Lady Dhampir
Chapter 136

As she was getting ready for her day, Milena was still in some sort of daze. It had been several days now, but the fact that Rayan was now her husband and that she was an official Princess, living in the Royal Castle, felt like some dream she could wake up from at any time. The first time she had woken up without him, Blanche had found her way into the bed and all the times after that. It was as if the two of them had some sort of secret agreement and switched roles to be by Milena's side. She quite liked that, although she hadn't spoken about it. Hence, Milena had actually never slept alone since and she was actually sleeping about as much with Blanche as she was with Rayan. Her husband had insisted she kept her normal schedule instead of adjusting to him; due to that, for a few hours a day, they weren't awake at the same time. Milena's day started late in the morning, but her husband wouldn't get up before five or six in the afternoon. Hence, she spent the days by herself, with Blanche or her ladies-in-waiting, diligently working. Once the sun began to set however, her husband would appear and after dinner they would spend most of the night working in the same office and sometimes took "naps" that did not fool anyone. Their relationship was so good, no one even dared to question their motivations anymore. Rayan was scaring the servants enough that they wouldn't dare to whisper in their presence, but Milena wasn't blind to the fact that the staff was extra cautious whenever she was with her husband. Then, Milena would go to bed around one or two in the morning, later when she had more work than usual. However, Rayan was always there to "put her to bed" and wish his wife good night, before he himself resumed work throughout the rest of the night.

To her own surprise, Milena actually quite liked that they didn't have to see each other so much. It only made the times they were together more meaningful and Blanche could stick to her as always too. She had feared she would have trouble adjusting to her new life, but it wasn't the case. Maybe things had been made extra easy for her, but she truly had no complaint so far...

"Princess Milena, The First Young Duke De Crescent is waiting outside," suddenly announced one of her new maids.

Milena frowned slightly. She knew there was no other choice than getting new staff around her since she had become a Princess, but she didn't like to have this much ceremony when her brothers were simply coming to see her. At the De Crescent manor, it would have been as simple as them knocking. Now, they couldn't even step inside, as those were considered her private chambers and restricted to her husband and herself.

Milena dismissed the Royal maids with a gesture and let Dinah put on her jacket before she stepped out. Valentin was seated in the little waiting salon.

"Good Morning, older Brother."

"Good Morning, Princess."

The maids left and as soon as it was just the two of them and Dinah, both siblings sighed at the same time.

"So much ceremony," grumbled Milena. "I'm a bit sorry to have made you wait."

"Do not worry about such things Millie, it's part of your new position. You will get used to it soon."

Milena nodded, but she still didn't like that. She was well aware she had to keep up the appearances, but she still disliked this new distance with her brothers. Dinah poured her some tea, as she hadn't had her breakfast yet. "How is everything back ho... I mean, at the Manor?" She asked, lifting her cup.

"The reconstruction is going well, as expected. All the people working around us are making Father uncomfortable though."

"Of course. He really hates crowds..."

"I think attending two weddings in a row was too much for him," joked Valentin.

Those words made Milena grimace, though. Philomenie and Ellias' wedding had taken place just a couple of weeks after hers and it had been as different as she expected it to be. First, the number of guests was absolutely insane and had thrown the whole Castle in a complete mess for a few days. All the servants, knights and butlers had gone crazy with the preparations, so much that the King had to intervene and put a stop to the Duke De Winter's endless extravagant demands. Plus, it had taken place inside the Holy Church, which meant all the guests had to go from the Religious Ceremony and to the Castle, which meant over a hundred carriages lining up outside in the cold. There even was an argument between the Houses D'Orphira and De Niebe about who shall enter first, which was rather ridiculous since both Houses had the same status. The real issue was that so many nobles were invited, that no one felt privileged anymore. Something they never liked... All of that wedding had been a bit too much and not just for the most introverted guests. The Ceremony had been way too long, the greetings had taken hours because of the insane number of guests and the ballroom had been crowded. It had felt like the wedding of a King and Queen rather than that of a Prince and Princess. The public opinion had been extremely divided on the matter. Some had said that this was a more suitable Royal Wedding compared to Milena and Rayan's, but a lot of people had criticized the Royal House for going overboard and flaunting their money.

The only thing that Milena and Philomenie had in common, was that both Princesses probably had very little say as to what was going on. The House De Winter had taken control of all the preparations, but arguably with the Royal Money as if the treasure room had been opened wide for them. Philomenie had barely appeared until her own Ceremony and even then, she had barely spoken a few words. Once again, she had been the perfect doll her family wanted her to be... "How is Raphael?" Asked Milena, unwilling to keep talking about that matter.

"A lot better, but he's still... looking for Rowena. He thinks the Oracle left the Capital, but we have no leads yet. He's doing fine, though. I think he's trying to keep himself busy before more things happen."

Milena slowly nodded. By more things, her older brother probably meant the War itself. She knew it was coming and that was a heavy weight on her heart every day. At least while the King was alive, Milena held on to a tiny bit of hope that everything would be alright for a little while longer.

"So, did you come just to enquire about me?" Asked Milena, a bit doubtful.

Her brother suddenly seemed a bit uncomfortable.

"Actually... I've come here with a motive, I hope you'll forgive me. I need your help."

"My help?" Repeated Milena, surprised.

There were very few things her older brother could supposedly need her help for, and Valentin wasn't even the type to ask to begin with. This ought to be serious. However, when she saw him slightly blushing, Milena was even more intrigued. "Valentin, what is going on?"

"...Eugenie is pregnant."

Milena was shocked.

"...P-pregnant? But..."

Her older brother nodded slowly.

"I know," he muttered.

Their wedding was supposed to be held the very next week! Milena was shocked that her ever so serious older brother had already gotten his fiancée pregnant... A smile appeared on her face, and she barely tried to hide it. "Milena!"

"Sorry, it's just... I mean, congratulations."

"Thank you, but... As you'll understand, it has to remain a secret for at least a few more weeks."

"What do you need my help for then?"

"I want to avoid gossip, but it's not easy to... hide Eugenie right after our wedding. Her family has no idea yet either. Not even her sisters. She came to me with her maid this morning, a bit worried. She's at the Manor already." "Valentin, you're not asking me to help you elope, by any chance?"

"No! It's just that... Milena, for once, I have no idea what to do. My fiancée is panicking, she's having my child because we were reckless and I can't face her family when she's pregnant before we're officially wed!"

Milena couldn't hold it anymore, she burst out laughing disregarding all etiquette. Seeing Valentin so confused was just too much. He made a sour face until she was done laughing, but his distressed expression wasn't something his younger sister could ignore. After a little while, she calmed down, and took deep breaths.

"Oh, Valentin, of any one of us siblings making such a mistake, I would have never bet on you..."

"Once you're done laughing at my misery, will you help me?" He sighed.

"Of course I'll help you. First, do you know how far along she is?"

"Probably a bit over two months... Milena, please stop laughing!"

"Alright, alright... That will be an issue though, two months ahead is a bit hard to hide. However, luckily you two are about to be wed. First, if her health is alright, you should hold the wedding regardless. Just ask Father and the Count to hold it with fewer people than planned, you can use the Manor's state as an excuse."

"They'll think the De Crescent House is going bankrupt!"

"We're spending hundreds on the repairs and your sister is a Royal Princess, who would dare think that? No, people will think you're trying to hold a quiet wedding because we are still grieving grandmother's death and my own wedding was tame. I will let Lady Yasina know about the circumstances, she knows how to hold her tongue and can make changes to Eugenie's dress so no one notices a thing. Also, Tiphania can trade some of the wine for grape juice so no one thinks she isn't drinking at her own wedding." "What about after the wedding? Even if we cover it up, it will start to show eventually..."

"Don't worry. We will say that I offered you my Villa in the Vermilion Lands for your honeymoon, so no one can notice her belly is growing too soon. You can return earlier to oversee the manor's repairs and say Eugenie enjoyed it there and will stay a bit longer. She'll return quietly a few weeks later when her belly is big and people will just think you guys were lucky."

As she was done talking, the young Duke let out a long sigh, making his sister chuckle.

"... You really learnt a lot from Great-Grandmother," he sighed.

"You're just panicking because this is about your wife-to-be and your child, Valentin. You'll know what to do once you've calmed down."

"I'm such an idiot. We pushed back our wedding twice and this happens..."

"Well, at least you two know you're made for each other. You should just be happy, Valentin. I'm sure the child will be very healthy."

Her brother slowly nodded and put his head in his hands.

Milena was genuinely happy for him. It was nice to see the stiff Valentin finally showing some human emotions, letting the mask of the Duke's heir down to show a confused young man. He was almost ten years older than she was and Eugenie was about to turn twenty-three this year. Their wedding was almost late for people of their rank and would have happened sooner if it wasn't for Eugenie falling sick a few years back, or Milena's own wedding. They had been betrothed for so long, people even had begun rumors that the House De Crescent was dragging their feet about this wedding.

"I hope you give me many nephews and nieces," she said. "It will be a while before we can get Lucian to even find a wife!"

Her older brother smiled bitterly. The truth was, he had hesitated before coming to ask Milena's help. He wasn't sure if her sister-in-law being pregnant so fast and so easily wouldn't upset her, but Milena's smile seemed genuine.

"Thank you for your help, Milena," he said.

She nodded and stood up.

"Of course. You're my older brother, I'll always help you when I can. Are you going to work now?"

"I'll go home and spend time with Eugenie... She's happy about it, but she's probably even more nervous than I am."

"... You do know that if the Count finds out, Father won't be able to save you, right?"

He grimaced.

"I'll do my best to earn his forgiveness..."

Just like that, the two of them parted and Milena watched his horse leave by the window. He really had come in a hurry...

"Dinah, not a word of this to anyone," she said.

"Of course, my Lady. Should I send word to Lady Yasina?"

"No, go there yourself. Let's not have anything written down."

Dinah hesitated.

"...Shall I wait until Olivia wakes up to go?"

"No, go now."

"B-but..."

"Dinah."

Milena knew very well why her maid was hesitating, but her orders were still clear. After a few seconds of silence, Dinah bowed and left the room, two Royal Maids walking in to take over in attending Milena. The Princess left for her office to begin her day of work. She was actually surprised with how easily she was dealing with the matters she was handed, but also the volume of it. Since the King was sick, the Princes and Princesses were supposed to relieve him of as much of the work as possible, but the distribution was extremely uneven. Milena had much more work than Philomenie.

It wasn't her own choice. Things had started to take that turn a few days after Philomenie had begun living in the Royal Castle too. Instead of seeing her amount of work decrease, Milena had noticed more and more requests piling up on her desk. She couldn't understand how there was this much work all at once, when it should have been going down. It was everything. From overseeing the Royal Kitchen's supplies, to organizing the winter arrangements in the guests rooms, preparing the Royal Auditions and even answering the mail of the Nobles for the Royal Family. She had thought it would go down after a while, but that morning things were still the same and not showing any sign of getting better.

Standing in front of her full desk, she had enough. Exasperated, she summoned two of the Royal Attendants to ask for an explanation. The two men came over quickly, but both already knew they were about to have a very unpleasant conversation with the First Princess.

"May you explain what the meaning of this is?" She asked, pointing at the insane amount of paperwork on her desk. "I am working fast, I am clearing as much of these as humanly possible, even for someone competent, but this is going overboard. Will someone explain to me what's going on?"

The two men, well aware of the issue, bowed a bit more and exchanged looks, visibly very embarrassed.

"Our deepest apologies, Your Highness, but in the circumstances, we have been doing our best to split the work in a..."

"Don't you gentlemen dare utter the word even, because this is going to go very wrong," hissed the Princess. "Even Lady d'Iris asked for a break two days ago! Are you going to tell me Princess Philomenie has this amount of work too?"

At the mention of the other Princess, both men grimaced. After a few seconds, one of them took a deep breath.

"My Lady, we owe you an apology, but the Royal Staff has been... vehemently asking that you shall be in charge of all these instead of the Second Princess."

"...And why is that?" Asked Milena, crossing her arms.

"The... The amount of complaints about the Second Princess is a bit concerning, your Highness. The Royal Chefs threatened to resign if she was in charge of the Royal Pantry once more, the Royal Finances Bureau is also refusing to hand her any budget, and...most... no, all of our suppliers always address the mail specifically to you, Your Highness."

Milena rolled her eyes. She had foreseen such issues may arise in the future, but she hadn't thought things would go that wrong that fast. She massaged her temples.

"What about Prince Ellias?"

"H-his Highness said it was alright to have you help the Second Princess..."

Milena held it in. Help Philomenie? This was basically nothing short of being given all of her work!

"...Where is her Highness at the moment?"

"I-I believe she's having tea with her guest, your Highness."

Milena suddenly calmed down, which was even scarier than her being furious. She took a deep breath and a smile appeared on her face, reminding the two men a lot of her husband's.

"She's having tea?" She repeated softly.

"Y-yes, your Highness. In the First floor's Salon..."

"Alright then, I guess it's time for tea."

Milena's very sweet voice had the two men very worried something was about to go extremely wrong. They exchanged looks, but they had no idea what to do to stop this. No one would dare to go wake up the First Prince who had just gone to bed and calling the second one would probably make things even worse.

"You two, grab what you can on that pile and follow me."

The two men hesitated. The two Princesses wouldn't get into a fight in the middle of the Royal Castle, right...?