Lady Dhampir
Chapter 163

As soon as Philomenie made her appearance, Milena turned her head to watch Ellias' reaction. The Prince was obviously not expecting his wife to show up there. That was one interesting thing to know... He looked at Philomenie made her way to her throne, escorted by no other than the Saint, and followed by many whispers from the Council. Everyone was surprised to see the Princess in the room, rightfully so after Ellias had said she wouldn't come.

Knowing that all eyes would eventually be on him, Ellias returned to his throne and turned to Philomenie.

"Dear wife, I did not expect your presence today. I thought you were unwell..."

"Thanks for your concern, I am a lot better now."

Philomenie's cold and short answer escaped no one. She hadn't even looked at him while talking, pretending to be absorbed in how she spread a blanket of fur over her skirt. Milena knew better. Philomenie was obviously avoiding her husband's stare, and when she looked up, she still wouldn't look at him. She hadn't even greeted anyone other than her earlier apology, which made the whole thing even more awkward.

Thankfully, the presence of the Saint was enough to distract a lot of the Senators. It was rare for that singular character to show up in a public event, and actually, he shouldn't even have been attending a Council. Milena tried to remember, but the only status she knew him was that of one of the Princess' attendants... Yet, no one bothered to say a thing, as he respectfully stood still right next to his Lady's throne. He was completely overlooked, as if the Council had ever allowed guests, and it would have been a bit too late for the Royal Guards to simply kick him out now. "Welcome among us, Princess Philomenie," said Rachael.

Just like Milena, she probably was wondering why the other Princess had shown up for. It was clear she wasn't part of her husband's plan, and from the recent issues, Milena wondered if this couldn't even turn to be a good thing for them... "Thank you, Duchess De Nova."

"Y-your Highness, do you need a... an update on the recent events?"

"No need," said Philomenie. "I will catch up quickly, I promise."

That was another Milena had never expected to hear from the blonde woman's mouth. Yet, Philomenie seemed strangely determined. Nervous, as her fingers were all fidgety on the fur on her knees, but still determined. Finally, Philomenie seemed to allow herself a glance on her left, but she ignored the two princes, and instead, her eyes went directly to Milena's. Taken by surprise, the Dhampir Lady raised an eyebrow, but Philomenie quickly put an end to their eye contact, and glanced up at the Council again. After that, no one really knew how to resume. Ellias and Rayan glanced at the Royal Secretary, who was staring at the Council. Suddenly, one of the elders raised a hand.

"Your Highnesses, on behalf of the Council, I'd like to request a vote on the witness' testimony's admissibility."

"Fair enough," nodded Rayan. "Let's vote. Who's against the Council retaining this witness as part of today's Court Case?"

Milena raised her hand and watched who did the same. Surprisingly, the Council was rather torn. They had managed to prove the girl wasn't reliable, but the fact that she had been found at the Carseus' residence couldn't be faked. It was so tight that the Royal Secretary had to count the votes twice.

Eventually, the Council agreed not to take the witness into account, although it was only by three votes. Milena put down her hand and sighed. Sadly, that vote came too late. The Council had already heard what that girl had to say, and this would impact their decision regardless of the testimony. Rayan then turned to his brother.

"Any other witness you'd like to mention, brother?"

He was probably pissed that Ellias had managed to hide this until the time of the Council.

"No, brother. Thank God that poor child was the only victim that we found."

Rayan frowned. Ellias was almost implying he had expected to replace more... Still, this issue was far from over.

"Next, Your Highnesses," said the Royal Secretary with a little cough. "We..."

"Have the culprits give their testimony here," suddenly declared Rayan.

A lot of people in the room expressed their surprise loudly. Milena knew exactly where Rayan wanted to go. This wasn't the usual procedure, but if they could hear the culprits directly, they would at least get pieces of explanation. Just like her husband, she didn't believe the Society of Vampires would have attacked like that without any reason... "A-are you sure, your Highnesses...?" Asked the Royal Secretary, sending glances at the Senators.

"Prince Ellias confirmed we should resolve all important matters today," said Milena. "This is most likely our second most important matter at hand, isn't it? Moreover, I still believe I'm owed an explanation for my suffering. This is one too many assassination attempts I can endure, but I must get answers."

"The Council isn't made to interrogate criminals!" Protested a Senator.

"Why not?" Suddenly said Philomenie, surprising everyone. "This is a Court, after all. We have Royal Guards, too."

She glanced at the Captain of the Guards, and the man, very willing to amend for his mistakes, bowed.

"Of course, Your Highness! We won't let anything happen to their Royal Highnesses or any of the Senators, Your Highness!"

"Well then, it seems settled," said Rayan, ignoring the protests.

His red eyes went up on the ranks, and, sure enough, as soon as his crimson eyes were on them, none of the people present dared to utter another word. Ellias sighed, but with even his wife advocating for it, he had no choice.

"Fine," he said. "Captain, have one of the culprits come in."

The Captain nodded, and gave orders.

While they went to get one of the people arrested, Rayan leaned towards Milena, gently grabbing her hand.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He whispered. "You look extremely pale..."

"I'll be fine," she said. "I just want to see to the end of this..."

"I know. Don't overdo it. We can take breaks if you need, and please make sure to get rest if you really need it."

She chuckled, and nodded.

"I promise, my Prince."

Rayan sighed, gently pressing her hand.

"My wife is an incurable workaholic."

"I can't help it. There's always work to do..."

Milena glanced towards the other couple. Philomenie was whispering with the Saint, who had put a knee down next to her throne. They were too far or speaking too low for her to hear, but Ellias had a sour expression on while watching them. Milena felt like something was escaping her as she kept staring at the trio. She had forgotten something, but what? She had very, very blurry memories of the minutes after she had been stabbed, but she felt like the Saint had appeared in them. She just couldn't pinpoint why he was involved... Perhaps she'd even ask Philomenie later. It was bothering her quite a lot.

"Your Highnesses, we have brought the witness."

The silence came back instantly in the room. Milena tried to take deep breaths. Why wasn't that stupid nausea going away? She glanced again towards Philomenie and, this time, she would have sworn she caught the Saint staring back, and smirking. Was he mocking her state? Milena knew she couldn't possibly be looking good. She could fool the Council, who were more absorbed in what was going on in the room, but she couldn't pretend she was fine to those close enough to her to see her paler than usual tone. Rayan, too, still had his hand on hers and wasn't letting go, even as they brought the witness forward.

Milena frowned. She had seen that young man before; He looked young, but as a vampire, he already had most of his adult traits, and wasn't afraid to glare at the Senators, despite the visible injury above his eyebrow. The bandage above his eye was so badly done that blood was still running down his face. Philomenie gasped, and Milena, too, felt even sicker. That man smelled terrible for anyone who was on the first rank and could smell that stench.

"This is the young Count Leonidas De Zinnia, Your Highnesses. He was caught trying to flee the Church right after the attack."

A lot of Senators were shocked. Even if they had never seen the young man, everyone knew the Count... Milena and Rachael exchanged a glance. No doubt his older sister Lady Chorea had been arrested too...

"Where is the Count?" Asked Milena, turning to Ellias.

"We decided to keep him locked as well, as a potential witness."

"So the Count and his daughter weren't in the Church, were they?"

He glared back at her, very briefly.

"No, but compromising documents, mentioning the Society of Vampires, were found in both their offices. With the young Count on the scene..."

"You decided it was worth arresting all of the Count's family," scoffed Rayan.

Once again, the Senate became quite agitated from those revelations. Let alone all the other Noble families that had been arrested, putting the Count into jail was a very serious matter. The only level higher than the Counts were the four Dukes, and then the Royal Family. For the family of a Marquess like Alban De Carseus to have been arrested was completely understandable, since he had stabbed one of the Princesses, but this was a different matter. The Count and Lady Chorea, his daughters, weren't on the scene, and Leonidas hadn't harmed any of the Royals, as far as they knew. Milena didn't even remember seeing him in the Church. She had surely greeted the Zinnia family at their arrival, but she wouldn't have known when they left...

Still, this was a serious matter, and she could tell many of the Senators were uncomfortable with the Count being imprisoned with a very thin reason. Like most of the vampire families, the De Zinnia went back generations in the history of their Kingdom. They weren't a greedy family, and held good relationships with all the nobles. Their only known feuds were too minor to be worth mentioning. Milena wasn't close to Chorea, but she thought her haughty attitude wouldn't have matched those of a rebel... Leonidas, though, seemed more rebellious. Brought down on his knees and his hands tied behind his back with chains, the young Count had his long hair was in a mess around his face, and his red eyes were sending glares all around.

"Young Count Leonidas De Zinnia, First Son of the Count Cheron De Zinnia, you were brought forth by their Highnesses to testify of your actions and motivations in the assassination attempt of the Royal Family members. You shall speak only when answered questions, and keep the respectfulness that his asked of all members of the nobility."

The young man nodded, despite the position he was in. What Milena was surprised the most, was the anger still in his eyes. He was probably no older than she was, and facing a possible death sentence, yet the young nobleman looked as defiant as a watchdog ready to bite.

"You are part of the nine people arrested within or right outside the Church and accused of taking part in this assassination attempt. Will you plead guilty or not guilty?" "Guilty."

The Council was shocked by his short, decided answer. Milena and Rayan exchanged a quick glance. This was a very young man they had chosen to speak on behalf of all the culprits... Why him? If Milena had to guess, it probably had to do with his state. The other people arrested were probably in a much worse state after the fight, one that wouldn't have made it convenient or proper to bring in the Council Room. Compared to what she remembered of the fight, despite his bruises and the cut above his eyes, the young Count seemed rather... fine.

"A-alright," said the Royal Secretary. "Then, will you explain your motivations behind the attack?"

"We were told to gather outside the Church while leaving the King's funeral. We knew there would be an assassination attempt on the Royal Family."

"...Y-you knew the Royal Highnesses were in danger and you didn't intervene?" Gasped a woman Senator.

"No. We knew Prince Ellias was the target."

"Why Prince Ellias?" Asked Milena before he could.

The Count turned his eyes towards the Princess, and his glare diminished right before he looked down.

"Information was leaked from the Royal Palace that His Highness Prince Ellias would bring forth several anti-vampire laws if he was named Crown Prince, after this very Council. We also heard the Winter Family, his wife's family, was preparing to back him up on this case, and the Boreal family had promised their support as well."

Milena raised an eyebrow. Everything rather surprising with that was that... it was rather predictable. Or was it because she had been involved with the Vampire Society, that she wasn't surprised? However, of course, Ellias pretended to be shocked. "You thought I'd bring multiple anti-vampire laws? How would that even be possible! If I were the King of our people, I'd respect each and every one of them, and act in their best interest!"

"A law obligating the referencing of blood consumption by each house was mentioned, as well as fang identification, and several blood tests would be mandatory before vampires would be allowed to feed themselves."

"Blood tests?" Repeated Philomenie, confused. "...What blood tests for?"

"Officially, to be able to identify if any of the vampires had any diseases they'd be susceptible to transfer to... to whoever they would drink from, Your Highness," said the young Count. "The fang imprinting, too, would be to be able to identify us like one would identify criminals if a crime was committed."

Milena was shocked. Even she hadn't even thought too far in how Ellias would try to control the vampires, but all those laws made sense, and were perfectly doable. Especially if one grew the anti-vampire sentiment among the crowd, the Council would have eventually no choice but to agree. Those laws may seem without any dire consequences at first glance, but this was no more no less than the Royal Family overtaking control of the Vampires' right to feed themselves. Milena felt her husband's fingers tighten on her hand, and she could feel his anger. She even shared it. This was only the first step into secluding the vampires, putting them as a dangerous species that needed to be overcontrolled.

A quiet silence followed. Milena knew this couldn't be everything there was to it. Even if many people inside the Vampire Society had been worried of those laws, it was not enough for a small group to actually carry a full-blown attack. Had they planned on getting rid of Philomenie to make sure Rayan would be the only eligible Prince? It didn't make much sense...

"T-this sounds a bit too much," said Ellias, looking a bit nervous. "Those are only suppositions, aren't they?"

"Did you come up with plans for such laws, Prince Ellias?" Asked Rachael coldly.

She was probably as furious as Rayan was, and Milena couldn't blame her. However, what was worrying Milena more were the expressions on the Council's faces. A lot didn't seem so shocked by such suggestions. Either they didn't understand what it implied, or... they already knew about those.

Ellias sighed.

"I have to admit, those were some among the many laws that we, unfortunately, thought of."

"Prince Ellias!" Protested several Senators.

He raised his hands, looking to pacify the crowd.

"Every day, there are dozens of suggestions of laws coming into my office, most I haven't written myself, many I won't even get a chance to look at twice. Indeed, I admit there is a strong anti-vampire sentiment among my followers, that is no secret. The recent events in our streets, in particular, and the unfortunate events that have led us to the tragic death of our Royal Queen Mother, probably increased those in the recent years. Many are also afraid that a vampire King could allow more of those crimes to happen. I have no choice but to try to come up with answers for those worries, or at least, leave some of my counselors to come up with those."

Milena bit her tongue. He was making this looking like it wasn't his idea, and even if it was, it was merely out of concern due to the popular fear. This was almost too easy for him.

On the first row, Rachael crossed her arms.

"Don't you think that's a bit too much, Prince Ellias? To try and control us vampires on how we're supposed to feed? Never in centuries of existence have we not proven we couldn't cohabit together!"

"Unfortunately, Duchess De Nova, times change. We know the rise of extremists won't help. Now, the vampire population is even against the very idea of having a human King, as if it was a crime! I can't control people's fears of vampires, but please, do not blame me for trying to replace ways to diminish them."

"How kind of you..." hissed Rachael.

"Then," declared Milena. "Prince Ellias, you admit that you considered those laws of restraining vampires liberties?"

Ellias glared at her, annoyed.

"As I said, I... merely had those brought up."

"Given the lights of recent events, it is clear that such laws would be a direct attack against the vampires that you are promising to treat equally to humans," Milena continued. "Hence, I'll take it that you agree to never bring those laws up to the Council? We have already established how infuriating it is for our vampire compatriots."

Ellias' jaw dropped. Milena was basically forcing him to go against his previous idea to save face in front of the Council. It may be a mere promise, but in front of the Council, he'd never be able to submit it, ever. He hesitated.

On the side, Philomenie suddenly smiled.

"I think that is a good idea, Princess Milena. This way, my husband can prove to the Council that regardless of his future position, all our citizens will be treated fairly and equally. All of them. Right?"

The look that Ellias gave his wife, at that very moment, Milena would never forget.

Someone who hadn't expected the blow to come from right behind him.