Lady Dhampir
Chapter 119

For the next few days, Milena didn't accept Olivia back to her side.

From an outsider's perspective, nothing was abnormal, except that she'd spend a lot of time with the Oracle who was staying over at the De Crescent Manor. News of this had already gone through all the nobility ranks, and rumors had been spread just as fast. People were wondering if the Oracle staying with the future Princess De Crescent was a sign she'd be the next queen. While it rejoiced her allies, her enemies pretended Milena had found some cunning and deceptive way to trap her by her side, as the Oracle didn't take one step out of the Duchy's grounds anymore.

Milena realized the Oracle didn't lie when she said her life was threatened: in the span of a single week, three assassinations and two poisoning attempts were stopped. The most annoying part was that each time, they couldn't find proof of who had sent them. Although Milena highly suspected the Church, there was absolutely no clue left on the assassins, most likely professionals hired for this job too. After a while, it looked like Ora needed her own personal protection. Despite her great power, she was as defenseless as she had said: no big ally of hers came forward, which Milena found a little bit suspicious. Most people would have tried rallying the Oracle by now, so how come everyone was strangely quiet?

Even in her daily mail, no one dared to even mention the Oracle's presence at the De Crescent Manor, as if it was some taboo secret every one had to play along with. Milena didn't like this atmosphere, it couldn't possibly lead to anything good. One evening, she was working in one of the libraries when Olivia knocked at the door.

The Oracle, who was reading on a couch a few steps away from Milena's desk, didn't even raise her head from her book. Only Milena frowned, having recognized that voice. The maid waiting behind her was a bit confused on what to do. She was one of the young maids taking turns in accompanying Milena, but that was merely a replacement for her vampire maid who should have been there.

As the Dhampir Lady kept staring at the door with an annoying expression, the young maid bit her lip, unsure.

"...Should I go open, my Lady?"

"Did I say you should?" Retorted Milena coldly.

"N-no, my Lady. Please forgive me," muttered the maid, lowering her head.

Milena happened to be in a bad mood that evening.

She had been swamped with work all day and had barely had time to go to the Royal Castle, only to learn she had missed Rayan by a few minutes, as the Prince had just left for another area of the Castle. One thing Milena hated more than chasing someone around was losing her time doing so. Moreover, she hadn't been able to see her fiancé in a while, as he was even busier than she was, and probably wouldn't get another chance to see him again before that dinner with the King in a few days. Moreover, they wouldn't be alone at that dinner, as the other troublesome couple had been invited as well.

Hence, she'd had to go back grumpy and dive into her pile of paperwork again. She didn't have that much work that actually required her express attention, but she wanted to do as much as she could before the ceremony. First, to keep herself busy while others prepared her wedding, and second, to not start stressing about it yet.

She'd had her first fitting that week, and she was already finding herself way too concerned over her looks. She didn't want to gain any weight and be ridiculed on her wedding day, despite all of Yasina's scolding on the matter. Milena had been giving the chef a hard time all week, and the maids even more.

Hence, when Olivia knocked, it was a bad time.

Milena decided to make her wait, but at her feet, Blanche stood up, going to sniff the door.

"...I brought Blanche's meal, my Lady."

Milena sighed. Although she was mad at Olivia, Blanche was innocent.

"...Fine. Come in."

Olivia finally appeared, a relieved expression on her face. The size of the tray she was carrying couldn't have been possibly all for Blanche alone. As she would always do, the vampire maid put Blanche's plate down, letting the silver wolf eat comfortably. Then, she stood up and brought the rest to Milena's desk. The young Duchess glanced at the little plates. Olivia had prepared her favorite snacks, a toast of rye bread with cream and smoked salmon, and a butter baked apple with cinnamon and crushed walnuts. Along with all those came her favorite red tea, which annoyed her even more.

"What is this?"

"You barely ate all day, my Lady. I wish you'd eat a little more before you'll collapse," bravely answered Olivia.

Despite Milena's glare, Olivia didn't back down either. Behind her, the young maid was nodding too, trying to support her peer with all she could. Yet, Milena's eyes were ice-cold.

"What are you doing? I'm not going to eat those and I did not ask for them. Why are you wasting food for nothing?"

"It's not a waste if these keep my Lady healthy. You've lost weight, and someone should say something."

"You? Don't you think you've lost the right to say anything? Or are you going to report to my older brother about his difficult sister too?"

Olivia took a deep breath, and put the tray down on the desk. Then, she turned to face Milena, standing very tall and brave. Though they were in an employer-employee relationship, the two girls were about the same age and the same height. It took Olivia a lot of resolution to speak frankly to Milena like this.

"I went to talk to the first young master before coming here, my Lady. I clearly told your older brother that from now on, I am your maid and solely your maid, and won't be reporting anything that you shouldn't know of any more."

Milena raised an eyebrow, suspicious, but her grumpiness did fade a bit. She had felt utterly betrayed, because Olivia had been by her side all this time, and loyal on the surface. Although it was her older brother, Milena hated the idea of anyone double-crossing her and working for someone else without her knowledge. Olivia's betrayal had left a deep scar in her heart, and she wasn't ready to forgive her yet.

However, the young maid was standing bravely despite looking on the verge of tears. Milena glanced at the other maid, a bit annoyed this one was still here.

"Leave us."

The young girl understood immediately, nodded, and almost ran to leave the office. A long silence followed, and Milena put down her quill, leaning on her desk with still a little frown on. Olivia took a deep breath and resumed talking.

"I... I refuse to work for the House De Crescent anymore, and I will only work for my Lady from now on, to relieve any confusion. I do not want my Lady to doubt me anymore." "...What did Valentin say?"

"The... the first young master said he understood."

Milena was a bit unsatisfied with that. Her older brother was getting away with this way too easily. They hadn't seen each other lately, both too busy with their respective upcoming weddings. Moreover, Milena had started to wake up and sleep later and later in the day, making their schedules barely overlap anymore.

She sighed, pulled herself back in her chair, crossing her arms. She was still faced with that plate of food. Olivia had prepared her favorites. Milena was never prone to bribery, but this was reaching deep into her feelings. Olivia had been by her side for a long while, so long she knew her tastes very well. Even if Milena didn't like sweet things, very few knew, even inside the manor, that she had a soft spot for baked apples. Moreover, the Chef had shaped it as a rose and replaced the traditional sugar by cinnamon. The tea smelled good, too, and one could tell that salmon was as fresh as the sea.

She let out another long sigh.

"I'm not going to forgive you a second time, Olivia."

Immediately, the maid's face beamed with joy, a wild smile all over her face. She put her hands together in front and bowed lowly.

"You won't have to, my Lady! I'll be as loyal as your shadow from now on!"

"Good. Then you can tell me what the hell was my older brother thinking."

As one would expect, Olivia's expression softened a little. She glanced towards the Oracle, who was acting as if she wasn't hearing anything of this. Swallowing her saliva a bit, she turned her dark red eyes towards Milena again, with a solemn expression. "Your older brother didn't mean to harm you in any way, my Lady. He was just concerned about your well-being..."

"Valentin wouldn't need to plant a spy by my side to inquire about my health when we are living under the same roof. The real reason, Olivia."

Milena's cold tone and frown didn't mean anything good, and the plates were still untouched as she had her arms crossed. Olivia nodded.

"I know, my Lady. He never said it directly, but he was always asking about your activities, and what I knew about your... relationship with His Highness."

"...With Rayan?"

"Yes, my lady, but also with His Highness Prince Ellias. The first young master asked multiple times, and asked I'd report anything that happened between you and them."

Milena turned her eyes towards the Oracle, who was still pretending not to listen. As if she could ignore what was said only a few steps away from her. Moreover, Milena couldn't understand. Why would her brother want to know about her relationship with the Princes? Was he simply looking out of her future, worried she might make the wrong choice? Just like their father, Valentin had never pushed her towards neither of the Princes. However, he was the future Duke De Crescent, and his younger sister a candidate to be the future princess. Their relationship was bound to change in the future. Until then, Milena had trusted her older brothers blindly, but maybe they were already seeing her as an adult with her own agenda...

Those thoughts made her sad. She didn't want to part with her identity as the only daughter of the House De Crescent, and their only sister. She was happy with three brothers to count on. She could never see them as enemies in the future. What in the world was Valentin thinking?

"...My Lady? Do you want to ask me anything else?"

Milena sighed and shook her head. She had heard enough already for that day. She stared at the plates. Truth was, she was hungry. She knew she was reckless and selfless when she was working or stressed, but it had never been that bad before. The wedding was stressing her more than she cared to admit. She closed the folder she had under her eyes and put her quill back in its spot.

"No. I want to eat now."

"Of course, my lady!" Exclaimed Olivia, almost jumping to serve her a cup of tea.

Milena grabbed the toast to bite in. It was really good to eat after letting her stomach empty for so long. She felt the cream and salmon dance on her lips, with that delicious smell of lemon and fresh herbs. As a dhampir, she had always been more of a meat person, but sometimes, fish was a delicacy she'd enjoy better. Moreover, as Olivia mentioned while serving her, it was better for her skin and health to balance her diet with fish.

Just as she was finishing her toast, someone knocked at her door again.

"My Lady, it's Digory."

"Come in, Digory," sighed Milena, wiping her lips with her towel.

Actually, someone else barged in before Digory. Dinah ran to the desk, seeing Olivia and Milena together, the maid serving her mistress, brought tears to her eyes.

"Thank you for forgiving Liv, my Lady! I know she messed up really bad, but she isn't a traitor, I know it!"

"Dinah!" Olivia scolded her, going red.

"I'll do my best to watch her from now on!" Exclaimed Dinah. "I promise she won't say one word I don't know of!"

"Dinah!"

As the two maids kept on bickering, Milena let out a light smile, amused. Things were back to how it was again, Olivia scolding her unruly Dinah. Yet, behind them, Digory cleared his throat.

"I apologize for interrupting your snack, my Lady, as well as for Dinah's obviously wrong attitude," he said while glaring at the maid.

Dinah, as always a bit scared of Digory's harsh scolding later, finally shut up and stepped to the side, looking down at her feet.

"It's fine, Digory," said Milena. "What is it?"

"You have a visitor, my Lady."

"I didn't have any meetings today, did I?"

"No, my Lady, but I thought you wouldn't refuse her. It's Lady D'Aventur, my Lady."

Milena raised an eyebrow. Tiphania? It wasn't her type to ignore the usual protocols and barge in. Moreover, Milena still had a debt towards her regarding the previous week. She nodded.

"Have her come in. Oh, and take Dinah with you. Dinah, more tea and snacks for my guest."

"Yes, my Lady!"

It wasn't long until Tiphania arrived. The Oracle had been politely sent to her apartments, as Milena wasn't sure what her friend suddenly wanted to talk about.

A few minutes later, Tiphania suddenly barged in, looking furious in her dark purple dress. Although she was as composed as usual, Milena could tell. Her blue eyes were electric as if she was reading to fire at someone. Milena sat down on the couch. "I would guess something wrong with the Guild?" She said.

"You're guessing right, Lady De Crescent, and I am going to need your help on this one," declared Tiphania.

"I am usually the one requiring your help," noted Milena, bringing her cup of tea to her lips.

"Well then, time to return the favor," sighed her friend. "Since you attended that auction, the Guild has been upside down trying to find who was hosting this. I had my doubts that there had to be someone in there protecting those auctions, but I didn't think it would be someone so highly placed!"

"Who?"

"The Countess Bluebell De Rosella!"

Milena couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes over just once. Of course, it had to be that damn Valentina's family, of all of them. It was known that her family was dipping into many different businesses, and some of her family members were involved in the guild. The Countess Bluebell was no other than Valentina's paternal aunt, if Milena remembered correctly. Indeed, she was a bit too high-ranked for the Guild to punish her so easily, or for Tiphania's family to be able to do anything.

"I see... What are our options?" She asked, still very calm.

Compared to her, Tiphania was slowly pacing back and forth in the room, like a cat unable to rest. The young Baroness sighed, rubbing her fingers against her lips.

"Well, I did think of something rather... definitive, but I'm afraid that's too far-fetched and untimely."

"Indeed," said Milena, sipping from her cup.

"Moreover, that auction should have been our opportunity to put you in a very good position towards the Guild, but it all went South because now they are all running around and panicking about the Countess! I've spent all week trying to sort this mess out already, even with my father!"

"I thought I already was in a good position?" Retorted Milena, a bit upset.

Tiphania stopped, and turned to her, her hands on her hips.

"Of course you are, Lady Milena, we both worked hard for that. However, this is like being satisfied with the fish in your pond when you could own the pond!"

Milena raised an eyebrow.

"You want me to own the Guild?"

Her friend walked over, putting her hands on the table and leaning towards her.

"I want to control them for you," said Tiphania, a cunning smile on her lips. "I've always had ambition, Lady Milena, but since you and I became partners, I have an even greater vision. I want to be the first woman to sit in the President's chair of the Guild of Merchants. I want to make the weather on all the markets, control the prices, and make sure all the laws for the tradespeople you'll make will be applied in the streets. No more tax-evading from the noble and no more counterfeits sold to poor people. I want to make our Kingdom and businesses as flourishing as they were during the Golden Age even if three winter storms hit us each year."

Milena's lips revealed a smile too. She liked Tiphania's vision, and easily shared it. She took a deep breath.

"Alright, let's aim higher then. So? What is the plan?" She asked.

"Let's scare the Guild," said Tiphania. "I have the connections, and you have the power. Let's make them shake in their boots and see what happens when they try to cheat. This damn Countess should have been kicked out the minute her misdeeds were revealed, but they are all scared she'll make a fuss with her own shops. Let's show those cowards who they should be afraid of."

"I like the sound of that," chuckled Milena. "It's been a while since I tickled those businessmen's ego, and it would be a nice little distraction for me before my wedding. Well then, Tiphania. Where should we start then?"

The Baroness smiled and crossed her arms with a proud look.

"I already have an idea. How is your fish supply at the moment, Lady Milena?"

Milena thought about the delicious salmon she had enjoyed for Lunch. As if this was some sort of premonition. She chuckled, seeing exactly where her friend was aiming at.

"It should be decent. However, we will have to act quickly. I'm pretty sure there's going to be fish on the menu for my wedding dinner."

Tiphania nodded, her eyes shining with excitement.

"I swear those idiots will have to go fish all of it themselves for you banquet if I don't make them knee before us before then. We will even earn a ton of money in the process! Isn't that just perfect?" "It's business," said Milena with a smile.