Lady Dhampir
Chapter 233

As always, engulfing herself in work was Milena's favorite and most efficient way to keep herself busy, and focusing on matters other than those that made her worry. There was always plenty to keep herself busy with, between her piles of work from her duty as a Grand Princess, business owner, daughter of the House De Crescent and her husband's proxy. She was tired of the nobles trying to act as if she could be more easily manipulated than her husband, and because her mood was particularly bad, her letters that week turned out to be meaner and a bit more blunt than necessary. She didn't care, however. Those who really considered her an ally had been thoughtful enough to send her less mail in consideration of her pregnancy, and anyone could understand the main reason the Grand Princess had gone to her family home was to get some proper rest, away from her main duties.

At the very least, Milena was relieved to see her federation taking deep roots. She had received a great amount of support from several families, more than even she had expected. Of course, many families had come forward out of greed, hoping they would get their share of that gigantic cake, but any participation was very welcome, for it would make it much harder for Ellias to delay it with so many nobles supporting this project. The only thing that really worried Milena was the high stakes of the project; if it was launched, with the blood conservation method and new commerce ready, it would be a major milestone in history, but if it failed, she would have a lot of unhappy nobles ready to complain about their wrongfully invested money. The reason Milena had bet so much was that she was confident, though. Aside from the King's vain attempts, nothing looked like it would be able to prevent the successful launch of her federation. They hadn't even come up with a proper name for it yet, but she could tell this would become an even more powerful system than the Guilds, fully private and working on subventions from the nobles. Those people who had always kept a tight hand on their purses would finally be able to feed the science and future of the Kingdom with this federation. Beyond the commercialization of blood, Milena was already foreseeing the next innovations this would allow, including all those from young scientists who would finally get the financing needed for important research. So far, only a few nobles here and there had purposely become patrons of such bright minds, but her federation would set a precedent for the future years to come.

"You know, this reminds me so much of the first generation," said Raphael, who was helping her re-read her letters. "All the nobles working together to help the people... I wonder when things went wrong."

"Are you talking about Princess Silvra's generation?" Asked his sister, sealing another finished letter with her personal stamp. "I wouldn't say things are the same... They lost one of their siblings to progress. Two, technically, if we count Sleverin who was arrested and died in jail..."

"That's what the rumors say," chuckled Raphael. "You know, I wonder how accurate our history books are. The dead brother's name is only mentioned a couple of times, too. So much for dying, I guess no one cares about the victim when there's a mad scientist involved."

"Prince Resseus," said Milena, who knew that period of history by heart. "The siblings' names were Silvius, Silvra, Sleverin, Rhedea, and Resseus... Raphael, are you trying to imply something by bringing up my favorite period of history? You're not overly fond of it, and I hardly see any link with what I am doing right now."

Her brother sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Why are you so sensible? I was hoping you'd take a break and grab your favorite history book... Millie, you're basically overworking yourself at this point. It's been three days and you've barely slept a wink. Even the servants know you're staying up all night, your maids sleep better than you do. Come on, drop the paperwork for a minute and come take a walk with me, hmm? Just a little walk around the garden. I'm sure you haven't seen your roses in a while; the rose garden is returning to its former glory..." Milena glanced at the window with a bitter look. She was both glad for the snow falling non-stop, and also hating it, for it made her worry about Lucian. She couldn't bear the thought that one of her babies could possibly get sick from the cold, and she indeed couldn't get any sleep every time she found herself fretting about them. When she lay alone at night, without even Blanche to comfort her, Milena felt lonelier than ever. It was even worse that sleeping in the same bed she had given birth in was bringing up both happy and heart-breaking memories.

She sighed, and shook her head.

"I'm fine, Raphael. As soon as Blanche is back, we will put the next part of the plan into motion, and..."

"Forget the plan, Millie. I am not an expert on baby blues or mommy depression or whatever we call it, but I'm still your big brother and I can tell when you're burying yourself in work to forget. Honestly, I almost wish you'd drink instead, that way, at least you wouldn't be looking like you haven't seen the sun in months. You're still supposed to be maintaining the illusion you're doing great while heavily pregnant, right? So stop doing everything you're doing right now. It's getting really sad and gloomy for everyone in this Manor, and this is coming from your most introverted brother."

Milena chuckled. Raphael had managed to make her smile for the first time in a couple of days... She finally put down her quill, and moved her chair to face him instead, letting out a long sigh and undoing the large pin in her hair.

"Fine... I do need a distraction. One that's fitting for a pregnant woman though, I think people will suspect something if they see me drink. So?"

"Oh... Right. I guess horse-riding or sword fighting is out of the question, too."

"Raphael..."

"Let's go to the patio and read, then."

"Grandmother's patio?" Milena exclaimed. "They rebuilt it already?"

"You really haven't moved from here, huh? The Manor's reconstructions are going well, thanks to Eugenie... They rebuilt Great-grandmother's room almost exactly as it was, I'm not really sure why though. The next elder to haunt that aisle of the Manor will probably be you or me, I suppose!"

Milena chuckled. Indeed, that was a rather isolated wing in the Manor, and aside from the elders of the family, that area had rarely been inhabited. She only knew their special guards like Ruby were also trained in the same aisle when they came of age, the duty of taking care of them usually falling into the hands of the family matriarch.

Hence, she agreed to follow her brother there, careful to wrap a large blanket around herself. It was late, and dark in the manor. Aside from Olivia and Raphael's personal servant following them, everything was incredibly quiet. Milena always stuck to the central area of the Manor, between her bedroom and her office most of the time, so she was almost surprised they walked so far just to get out of that area and into another. She felt like she was visiting that part of the Manor for the first time, and considering it had recently been rebuilt, she wasn't too far off from the truth, probably.

"Well, it's good that more rooms are getting ready, we will have more family members from now on," she smiled. "Perhaps Lucian and Chartie will also have babies when he comes back... That would be nice."

"Each time our family seems on its last line, the next generation makes a ton of babies," Raphael nodded. "Haven't you noticed? We already have four children in just a couple of years! Plus, who knows when the twins will have younger siblings, too... I'm sure you and the Prince will get at it as soon as he returns."

Milena blushed, and pushed him with her elbow, embarrassed. Although, she wasn't against the idea of having more children with Rayan. She was sad her husband hadn't even gotten to see her pregnant, or been there for the birth. Perhaps they could enjoy a family life when he came back... a large family.

"... Millie, I wasn't sure when to tell you this, but a report came in today that the Queen is near her delivery, too." "Really?" Milena frowned.

"Yeah... Apparently, Royal Doctors have been in and out of the Castle all day today. They even called a priest."

"A priest?" Milena frowned.

The babies were usually only baptised several days after their birth. Children dying while young, especially human babies, wasn't so uncommon. There was a tacit rule between nobles, to only announce the birth of a baby to the public a couple of days after the actual birth. Things were of course a bit different for high-ranking children, especially royals, but it was still very uncommon to have a priest come even before the birth...

"I wonder if the Church isn't sending someone to watch Philomenie," she muttered. "...I don't like this."

"You don't like this? What do you mean? What are you going to do?"

"...I need to see Philomenie," she declared. "Blanche won't be back until tomorrow night at the earliest..."

"Oh, that sounds like a bad plan," grimaced Raphael. "Sis, I'm all for you getting some fresh air, but I didn't think you would go that far. Seriously, for the Queen? She's probably just fine on her own! The King must be doing full somersaults all around the Castle now that he's going to have his brat, are you sure you want to get into that mess? Did you forget what happened at the Celebration?"

"Nothing happened at the Celebration," sighed Milena. "Other than Ellias making an absolute fool of himself and that damned Grand Priest playing me... I only lost my time."

"Well, you could lose more if you go now. You're supposed to stay home and rest until Blanche comes back!"

"I can always go to the Castle, fake that I am still pregnant while everyone focuses on Philomenie, and come back and pretend I gave birth after her. Wouldn't that work perfectly for our plan?"

"I. Don't. Like. It," groaned her brother.

"Well, I'm going anyway."

Milena suddenly turned around, going back the way they came. For a second, Raphael was left stunned, watching her walk away.

"You aren't seriously going to go now!" He exclaimed. "It's almost dawn!"

"Well, I have time to change, put some makeup on to hide those dark circles you've been nagging me about and go. Can you watch the Manor while I'm gone?"

"Nothing will happen here, Milena... And nothing will happen there either if you catch some sleep before running to the castle! No makeup will get rid of those bags better than a few hours of sleep.... Have you seen the current state of the roads? At least wait until the staff shift and they clear the roads in the morning!"

Seeing that his sister wasn't listening, he groaned and raced to catch up to her. Now that she was carrying two less babies, Milena had recovered most of her mobility, and had no issues quickly walking back to her room, making her brother almost run behind. "Milena, you're not thinking straight, are you?" He sighed. "I'm going to ask Dad to ground you if you keep acting so foolish!"

"Oh my God, Raphael, what am I, ten years old? What are you so scared about with me going to the castle?"

"I'm scared you're not going for the right reasons, sis. You're going because you don't know what to do with yourself here, and going to see Philomenie and probably prick at the King's ego will give you a bone to bite, rather than being stuck here with all that stupid paperwork!"

"A bone to bite? Really Raphael? Don't you have any other more elegant expressions to say about your sister?"

"I mean it," he sighed. "You're not rational when you're upset."

"I am not upset! It's just that if Philomenie might be near delivery, she might want me there..."

"And absolutely no one will believe that!" He scoffed. "The Priest, the King, and pretty much everyone in the Queen's entourage will ask you to stay aside, and not even kindly at that. Wake up, Millie. The King's heir will be born soon, and you of all people show up for the birth? I hate to be a bummer, but no one will believe you're going with good intentions. Worse still, if anything happens, you might be blamed!"

Milena sighed. Maybe there was a bit of truth in her brother's words... She finally walked into her bedroom, heading up to her vanity to sit down. Indeed, she looked exhausted. She glared at her reflection, a bit upset at that woman who looked older than she really was. Milena had always looked a bit older than her real age, but this was a bit too much... With an annoyed groan, she walked up to her window, and got some fresh snow to apply under her eyes, resulting in Raphael's quick snark. "Sleep is still better than ice, for the record."

"Oh, shut it. I'm already in a bad enough mood, and you're only making it worse..."

"Going to cause trouble at the Royal Castle is not a better idea, Milena. The... The twins are gone now, you should stay at home at least until we hear about the Queen giving birth! This is even better, not many people will have any interest in us while they celebrate the heir's birth, and then we can spread the fake news of your miscarriage and people will leave you alone!"

"I doubt that," scoffed Milena. "All those vultures will only be too eager to come and see what state I'm in. Death, strangely, has more people talking than birth. As soon as they realize Philomenie's child is indeed her husband's, they will be bored with it and move on to the next sensation."

"I still can't believe how much gossip there is around that. Seriously, who else would our prude Queen sleep with... I only go to the castle twice a month and even I can tell there really isn't much else she could do... Or anyone to court her. No one is that crazy." Milena did think it was odd, for a minute. Philomenie had always been one of the prettiest noblewomen of their generation, looking like a perfect little doll since childhood. Back then, there were many suitors and young men attracted to the pretty blonde. Had the De Winter family scared potential suitors away to make sure she would marry the King and avoid any suspicions? It was true Philomenie had always been enamored with Ellias, but it didn't mean all men had been driven away thanks to that... She wondered if there were any men still hoping to court her. After all, her latest argument with the King had probably become gossip by now... Especially in a Royal Castle, it never took long for rumors to appear. Milena grimaced while remembering all the crap that had reached her ears. She was glad she could use her own personal maids rather than having to deal with those from the Royal Castle. Luckily, a lot of them were scared enough of her that they wouldn't talk, but she doubted they would have the same courtesy towards the King and Queen.

"There are probably tons of nobles ready to pay the servants to hear the smallest amount of dirt on the Royals," sighed Milena. "It's nothing new, sadly. Pregnancies almost always trigger rumors of infidelity, and honestly, Ellias didn't really do anything to make his reputation better, either."

"Everyone knows the Queen is his trophy," shrugged Raphael. "And a political tool. Now that she's finally going to give him an heir, he's getting what he wanted, and she got what she signed up for... Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he has a mistress or two. Most noblemen do, and it's not like he hid his relationship with you very much, either..."

Milena glared at him. She had no intention of mentioning her own relationship with Ellias again; she found it annoying enough as it was... She wondered how aware Philomenie was of this. It was clear Ellias hadn't completely forgotten about his desire for Milena, and instead, it felt like he was caring less and less about hiding it. She sighed, and glanced at the mirror again. Perhaps Raphael had been right, after all. Visiting her sister-in-law would only bring more problems for both her and Philomenie... "Fine," she grumbled. "I'll just go to bed now. But I'll visit her as soon as Blanche is back... And don't hide any news coming from the Royal Castle from me anymore! You know I hate being the last one aware of things..."

"Oh, it's a miracle! I was seriously considering asking for Father's help on this one. God, sister, you can be so stubborn at times..."

The end of his sentence was punctuated by a frantic knock at the door. The siblings both frowned, and before they could even open their mouths, they heard a panicked voice on the other side.

"My Lady, Sir Jeremiah is back! He's severely injured, please come quick!"

Milena and Raphael exchanged a glance, and both ran down to the entrance lobby. The large doors were still open, a cold wind and some snow coming in. It was nothing compared to the trail of blood on the carpet, though. Two of the De Crescent Knights were by Jeremiah's side, along with Digory and two more maids. Milena's heart dropped when she recognized her bodyguard, a blade stuck in his chest. He was lying on the floor, and she ran to him without thinking.

"Jeremiah!"

They all moved aside to let her see him, but as soon as she got on her knees next to the Knight, Milena realized it was already too late. Jeremiah's lips were covered in blood, and he was barely breathing. Tears began to pour out before she could even attempt to hold them back.

"No, no, no," she cried. "Jeremiah, wha-... What happened?"

"I... I'm sorry, my Lady..."

"Don't! Who attacked you? Who did this? Jeremiah, stay with me... Somebody call a doctor!"

"The... My Lady's heirs... safe... I hope... P-please... My Lady..."

Milena's heart sank. She couldn't lose her most loyal guard, she couldn't believe this. She found Jeremiah's hand, and tried to hold it, but there was no strength left. She called his name again, but his lips stopped moving completely. He died there, his eyes still on her.