the smile on Milena's face. She didn't like this. She stood up, frowning and worried.

"Father?"

However, the Duke's expression was dark, and he suddenly went mute, not adding another word. That kind of reaction didn't comfort Milena at all. She opened her mouth, unsure about what was going on, but before she could say anything, Anton sighed, "...You should talk to your brother first. He... He will explain. Just know that I still don't agree, and I hope you'll change his foolish mind."

"What of Valentin? Father!"

However, once the Duke had decided to close a topic of discussion, Milena knew that there was no way to make him elaborate on it. She hesitated a few seconds, clenching her fists, before abruptly turning around and running to her eldest brother's apartments. She had a bad feeling about this. What could they have argued about? There weren't many opinions on which they could possibly oppose each other.

"Oh, Millie!" exclaimed Lucian suddenly, appearing from around a corner.

He was dressed and seemingly ready, except for his crooked tie and unruly hair. Milena was in such a hurry and so concerned about other matters she almost glared at him when he stepped in her way. Her brother frowned, confused. "What's going on?"

"Just... come with me," she said, resuming her fast pace through the corridors of the manor.

Lucian frowned, and followed her, at a complete loss. He could see his sister was visibly upset, and he wondered what could have pushed her to this state. They climbed the stairs that led up to their eldest brother's room. The Butler and a handful of servants were all hovering around Valentin, helping him prepare for his wedding in a few hours, tying his hair back while one of the other servants recited the guest list.

The two siblings waited at the back of the room for a little while, as Valentin had now progressed to answering a wave of questions and checking himself in a large mirror. Milena recalled the mad rush before her own wedding, it had felt very different... The nostalgia helped her collect her thoughts while the fussing around Valentin continued. Next to her, Lucian was already getting bored of waiting, sighing loudly and moving on his legs, until finally, Valentin spotted them in the mirror. "Milena! When did you arrive?" he asked, dismissing most of the servants with a gesture.

"Just a few minutes ago brother."

It felt strange to notice that many of the De Crescent servants had bowed lower to her than for her siblings, but Milena didn't have time to puzzle this through now. With a frown, she turned to Valentin.

"Did you argue with Father?" she asked, unsure of what the subject had been.

"Argue? What about?" repeated Lucian, just as shocked.

Valentin sighed and shook his head.

"Not you too, Millie. My decision has already been made and Iris understands as well."

"What are you talking about? What decision?" demanded Milena

Valentin opened his mouth in surprise, realizing Milena had come without knowing the details of their fight; he glanced at Lucian, and hesitated for a few seconds. It was enough to annoy Milena. "Valentin! Speak!"

"...I asked Father to take his place as an envoy of the House De Crescent."

A silence followed, and the remaining servants understood that this was their cue to leave. Milena was baffled, and speechless. Next to her, Lucian laughed nervously. "Val, you can't be serious?"

"Yes, I am," retorted their eldest brother.

"...Have you gone mad?" asked Milena. "What were you thinking? Valentin! You can't do this!"

The young Duke rolled his eyes.

"I should have known Father was going to tell you. He could have at least waited until after the wedding."

"Valentin De Crescent!" shouted Milena. "What in the world is wrong with you? You want to take our father's place in the war? Are you crazy or stupid!"

She was shocked and furious. Valentin couldn't be serious about sending himself to war instead of their Father. Regardless of his reasons, he was the heir to the House. He already had all the recognition one could get as a Duke's heir, and if needed, he could have taken over the title the very next day without anyone batting an eyelid. Moreover, he was about to be wed and has a child on the way. His future as a husband and father was looking bright, so why was he suddenly determined to sacrifice all of that by going to war! Besides Milena, Lucian was just as shocked, but he was better at controlling his emotions in such a situation. He glanced at their sister, gasped, and turned to Valentin.

"...Val, what's going on? Why would you take Father's spot? It... It makes no sense... The Dukedom is going to need you!"

Valentin took a deep breath, extremely calm and serious. That spark of determination in his blue eyes was scaring Milena even more than his words.

"I've thought about this, long and hard. Our Father isn't as young as he used to be..."

"He's a vampire, he's not some old man!"

"Still, Milena. If you look at it, our Father isn't so young anymore. How many years has it been since he trained or used a sword?"

"You know I'm not ecstatic about our Father going to war either," she retorted. "I am not the slightest bit happy about sending anyone to war, but I understand that Lucian will have to. However, it doesn't make sense that you'd be the one to go!" "On the contrary, it does. Milena, you're the politician, you should know better."

She paused, completely taken off-guard.

Milena was the only daughter of the House De Crescent, but there were three sons. In most cases, the oldest was raised as a politician, the one to take over the House and Dukedom, the second was raised as a Scholar, so he'd later help his older brother with intrigues and politics. The third brother, when there was one, had more options, but Lucian had followed their family's natural disposition and chosen to live as a soldier.

There hadn't been many causes for War since the Great Catastrophe, only a few internal conflicts. However, every Noble knew the rule - each Noble House would have to send two sons to war, it was part of their duty as a Noblemen. To show their willingness, the Noble Houses couldn't get out of it by sending some distant cousin or bastard. It ought to come from the direct line of male heirs, if possible. Hence, having three sons in the House De Crescent was both a blessing and a curse. "N-no," she stuttered, trying to repress her tears. "Val, I don't understand. You... You have a wife. You'll have a baby soon. How can you possibly think of going to war?"

He sighed, and before she could react, he put his hands in her hair, caressing her gently.

"Milena, I'm doing this for you."

"What are you saying..."

Lucian was frowning, just as lost as she was. Valentin ignored him and sighed.

"....I told you, I thought about this a lot. I only brought the matter to Father this week, to be very honest. I knew Father wouldn't accept, but... It was better that we start discussing this now. Milena, I'm not only doing this to protect our Father, but also our House, and your future."

She couldn't understand. She stared at him blankly. All she knew was that Valentin wanted to go to war in their Father's stead, and it made no sense to her. Moreover, he seemed incredibly calm about this, while Milena's heart was going through a storm.

"...I still don't hold enough power at court, Millie. Our Father is the Duke, and he's been the Duke De Crescent for a long time, everyone respects him. He's a close friend to King Silverius, and a strong member of the Senate. He doesn't even need to attend for his will to be heard."

It was true. The Duke, like some of the most prominent members of the Senate, rarely attended, as his presence wasn't necessary for his opinion to be known. Especially now that Milena herself was sitting at the Council, everyone knew she had the House De Crescent supporting all of her decisions. Her Father was like a strong protective shadow behind her.

Valentin smiled gently at her.

"Milena, I'm... human. And I'm young. I would need ten more years to obtain the power our Father has at court, and it will need to be strong enough to support you. If... If your husband is the one sent to war little sister, who will stay behind to support you?" Milena was shocked.

Even though she hadn't thought that far ahead, Valentin was already several steps ahead. The court was clearly divided between the two royal couples, and most of the human Senators would follow Ellias's lead, simply because he was human, and wed to a popular human wife. It wasn't a big deal presently, as Milena had her fair share of supporters amongst the human Senators. Many had been happy to see her go head-on against her brother-in-law, and more importantly, she had demonstrated her political power over the Guilds.

However, this support would vanish if she remained alone. Valentin was right. In the worst-case scenario, if Rayan was the one sent to war, Milena would remain alone to face Ellias, and the forces would become too uneven. She'd need allies who were the strongest. Her ladies-in-waiting were from strong families, but if all the male heirs of the families were sent to war, things were going to get tough quickly.

"...The De Winters are trying to amend the rules, to send their youngest son to war instead, Milena. This means the young Duke or his father will most likely stay behind to support the Princess De Winter. Eugenie's father will have to go too, and the De Boreals are having their own internal conflicts as well. The elders are trying to send the young ones, but we can beat them, if I go, and Father stays..."

"You want to sacrifice yourself so I have the strongest support possible," she muttered.

Milena couldn't fathom what she was hearing. It wasn't even about himself, or the Dukedom. It wasn't about protecting their Father, or trying to obtain fame and recognition through military accomplishments. Valentin was only trying to figure out how to protect her, in case Rayan was the one to go.

"No."

Milena stepped back out of his hands, angry and upset.

"You're being ridiculous, Valentin," she said. "I'm the Princess; you're the future Duke De Crescent. Have you ever heard of a man making decisions to..."

"To protect his beloved younger sister?" interrupted Valentin

His serious gaze, mixed with a gentle smile, made her waver for a second. Even Lucian had gone quiet, understanding what was going on. Milena shook her head.

"No, Valentin. Don't be an idiot. You have a baby on the way, and your future wife is waiting downstairs."

"Eugenie understands, Milena. We already talked about it. My... wife is a smart woman. She knows what's at stake. It's more important than the Dukedom. Our child will be born a human, but his family is still half-vampire. I don't want him to grow up in a future where both races aren't equal. The Dukedom will be fine without me, Millie. Father is still here. There's Raphael too, and later, my child will inherit it."

Milena shook her head, trying to repress her tears for the second time that day. She couldn't understand that decision. More importantly, she couldn't understand how Valentin could be willing to go to war for her.

She had always imagined that their father and Lucian would be the ones to go. Lucian had always dreamed of facing a real battle and proving himself - he had trained his whole life for this. Milena didn't want to see him go any more than their Father, but this felt like fate. Anton De Crescent had military achievements of his own too. He had repressed rebels for the Kings, chased culprits, and several times, the House De Crescent had been involved in conflicts with the Duke as a leader. It wasn't because there had been no war in those last few years that the military achievements of their house had gone to the dark. The House De Crescent was far older than the Great Catastrophe.

But Valentin was young. He had his whole life ahead of him, his family, his position as the Duke, and much more. Milena was already having trouble sleeping while knowing that her husband could be sent to war. Now, she couldn't fathom the thought of sending off her eldest brother as well. It felt unfair.

"No," she said once again. "I won't accept it, Valentin. I refuse."

He chuckled.

"Unfortunately, it is not your decision to make, Millie. If anything, it's between Father and I."

"You said you were doing this because I need allies, right? What if I have more powerful allies? What if I can protect myself just fine against Ellias?"

Her brothers exchanged a look, suddenly alarmed by her change of tone.

"M-Millie, nothing's decided yet," said Lucian. "If your husband doesn't go to war, Valentin won't have to go... It's... hypothetical for now, so..."

"I don't want to wait for a hypothesis to come true and settle my brother's fate!"

Valentin sighed and crossed his arms.

"Milena, stop. I'm going to war, I'm not going to be killed on the spot. Can't you have a bit more faith in me?"

"No, Valentin, you're the one who should have more faith in me! What was the point of me becoming a Princess if I can't even protect my brothers?"

"Your older brothers, Milena. I'm still almost ten years older than you are, may I remind you! There is no rule saying we can't protect you just because you have a higher status either! You wouldn't be there, actually, if it wasn't for our support!" "I don't want you to support me and lose your lives for it!"

Valentin sighed again and drew closer. However, Milena immediately stepped back. He knew her all too well when she behaved like this. This was Milena on her guard, the one who was not going to let anyone approach, like an infuriated cat.

"Milena, this is just the reality of it. You need strong allies. You... I know you have strong allies, but your friends won't be enough. They are women, and you know our Kingdom seldom allows female heirs to take power. I know you are on good terms with Lady De Nova, but it still won't be enough. If some of your allies leave for the war, then..."

"Don't underestimate me, Valentin", suddenly hissed Milena.

She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her cheeks, determined. She looked right at him, her amethyst eyes shining bright. She looked so proud, standing tall and fierce, he didn't even dare try to respond. It wasn't often he'd seen his younger sister look so determined. She wasn't messing about.

"I'll have strong allies, Val. Strong enough that I don't have to depend on anyone. Strong enough that you'll know I can take care of myself just fine without sacrificing any of my siblings!"

"You don't have time, Milena. You won't replace new allies or turn Ellias' followers to your side, not that fast. The war is..."

"...not here yet. I'm not intending to get new allies, Valentin. I don't need Ellias's either. All I have to do is make the ones I already have stronger. Much stronger. The De Winters are trying to change the law, aren't they? Well, they're not the only ones. I'll show you what I can do alone. You'll see, I don't need your help or Father's!"

Just like that, she stormed out of the room, scaring all the maids in the vicinity. Valentin sighed.

"...That did not go well," said Lucian.

"Thanks, Lucian. I should have known better..."

However, to his surprise, Lucian chuckled, putting his hands in his outfit's pockets, still staring at the door where Milena had made her dramatic exit.

"...What?" asked Valentin, still sour.

"You know, I love when Millie gets mad like that. Because that means she's going to unleash some god damn hell on someone, and I can't wait to see which idiots end up begging for mercy."