Lady Dhampir
Chapter 162

Milena's fingers tightened furiously on her throne's arms.

"Those are very dangerous statements you're making, Prince Ellias," she said coldly.

Indeed, his words didn't have just the Princess agitated. Many people around the Council Room prote wasn't filled equally with humans and vampires, and now, there were even less of the latter due to the no way he hadn't offended a lot of people with those words.

"Thirsty vampires?" repeated Rayan. "Do you even realize what you're saying, brother? Those are our c "I am talking about those lurking in the shadows, threatening to attack us! That Society of Vampires!" He suddenly stood up, and walked to the middle of the Council Room, getting all eyes on him. Milena She couldn't even believe Ellias dared to say such words in an official Council Meeting!

"Dear Senators," he exclaimed. "This is the very crisis our Kingdom has always feared. For centuries, h fed on their blood, but we ignored those worries, and came up with as many solutions as we could to "You're talking about your family, too," hissed Rayan.

his words, loudly voicing their opinion. Many of the vampire nobles present were offended, but sadly, there weren't that many. From the start, the council ve arrests that had occurred just the previous day. This wasn't just Ellias provoking them, but even boldly showing what he stood for, and against. There was you're talking about, our people!"

eling absolutely not well. She wasn't even simply sick anymore; she was horrified and furious. She just wanted to puke at his words, or get up and slap him.

and vampires have coexisted in peace, keeping that fragile balance between us with much effort. Our human citizens have always feared the vampires who ur vampire people and avoid crimes. Isn't it hard, as humans, to co-exist with our own predators?"

"I know, dear brother, and this is exactly why I know the Council will know I am not hating the vampirest of ourse, I would never dare to do such a thing! However, a situation like the one that brings us here today would never appear, if we could be sure of our people's safety in the first place!"

"I'm not following, Prince Ellias," retorted Milena. "We are talking about an assassination attempt. No e "Princess Milena, I fear you're missing something. This document says the Society of Vampires. Why w this Society we all live in? Does that make any sense to you?"

tually bit anyone, and there is no correlation between this Vampire Society and this attack!"

ere even be a need for a Society of vampires in the first place? Isn't our Society enough as it is? Now vampires want to exclude their human counterparts of

y name..."

"Those are nothing but empty assumptions," retorted Rayan. "This group could have called themselve "Yet they chose the Society of Vampires! Not any name, Prince Rayan, indeed. Of all those they could rosen, they picked the one that was precisely ignoring humans, and putting their own species as a superior being that should be alone! However, we all know this isn't possible, is it? So what would that be supposed to be interpreted as then?"

Milena was absolutely shocked. Not only was his reasoning completely off and fake, but even more wo many of the nobles around the room were now having that hint of doubt in their eyes. Some were whispering with their neighbors, and those who stayed silent looked extremely concerned.

"You can't be serious!" shouted the Duchess De Nova. "You're calling out our entire species because of one group?"

"One significant group who tried to assassinate the Royal Family!" Ellias yelled back. "Duchess De Nova, are you acting blind on purpose as to what that means? Look at the room! How many noble families were dipping into that horrible conspiracy? Even some of your closest friends were involved!"

"You can't say such things based on mere speculations!" protested Milena. "Prince Elias, you're absolutely ridiculous, and making conjectures left and right, trying to add to some story to shame our Vampire people!"

"I am not making up any stories, Princess! Don't you think I'm extremely shocked and saddened by the situation as well? I watched my own brother fight those people who wanted our lives! I saw you injured, and my poor wife suffered from such a shock she couldn't attend today either!"

Milena wanted to slap him. Just with his words, it was obvious Philomenie wasn't the one who had decided not to be there for this Council Meeting. She didn't know how Ellias had managed to keep his wife away, but it was infuriating. "You can't," said Rayan. "You can't put all our vampires in the same basket because of a few who attempted to take our lives!"

"You're being emotional, my brother, and I can't blame you. I wouldn't have suspected the Carseus family, or the Count De Zinnia! Like you said, so many people we considered our allies, our people, actually dared to conspire against us!" Milena was furious.

Even if the Society of Vampires had somehow decided to attack, she and Rayan were definitely not the main targets. It was Ellias and Philomenie, the human couple who was threatening their existence. Yet, Ellias was putting the four of them together as the Royal Family, who had survived a conspiracy from dangerous vampire terrorists. Sadly, that story was believable for the very reason that Milena and Rayan had actually been the ones to fight. For a little while, she wondered if she shouldn't have simply thrown Ellias at them instead; that would have been a quick resolution to the problem...

"You have yet to prove what their real aim was, Brother," insisted Rayan. "We have nothing so far but the proof that some members of those families exchanged letters, and they had a name for their group that, as we all understood, displeases you. That is way too thin compared to the accusations you're making."

"Alright, then," suddenly shrugged Ellias, strangely calm. "Maybe we should hear what our witness claims?"

"A witness...?"

Milena was shocked, and not only her. The whole Council was confused. When had the Royal Guards arrested a witness? She exchanged a glance with Rayan, but from his furious expression, he was just as ignorant as she was. Milena crossed her arms, trying to keep her mask up, but she was boiling inside. This was nothing like the Council she had imagined. In a matter of a day or so, things had changed dramatically. Now she was fighting for nothing less than a species' survival. She couldn't even believe such a thing was happening in this time and age.

The Royal Guards exchanged glances, and as the Council was still stunned, brought in a young woman, a maid from her appearance. Milena had never seen her, and everyone else in the room seemed confused.

"This young woman is a maid at the Carseus residence," declared Ellias. "Our Royal Guards took her out of their underground cellar, where she was kept, her ankles and wrists bound."

Indeed, the girl was in a poor state. She was skinny, her clothes were rags, and she looked absolutely terrified. Moreover, even more shocking than any of her other injuries was the monstrous number of bite marks on her. It was as if she had been attacked by some wild animal, but Milena knew those were clearly vampire bites.

As expected, the Council acted extremely shocked by the girl's state. However, Milena and Rachael exchanged a quick glance. This couldn't be good, and it was way too convenient for the Royal Guards to have simply found this girl in some locked room in the House of someone they had precisely gone to arrest on Ellias' orders...

"As you can all see, Senators, that poor child was subjected to the most vile treatments by some noble vampires who think this is alright!"

"Does the girl have anything to actually say?" asked Rachael.

The Duchess' cold voice brought the silence back into the Council room. She wasn't hiding the daggers her red eyes were throwing at Prince Ellias, yet, he didn't even pretend to notice it.

"Of course," he nodded. "Young lady, would you mind repeating what you declared to the knights who rescued you?"

"Y-y-yes, my Lord...." whimpered the girl, visibly terrified.

"You do understand that lying in the Royal Council is punishable by death?" immediately asked Rachael.

The girl quivered at the Duchess' words, and stepped back. She wasn't acting. She was absolutely terrorized by the Duchess De Nova... No, by vampires. She nodded, but her eyes were avoiding Rachael's, and she was looking at the ground as if she wanted to crawl on it.

"I-I was... a b-blood sacrifice..."

"A what?"

"A b-b-blood sacrifice... The m-masters... c-c-called me when they were... hungry..."

"Of course," said Ellias, "It is perfectly common for our vampire compatriots to feed when needed, mostly off of their own servants. However..."

He pointed a finger at the girl's ravaged skin.

"Our laws clearly state that everything should be done with moderation, and with the formal consent of the giver. Young lady, may I ask how many times you fed your... masters?"

"I-I don't know... ab-bout twice a d-day... I think..."

Many in the room reacted with utter shock. Even Milena gasped. Twice a day was way too much for any human, way too much. Rachael slapped her chair's arms.

"This is ridiculous! I have been to the Manor De Carseus many times, I have seen all of their servants dozens of times, that child isn't one of them!"

"I understand your anger, Duchess de Nova," replied Ellias. "However, if the De Carseus Family was committing such atrocities, I doubt they would have exposed them to their friends, would they? Unless you share their... tastes for abusing young maidens, this is certainly not a sight you would have been able to witness. The girl was found in some locked basement. From her appearance, she didn't get much time out of there either."

He was barely managing to contain his smile. All around them, the Council was baffled. The De Carseus family was a noble family who had achieved their status through military merits. Even without their noble titles, they were highly respected in the Empire. It was a huge shock for everyone to suddenly see them involved in such a horrendous story. They kept their private issues to themselves, and weren't particularly vocal on any political matter, especially the current Marquess, Alexis' father. Although this was shocking to everyone, that sordid story also strangely matched too well how private the De Carseus usually were...

However, this is also how Milena knew she could act. She slowly stood, staring at the girl.

"...Where were you kept, you said?"

"U-underground, Your Highness... T-the m-masters would keep me locked... in the c-cellar... with the w-w-wine bottles..."

"When would you go out?"

The girl shook her head. Milena was slowly coming closer to her, and her amethyst eyes were much colder than any vampire's glare at that moment. The girl tried to step back, but she bumped into the Royal Guards behind her. The Guards obeyed the Royal Family; they would obey any of Milena's orders, even if it didn't match Ellias'.

"I-I-I never went upstairs, Your Highness!"

"Really? Your masters came to feed themselves in that underground space you talked about?" "Y-yes..."

"Then how did you know it was twice a day?"

Milena's question echoed in the room. Ellias' face sunk, and many nobles understood right away.

"W-what?"

"If you were kept underground, especially in a wine cellar, you shouldn't have been able to see the days or nights passing; yet, you said you fed them twice a day. How would you know that?"

The girl dared to look at Milena's face this time, and she was even more scared than before; her whole body was shaking, and she looked like she was about to fall apart. She quickly lowered her head, unable to withstand the purple glare.

"I-I made a mistake! I-I was just... I thought..."

"Then do you know who you fed?"

"The De Carseus family... and... their... guests..."

"That's strange," said Milena. "Would you call your masters by their name?"

The girl went whiter.

"I-I just called them masters! I promise!"

"Princess Milena, you're scaring the witness on purpose!" yelled Ellias.

Milena glared at him.

"I am making her talk, Prince Ellias. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Like I said, you're using your authority to scare this child! Why don't you let me ask the questions?"

Milena smirked.

"Go ahead."

Ellias sighed, but it was too late. Milena had already made a clear point to the Council. This girl wasn't a simple victim. She was a victim that could lie while being interrogated by the Council. This was enough to plant a seed of doubt in all their minds. "Fine," said Ellias, still glaring at Milena. "Young lady, don't be scared and speak the honest truth. Who exactly did you feed?"

"T-the masters... De Carseus..."

"The De Carseus has a dozen members, more than half are vampires," hissed Rachael. "You'll have to be more precise than that."

"I-I fed all of them!" she exclaimed. "T-the M-marquess.... and... M-marquess Alban... and... L-lady Alexis..."

"That's impossible!" roared a vampire among the Senators. "We all know vampires can't drink from the same gender!"

"It's the truth!" cried the girl. "I swear, Mistress Alexis drank from me, too!"

Rachael and Milena exchanged a glance, but remained quiet. The Council, not believing the girl, was working in their favour but this could come back to hit them later.

Because they both knew that Alexis could drink perfectly fine from a human of the same gender...

"Maybe you're a bit confused," said Ellias, clearing his throat. "I believe you might have... confused Lady Alexis with someone else in the house?"

The girl looked at Ellias, but right after, her eyes dived into the ground.

"M-maybe... v-v-vampires all... look the s-same..." she mumbled.

"Then, are you sure who bit you?" said Rachael. "You can't even differentiate your masters, yet you're claiming they attacked you? What kind of servant are you? You're only too happy to lie, aren't you!" "Duchess De Nova, you're scaring the witness!"

"This witness is obviously too confused to talk!" yelled a woman. "Prince Ellias, we can't even be sure of what she says!"

"Look at her neck!" protested another man. "This girl has obviously been tortured by those vampires!"

"Nothing can prove it was the De Carseus family! Or even which members of that family it was!"

The Council began fighting left and right about the veracity of the girl's declaration. Yet, when Milena's eyes went back to Ellias, he was smiling. The Prince raised both hands, gathering the Council's attention to him.

"I understand all your concerns," he sighed. "Because our victim is obviously very confused, it will be hard to find the exact culprits for the crime she suffered right away. Of course, the Royal Family will make sure she receives all the care she needs, to get better and be able to provide a testimony we can believe."

Just like that, the girl was taken out by the Royal Guards. Milena was sure she wouldn't live to give another testimony. She probably wouldn't even get another night; someone was going to kill her before she could spread more lies, or the actual truth... "That testimony just wasted our time," sighed a Senator.

"On the contrary," said Ellias. "Although we couldn't pinpoint the culprit, it does make us wonder how many more of those horrible crimes are happening, that we don't know about?"

"You're making generalizations again, Prince Ellias," hissed Milena. "This is one girl, who lied for half the questions she was answering. You can't throw all the vampires into the same pit just because of this!"

"Oh, sadly, I have to wonder, if this isn't just one among many cases! Moreover, do you think that girl could have faked those bite marks?"

"She could have received a generous compensation," retorted Rayan. "Vampires don't even leave scars, if they do their job properly. This girl could only have received those no later than this night and showed up today to make some grand impression on your audience, Brother. Don't you think that was one really painful show we were all f****d to watch?"

Rayan's icy voice was making a clear statement. Ellias' behavior was too theatrical, and with how the events had evolved, too fast to be judged. So many things in that testimony, or in those accusations, just didn't align. Milena glanced around the room once again. The Council was at a loss. Many of them had seemed baffled by the maid's testimony, but after Milena and Rayan's words, they just looked confused.

This simply wasn't going well for either side. Milena took a deep breath. They had to find a way out. The Society of Vampires was now involved, but either they proved they were a completely innocent organization, or they abandoned them. Neither way was satisfying. Milena knew the organization wasn't completely white. Alban had admitted himself that they did have extremists among them. If Ellias were given time to dig deeper, the consequences could be disastrous. Not only the people already arrested, but even Raphael and Rayan could be dragged into this... However, letting the Society of Vampires take the fall could lead to most of the Vampire families of the Kingdom being destroyed. The balance between vampires and humans would never, ever recover from that... Suddenly, a loud ruckus was heard outside. All the heads turned, and then before anyone could react, the doors of the Council were suddenly opened.

"My apologies to the Council for being late," declared Princess Philomenie, out of breath, the Saint standing behind her.