Lady Dhampir
Chapter 271

For a long while, a heavy, embarrassed, and confused silence dominated the room. Milena was out of breath, but she hadn't run out of spite yet, as her burning purple glare was scrutinizing each face in the room, as if to carve the shame deeper into their skin. Her anger could be felt from above, like a burning halo around her, forcing every vampire in the room to humbly keep their heads low. No one wanted to be subjected to her furious glare, as if it would be the same as admitting their shame. It was no secret though; every single person standing in this room was guilty, and her words were resonating heavily in their minds. Some had felt a terrible block of ice running down their spine as soon as they had seen the Grand Princess barge in, others were now feeling that ice in their stomach. Except for a handful of the Duke De Nova's most fervent supporters, most vampires in the room weren't proud indeed, about being caught there by the Grand Princess.

"...So that's what it is?" She scoffed, her voice much calmer but still as scary. "Shall I take it that all of you here have made up your minds?"

Panic arose in many pairs of red eyes. No, they couldn't afford to get on the Grand Princess' bad side. They had followed or answered the Duke De Nova's invitation after the Banquet, upon the certainty that the Grand Princess wouldn't be there! Many witnesses had confirmed she had left the Royal Castle, most likely headed for the De Crescent Duchy. No one had expected her to show up so quickly at the Duke De Nova's gathering! Many people there were terrified by her arrival, as they knew they could not be caught making the wrong alliance. In fact, many weren't even there by affinity with the Duke, but merely appealed by curiosity to hear what he was to offer. The Duchy De Nova, usually so secretive, was opening its door and an entry point into their opinions. No wonder a lot of vampires had been curious, and unable to resist the temptation. Moreover, the invitation had been given at record speed by word of mouth, right after the Banquet, and they all had followed like a swarm of bees keeping together. They hadn't imagined the Grand Princess would know of this assembly, or they wouldn't have taken the risk... A lot of those vampires weren't just scared of the Grand Princess' power or the De Crescent Duchy; Milena De Crescent also represented a scary but important business partner to many of those vampires' family, and some were drenched in cold sweat just thinking about all the business deals they could lose, if she got upset. Not only her, but half the Merchants of the Capital would follow a boycott, and the vampires needed their businesses to do well for income!

Hence, her arrival alone had been enough to turn the tide, but now that she had spoken up, and berated the crowd, it felt like a purple tsunami had just washed over them. No one dared to say a word, or even lift their heads, in case she saw their faces. Luckily though, the t*****e was soon ended by a loud clap of hands. All eyes turned to see who was the madman who dared to make a noise in this situation, but they quickly realized it was no man; Lady Bella De Camellia was clapping, with a large smile on her red lips, visibly very proud of her friend's entrance. She wasn't afraid to reveal herself, and her status was such that no doubt could be made about who her alliance truly was to. Then, she gave them all the answers they were looking for, or more likely, the right code of conduct after literally dipping their lips into the wrong cup of blood.

She bowed, very elegantly and respectfully to her Grand Princess.

"Your Highness," she even muttered with a little smile on her lips.

Immediately, it was like a ripple around her; in waves, all the nobles bowed, many of them much lower than necessary, their ashamed faces as close as possible to the ground. Standing tall on the table, still dominating by far the now bowed down audience, Milena slowly crossed her arms with a smirk.

"What is this now? Shouldn't you be bowing to your new Master, the Duke De Nova?"

However, they were clearly showing the protocol for a bow to the Grand Princess. They didn't even care about breaking their necks and backs as long as they could somehow save themselves from the Grand Princess' wrath. Not only was Milena De Crescent scary as hell when she was mad, but she was also famous for her long grudges and terrible appeal for cold-blooded revenge...

Milena purposely made it last, her eyes going all around as if to defy anyone to lift their heads right now. Only a handful weren't bowing, or only their heads, clearly showing her who was not on her side. Those who were persisting and showing their presence behind the Duke De Nova, she glared at, keeping their faces and names in mind for later. They would pay for this. She didn't care if they had been Supremacists all along; she wasn't going to berate any of them anymore....

The one she was the maddest at was the Duke De Nova, of course. She turned back to him, glaring at the old vampire who still seemed furious, a sullen expression on.

"Do you still want to keep this silly conversation going, Duke De Nova? I should hear some of it, shouldn't I?"

"...I doubt the Grand Princess will enjoy anything I have to say," he hissed.

"I may not enjoy it, but unlike your expectations, and what many think, I am willing to hear. I am still the Grand Princess of this Kingdom, no matter what people want to believe. You can consider me human, vampire or dhampir, neither of those would be wrong. What I am, is the third-highest figure of authority present in the Kingdom, and until my husband comes back, I also have the full command of his own followers... Or am I wrong?"

This was another warning. She glanced around, and many people bowed even more, reaffirming their support to the Grand Princess and Crown Prince with many bows and muttered appreciations. Milena still glared; she had no doubt most of those people had gathered here like cowards, moths attracted to a brighter flame.

"...You're all about words and grand speeches, Grand Princess," scoffed the Duke. "When will we finally see some action though? Your Highness has been promising a lot of things for the Vampires, but the situation is still what it is today! The Society of Vampires will..."

"The Society of Vampires has already more than abused the brief grace they were shown, after what happened! I don't know what happened to that Society since my brother became unwell, but I certainly don't like what has become of it. Since when did the once fierce Society become the doorstep for the Supremacists? At least, Alban De Carseus left with dignity, and sacrificed himself for what he believed in! But you? You're only happy with fueling fire and waging war! Domination over the humans, is that what you want?" "...This is the only..."

"Natural state of humans, is that it, De Nova?"

The old duke glared at her, but Milena wasn't scared of that man one bit. She had grown up amongst scary old vampires, and the Duke De Nova was still a runt compared to her fierce great-grandmother. She approached closer to him, her heels banging loudly against the oak table. Blanche, too, kept growling fiercely and keeping everyone around the table in check as her mistress moved.

"Wake up, Old Man," Milena hissed. "This is the third Century. The Vampire domination will not happen in this era, not while I'm alive, and both my husband and I do not believe in it. We are working on a more equal status. So if you don't quickly drop those immature thoughts of an old crone obsessed with his own bloodline, you'll see that there's much more we can do for the vampire kind by investing in research than warfare. So does your daughter think, by the way."

One again, the mention of Rachael had the old Duke see red. He kept his anger to himself, though, glaring around to see who else would speak to support him, but the whole audience had gone mute. Their line of vision was locked below the Grand Princess' shoes. However, she wasn't done. To their surprise, Milena suddenly let her cloak fall off, revealing her armor-like outfit, and taking out her sword, pointing it at the Duke.

"It's a long night, Duke, and I know it isn't over. Our common enemy has grown restless, but so have I. I am done tolerating the Supremacists, and letting them freely spit their venom behind my back while I try to keep everyone in check. If the vampires have to make a choice, it has to be tonight."

"...You know they are going to come for you next," hissed the Duke. "You're their biggest problem, Princess Milena. The King might have been your sweet boy for a while, but not anymore. That joke of a King is now entirely overruled by the Church." "Not if I get rid of their pawns first," Milena retorted. "...Tonight, they burned the House De Sevira."

Shocked gasps echoed throughout the room, people staring at each other in shock. All bowing to Milena forgotten, now everyone was completely panicked by the news. Milena let out a faint sigh; it couldn't be helped. The news would have been made known by the next morning, anyway. If this could only be used to pull the vampires to her side...

"No doubt the Church was behind this," said Milena. "And I will prove it soon. The reason they acted was clear too. They are growing scared of what we will unfold once we get to the root. The Wendigos have been my problem since day one. This week again, we found more in the Emerald Forest, and I have no doubt my husband is fighting more as we speak. What the Church is most afraid of, is that we prove they are behind this. The humans won't doubt you vampires anymore if we prove who the real culprit is. Fear is a poor ally, hence why we need to replace it with anger. Our anger."

"...Anger?" Frowned the Duke. "Isn't that what you've been trying to stop!"

"I am not talking about an open war," retorted Milena. "There are other ways to exert pressure than to draw your weapons out. I will not tolerate the Church meddling in the affairs of State anymore."

The Duke De Nova seemed to calm down a little, gauging the Princess from up and down with a frown. Around them too, many people had finally stood back up, staring at the duo with much interest. From now on, Milena De Crescent's words were the one thing no one wanted to miss; they all were eager to prove their loyalty back to the Grand Princess, no matter what she would ask. The winds had completely turned in her favor in the room.

A vicious smile appeared on her red lips, and she slowly spun the tip of her sword on the table, ignoring the hole she was slowly digging in it.

"I am done letting them attack us without striking back," she continued. "Duke De Nova. How many times have the Church representatives been invested in the Royal Council?"

"... Never, is what it should have been."

"Right? So how come such a powerful institution is now guaranteed the power to deem what is Occult Science or not? They even give orders to the King, using their puppets at the Council. I say their arbitrary involvement stops here. I want the rats at the very top of the Institution out, and the good souls inside to be left unharmed. Humans are not the issue, corrupted humans are. And I want to dig that vermin out of the Church, out of the Royal Council and out of my Kingdom."

"... How are we supposed to do so, Grand Princess?" Asked the Count De Zinnia. "It's not like we can simply boycott Churches we already don't attend?"

"I do not care about the churches," retorted Milena. "The corrupted don't bother to go to attend the Mass. They s**k dry the neck of the nobles they bite. Didn't you see the Duke De Winter's hand fly tonight? That was his punishment for shaking the wrong hand, and I am not done here. All the families now openly supporting the Church are what we are targeting. The House De Winter. The House De Rosella. The House De Bertrilly. All of them who use the Church and are backed by them. I want every single one of these houses to suffocate until they sever their ties to the Church, or run to them for help. I want to see every single one of their businesses that was protected by the Church failing."

"But, my Lady... Some of the businesses were to help the poor!"

"You don't need to go through the Church to do Charity!" Milena retorted. "You want the vampires' image to get better? Then get out there and hand your money to those who need it! It is time to stop hiding in your residences as if you truly were guilty of something! There will be no more Wendigo attacks in the Capital, so there's nothing to be afraid of. Those rotten bastards are too scared of us getting closer to their secrets."

Milena looked around at the crowd. Every single noble family that had even just one vampire member among them was represented here. In this room alone, stood almost as many vampires as she had invited to her Banquet, minus those who had actually shown her loyalty by ignoring the Duke's invitation. Even without them here, Milena knew they would get word of her decision today. Indeed, she was tired of looking at hints and scraps to pull the culprits out. From now on, she'd have them come out of hiding and face her directly, if needed. They were past the point of hiding.

"In this room alone," she said. "Stands almost half of our vampire population. And half of that vampire population is still a greater portion of our Kingdom's wealth than everybody else outside those walls. So now, it is time you use your money. Stop leaving it to sleep in caves and crests to hold the dust. Use it to pressure our enemies like never before. If you want to wage a war, do it on a ground where we already are winning. Not many families will be able to withstand the major blow that will occur if all the vampire families shift their financial focus at once. Boycott the trades backed by the Church, and create your own, rival ones if necessary. Cut off all donations and fund your own hospices and orphanages. We all know most of the money isn't going to the poor, so whose pocket are you throwing it into? Find who is behind each of their investments, who pockets everything, who pulls the strings and who is in charge."

Around the Grand Princess, nothing but decided nods, and people silently approving of her decision. Some began to whisper, getting visibly excited. Those people were dying for some action, and this sounded like an act of sweet revenge against those who had pointed their fingers at them all this time since the first Wendigo murders. This was going to be a very different kind of war. Not one with blood and swords, but a cold war against the Church's heads. Milena knew she wouldn't be able to dig those people out simply by creating a mob. In fact, they would use that against her right away. Instead, she was prepared to suffocate them until they gave up of their own volition. She might not be a believer, but Milena knew how it worked. The churches Eugenie or Philomenie went to for Mass were never richly decorated despite the generous donations, which meant the money went to somebody else's pockets. It was time to dry a hole in those pockets of their greedy enemies... Not only that, but all of the House De Winter's allies would slowly abandon them too. No one wanted to be on the side of the alienated Duchy, when all three of the others were lining up together.

Milena turned to the Duke. The House De Nova, the House De Boreal and the House De Crescent speaking up and blocking the Church all together was going to cause a terrible ruckus in the political spheres. Not only them, but all of the vampire houses had power they seldom used for a united cause. Right now, she had taken control. Even the stubborn Duke De Nova had a sinister smile on.

"... You know they won't sit still, Princess," he said. "They will know, and they will come for your head first."

Milena smiled, and nodded. She walked the short distance up to the Duke, standing in front of the old man. There was no hatred, no anger in his eyes. Just like her Father, the old Duke was smart and experienced enough to know who the real enemies were. They might differ on the method, but the young Lady De Crescent had proven once again she was no weak opponent. The whole audience was under her spell already, and she hadn't needed to spill any blood or use any other influence than her own.

"Let's have them come," she said with an almost honeyed voice. "I sincerely expect them to, but what will they get, Duke? This is only the beginning. ...I am merely a figure to a bigger cause assembled in this room. The vampires will know what to do even without me, and that's exactly a leader's goal. Moreover, if the Church does come for me, they won't be able to afford to kill me... And I do hope they will try. Like I said, I would never shy away from a fight."