Lady Dhampir
Chapter 33

"Damn, that looks boring," sighed Lucian.

Milena rolled her eyes, but her brother wasn't completely wrong. The Vermillion Lands were indeed quite deserted. Most of the lands were covered by snow and ice, especially in this winter season.

The carriage stopped in front of what might have been in the old days a magnificent castle, but was now uncared for and desolate. Milena stepped out of the carriage, frowning. She knew those lands hadn't been properly taken care of by the Baron, its previous owner, but she didn't expect it would be that bad. There was a lot to do.

"Shall we go directly to the castle, madam?" asked Olivia.

Next to her, Lucian nodded frenetically. It was the evening, and unlike his sister's maid, he felt the bitter cold even with his big coat on. But Milena turned her eyes towards the village instead.

"No. Let's go to the village."

Her brother felt like crying but followed her anyway.

Their whole group was officially composed of three maids for Milena, two aides for Lucian, and a dozen Crescent Knights. Of course, Blanche was there as well, following her mistress closely, and Ruby and Lucian's bodyguard were hiding close by.

The village was larger than they had thought. About fifty houses, and just as many shops and establishments. There were also some workshops and two stable houses. Most of it seemed closed and abandoned, though.

While walking, Milena observed everything, from the condition of the houses to the storefronts, and she was particularly interested in the large forge they found, despite it being abandoned. At the edge of the village was a little path to the sea. The beach was very large, but because it was so cold and humid there, it was empty. Nothing but sand for miles and miles, and the dangerous waves of the sea.

"It's my first time seeing the sea..." said Milena, a bit impressed.

"Me too," replied Lucian. "It's too bad that the weather here is so terrible. I don't think they can do much fishing with this kind of weather, and the water must be freezing cold..."

Indeed. Even for Milena or one of her Vampire maids, this sea was scary. She turned around and led their group back to the castle. While crossing through the village again, it became obvious some people were observing their little group from behind windows, but Milena gave them no attention. Baron Verheilm really hadn't invested anything at all into those lands...

She crossed the entrance of the castle with no difficulty, but two guards came running once they walked inside.

"Who dares to come in unannounced! You are not-"

But before they could add a word, the Crescent Knights had them on the ground, disarmed and pinned down. The difference in strength between them was obvious; Milena didn't even bother to stop or look, and just walked up the stairs. From across a corridor, a middle-aged lady came running, trying to stop her.

"Madam, you cannot come in here! The Lord is busy, and we have had no notice for visitors today! Please come in at-"

"Olivia."

Immediately, her maid got into action, catching the woman's arms and trapping them behind her back. She started screeching in fear, but Milena ignored her plea.

"Who are you?"

"Answer my lady!"

"Rosalind... Gressant. I work for Lord Verheim... as his accountant and... house head..."

"I know Baron Verheim couldn't be here. He is detained in the Capital, in the Royal Prison. Who are you working for?"

"Don't lie!" said Olivia, pushing the woman to bow.

"I didn't lie! Lord Verheim is Baron Verheim's nephew! Lord Lexter Verheim!"

So the Baron had only let his nephew handle this piece of land by himself? Just from that short trip to the village, Milena could tell that his nephew couldn't have been tired from hard work! She put her hands on her hips, annoyed. "Where is he?"

"In... In his bedroom, madam, but..."

"Where is he?"

"In... In his bedroom, madam, but..."

"Is he?" said Lucian with a smirk.

He turned to his sister, getting his sword out.

"Millie, do you mind if I fetch him? I might have murderous thoughts if this imbecile sullies your eyes with some nasty activities..."

"Please do."

Lucian nodded and walked inside the private bedroom, flanked by two knights. Meanwhile, Milena turned to the woman Olivia was still holding firmly.

"Show us to the salon. I just spent five hours in a carriage to come all the way here, I'm tired and I could use some tea."

Olivia released the scared woman, who nodded and walked ahead to show them another room. Once again, it wasn't in the best state. Olivia insisted on putting an extra cloak on the sofa between Milena's dress and the dusty sofa. "How shameless. To keep a residence in such a state..."

"We'll see to that later," sighed Milena.

The woman named Rosalind seemed totally lost; after sending glances Milena's way and getting a glare from everyone accompanying her, she went back to staring at the floor. After a few minutes, Lucian came back, dragging the young man by the collar despite their height difference.

The man was yelling and crying his lungs out, making the siblings frown.

"How dare you! You little beast! How dare you drag me like some filthy animal!"

"From what I seen in your bedroom, a filthy animal sounds about right!" replied Lucian, throwing him at Milena's feet.

Immediately, he put the tip of his sword on the man's back, making sure he would stay down.

Half n***d in a messy bathrobe, the man glared at Milena.

"How dare you come in here and disturb me! This is my castle! You wench, you will pay for this! My uncle will-"

"Wrong. Your uncle is in jail and this castle is mine," said Milena with that imperious tone of hers. "You're trespassing and I'm free to do whatever I want with you, even throw you out in the cold if it pleases me."

"You're in the presence of Lady Milena De Crescent and Sir Lucian De Crescent, first daughter and third son of the Duke De Crescent," said Olivia, glaring at the man. "Hold your filthy tongue behind your teeth if you want to keep it!"

The man's face turned from anger to horror in a split second. He obviously had no idea what had happened to his uncle, but the name De Crescent was not to be ignored. He looked again at the two teenagers facing him. While the boy looked rather ordinary, he had expensive clothes and the straight posture of a swordsman. The girl, however, was incredibly beautiful. She had long obsidian hair and purple eyes. She was wearing a luxurious winter dress, with several layers, a few gems, and black fur on top. The nephew immediately felt his heart skip a beat.

"I... I didn't know, I..."

"I do not care. You don't seem to know anything, judging by the poor state of this castle and the lands. Now, one of you bring me the book of accounts and any significant records from the last twenty years."

The man was speechless. The what? Rosalind, however, ran out of the room and came back carrying three large books. She was sweating in that dress that was too large for her, but she turned to Milena, offering them.

"Here, madam!"

Olivia took them from her before Milena could touch them, removing some dust off of them before handing them to her mistress. Milena opened the first book and frowned. How messy! Whoever had been filling those was either not skilled at this, or unwilling to do a good job of it! She closed it abruptly.

"I've seen enough. Olivia, go with Lukas to see if anything can be used in the kitchen, we will have dinner now. Jeremiah, take that i***t and have him locked somewhere I can't see him." "Where is he?"

"In... In his bedroom, madam, but..."

"Yes, madam," all three of them answered in unison.

The man protested, but he was taken out of the room promptly. Milena turned to the woman named Rosalind. She looked like an underweight squirrel, with small glasses on her nose.

"Rosalind, you'll assist me from today on. I am now in charge of this castle, and these lands. You'll show me anything I need to know, the people I need to meet, and any issues I should be aware of."

The woman, visibly very willing to obey, bowed frantically.

"Yes, madam!"

"Now, go and gather all of the castle workers here."

It took about an hour to gather the dozen people, introduce Milena and Lucian to them, and explain that from then on, things were going to change around here. A lot of them were surprised but seemingly happy to have new masters. Once they sent the maids to help cook dinner and everyone resumed their jobs, Lucian took a seat next to his sister.

"This place is so dusty..."

"Good. We can use the castle's renovation to offer jobs to the townspeople. I'll hire an architect tomorrow morning and send a letter to Father to explain the situation."

"We have three months until the Spring Ball, Sister. The Queen gave you these lands as a challenge, right? Are you going to change things around here?"

"Of course. I can't stay still and let this place remain desolate. Didn't you see the village? Most of the shops are abandoned and already closed. We need to get the economy rolling."

Lucian nodded, taking the herbal tea Dinah had brought.

"Renovating the castle will keep people busy for a while, and we can use our family's money to invest in this town. It needs to be fully independent, though..."

"What are you talking about? If we invest, we need to make this worth the effort. I won't just give them jobs, Lucian, I'll win money."

Her brother gave her a hesitant look. She was hoping to make money? In this desolate, abandoned land? He couldn't help but be doubtful. The shops weren't working probably due to the lack of circulating money, there weren't many exchanges either, and no natural resources to rely on.

However, Milena looked so sure of herself, it was obvious that she already had a plan. Was his sister really thinking she could make this abandoned land a profitable one within three months? Restoring the castle would keep people busy for a month maximum! "The Queen is really too harsh with you, Millie," he said with a frown. "This won't be an easy task, even with our father's money!"

Milena sighed and took her shoes off, throwing them across the room.

"What are you talking about, Lucian? I get a free castle I can renovate however I want, lands, and a place to make money far from the other nobles' eyes. This is perfect." "Perfect? This is a piece of land no one wants!"

"You need to look at what it could become, Brother. We need people, money, and buildings to get an economy started. And a good material to invest in. Actually, I thought things would be harder, and we might need to start from scratch, with a school or something, but it turns out we already have all the raw material we want to work with. All I'll need is volunteer workers and a bit of investment."

Lucian was confused. He couldn't think of anything to be done with what they had seen in just one evening there! The village was half-deserted and no shop was outstanding, it was farther away from traditional merchant roads, the forest was too cold to make anything good out of it, and there was only a large beach and the sea!

Milena, however, was feeling confident enough to have dinner, a bath, and go straight to sleep!