Lady Dhampir
Chapter 38

As they left late that night, Milena was exhausted. She hated dancing, and her feet were sore from wearing heels for so long. Valentin had stayed behind with his fiancée, and would come back later, hence it was only Raphael, Lucian and Milena in the carriage. While Lucian was dozing off, Raphael seemed concerned.

"What is it?" Asked Milena.

"There were more murders while you were gone, Millie. I discussed it with some of our friends tonight. Bodies found sucked dry, and abandoned in plain sight.

"...In plain sight?"

"It sounds odd, doesn't it? Any Vampire a bit smart would at least try to conceal their wrongdoings, but this one seems to be provocative. The townspeople are scared, and the situation with the Vampires is getting worse downtown."

It was strange indeed. At such a crucial time, why would one be so reckless?

"How many?"

"The sixteenth body was found three days before your return."

That means sixteen corpses in four months... Even thinking that they had found them all, one body per week was too much, really too much. The work of several Vampires then? Milena couldn't help but think something was off. "Anything on the victims?"

"According to the official statement the Royal Guard provided, there were fourteen women and two young girls. But after discussing with The Society, seven of them were prostitutes, four women from downtown, two were orphan girls, and three of them haven't been identified yet."

"Seven prostitutes..." repeated Milena. "No one claimed their disappearance?"

"I'm not sure."

This whole affair was really too unusual. At least, Milena was satisfied on one point: Raphael's relationship to the Society proved itself helpful, after all.

"What about your circumstances?"

"As you predicted, the Society has been... very helpful on the matter." "Good."

Indeed, it was a huge relief. However, Milena couldn't settle down. This whole killing situation didn't look good at all. Didn't the Society of Vampires say it was a rogue? Why would a Vampire need to drink a full body's worth every week...? "Stop the carriage."

"What? But Millie..."

"I need to go elsewhere."

She opened the carriage door and gave her orders to Dinah and Olivia. After a few minutes, someone brought Black Bella over, and Milena mounted her own horse. Blanche jumped from the carriage and took the appearance of a snow fox, ready to follow her. "You're not going alone, are you?" Asked Raphael, worried, pushing Lucian's head away from his shoulder.

"I'm taking Olivia, Blanche, and Ruby, too."

"What about our knights?"

"The main objective is to stay discreet, why would I take a full battalion? Take the boys home, Raphael. I'll be there before dawn, I promise."

"You stubborn... Father will be mad."

"I know."

Without adding a word, she had Black Bella gallop away, her maids following. The carriage was left behind with a sighing Raphael.

Milena was indeed tired, but she knew she would get another sleepless night if she didn't look into this first. The women rode downtown, through the forest to avoid being seen by people. At night and at this time of year, the temperature wasn't bearable for a Human. Hence, she had left Dinah behind, and only Olivia and Ruby, her Vampire followers, accompanied her. Even for a Dhampir like Milena, her lips were turning a bit blue, and her hands were shivering despite her thick leather gloves. They dismounted n front of the church, and a young Vampire boy came to greet them with surprise.

"Lady! You're back!"

"Go wake Bandit and Mint for me, please."

"Yes, my lady!"

They walked inside the church, trying not to wake the sleeping children. Most of them were snuggling against the others to stay warm, under piles of blankets. There was a little fire, warming the whole place, watched by two other little Vampires. Bandit appeared from one of the piles of sleeping kids, looking drowsy. Mint soon followed behind him, carrying a baby.

"Purple Eyes!"

"Hello Bandit, Mint. It's been a while."

"Yeah, I heard you went away."

"Was everything alright here?"

"Yes. It's not the worst winter we've had."

Milena nodded. Indeed, it could have been way worse, and they had enough to watch out for themselves now. Mint tilted her head.

"Lady, you don't usually come here so late. Do you need something...?"

"Have you heard about the deaths?"

"Ah, yes. But the orphans weren't from our group. Actually, from what we heard, the deaths took place at the other end of the city."

"What do you know about the victims?"

Bandit shook his head with a frown.

"Not much. The two girls were from that orphanage Lady De Winter funds. Their disappearance was signaled right away, and they found the bodies soon after. Since the second one, their benefactor has given them more security." "They have two Winter knights watching their orphanage all the time," added Mint.

"Also, one of the victims was the miller's daughter, she was nice. She used to give money to some of the younger ones."

"Was she pretty?"

Milena's sudden question seemed to give them a bit of a surprise. Mint and Bandit exchanged looks, shrugging.

"Huh... Not really, probably average. But she was really nice."

"What about the others?"

"Three of them were from Madam Red's house."

This time, Milena was the one frowning. Olivia sighed.

"You mean the director of that entertainment establishment?"

So, they meant the brothel... Of course, Milena couldn't really be aware of that kind of thing. It wasn't proper for a young lady.

"Who is Madam Red?" She asked.

"The head of the working ladies," explained Mint. "She is kind of famous for running most of the brothels around here. She is very respected for being strict on the customers, and she is good to her girls. Actually, some of her... well, workers used to be orphans from the streets. If Madam Red thought they were pretty, she would give them jobs."

"Some of the... boys, too," said Bandit, blushing a bit.

"I see..."

Milena stayed lost in her thoughts for a while, but Olivia grimaced.

"My lady, don't even think about it."

"What? I haven't said anything yet."

"That's what scares me!"

Milena rolled her eyes, and they fell on the baby.

"An infant?"

Mint looked down, a bit sad.

"Oh... She was left at the church's door last night. A newborn."

"She's... a Vampire?"

"Yes... So we've been giving her blood for now, but it's a bit difficult for us to take care of a baby... I mean, we do have really young ones, but usually an orphanage takes the infants in. A baby Vampire is a first for us." "Give her to me."

To their surprise, Milena took the baby in her arms, with a sigh. The baby looked like a newborn indeed. She didn't even have hair yet, and her eyes were closed. Mint looked a bit worried about her, too. "My lady? Are you..."

"I'll take her back to the De Crescent Manor. We are a family of Vampires, after all, we have all we need back there to take care of her."

"Thank you!" Said Mint, looking relieved.

Milena, still holding the baby, turned to them again.

"What about the other... women?"

"We know two of them used to work in the streets," said Bandit.

"Madam Red should know about them as well," Mint added, frowning. "Bandit, I'm sure Madam Red knew all the victims. There isn't any p********e she hasn't at least heard of."

"Yeah, but her brothel is on the other side of the city, and she doesn't like us going there, even the oldest..."

"I'll go," suddenly said Milena.

"My lady, no!"

"Olivia, don't yell, you'll wake everyone up."

"I'm against this, completely against you going there!"

"You said they have male prostitutes, too?" Asked Milena, ignoring her.

The young man blushed, but Mint nodded.

"Yes. Actually, we know a few of the workers who grew up with us. I could give you their names..."

"My lady, you can't possibly be thinking of going there, this isn't happening! You're a lady of noble rank, you shouldn't go anywhere near that kind of establishment!" "What is the name of the place?"

"The House of Dreams."

How befitting, thought Milena.

"It's close to the outskirts, near the north end. High-ranked customers usually go in black chariots and walk in directly. You have to wear a mask to get in."

"A mask?"

"It's Madam Red's rule, to hide her customer's identities. Even the staff and the workers all wear masks."

Milena nodded. How clever... This way, even if someone barged in, they couldn't recognize anyone. The workers and their clients probably waited until they would be behind closed doors to take them off. She smiled, much to Olivia's despair. "Anything else I need to know?"

Mint shook her head, but Bandit was frowning.

"Squirrel and Rat said the building we were watching has probably been abandoned for real. No one's been in or out for weeks now."

"I see... If it's safe, try to investigate some more, or replace where they went next, please."

"Understood."

With that, Milena and Bandit discussed the children's living conditions, but they were done in a few minutes. When she left the church, carrying the baby safely, Olivia was still mad.

"My lady, I'm definitely against you going to that place."

"Fine. I'll go with Dinah then."

"You know that isn't what I mean! You can send one of us to investigate, but you definitely can't go yourself!"

"I need to discuss with that Madam Red. If she knew the victims, she probably has clues of her own about the culprit."

Milena got on Black Bella, letting her horse replace the way back home without guidance. It wasn't dawn yet and let her dictate the pace she liked.

"Why can't you let the Royal Guard investigate this? It isn't your business to begin with!" Insisted Olivia.

"Something is too odd about this. Don't you think it's strange? Multiple Vampire attacks, all the bodies left in plain sight, right inside the city? Only young women too, either beautiful or popular. Something that would catch people's attention." "A Vampire's instincts guide them towards someone they are attracted to..."

"I want to see the bodies."

"You're at it again! Most of them should be burnt or buried by now!"

"Not the last victims, right? The Royal Guard must have kept them for investigation. Damn it, I'll need to ask for a favor again."

"My lady, how much more impossible can you get! You want to visit a brothel, and then a morgue? What's next!"

Milena ignored her, thinking long and hard. She could ask Prince Ellias for a favor, but he would definitely catch onto what she was interested in.

The three women rode back to the manor, where, as expected, Raphael was anxiously waiting for them. They hadn't been gone long, but his Dhampir sister being out in such weather was enough to worry him. He ran to her as soon as she entered the manor, carrying a thick blanket.

"Finally! I knew you said you wouldn't be gone long, but without knowing where you went, I... wait, Milena, what is that?"

"Can't you see? It's a baby. Take her."

Without asking twice, Milena put the baby in Raphael's arms, leaving her brother completely speechless. A Vampire baby? What was she thinking!

"Milena! You can't just bring a baby home like this..."

"Why not? Just adopt her, Raphael. We can hire a nanny and this is the best environment for a child."

"Everyone will think she is my bastard!"

"Well, it's better having rumors about you having an affair with some random village woman than about your real problem, isn't it? Think about it as killing two birds with one stone. Moreover, with your tastes, you probably won't give birth to an heir anytime soon, right?"

Her brother suddenly turned a bit whiter, embarrassed. How could Milena use his weakness like that! Was she serious...?