Lady Dhampir
Chapter 36

The carriage slowly rode inside the De Crescent lands, the horses walking at a good pace now that they had recognized home. Inside the carriage, Lucian was dozing off while his sister tried to get some fresh air from the window. It felt good to be going home after three months of working hard in the Vermillion Lands. They had several chariots following them, and more people than the number they left with. Milena had chosen a handful of the villagers to accompany her back. Some accountants, one of the artisans, and young people who were willing to come and work in the Capital. They were all curious to arrive at the heart of this country, but mostly, to discover the Duchess' manor.

They arrived at dawn, hence not only the Duke, but Raphael and Valentin were also waiting for them, along with many servants, maids, and the butler. As Olivia helped her get down from the carriage, Milena couldn't help but smile upon seeing them. "Father, I'm back," she announced softly.

The Duke let out a long sigh and hugged his daughter.

"Finally. Had you been late by one day I would have sent our army to get you back."

"We did miss you a lot, little Sister," said Valentin with a wink.

He hugged her next before she turned to Raphael, who was shyly standing a step back. He simply smiled at her and hugged Milena closely.

"Welcome back, Millie," he whispered.

"I am back too!" exclaimed Lucian behind them.

"Young Master, so you were awake?" said Olivia with a little smirk.

"Of course I was!"

"Well, please use this to wipe yourself. You still have a bit of drool..."

Embarrassed, Lucian quickly cleaned himself up before greeting his brothers and father, and they all walked inside while the servants helped unload the carriages.

Milena was escorted by her father, lending his arm to lead her to the salon.

"How was the trip, Milena? Not too long?"

"It was fine, except that brother Lucian's snoring made it a bit harder to read."

"You worked even during the ride home?" said Valentin, surprised.

"I have a lot to do! Since I am back in the Capital, I will need to introduce our products, replace new investors and clients, look for new artisans, and even open a few shops. I also need to get to the Central Bank and the Merchant's Guild for proper registration." "Milena, calm down," said Raphael. "You are home now, we will help you."

"Thank you, Raphael. I may need your help indeed."

They finally sat around in the salon, and the servants hurriedly brought over warm tea, blood, and some snacks. While Lucian started eating right away, Milena sat back and relaxed a bit. Riding this rocky road in a carriage was really too exhausting! Next time, she would rather ride her own horse.

"You look tired, Millie. Are you sure you still want to go to the party?" asked Valentin.

"Of course. I chose to come back purposely for this. Lady Eugenie isn't going to push back her birthday party, is she? Besides, this is a perfect opportunity to attract future buyers."

"Milena... you are not going to have a stall at your future sister-in-law's party, or draw too much attention to you, will you?"

She sulked.

"Who do you think I am? I am more subtle than that!"

All three brothers laughed at her pouting, but their father sighed.

"Enough, all of you. Milena is tired. Let's have dinner promptly and let her rest before tomorrow night's party. Moreover, Raphael and I need to get to work. And your great-grandmother wants to attend."

"To attend? Attend what? With who?" suddenly asked Lucian, visibly worried.

"Dinner, with your great-grandmother. We will all dine together in the main room tonight."

"You know, I'm really not that hungry..."

"Lucian De Crescent," said Milena. "The future famous swordsman is afraid of a dinner with his great-grandmother?"

"How disappointing," added Raphael, acting as her accomplice.

"How disappointing," added Raphael, acting as her accomplice. "Indeed," smirked Valentin.

"Fine, fine!" said Lucian, embarrassed. "If it's only one dinner..."

That dinner was indeed long for him. The Archduchess, after not seeing them for so long, was particularly fired up and voiced her opinion as usual. Lucian only put a mindless smile on his face and endured it, while his siblings had fun witnessing it until Milena changed the topic to her business.

She had done quite a lot in the Vermillion Lands in just a few months' time. The castle was almost done being renovated, and she had her glass industry up and running. The first shops had been open, and the artisans were creating new products daily. She had brought back quite a lot with her and insisted on distributing some of them as gifts after dessert.

The Duke received a brand new watch with a bi-colored screen, one part red for the night hours and one white for the daylight hours. For her great-grandmother, she had a full set of glass jewelry done and to each of her brothers, Milena gifted a decoration for their swords' scabbards. She had even brought back little bracelets for each of her maids, and an apple-shaped paperweight for the butler.

Though everyone was intrigued by all those new products, it was nothing compared to what Milena had prepared for the next day.

As planned, she slept a bit later than usual the next day and spent her day resting and handling some paperwork. Late in the afternoon, however, Dinah, Olivia, and a few more maids came to her apartments to help her get ready.

"You know, my lady, everyone is jealous of our bracelets," whispered Dinah, blushing.

"Thank you for those, my lady," added Olivia.

Indeed, the other maids were a bit regretful to not be one of Milena's personal maids and get glass bead bracelets from her.

However, they were given the opportunity to see much more of the glass jewelry, as Milena had chosen some of the prettiest pieces for her to wear to the party. Since the theme for the party, as decided by Lady Eugenie, was a winter theme, Milena only wore white and blue pieces. Her hairpins were sculpted like snowflakes, and her earrings and collar shone as if they had been made of ice. With this, she decided on an indigo blue dress with white embroidery and fur. Seeing her dress on her, the maids complimented her beauty as usual, but Olivia was frowning.

"Aren't you going to use one of the dresses we made, my lady?"

Milena shook her head.

"Let's save it for the Spring Ball. My future sister-in-law will be the main center of attention today, why should I overshadow her during her own birthday? Besides, I have something else in mind for tonight." "Everything is ready, my lady," said Dinah. "Your present is in the carriage. I hope Master Valentin's fiancée will like it!"

Milena hoped so too. That evening's party was the first step in her plan to attract the nobles' attention to the glass industry...

A couple of hours later, she got in the carriage with her siblings. The Duke wasn't attending, too busy with work, hence they departed as soon as Raphael was up and ready.

As the lady's future in-laws, they were expected to arrive early, as family members and close friends should. Valentin was all dressed up and a bit enthusiastic. He rarely demonstrated his feelings unless his fianceée was involved. He had exchanged countless letters with Milena, looking for gift ideas and what to wear for her to be impressed. Even on the whole trip there, he could barely hide his anxiety.

When they arrived at the Manor D'Iris, Eugenie was obviously just as happy to see her fiancé. They greeted each other, blushing and fidgety, while their siblings waited on the side, though they all knew each other already. Eugenie had two younger sisters, around the same age as Milena, Clorence and Prudence. So far, they had only talked politely, but without any special affinity. After the three girls, the Count had two boys, Fidel and Vaillant. It took a few minutes for all of them to catch up before the De Crescents could go and greet the Heads of the County D'Iris. By then, some guests had arrived already.

For the occasion, Milena was happy to reunite with some of her friends, including Chartiana and Briseis. Her cousin Helena was sick and hadn't come; only one of her older brothers had come in her stead.

A lot of young women came to greet Milena, though they were more eager than usual to chat with her, all curious about her unique jewelry. She stayed humble, though, only talking about her business in the Vermillion Lands as if it was something common among her tasks.

Finally, the first dances started, and she was able to catch a break. As a high member of society, she could only dance a couple of times with each man, unless it was a family member or her fiancé. Hence, she stayed close to her brothers and politely refused others as soon as her feet started to be painful. Milena wasn't a bad dancer, but she disliked it anyway.

She was relieved when the Count interrupted the dances to give a little speech for his eldest daughter. Since Eugenie and Valentin were to be wed the upcoming year, he also thanked his future son-in-law and their family. Valentin stepped forward. "Thank you, Count D'Iris, for your support in me and my beloved's future union. The D'Iris and De Crescent families have always had great ties as friends and allies, and I am happy to be the first one to link our two families together." "You better give me some grandchildren soon!" said the Count with a little smile.

"Father!" said Eugenie, a bit red.

"I promise we will do our best," said Valentin, "but first, today is about my fiancée, and I would like to express how proud I am to be her chosen man. My dearest, you are a strong, fierce, and smart woman, and it is my honor to be able to hold your hand. I see you like a dream, a graceful angel that has been a blessing in my life."

"Darling..." said Eugenie, tears in her eyes.

Milena and her siblings smiled too. It wasn't often that Valentin was so open about his feelings, but this speech had been prepared for days, and they had been witnesses for it.

"Hence, today, I prepared a present for you, with Milena's help. I wanted something as unique and beautiful as you, something you could cherish forever like our love."

Everyone in the audience was now excited to see what the present was. They knew Milena had been absent for months from the Capital, and now the young Duchess had helped her older brother get a present? What could it be?

Two servants brought a large tray covered with a black cloak, putting it on a table. It was obviously tall, half the lady's size! Valentin was clearly anxious while walking to it, but so was Milena.

He grabbed the cloak and revealed it. Immediately, everyone in the room went completely speechless, except for some admirative whispers.

"All Heavens, what a gorgeous piece..."

"Is that diamond? Look at those colors!"

"So marvelous!"

Indeed, Milena was quite proud of her artisans' work. A large bird of glass, in full size, was displayed in all its colors. The vivid blues, greens, and all of their shades were mesmerizing. It was as if the bird were alive, with its superb tail opened wide like a fan. "It's a mythical bird, a peacock," explained Valentin. "I know how much you love birds, and blue is your favorite color..."

"Dear, this is wonderful! Just like the ones in my books! How did you obtain such awesome colors with crystal! It looks unreal..."

"This isn't crystal, but glass," announced Milena, stepping forward with a proud smile.