Lady Dhampir
Chapter 237

The news hit Milena like it was coming through a fog. She even took a couple of seconds to remember who Her Majesty referred to... And then, she realized. Philomenie's baby. the King's heir. Their child was finally born.

Her brother knocked again, and she grimaced.

"Come in, Raphael."

"Ugh, finally."

Her brother stepped inside the room, and immediately, made a sour expression.

"What's with that smell... Damn, Milena De Crescent, you were drinking? You? ...And all by yourself, too?"

"Don't you go and lecture me, please," sighed his sister.

Raphael chuckled, and walked up to her, taking the bottle from her hands and putting it to his lips with a satisfied expression, which made Milena feel a little better. She was used to mischief with Lucian, much less so with Raphael... She glanced towards the curtains, still drawn, but this time, the light had a dimmer orange-reddish glow. It was probably sometime around sunset, which explained Raphael's clean hair and clothes. Milena rubbed her temples, hoping to alleviate just a little that terrible pounding in her head. "...Philomenie's baby?" She asked.

"Alive and healthy, apparently. Although the delivery took a long while, so that might be why they waited to spread the news."

"...Boy or girl?" "It's a baby girl."

Milena was a bit surprised, and in a way, a bit sorry too. She felt sorry for Philomenie, who was probably going to have to face her unreasonable husband once again... And for her newborn, too. From what she had seen and heard of his attitude so far, the King would be unlikely to settle for a baby girl, although the newly born princess was definitely his heiress, and now, in line for the throne... Regardless of the King's uncertainties, the law was enacted and definite, so unless anything major happened, their future ruler would be a Queen. Something inside her felt a bit proud that a girl would sit on the monarch's throne next, but Milena couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her niece, too.

"They haven't announced the name yet or anything," added Raphael. "The news isn't even really official yet, only the high-ranked nobles received the information. I don't know why they waited so long or what they are still waiting for; apparently they haven't baptized the baby yet, either."

Milena frowned a little. Was there possibly an issue with the newborn? With Philomenie? Or was the Queen trying to stand against the Church, perhaps...? Milena really hoped for the latter for the young Queen. After going through the pain of labor herself, Milena wouldn't wish this pain to anyone else. Moreover, she couldn't even bear to imagine what would happen if the Queen passed. No doubt Ellias would lose a lot of his support, and grow madder in the process... "Try to replace out more," said Milena.

"Oh? Not going to rush to the Castle yourself this time?" Her brother mocked her.

Milena groaned as a response. She was well aware she was in no state to go anywhere for now... She was ashamed enough already about the state she was presently in, and she hated even more that her brother was there to witness and mock it. At least, though she was hungover, she was not so tired anymore. She had probably gotten some much needed hours of sleep through that slightly extreme method. A bit too deep, but sleep was sleep.

Milena called her maids to have a bath prepared and got cleaned up into fresh clothes, drinking plenty of tea to try and get better soon. She even agreed to eat whatever the cook had gotten ready for them, wishing to sponge up the alcohol, and Dinah brought her some tonic prepared by the family doctor. Meanwhile, Raphael watched it all, his arms crossed and a snicker on.

"Well... If I had known it would take half a bottle of wine to get you to rest and eat, I might have tried that sooner. I don't think that's going to be a sustainable solution, Milena. You might want to see the doctor for something less... extreme and prone to give you a hangover afterwards."

Milena ignored him, and stared at her unhealthy complexion in the mirror while Dinah brushed her hair, slowly sipping her tea. She was wearing a black dress with little color, which felt awfully fit given the circumstances of the Manor right now... and her mood. This was one of the dresses Yasina had prepared to cover her fake pregnancy, and Milena was even more surprised her friend had chosen to make a black dress out of all the possible colors. Perhaps Yasina knew her tastes enough to consider some darker themes even for a pregnant woman. At the very least, Milena was pleased it matched her current emotional state, though she felt odd carrying a fake belly.

With a bit of weariness, Milena grabbed the newspaper lying close, more out of habit than out of real concern.

"Any news from the Sevira sisters?"

"Not yet... Have you seen the front page?"

Milena grimaced. It was hard to miss the large letters announcing another gruesome murder in the middle of the Capital... How could that still happen in this weather? Either the snow wasn't as bad in the capital as it was in the Duke's domain, or the perpetrator really didn't care much about the snow. She sighed, and read it quickly, but it was always the same. The next pages speculated without real answers, careful not to upset one party or the other. The next article was actually about her and Philomenie, a passionate speculation as to who would give birth first, and what it would mean for the succession... Milena closed the newspaper. There shouldn't have been any change to the succession regardless of the birth order; this was only oil to be added to the fire already burning at the Royal Castle. Milena sighed, thinking about when she'd have to go back there. "I'm glad the orphans were pulled out of this mess in time, but... This isn't going to get any better."

"It's causing serious unrest," nodded Raphael. "Our servants who managed to go downtown earlier today said the voices are rising in the capital. Against the King. Many are starting to look for someone to blame, and they think the King is the one to be pointed out." "Damn it..." "They're saying he's ignoring the situation with vain counter-measures. ... For once, I'd feel almost sorry for him. This is putting him in a worse situation than ever, and there's nothing scarier than an angry crowd."

“I beg to differ," muttered Milena, more for herself than her brother.

She pushed the newspaper aside and grabbed more of the tonic to wake herself up.

"...I might need to go to the Royal Castle after all," she muttered.

"And there she goes again," Raphael rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, Raphael, look at the situation. The Sevira sisters won't have results until tomorrow at best, didn't you say so yourself? I want news of my babies, but that also shouldn't come until tomorrow, and for now, I have at least a faint hope that Lucian is still... doing his best to protect them. If Blanche is still with him, I think they... will be fine."

Milena was aware she was saying this to convince her brother as much as herself, but in any case, she needed to do what she could to keep herself busy. Staying in the manor with dark thoughts and a hangover wasn't going to help. The deaths of Sofia and Jeremiah were still hovering in her mind, and she couldn't stand still and do nothing.

"This is perfect," she continued. "I'll go to the Royal Castle for the night. Check on Philomenie, show the nobles there that I'm still pregnant, and come back later tomorrow."

Her brother hesitated for a while, but Milena's determination was hard to stop, and in fact, he was a bit glad his sister wasn't completely dejected from the recent events. She was a force to be reckoned with. Her newborn babies' whereabouts were practically unknown, she had just lost the woman who had raised her and her most loyal knight, and yet, she was ready to go out of the comfort and safety of their familial manor to go back to a den of wolves. He closed his fist a bit, and eventually, gave in with a faint nod. "...Alright. But take your maids and more guards with you. I'd accompany you if... things weren't so tense already out there."

"It's better you don't go out now, with everything going on. Plus, I need you to watch over Father and wait for the Sevira sisters' message, or anyone else's, just in case..."

"I doubt Father needs to be chaperoned anymore," he chuckled. "You gave him one hell of a wake-up... Mom wouldn't have done it better."

Although he meant to be funny, Milena didn't have the heart for it. She hated that she had to get mad at her own father, and there was too much going on for her to care much about the Duke's behavior right now. At least, he seemed somewhat back to his old self and capable of ruling the manor, even if it was by fear.

"...Aren't you going to see Eugenie before you go?"

The name of her sister-in-law almost made Milena grimace. The two women of the House De Crescent were still at odds with each other since their previous argument. Even worse, now Milena had been proven wrong, since Eugenie's maid had confessed following the Duke's interrogation. She wondered how the young Duchess felt right now, but Milena didn't have enough heart left to feel sorry for her. She had way too many people on her mind already to add concern for her sister-in-law, and it felt too soon for forgiveness,

too.

"No," she answered coldly.

"Millie... She's feeling bad, you know. She was furious when she heard about her maid, uh... Dad had a serious chat with her, but Eugenie's still very upset."

If she was "still" very upset, Milena could guess her father had most likely tried to console her sister-in-law rather than scorning her, which was plenty enough already. She only hoped he wouldn't be so lenient towards the De Iris family.

"I will mention it to Clorence and Prue," she mentioned while putting on her jewelry and shoes. "Once again, I don't think they were aware of anything, but I'll ask them to check from their own side."

"Father said the maid confessed to being the spy, but she refused to tell who had sent her. I think he lost patience and killed her before we could... investigate further."

Milena grimaced. Their father was really back... for better or worse.

"He's done interrogating all the servants," Raphael continued. "He spent most of the night patrolling around the perimeter with more of our knights, but they didn't replace anything. To be honest with you, all the servants are pretty shaken up after last night... They probably felt a bit better when Father went back to his apartment to sleep this morning."

"They haven't found anything?"

"No... They went to examine the places where the bodies were found. According to Father, Jeremiah was attacked by at least half a dozen trained fighters, and they did a good job erasing most of their traces. As for Sophia, he definitely found traces of several animals, but with Blanche's ability, hard to tell... He did say there was at least one other person there. Someone heavy..."

"...Or someone carrying two babies," Milena muttered. "Good, then."

This confirmed her theory, and put her heart at ease a little more, which was all she requested for now. Finally ready, Milena turned around, her hands on her hips. "What do I look like?"

"Still disturbingly pregnant, sis. Damn, those babies better be out soon or you won't be able to go through the doors..."

"Thanks, Raphael. Next time, you give birth to your own baby, too."

Her brother showed his fangs in response, his own way of smiling graciously. Their bantering was getting a bit old, but Milena knew it was his way of trying to ease up the atmosphere.

It was useless, though. As soon as she left her bedroom, the atmosphere in the Manor was quick to remind her of the recent events. Milena was almost glad to leave and go back to the Royal Castle, for once. She left with knights and her maids as Raphael had asked her to, and departed as quickly as possible. She felt like she hadn't left home in a long while, and it was an odd feeling that accompanied her on the way to the Castle. It was already dark outside, and her knights were quite tense as they crossed the streets. She could feel what Chartiana had mentioned before; she could feel stares following the black coach wearing the De Crescent armories, even from behind closed windows.

Luckily, nothing really happened until she reached the Castle's gates. Everyone had other concerns for that day, and she walked inside the Royal Castle almost unseen, feeling like she was coming here after a long, long strange dream. Things were quiet in there, but tense. A maid that happened to cross Milena's path went white as soon as she saw her, and bowed so quickly she spilled some of the food on the tray.

"...Who is that food meant for?" Milena asked with her cold voice.

"For Her M-majesty the Queen, Grand Princess..."

"Good. Take me to Her Majesty, then."

The maid went even whiter, and Milena could have sworn she saw a shiver going down the maid's neck.

"Uh... T-the King gave orders for the Queen to be left alone, Your Highness... No one is supposed to visit her."

"Oh?" Milena tilted her head. "Looks like my brother-in-law's being quite reckless this time. The Grand Princess isn't even granted permission to see her young niece?"

The maid was visibly terrified of her, and Milena was using this to pressure her. Behind her, even Dinah and Olivia were standing straight as arrows, their eyes scrutinizing the young maid.

"I-I don't know... I'm sorry..." Muttered the terrified girl.

Milena glanced back at Olivia, who gave her a little nod.

"Where is she? In her bedroom?"

"Y-y-yes, but I'm not supposed to-!"

Before she could end that sentence, Olivia had taken the tray of food from her, and the maid found herself empty-handed and lost. She dared to glance at Milena, who gave her a scary smile. "Thank you. You're dismissed.

The girl ran as fast as she could out of the Dhampir Lady's sight. Milena sighed.

"An half-empty castle, and maids keeping me from seeing the Queen... Seriously, what is he up to this time... Let's go and see what this is about."

There was a feeling of unrest in Milena's heart. Could there really be something wrong with Philomenie, or her child? She had to see for herself. She hadn't seen her sister-in-law in too long.

Milena and her maids climbed the stairs up, a bit surprised by how quiet the Castle was that evening. The few servants they spotted almost ran in the opposite direction as soon as they spotted the Grand Princess, or had their heads so low and absorbed in their task, they didn't even see her. The number of guards was what really struck Milena. Despite the army lacking men, she had never seen so many soldiers guarding the castle. Some were faces she was sure she had never seen before, or posted in locations that had never been guarded before. "What in the world is going on here..."

Luckily, no one stopped them again on the way to the Queen's apartments. In fact, long before they reached the corridor to Philomenie's private room, she heard a baby's cry. Milena felt a little pinch in her heart, remembering her own newborns' cries. Maria cried little, but Elizio's lungs worked so well he could be heard throughout the whole aisle of the manor... Of course, the noise got louder as she got closer to the Queen's apartments.

She knocked on the door, and to her surprise, an exasperated voice came before she could announce herself.

"I said to go away! Leave me alone!"

Milena frowned, barely recognizing her sister-in-law's voice. She knocked again, this time announcing herself in time.

"Philomenie, it's Milena."

A silence, and then she heard someone dash to the door, and it suddenly opened. To her surprise, Philomenie was alone and up, in her nightgown, her blonde hair all disheveled. "L-Lady Milena...?"

"Why in the world do you look like this?" Gasped the Grand Princess.

She had never seen her sister-in-law without a perfect hairdo, nor her clothes so messy, even for a nightgown. Philomenie blushed, her eyes going down, and she crossed her arms, visibly a bit embarrassed.

"I-I chased the maids away, so, uh... C-come in!"

She opened the door wide enough for Milena and her maids to walk in. The baby's cries were coming not from the large crib next to her bed, but from Philomenie's bed itself, where a little creature was moving in the middle of it. Despite the loud baby screams, Philomenie looked like she could barely hear them anymore.

"S-Sorry about the mess," she sighed.

"... What in the world happened with your maids?" Milena asked, glancing around at the disorderly bedroom.

".... chased them away," Philomenie admitted. "I just... I couldn't stand anyone anymore, so I asked them all to... leave me and my baby alone."

Milena let out a faint sigh. The poor Queen was visibly at her wits' end. She had dark circles under her eyes, looked thinner than before, and kept her shoulders up as if she was instinctively ready to defend herself. Milena felt like she was seeing a cornered animal. "...I understand. Well, I hope you don't mind me coming, then."

"Oh, God, don't say that," Philomenie let out in a sigh. "You're... one of the only people I'm genuinely relieved to see right now."

"What about the Saint?" Milena frowned.

Philomenie's expression sunk.

"...Ellias chased him away," she muttered. "He forbade him from coming near me, or the baby."

"What? Why!"

The Queen shook her head.

"I have no idea. Ellias has been... more controlling than ever, lately, and he and the Saint kept fighting... I don't know. I haven't seen him since yesterday, and all of a sudden, this morning Ellias got mad at me, and said I wouldn't see the Saint again. I... I don't know." Suddenly, Philomenie began crying, and Milena felt genuinely sorry for her. At times, she forgot she and Philomenie were the same age, and too young for a lot of things they were going through anyway. She took her sister-in-law's hands, and tried to speak gently to

her.

"...Alright, calm down. I'll investigate the Saint's whereabouts, alright? ... But first, how about you introduce me to my niece, and we replace a way to have the little princess sleep?" Philomenie nodded, giving her a faint smile.

"T-Thanks, Milena. Thank you so much for... for coming."