Lady Dhampir
Chapter 218

Eugenie looked just like she was about to puke. A silence followed Milena's words, but they knew it wa "Milena," she said. "I know the De Crescent family was never close to the Church, but... I was raised to

also our hope to raise Antonin to believe also. I know this isn't something your family has raised you with, "I know," nodded Milena. "But don't worry. I know about all of this already, and I don't intend to chang back to what it was always meant to be. I have been fighting against an invisible monster until now, b like..."

She went silent for a few seconds, carefully looking for her words.

"...I feel like I have been missing something all this time, but I hope I will replace more answers soon. I ca promise I'll stop them, but I won't attack any innocents."

Eugenie nodded, visibly feeling a bit reassured by Milena's words. She was starting to understand her innocents in her process. Every time, she was strangely capable of controlling the damage she did to i if she hadn't also become a bit softer since she was pregnant...

ething they had to be prepared for. The Duchess was already standing, but she grabbed her cup to finish it in one go, her fingers visibly trembling. very morning and evening, and call out to God in times of hardship. My faith is what has kept me going for a long while now. Valentin knew of it, and it was but... for a lot of people, the Church is something they need. If we go against them..."

What I want is to remove all the bad apples from the tree, so it will stop poisoning people. I'll cut down each branch that's been corrupted, until it goes ll change. I will have the names and faces of the people we are fighting against. Not just in the Church, but for the Separatists and Anarchists as well. I feel

t, it's coming. We will get more answers, and we will get to the end of this. All those fights need to end, and the people who did that need to be stopped. I in-law's thought process a bit better, nowadays. Milena could appear cold and ruthless at times, but she wasn't so thoughtless that she would harm only the parties needed, and spared all those she could. She wondered at times if Milena wasn't nicer than her male siblings because she was a woman, or

Even her new friendship with the Queen was subject to a lot of debates, but Eugenie knew Milena didnt have the patience to fake a friendship with someone, even less with the airhead, immature and selfless Lady De Winter. She nodded once again, and turned to Digory.

"Have a carriage prepared for me, please, I'll be ready to go in ten minutes. Oh, and ask Sofia to watch "Of course, my Lady."

Digory sent two servants to make the preparations, while Eugenie turned to Milena and Raphael once "I'll be quick, and I'll see which of our allies got there before us to see if we can know more of what's "Be careful," nodded Milena. "Of course."

he children for me."

n."

She turned around and left, having Milena release a little sigh. They really couldn't relax at all... Eugen had buried her husband just the previous night, yet she had to go out today. It was really too cruel, but aside from Milena, no one in their family could go there... Milena really wished Lucian was there, this time. Her human brother and his sociable personality would have been a priceless asset in that situation... Despite his thoughtless personality at times, Lucian had a gift for making people feel at ease and trust him, something that was lacking in his other siblings. Thinking about her younger brother, Milena's eyes naturally drifted to the young vampire lady. Chartiana, who hadn't said a word all this time, slowly stood up, visibly shaken up.

"L-Lady Milena, do you wish for me to go also...?"

"No," retorted Milena. "I appreciate it, Chartie, but it would be very bad timing for a vampire Lady to get out right now to see the scene... Can you please send word to your father, though? Make sure no one else in your family goes out for now either, and ask them if they know anything. I know the Marquess has many friends in their inner circles too."

"We do," nodded Chartiana, staring in Raphael's direction.

As Milena suspected, her family was probably no stranger to the Society. Although their family had only recently gotten their noble title, they had been around for a while, and had a long history of being a vampire and human family, one of the rares who had kept a balanced line of vampire or human heirs... Her cousins had left for the war now though, so Chartiana, her little sister Pamela and their father were even busier trying to keep their familial businesses going, despite the large demand for weapons they could count on. So, if anyone among them were involved in the Society, it was probably her maternal grandfather or her uncle...

"Can I have somewhere to write to my father?" She politely asked Digory.

"Of course, my Lady. We will take you to a room..."

While Chartiana bowed and left, Milena felt a bit relieved her circle of friends had definitely grown stronger and tighter. Things would have been much harder to handle if she could only rely on Raphael, but now, she knew her Ladies-in-waiting would be ready to follow her. Not only them, but perhaps she should try reaching out to more ladies she had interacted with...

"So you think they'll do this again?" Said Raphael, frowning.

"It's more likely. One time can be seen as an accident. But if they make the people believe those attacks aren't merely isolated incidents, people will be scared and panicked. They will start spreading rumors about a serial killer, most likely, but if they multiply the victims, people will also believe there isn't just one culprit. That is our worst-case scenario, Raphael."

"I understand... But how do we proceed to stop them? There aren't more guards to protect the streets, and if they already have the victims..."

"Make it impossible to replace a culprit,", said Milena. "Tell the vampires to avoid staying alone, or where no one can see them. If they go out, make sure they don't go out alone. If they must be seen in public, make it so they aren't seen unaccompanied." "Milena, I get your point, but those are vampires we are talking about. They are nightly people, and not so social, if you know what I mean. Most old vampires like to stay home and hide in their rooms, like our own father. Asking them to stay aware of the public eye is..."

"Staying home is fine. We have dozens of servants who can confirm if our father goes out or not, don't we? It should be the same for most noble houses. Tell them they have to be ready to prove their innocence at any moment, and that things might get even worse than this. It's better for all of them to be safe than sorry. Also, tell them to double-check all of the blood they drink, including the fresh ones."

"...You think they poisoned a vampire like they did with Queen Lyriana?"

"I think I'd rather not let them turn one of our own against us." "Fair enough..."

Milena spent a few extra minutes thinking about it, but no matter what, she doubted the culprits really had another wendigo in hand... It wouldn't have made sense. The previous wendigos were created by mistake, and had little to no way of being controlled. Those people had used them to spread fear among the people, but now that the wendigo's nature had been publicly exposed by Milena, there was no point in having one raging. In fact, it would have just been shooting themselves in the foot. People could now understand the difference between a wendigo and a vampire, and they would also suspect this was nothing but a show put on by someone. Even if not everyone was smart enough to figure it out, as soon as it was said that someone else was pulling the strings, the inhabitants wouldn't feel as worried about vampires as they would about a wendigo running free in the Capital... Too much had happened, the timing just didn't permit that.

No, the most probable scenario was that those people would deliberately have everyone believe this was indeed a vampire's attack, not a wendigo's. The question was, how would they make sure people believed that story...

"They are going to frame someone," she muttered. "What?"

"It's the only possible reason they would have done this now. Having one vampire running free and attacking people isn't enough of a story to scare people away, or make the Council waver. There are so many vampires in the Council already, it would make little sense..." Raphael was a bit shook by this revelation, but he had as much insight as his little sister did into their political world. No matter how scary it was, he knew Milena wasn't one to utter nonsensical theories. He sighed and grabbed his cup to gulp it all down. "Don't worry. Milena, I've been thinking for a while, it's time I get more active in all of this... I promised Val I wouldn't let you fight alone, it's time for me to uphold my side of that promise. I'll stop hiding in your shadow, or Dad's. I don't care anymore what people will say of me, I'll get onto the main stage and support you properly."

"....Raphael, what are you talking about?" She muttered, a bit worried. "You're not thinking of the title of Duke, are you? Father is still fine, and Antonin is..."

"No, I didn't mean that. In fact, even if I wanted, there would be little I could do as a Duke, anyway. At least not as much as our father, considering he'd seriously get involved as well. No, I'm talking about the Society of Vampires. With that little purge the King did against many of our members, the Society was left broken. Not ruined, but fractured for sure. The older members have been quiet, and the younger vampires have been too scared to take a stand. A lot of those we could have used right now were sent to the front... But not me. I'm in the perfect position to take the seat Alban left vacant."

Milena took a few seconds to take in her brother's sudden decision, and a few more to sort her thoughts and worries.

"Raphael, that would put you in danger. If something like what Ellias did happens again..."

"No one is really safe anymore, Millie. You said it yourself, we are at a critical point now; If you want to investigate the Church, you won't be able to pull all the strings at once and have an eye and ear everywhere. In fact, it would be better if you don't, from now on. The closer you'll be to the vampires, the more dangerous your position will be. Let me take that off your hands for you. I'll do it. I'll become one of the leaders of the Society. Not just to rebuild it, but to make sure it doesn't make a wrong decision and turn against us later. There were always Separatists involved, but that too needs to stop now. The old vampires might not like it, but Dad was right, it's our generation's turn to lead. Leave the old dodderers in their old habits, all the young vampires are much more future-driven." "There aren't just old vampires wishing for separatism, Raphael. A lot of the young vampires are too, they're convinced vampires are superiors to humans..."

"There will always be arrogant brats among nobles, Millie. Those brats don't scare me. No, in fact, I believe they need to be tamed for good. It's not just the vampires, either.....Just watch De Winter or De Rosella. Nobles are getting greedier with each generation. Didn't our great-grandmother say something like that too? You can't keep acting like a quiet mouse when surrounded by rats... Look at what happened to a smart woman like Lyriana. Even the vampire Queen got jealous and greedy and was used by those stronger than her eventually. What happened to our parents... Mom would have never wanted a life like this, but she was murdered anyway. Even the innocent and kind get involved, regardless of what we do. People never have enough, they are always worried they won't get to live the next decade, so they want everything now. Because of the war, things are even worse, hence why people aren't even shy about murdering orphans, poisoning pregnant princesses or attacking a queen in a church."

Raphael was right, but it was one bitter pill to swallow for her... There was indeed not much room left for hesitation. Milena had slowly begun to realize this. While alliances were being formed, everyone was holding on to their friends, but also aware they were making more enemies as that circle of friends grew... She wondered if her friends had ever been in danger themselves, without telling her. She had chosen strong and supportive ladies, all the best in their fields, knowing they would mostly be able to fend for themselves. Sometimes, she was worried for Chartiana or Prudence, the youngest, but even those girls were steadily growing up into strong women. She took a deep breath.

"Alright... I'll entrust you with this then."

"Finally!"

Her brother's sudden exclamation made her jump, and to her surprise, even Olivia was biting her lip not to smile.

"Wha- What do you mean?"

"Milena, you just never know when to let go. It's like taking a bone from a dog, your biggest weakness is, you never, ever know when to let go. Just a moment ago, you were ready to run in front of a rowdy crowd while pregnant up to your neck!" "Could you please stop those annoying comments about my pregnancy?" Frowned the Duchess. "I'm aware I'm heavy, but you're getting very derogatory now."

"Avoid the subject all you want, I'm glad to see you less bossy, for once....More seriously, you can trust me on this one, Milena. I won't disappoint you."

"You'd better not. At least, don't get yourself killed, you still have a daughter to care for."

"A daughter, a nephew, a sister and a sister-in-law, and more children on the way. Don't worry, I won't be too reckless. I may be a bit of a coward when it comes to physical strength, but I'm still probably one of the smartest ones." "If you say so..."

Raphael smiled, even if his little sister was busy sulking in her seat. He got up, and came over to put a quick kiss on her cheek, ignoring her pout.

"I'll go and write some letters, for now, getting things in motion. I want to wait until Eugenie is back anyway, and then I'll make sure Lady De Pristin gets home safely. Lucian sure wouldn't be happy if something happened to his future fiancé..." "That brat," sighed Milena.

Raphael chuckled, but they didn't have time to complain much about their brother's split personalities between his family and his love life right now. As her older brother left, Milena was left alone, for a while, in the dining room.

For the first time in a while, she felt a bit defeated. She was sitting alone in an empty room, while her family was doing what they could to stop their enemies from destroying this Kingdom. She had never learned to take a back seat, and this wasn't an experience she was fond of. Yet, just as she was thinking so, Blanche appeared again, as a little white weasel, and jumped on her chair's arm, rubbing her head against Milena's belly. This simple touch against her belly made Milena relax a bit. She caressed her large belly, trying to remind herself who she was doing this for.

"My babies, our family is working hard at making this world a safer place for you... Sorry, mommy will work hard at making sure you are born healthy, alright?"

On the side, Digory, hiding a faint smile, moved forward to pour her some more tea and make sure the Duchess got more food to eat if she felt like it, while they waited for everyone to come back with some news, good or bad.