Lady Dhampir
Chapter 75

Milena was well aware of everything this meant for her.

She had one unique chance to decide her fate. To be able to secure her position as a future princess, as well as her husband's loyalty to her. Even if she didn't trust Rayan's words fully, she couldn't see why he would lie about putting her name first. He had no affinity to Philomenie De Winter or the Church, and couldn't marry Rachael de Nova. Regardless of his feelings for Milena, he had nothing to win by marrying any of the young countesses left either. Rayan was still a bit surprised.

"...You could ask me to put Philomenie's name," said Rayan. "If both Ellias and I pick you, and we both pick Philomenie de Winter as our second choice, I will be the one to marry her, while Ellias will marry you..." "I know."

Milena hadn't blurted out Prudence's name without thinking.

Truth was, she didn't want Philomenie to be Ellias or Rayan's second choice. She was tired of this endless rivalry between her and the Duchess de Winter, and between the twin princes. Philomenie had the power of the Church behind her, but if she married Rayan, it would be useless. One could not support a vampire Prince with the power of the Church... Prince Rayan was a vampire and hated the Church. The Church would never support him either. Milena didn't want to leave the man who had always supported her from the beginning powerless, it would have been too cruel, and also a big loss of an ally for herself. Moreover, Milena knew that, if she married Ellias while Philomenie went into Rayan's arms, the human Prince would be sick about it. He was constantly comparing the two duchesses...

"I hate the idea of sharing," Milena said. "And I hate fighting my rival because of one man. I've had enough of this. Even if I don't like her, Philomenie doesn't deserve to be a second choice either. If Ellias... Your brother really wants to marry me, he'll have to pick a weaker name as well. The weaker choice is Prudence, and if he does, then he will be the one to marry me."

Rayan was impressed. Milena wasn't just betting on his decision, she would also be truly testing Ellias' loyalty to her, and clearing up his allegiance to Philomenie. The Duchess had truly foreseen all scenarios, replaceing the best option for herself, not the Princes. If Ellias was solely loyal to her, like Rayan, both brothers would pick Milena De Crescent first and the weaker candidate, Prudence de Iris as their second choice. In that case, Rayan would most likely be the one marrying Prudence, as she was a human candidate, while Ellias would get to marry Milena. The young Duchess was truly planning to leave no escape route to the human Prince. If Ellias picked Philomenie as his second choice, however, while Rayan picked Prudence as promised, Milena would end the human Prince's bickering between the two young Duchesses, and go to the prince who had shown the most loyalty. There was no fault in that. Ellias couldn't accuse her of anything, as Rayan would have proven his loyalty to Milena with his two picks. It wasn't about the second pick: it would be about who was the most unwilling to let go of their first choice.

Somewhere in her heart, Milena had already taken her decision. She needed to stop listening to her heart, and think seriously. She needed to secure her position. She was a Dhampir. She was the only one who could truly break the balance between vampires and humans. She didn't want to force Ellias to marry her by having Rayan steal Philomenie. If Ellias married Philomenie, it would make a ruckus, but no one would replace a fault in her own wedding with Rayan. She didn't know how the King would react to an all-human couple. It hadn't been seen in several generations... But neither had a couple with a female dhampir... Moreover, it would increase her own husband's chances to become King, while Ellias would have sealed his own fate.

In any case, there would be no ruckus no matter who she married. The one thing she didn't want, however, was to have to bicker again with Philomenie. It didn't make her happy to be constantly second-guessing, doubting Ellias' thoughts and his intents. Even if he picked Milena, what would his relationship with Philomenie be after their wedding?,

Milena was sure of one thing: she didn't want to endure any more of those awful feelings of doubt once she was married. The human Prince's words from earlier remained in her mind. She could see very precisely how it would go on even if she married Ellias. His ambition was just too much.

Rayan chuckled, and took her hand to his lips once again.

"Well then, I'll be in your care, my precious wife..."

Milena blushed. Just like that, was she almost set to become Prince Rayan's wife? Though the choice was still up to both Princes, now she knew which of them would be most likely to keep his word.

"The choice isn't made yet," she reminded him.

"It is for me," promised the Vampire Prince once again.

His cunning smile was too confident, but Milena didn't mind it at all.

Strangely, a heavy curtain was lifted from her heart. As if now, she didn't have any fear anymore. Of course, there was still this little hint of doubt towards Rayan. Maybe the vampire Prince was lying and would pick someone else, but Milena didn't believe it at all. Even if both Princes betrayed her and picked Philomenie first, she was almost certain to be in the second pick. Milena really hoped it didn't go that far, though.

In any case, her name would come up at least once, and she had secured her place. Milena took a deep breath of relief. She knew she had made the right choice. It would be hard for her to witness Ellias' decision, but there was nothing the human Prince could say against it: the twins were the ones who picked their brides. Truth was, both she and Rayan were already sure that, if the second pick there was, Ellias would pick Philomenie. Even in the worst-case scenario, Milena's crown was now guaranteed... The Prince smiled, and leaned over again, kissing her white neck once more. Milena shivered. She couldn't push him away, and she didn't really want to. How could her body be so used to Rayan's touch already? The vampire prince was lighting fires inside her body and mind, and Milena couldn't extinguish them like that. She couldn't stop her blushing either. His lips kept going up and down on her neck, and she could feel his breath, somewhat warm.

However, she felt something, in her veins, another desire that was slowly growing, and becoming unbearable. She couldn't forget the sensation of Rayan's fangs in her skin. She could feel her blood rushing in her veins just thinking about it. That sensation was just... So rousing. Was every human she bite feeling like that? She had that discussion many times with her vampire brother, but never in the situation were she was the one being bitten... Milena couldn't say the only man who had ever tasted her blood was the vampire Prince. It was almost as shameful as a******y, in the vampires' criteria.

"What is it, Lady de Crescent?" Whispered Rayan with a snicker. "You look like you want something..."

Milena frowned and pushed him away. He was doing this on purpose! The Lady's pride couldn't handle more of this little game, despite Rayan's obvious satisfaction.

"What about your win?" Asked Milena. "Aren't you going to state your prize of the bet?"

Rayan raised an eyebrow.

"Do I get something more than marrying you?"

"You can always ask," said Milena, a bit defiant.

She was scared to know what the Prince would ask of her, but was ready to take it. After all, Rayan had almost guaranteed her place as a Princess. Even if she didn't become Queen, her future would be secure enough for some time. The only thing she would have to worry about after the selection was the war. What if her future husband was sent away? Milena was scared of that idea. She didn't want to live her days in fear, for herself and her husband. A Prince's widow had a lot to lose...

"I know what I want," suddenly stated the Prince, taking her away from her dark thoughts.

"What is it?"

"I want us to sleep together every night."

Milena was stunned. After realizing what it meant, she blushed immediately. Every night!

"I think you might be overestimating me a bit, your Highness," she protested, shocked.

The vampire prince chuckled, and kissed her index gently.

"Do not be so hasty, my Lady. I was talking about the nuptial agreement. I have no intention to assault you every night. Well, I don't think I'll be able to keep my hands off my beautiful wife for too long either..." Milena was even more embarrassed at her mistake. Rayan was actually talking about sleeping in the same bed, not having s*x every night!

In the Solaris Kingdom, a wedding between nobles came with extremely strict contracts. They were actually not really different from any business contract. Each party had to discuss their terms with their family ahead of the wedding, come to an agreement and have it signed by the competent authority before the actual wedding could happen. Milena remembered her friends gossiping about a wedding that had been delayed for two years because the families of the bride and groom couldn't reach an agreement. Some weddings could even be called off if the families couldn't replace a middle ground. It was considered a very complicated yet unavoidable part of the wedding preparations.

It usually addressed three main concerns: the finances of the couple, what happened in case of a divorce or death of one of the parties, and the bedroom matters. The first part was usually the main cause of disagreement for the future couples: depending on each one's status in their family, their family's finances and the difference between the bride and the groom, they had to settle which amount would be given to the new couple for them to start they newlywed life. It could cause major disputes between the families, but internally as well. For example, a third-born would be given less money than the family's heir, and the gender often mattered as well. If one had bad relations with their parents, they could get close to nothing given for their wedding, which could prevent them from getting wed at all. They also had to compensate a lower status with more money brought to the couple, which made it difficult for nobles to marry someone of higher status unless they could afford it. This was why barons or marquess couldn't afford to marry dukes. Milena knew Valentin had asked their father to not request too much of his fiancee's family out of love for her, for example. In Milena's case, however, she had no worries: she was a young Duchess, and her father's only daughter as well. Not only her family had no financial issues, but the Royal Family certainly wouldn't be unreasonable either.

The second part was usually easier to solve: divorcing was extremely hard in the Solaris Kingdom. If one of the spouses brought it up, they needed a very good reason for it, like a definite proof of a******y, or both parties' agreement. In any case, it had to go through an official court, and could take a while; moreover, being a divorcee was extremely shameful, and nobles avoided it as much as they could. Before, the main reason could also be the lack of children, but since the laws for adoption had been eased up, it was a matter rarely brought up anymore.

The last topic concerned any bedroom matters, as people called it. How many times should the couple sleep together? As strange as it seemed, it was usually determined beforehand by the couple, to avoid any conflicts after the marriage. Wealthy families usually had a room for the madam, one for the lord, but they would agree to sleep together once a week or once a month. It also depended on how important it was for the couple to have children, the fertility rate of each family, and of course, the couple's own compatibility. Because the nuptial agreement of the Royal Family was often made public one way or another, Milena knew how impactful Rayan's demand was. If they agreed to share a bed every night, it would be a way to show off their compatibility. Twice or three times a week would already have been enough, but every day...

"Why are you doing this?" Asked Milena, a bit confused.

Rayan chuckled, giving her a seductive glance that made her blush. "Does my Lady feel that clueless about her own charms?" He asked.

"The real reason," protested Milena.

"Fine. Well, first, that would give another thing to piss off this dear brother of mine with."

So that was his real reason, thought Milena. Another way to annoy Ellias, and rekindle the jealousy between them. There was no way Ellias and... Philomenie, if she really was his future life, would agree to sleep together every night. Her family was too conservative to accept this. However, even for Milena, it was a bit embarrassing to become the Princess who slept with her husband every night... She glanced at Rayan. This bet was really taking crazy proportions already...

"People are spreading rumors that we can't have children," she whispered. "This will make them think we're trying too hard..."

"Oh, I can't wait to work hard at proving them wrong," replied Rayan with a smirk.

Just with that, Milena sighed and agreed. Rayan was a bit of a savage, but he wouldn't overdo it. She blushed, trying to stop thinking about that crazy agreement between them, and the Prince leaned over to kiss her some more.