Lady Dhampir
Chapter 157

Milena couldn't believe she was attending another funeral, so soon.

A King's funeral wasn't much more than a Dowager Duchess, strangely. There was a higher difference in the fact that one had been human, the other vampire, than from their difference in statuses. Still, no one could say Milena hadn't done her best to prepare this funeral, in such a short time, too. It was, as planned, small but very solemn. The number of attendants had continuously been changed over the last few hours, every noble in the Kingdom almost begging to be there. Milena hated this. There was no use in trying to appeal to a dead man; all those people were only there to butter up to the Royal princes, and show off their proximity to them. Hence, she had made a very simple but clear choice: only the Dukedoms, as well as people who worked closely with the King during his lifetime, were to be allowed in.

In total, it amounted to about thirty people that would be able to enter the room, and the Royal Family had to welcome each of them before walking in themselves. To Milena's surprise, Philomenie was present by Ellias' side to do the task along with them. Both couples lined up on one side of the door so the guests could greet them politely before going in. Milena hadn't realized how awkward it would be for the four of them to stand next to each other for so long. Rayan was the closest to the door, as the oldest son, while she was standing between him and Ellias, Philomenie last in line next to her husband.

For a long while, none of them spoke to each other. It was easy to pretend to be busy with welcoming the nobles coming in, as all of them wanted to use this occasion to say a word to each Royal. Each time she had to hear people congratulating Philomenie for her pregnancy, Milena wanted to roll her eyes. There had been no official news, yet every single noble knew. Moreover, for some reason, Philomenie had already switched to a maternity dress, with a puffy front and no belt. It was truly nothing but to put on a show... "Princess Milena!" Suddenly exclaimed a middle-aged man, jumping from Ellias to her.

"Evening, General De Lily," she said with a polite smile.

"Oh, Your Highness, I needed to say, that duel with the Duchess De Nova was superb! It's a shame my son and I only witnessed it from afar! But really, it was impressive! The Duke ought to be so proud of his daughter, my Lady, to be so skilled at your age!" "I'll be embarrassed, Count, this was nothing but a little duel between Lady De Nova and I. I'm afraid we have caused quite a stir unwillingly..."

"Oh, my Lady, it was the most magnificent duel I've witnessed in a long time! I wish my son and my knights could learn from it, your double-sword style should be recorded for the future generations!" "Thank you for this kind compliment, general."

Milena had to be careful about her attitude because of the time and place, but she was still glad to hear all of this. Knowing the nobles of the Kingdom, the news about her duel with Rachael had probably already been told in every household twice... Suddenly, next to them, Ellias cleared his throat.

"General, may I remind you you're also here to pay respects to my father. I fear there isn't much time to discuss Princess Milena's skills."

The Count apologized, but he visibly wasn't too happy. He went on to greet Rayan with a strong handshake, and a quick hug, but as soon as he was inside Milena sighed.

"It's too bad you feel only your wife deserves praise, your Highness. You did not stop anyone who spoke volumes about her pregnancy..."

"My wife didn't decide to brawl in the middle of the day to have people talk about her," he hissed back.

"Too bad a woman has to puke in the middle of a Council meeting to deserve recognition..." sighed Rayan.

Milena chuckled. Ellias was about to retort something, but just then, a Countess appeared, and he had to keep it to himself. Meanwhile, Philomenie had barely said a word out of the greetings. She looked a bit pale and her eyes were red, which made Milena wonder if she had been sick again. Or if she had gotten upset... Still, as the last noble guests arrived, Milena wondered how all four of them could act like this. Even the nobles ought to think it was too awkward. No one could ignore the brothers were at odds about which one of them would be sent to war, and yet here they were, greeting people side by side and pretending to be a family. She wished her own family could have come, but the De Crescent Manor was really too far, and the snow made the journey reckless, even for her father. It would have been injuring the horses for nothing. The Duke De Winter, too, hadn't been able to come, but when Arseus showed up, Milena braced herself mentally. He spent a lot more time chatting with Ellias than his own sister, and his greeting to her had even felt a bit... light.

Once he moved to greet Milena, a smile on his lips, Rayan suddenly stepped forward, almost placing himself between them.

"Young Duke," he said coldly. "So you did come."

As he extended his hand, Milena realized he had completely cut Arseus from going to her, making him jump to the Prince without any occasion to talk to her. Indeed, Arseus did glance towards her, but with the Prince's hand extended, he had no chance but to take it. "O-Of course Your Highness... For such an occasion..."

"I do hope there won't be too many occasions like these," said Rayan, with his ever ice-cold smile.

"Surely not, Your Highness. For the Royal Family to stay, uh... healthy..."

"Yes. It would be bad to have you come here too often."

It was both a threat and an insult, but Rayan's crimson glare only confused Arseus even more. Milena chuckled internally. He probably had no idea what he had done to piss off the Prince... but she surely hoped Rayan would give him more hell later. She just couldn't stand the sight of that misogynist p*****t. She saw him grimace at the handshake, and when Rayan finally released him, she felt prouder than ever of her man.

The Duke walked back inside, and she finally let herself smile.

"Damn," sighed Rayan. "I don't think I can stand much more of all those men lurking at you..."

He had spoken too softly for his brother to hear, but Milena chuckled. Ellias visibly took this the wrong way, and glared at them.

"Could you try to act with dignity..."

"Could you try to pretend not to care about whatever it is we do?" Retorted Milena.

He clicked his tongue, immediately getting a glare from Rayan. They left it at that, but the tension was terrible between them. Milena just wished she could have been in her bed, with a book and some tea, or had a more private way to wish her farewell to the King, at least. She envied her friends who could simply pray in the houses' little chapels, and that would be enough. Sometimes, she just couldn't help but hate the duties that came with her position... Thankfully, this didn't last forever. None of the guests wanted to spend too long standing in the cold antechamber, and soon, the Royal Princes and Princesses were able to get inside the little chapel as well.

Milena didn't have much choice for the location of the Funeral: the snow had made it impossible to go to the High Church or anywhere further than a few miles. It wouldn't have been safe to take all of the Royal Family outside in such conditions, security-wise, and even less with a pregnant woman.

This little chapel was plenty enough for a private ceremony, too. It wasn't very befitting of a King, but King Silverius probably wouldn't have wanted anything too grand either. In the current situation, there was no reason to go the extra length, it wouldn't have been appropriate. Hence, they were all in this little Chapel, the four of them, with thirty or so guests, and the two priests invited to perform the ritual. The Church had naturally sent some of the higher priests, but using the bad weather as an excuse, they hadn't sent the ones Milena had crossed paths with before, and sent young ones instead...

Of course, the Royal Family had to sit in the first row, and it felt rather brutal to Milena.

She wasn't one to cry, but it felt extremely lonely to simply wait there, and witness this. For a very long while, they had to watch the deceased King, lying there while the priests chanted prayers to no end. All those prayers were meant to send the King to heaven with the best wishes, but in Milena's eyes, it was too much. King Silverius had done enough in his life to be sent peacefully. A bit bored, she secretly glanced sideways.

Philomenie had put a veil over her head upon entering, and held her hand together, whispering prayers. Once again, she and Milena couldn't have been more different in their attitudes. Milena did none of that. Instead, she kept her face exposed, she was holding a long candle, and focused on the little flame instead. Although it could be seen as a form of prayer, it was also a good way to calm herself down. She hated these ceremonies, the exaggerated attitudes of the Priests, and the women behind her crying loudly just to be noticed. Thankfully, Rayan was holding her hand gently, and very calmly. Actually, both Princes were extremely composed despite the situation. Philomenie could be heard sobbing under her veil, but that was it. For a long while, all they did was listen to the prayers in silence.

This funeral was supposed to last until dawn, as per the custom of the Royals, and Milena thought this was a waste of time. It shouldn't take six hours to say goodbye to someone who couldn't hear it anymore... She knew she was annoyed because she didn't like anything related to death, and when she couldn't get herself busy with something else.

Finally, it was time for the guests to leave. It would have been complicated for them to travel in the middle of the night, so it was enough for the nobles to have stayed until the sun had properly set, and they had heard a few prayers. They were supposed to leave in silence, and the Royal Family didn't look back either.

Milena tried to count how many people left, but it was hard to do so, with all the stepping and those who tried to be as silent as possible. The priest was pausing in his recital, only whispering something with his hands against each other. She let out a little sigh. This was so long... The customs for Royal Funerals made little sense. At least her great-grandmother didn't have to spend that long out, or hear that many prayers she would have hated...

Suddenly, Rayan pressed her hand a little tighter, out of the blue.

Milena frowned, but she quickly realized what he wanted to say... something was wrong. They could still feel presences behind them, stirring, just when most people should have already left. Why weren't they moving? She wanted to glance back once again, but it would have been impolite to. Milena looked up at the priests, but they kept their eyes shut, not glancing once at what was going on in the chapel. Milena tried to think.

Out of the four Ducal families, hers wasn't there, but the De Boreal had come, the Duke and his three children, Rachael and her parents were there too, and Arseus had come with an aunt of the De Winter family. Other than them, there were a handful of ministers and military men who had been close to the King, with their wives, Silverius' two aides, and the Royal Butler to represent the staff. Still, most of these people should have been gone for now. Milena tried to think who could have stayed behind, but it didn't make much sense.

Instead, she ought to think who was a menace. The first that came to mind was of course Arseus, but he wasn't so stupid to do something when his own sister and Ellias were there. The De Boreal, too, wouldn't have acted here, it made no sense. Milena remembered all the people she had greeted this evening. She knew most of the ministers and generals who had come, and regardless of their allegiance, they wouldn't have acted now...

Then, she realized. The wives. Those women had come wearing dark veils over their faces, just like Philomenie. Milena wasn't familiar with them, and the Princes probably weren't either. How could they have said if they were the actual wives of those men? Milena took a deep breath, glancing at her candle. It was half-gone. She had to make a decision, quick. She couldn't do anything reckless in a sacred place, or people would talk. However, Rayan had sensed something was wrong, and she was sure of it too. Something wasn't normal, and she ought to check the quickest way possible, without being obvious. If the enemy knew she had noticed and attacked out of the blue, it would be terrible. The chapel was narrow, only made to welcome fifty or so people. With all the rows of seats closer to one another, it would be a quick and terrible fight. Moreover, she had no idea who the target was. Probably one of the princes? She remembered Rachael's words. The rumors about the Supremacists couldn't be ignored, but... would it have made sense for them to act so quickly?

Sadly, it did. The Council to designate the future King, the Crown Prince, was going to be held very soon. With Ellias' attempt to ignore his own Father's wish, it was going to be a close call between the twins. No, to the supremacists, now was probably the time to

act...

Very softly, Milena blew on her candle, so it looked like the flame went out by itself.

"Oh," she said, just enough to be heard, yet not too loud.

Pretending to be surprised, she glanced at Rayan, and slowly stood up, carrying her candle. There were more candles burning on the side, where she could light hers. It was going to be her only chance at checking the situation behind them... she walked very slowly, under the pretense of trying to be quiet, but all of her body was shaking. She was nervous, and felt adrenaline pumping through her veins. She had only one weapon on her, and she didn't know about Rayan. She didn't know which of their allies was still there to help. It was even more nerve-racking to not know who the enemy even was...

Step by step, she got closer to the candles, and leaned hers forward to light it back up. She had to be careful, and glance sideways quickly...

She saw it in a split second. Two women, their faces covered by a veil, and their husbands, half-standing up, wondering why they weren't leaving already. Milena knew she had looked one second too long. The two women brutally stood up, carrying daggers, and screamed of rage.

Everything happened very fast. The two women were seated in the rows behind Ellias and Philomenie, and that's when Milena realized, they were the targets. Rayan jumped to grab Ellias' collar and throw him towards the autel, but the women didn't stop. That's when Milena understood. Ellias wasn't their target. It was Philomenie.