Lady Dhampir
Bonus Epilogue 3

He sighed, glancing at the documents laid out in front of him.

"It's intolerable, Your Majesty!" Protested one of the men around the table. "The Princess, seen meddling with commoners downtown! This attitude from our future Ruler is intolerable! It's already bad enough that she will go around wearing male clothing, but she now has to fool around with commoners!"

"...Fool around?"

His cold voice sent a blizzard throughout the room. The man who had spoken up froze, and very slowly sat back, while all of the others avoided looking in his direction. Only the woman seated on the King's left chuckled behind her hand, but she said nothing. The King very faintly tilted his head. The large scar on his face was making his grin even scarier. The people around the table didn't need to look in his direction to be afraid, however.

"Might you enlighten me as to how exactly my daughter was fooling around, Count?"

"S-She was seen with young knights and male commoners, Your Majesty. I dare not make any statements that would insult the Princess' dignity, but after she has rejected so many noble, very fitting marriage proposals, for her to behave in such a way is..." "Rubbing a lot of male egos?" Guessed the woman.

She was wearing a masculine outfit too, with sharp shoulders under her bob-length black hair, and her red eyes had a hint of maliciousness in them. The count stiffened a bit more, grimacing and looking away from that woman.

"Your Majesty, the Princess is our future Queen. She has already refused countless proposals that would have been perfectly befitting, and we are simply worrying about the future of the Kingdom! We are well-aware of how much Your Majesty treasures the Princess as your only daughter, but she is already seventeen years old. If we let this go on, her wilful nature will eventually become problematic!"

"I understand, Count," said the King, surprisingly calm.

"T-Then, if Your Majesty were to convince the Princess to finally make a decision..."

"Why would I?"

The King crossed his arms, with an amused expression on.

"As you all know, I'm quite known for being a fool for both my daughter and wife. If I were to order my precious child to do something, both of them would hate me, and the chances that my dear Princess would do what her father orders are also incredibly slim. You all surely remember the stables incident?"

The men grimaced. How could they not? The King had refused his daughter horse-riding lessons, judging that it was far too dangerous for her. This had prompted a massive fit from the Princess, who had let loose half of the Royal Knights' horses, nearly destroyed the stables as a wall had collapsed, and destroyed hundred credits' worth of riding equipment. It had taken a full week to retrieve all the horses, and she had never apologized for it. And the whole event had occurred when the Princess was just nine years old... "The Princess' temper is quite difficult indeed," nodded one of the other men. "But surely, she is still a good daughter who listens to your Majesty..."

Rayan chuckled. Of course, they were going to try and use Maria's affection for him.

"That is still a no," he retorted. "I won't force my daughter into any wedding. If your sons, nephews or heirs fall short in my precious daughter's eyes, then they certainly don't deserve her hand. I suggest you gentlemen go home and focus on managing your household better instead of trying to teach me how to handle my child. If we don't have any real matters to talk about today, we're done here."

The King's imperious tone left no room for negotiation. The men sighed, and all slowly started to get up. When the woman on his left moved, Rayan darted a glare her way.

"Except for you, Duchess. I'd like to have a word."

With a smile on her lips, Duchess Rachel De Nova sat back down, and they both waited in silence until every other person in the room was gone. The butler walked up to them, pouring two cups of fresh, warmed blood, and stepped back in perfect silence. Rayan sighed, and slowly pulled his chair back. Updated by Narugi.com; visit us for more free novels.

"You replace this funny?" He groaned.

"Extremely, Your Majesty. I'll always be impressed at the Princess' fiery temper. She's your child for sure."

He couldn't disagree on that. Since their daughter had inherited both from him and his wife, it couldn't have been any other way. In comparison, her twin was much calmer, but just as stubborn, if not more than her.

"When will you speak to your son?" He groaned. "I can fend off the dogs, but your heir making my precious daughter unhappy is starting to get on my nerves, Rachel."

"Your Majesty is getting into the teenagers' love affairs?" She chuckled, bringing her cup to her lips. "I didn't think I'd get scolded in my son's stead."

"You know how it will look if I grab your son and bring him here. Not that I do not want to."

"Cut him some slack, Rayan," she sighed, dropping the formal tone. "Yennick's already busy proving himself to all the nobles, if he openly shows his relationship with the Princess next, they will give him an even harder time." "I already gave you everything you wanted to make him your official son and heir."

"He's still an adopted child, whom they know for sure didn't come out of my womb. He's not hiding that he came from a humble background, but most will keep seeing him as a soldier's son rather than my own just to piss off the House De Nova. He is a stubborn child, and he won't take such a shortcut like becoming the Princess' fiancé. For now, he's trying hard to become worthy of the titles he already has."

The King grimaced.

"Then the boy should hurry up....I hate seeing Maria so distraught. Now even Elizio is getting involved."

"Our aloof Prince?" Chuckled Rachel.

"He advised me to hold more official events like Hunts so your son can prove his worth in the eyes of nobles. I have a feeling he's also... purposely making himself attractive to the female gentry so their interest won't go towards your son."

"He's helping his sister, that's just like him. Stop worrying so much. It's our job as parents to take a few bullets for them, but let's not force them to run while they still learn to walk. I'm sure the Princess will replace ways to make all those old men bite their tongue sometime soon, and then, Daddy can support all her wants, as always."

"...I'll look forward to that."

Suddenly, a knock was heard at the door, and the Queen's entrance was announced.

The Queen, Milena De Crescent, walked in, wearing a gorgeous black and purple dress that matched her eyes and raven hair. She was as beautiful as ever despite the years. Now, crows feet were starting to appear at the corner of her eyes, yet the woman looked more beautiful than ever. Her mature femme fatale looks were breaking hearts on the daily. However, there was only one man who had managed to capture the beautiful bird. Milena walked up to the table, and leaned to leave a kiss on her husband's cheek. "What did I miss?" She asked with a chuckle.

"The usual, your Majesty," The Duchess answered. "The troublesome new generation is making waves and pissing off the elders."

"The usual indeed, then. Dear Husband of mine, do I have to get mad?"

"Please the Heavens not," he sighed, bringing the back of her hands to his lips. "I'm voting for letting the Princess handle this as she sees fit. Our future Queen is happy to sharpen her character and fangs on the troublesome, tax-evading citizens of this Kingdom, let's leave her to do it."

"I heard Elizio's upset too," the Queen tilted her head.

The King sighed. So she already knew that too.

"You know how I hate to see my son upset."

"Then I'm even happier to let him support his older sister all he wants," Rayan smiled. "And then, if push really comes to shove, as their Royal Father, I promise to my beautiful wife I will get involved and get very mad. Until then, let's let the children have their fun. Right, Ladies?"

"...Your son's causing this, isn't he?" Milena turned her eyes to the Duchess.

The King sighed, while the other woman chuckled.

"Going around breaking hearts," she nodded. "Weren't you the expert, back in the day, Milena? Come on, you know how that ends."

"It better end with my daughter," scoffed Milena. "Husband, if you're done with work, come with me. If the children are busy running amok somewhere, we might as well get busy on our own." "...That's my cue to go home," grimaced the Duchess.