Lady Dhampir
Chapter 80

Milena stepped back and bowed politely. She lowered her head enough to let out a discreet little sigh. She had expected to see Prince Ellias at this Hunt, but not to run into him so soon. She had been dreading this moment. Milena somewhat wished they would be two days later already, so her fate would be fixated and not constantly worrying her all the time. She would probably be busier than ever, but at least she would know where to stand with both Princes!

In any case, she was sure she would never marry the young Duke de Winter. She'd rather stay alone, and she was pretty sure her father would allow that for her. She wasn't the heiress of the House De Crescent anyway, and with three older brothers in line, she had no real obligation to marry at all costs if she didn't want to. She had other options, as well.

Ellias walked up to her side with his usual polite smile on. They left a respectable distance between them, however, as they both turned towards the young Duke. Arseus, after bowing too, chuckled.

"Good evening, your Highness! I hope you have been doing well?"

Was he completely going to ignore Ellias' earlier remark? Milena raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. She didn't really like having someone step in for her, but the annoying thing with the young Duke was that his status was equal to hers. She couldn't just slap in public, no matter how badly she wanted to. It would have been a great way to vent out her frustrations, though.

"I've been doing well, young Duke."

"Oh, please, call me Arseus, your Highness! Aren't we fated to work more closely in the future?"

Milena wondered if the De Winter were raised to be natural airheads, or if it had to do with their genetics. In any case, hinting openly that he was on the human Prince's side, when the future King was yet to be determined, was certainly a stupid thing to do. Not that she would correct him, though. Milena looked away, hoping to replace a way out, but she couldn't just walk out now that Ellias was there. Somehow, being in his presence didn't feel like anything before. She was now wary of him, while she somehow leaned towards trusting Rayan more. How ironic.

"We will see, young Duke," said Ellias, with a polite smile.

"Of course! After all, the most powerful gentlemen of this Kingdom should work well together."

Milena seriously considered asking Blanche to bite him, but remained quiet. She didn't want to waste her time and air on that helpless i***t. She was seriously wishing good luck to the poor girl who would marry him. Probably one of the countesses. There were only three young duchesses, and she couldn't see either of them marrying that i***t. Not when there were much better options of equal or higher status.

This time, Ellias smiled politely, but that was all he did as an answer, making it a bit awkward for the young Duke. Instead of walking away, he turned towards Milena, much to her annoyance.

"Anyway, Duchess de Crescent, I hope you'll accept my hunting trophy..."

"I'm sorry, young Duke, but as one of the huntresses myself, it probably would be too much to accept," she replied coldly. "I'm sure your sister would be very happy, however."

That was a cold refusal, but Milena's excuse was actually quite legit. Arseus looked contrite for a few seconds. He glared at Milena, but there was nothing he could say, not in front of the Prince. The young Duchess didn't flinch, staying calm and composed. "If you'll excuse me..."

He left, not hiding his anger. Ellias chuckled as both of them watched him walk away angrily.

"As merciless as ever, Lady Milena."

"I said nothing that wasn't true, your Highness."

"Indeed. I am a bit sad, though, as I actually was hoping to offer you my wins as well..."

Milena was flustered. Ellias wanted to offer her his hunting prizes? This was such a bold move coming from one of the Princes! At such a formal event, everyone had eyes on whom was going to give their prizes to whom, especially the Princes, considering they were in the middle of a Bridal selection! Milena turned to him. She couldn't ignore Philomenie's words, either. Had he truly been praising her in front of her rival? If so, what of his relationship with Philomenie?

"To me?" She repeated.

Ellias nodded.

"Yes. Why do you seem so surprised?"

Milena tried to regain her composure. She couldn't tell him about her earlier conversation with Philomenie, or the heavy doubts she had about him. It would almost have been considered as an insult to his face.

"I just didn't think you would participate," she lied. "I thought the Princes would only watch, tonight."

Ellias' smile broke down a little. Milena's lie was obvious, as it didn't match her earlier question. He decided not to rebound, however, and simply nodded, a bit awkward.

"Well, we are free to participate, and it's been a while since I participated in a hunt. I'm a bit excited, to be honest! I haven't seen you hunt in quite a while, Lady Milena. You'll surely get a better shot than me, though. It will be completely dark in a couple of hours. I don't understand what mother was thinking!"

"Is Prince Rayan going to participate as well?" Asked Milena.

He tried hard, but Ellias couldn't hide his expression upon hearing her question. He looked flustered for a second, turning to Milena. She had her polite smile on, but she didn't let anything on. She was trying to judge his reaction, and he was obviously surprised but tried to sound natural while answering.

"Yes. My brother mentioned coming... Why do you ask?"

"You're here, it only makes sense that Prince Rayan would come too. However, I don't think I have seen him yet, so I was curious."

"Oh..."

For a second, he seemed a bit reassured by her answer. So he was really looking out for her relationship with Rayan, but mostly clueless, thought Milena.

"Well, my brother isn't one to make grand entrances, you know. He'll probably show as late as he can."

"I see," said Milena.

She already assumed Rayan would come, but she couldn't resist testing Ellias. For once, it was nice to see him jealous, instead of her or Philomenie. It was a bit cruel of her, but Milena was just dying to know what both Princes really thought, and she was done being the one constantly wondering. "Oh, talking about the wolf..."

Milena turned around. Indeed, Rayan had just arrived, quietly as usual. He was greeting his mother, wearing a dark ensemble as always. Many people turned to him, but no one was rushing to bow to the vampire prince. He was as unpopular as usual... nothing like his twin, once again. He greeted some people present, mostly vampires, and suddenly seemed to spot Ellias and Milena. With a mischievous smile, Rayan politely finished greeting the people who had come to him and moved their way. Milena felt Ellias' glance on her, but didn't move an inch, or show she had noticed it. She focused on her little reverence as Rayan approached. "Greetings, Your Highness."

"Lady Milena. Brother," said Rayan.

This was probably the tensest Milena had been in a long time. She felt her stomach tighten a bit and her heartbeat accelerate. She was alone with both Princes and perfectly aware of the many stares their trio were getting. This felt a bit thrilling. She was the first young Duchess to be spotted with both Princes at the same time tonight.

"Rayan, so you'll be hunting as well?" Said Ellias, looking at his brother's weapon by his side.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss the fun..."

He had said that while obviously sending a wink at Milena, which flustered her even more. How was she supposed to act normally if he was doing this on purpose! Moreover, Ellias seemed to be the one most offended next to her. Milena wanted to scream internally. She only had hoped to tease Ellias a little, but Rayan was completely playing with fire! She cleared her throat, pretending not to care about his little flirt.

"What target will you be looking for, brother?" Asked Ellias, putting on his amiable smile again.

"I don't know. The best one I can replace..."

This time, he wasn't looking at her, but Milena still felt the thrill run down her spine. Both of those princes were really set on making a mess of her emotions right now! Ellias turned to Milena, a bit too much compared to his brother's position.

"I didn't even think of asking you, Lady de Crescent. Do you have anything you'd like to hunt most? This could be a fun competition between us!"

"Are you already picking favorites, your Highness?"

They turned around. Rachael de Nova had approached them, a little smirk on her lips; she bowed to both Princes quickly before regaining her stance, arms crossed.

"You can't only focus on Lady de Crescent, this is a bit unfair to the other ladies, don't you think?"

While she noticed Rachael didn't seem to include herself in the "other ladies", Milena noticed the young vampire Duchess wasn't giving any hint about their new relationship. Officially, the young Duchesses were all still fierce rivals, and nothing in their attitudes could have to make outsiders think otherwise. They didn't even need to bother greeting each other, as they had already seen each other during breakfast.

Rachael and the Princes chatted for a bit, but Milena was surprised to see there wasn't a hint of chemistry between them. She only seemed to get along better with Rayan, but that could easily be explained by them being from the same political parties. "Young Ladies."

Their little group turned around. The Queen had just appeared and she was followed closely by Philomenie. Milena frowned a little. Was she not bothered by her earlier words at all? Or had she decided to openly support her favorite candidate now? While Milena was still pondering, Rachael put a hand on her waist, frowning.

"You shouldn't monopolize the Princes, Lady de Crescent, Lady de Nova. More of our guests are waiting to discuss with them," said the Queen.

"I hadn't noticed anyone was watching the time, your Highness," coldly retorted Rachael. "I just arrived here a few minutes ago, if anyone is. As Lady de Winter's long chat with your Highness been pleasant as well?"

Milena frowned a little. Lady Rachael really wasn't afraid of anything... Not even confronting the Queen. After all, if she didn't have any interest in marrying any of the princes, she surely didn't have to. Moreover, Milena was surprised that Rachael had picked up on the Queen's favoritism as well, they hadn't even talked about it. Or had Prince Rayan said anything to her? Milena was even more curious about the relationship between those now.

However, the Queen didn't let anything on and only sent a cold glare back, her ruby eyes shining.

"It has. Lady Philomenie happens to be a very pleasant young Lady to chat with."

"Aoutch..." Muttered Rachael.

"Mother, perhaps you would like to join? Lady de Crescent and Lady de Nova were exchanging with us about their hunting skills."

"I'm sure they'll demonstrate plenty," coldly replied the Queen. "However, my dear sons, it would be good for you to spend more time with the other Ladies. Such as Lady de Winter, for example."

While Philomenie was beaming behind her, her eyes clearly seeing no one but Prince Ellias, Milena and Rachael exchanged a quick look. The Queen was really not afraid of showing off her favorite anymore. Milena could clearly remember her words, only a few days prior. What had happened to not having any favorites? She was throwing Philomenie between her sons like one would feed lions with fresh meat. Just like Rachael, Milena crossed her arms, unhappy.

"How about you spare some time for us, your Highness? We haven't been able to chat much tonight, you looked busy earlier."

"I am always busy, young Lady. This is one of the issues with being the Queen of this Kingdom. I have many people to see, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for a little while longer."

"That's truly too bad..." muttered Rachael, clearly not buying it.

Just like that, Queen Lyriana turned around and walked away, not letting the girls any time to answer. Ellias chuckled nervously, turning to Rayan.

"Isn't mother a bit more... cranky than usual these days?" He whispered, despite all three young duchesses being able to hear.

"I thought that was her natural state," shrugged Rayan, looking completely disinterested.

"Oh, her Highness was absolutely marvelous to chat with!" Immediately said Philomenie, stepping closer to him, with her cheeks a bit pink. "We were actually talking about..."

"Your Highness, Lady de Crescent, if you'll excuse me, I'm awfully thirsty," said Rachael, clearly cutting and ignoring the clueless Philomenie. "Prince Rayan, would you accompany me? I see your hands are still empty."

"Of course."

Just like this, the two of them walked away without adding anything else or glancing at Milena. It was the most inconspicuous pair possible, as both were vampires and thus, wouldn't get paired. Weddings between vampires were already extremely rare, for obvious reasons, but even more so in the higher ranks of the nobility.

Left alone with Ellias and Philomenie, Milena hesitated about sticking around. The young human duchess was at least polite enough not to ignore her any longer, glancing at Milena's necklace.

"That's a very unusual choice for a jewelry piece, Lady de Crescent!" She declared.

Though it felt a bit f****d, Philomenie was trying to be polite and include her in the conversation. Milena's fingers grabbed her little diamond unconsciously, trying hard not to blush as to why she had picked this. "Yes... I couldn't replace my usual set," she lied.

Milena didn't felt like staying any longer with them. This was probably the most awkward duo for her to be with those days, and she didn't know how long she could endure faking her smile before she got some wrinkles. "If you'll excuse me, I need to replace my brother."

Another lie, but that was enough for them to let her go without being suspicious. Milena let out a deep sigh as soon as she was far enough. This was only supposed to be a hunt, but she felt like she was the poor snow fox caught in a cruel trap... She quickly found Valentin, just in case Ellias or Philomenie was still watching her.

"Are you okay, Millie?"

"I just hope this hunt will start soon enough..." She whispered.

All the guests weren't there yet, though, as she could see some coaches still arriving. However, the next one that stopped immediately gave her a smile, a real one this time. Valentin frowned and suddenly understood.

"Oh, God don't tell me you really..."

"Oh yes, I did."

Several whispers rose quickly among the crowd, as people had noticed the colors of the House De Crescent. Many people were trying to guess. The Duke? Was he there to support his daughter? While everyone had their eyes riveted on the black coach, Milena looked for the Queen. Sure enough, when the door of the coach was opened, Queen Lyriana's face took a petrified expression. Milena smirked and quickly rushed over.

Archduchess Maribella stepped out of her carriage, with a fierce expression, taking her great-granddaughter's offered hand.