Lady Dhampir
Chapter 164

The silence that followed too, spoke volumes. Ellias stared at his wife for a long while, but for once, Philomenie wasn't avoiding his gaze. Instead, her big blue eyes were determined and surprisingly, she seemed more honest than ever. In a way, it wasn't so shocking coming from the Princess. It aligned with her character. Despite her origins, her relationship to the Church and everything Ellias had done, Philomenie just didn't match the profile of an anti-vampire. If any of what she had done before was real, such a devoted person couldn't just close her eyes on... a third or a quarter of their subjects.

Milena couldn't hold back her smile. In a way, Ellias was being hit right where he thought he had won something: Philomenie's character. If there was an ounce of truth in everything she had acted as until then, she had to speak against those vampire regulation laws. Even if she was scared of vampires and even if her husband was for those laws. Milena still didn't want to decide how genuine her sister-in-law's actions were, but she knew Philomenie wouldn't have dared to go against Ellias, right then, if nothing had changed. Did they have some sort of fight while she was unconscious? Or was it because he had tried to keep her away? Milena's purple eyes shifted to the other side of the thrones. Maybe it had to do with the odd character next to Philomenie... Since the Saint had been in the picture, some things had definitely changed.

"...Fine," finally said Ellias. "I will... let my counselors know of my decisions soon."

"Great," said Milena, smiling with her eyes.

Several Senators looked unhappy with that decision, but more showed some relief. At least for now, Ellias wouldn't be able to bring up any anti-vampire laws without looking like a total hypocrite. That was one bullet they had avoided thanks to Philomenie... However, the unrest among the seats caused Rayan to be annoyed.

"If anyone else wants to raise some concern, I suggest they do it now while we're on the matter," he said loudly, immediately causing an embarrassed silence above them.

"Your Highnesses..." Finally said an elder Senator. "I certainly hold no feelings of disrespect towards our Vampire peers. However, some of Prince Ellias' words are sadly true. There is a growing unrest within the population about the vampires... The old man I am quite likes to go out and meddle among the common people. Since we had those gruesome crimes in our streets, a lot of our citizens are quite worried about potential attacks..."

"That is true," added a Member of the Merchants Guild. "The unrest has been growing for quite some weeks now, since the culprits weren't caught, your Highnesses. I sincerely appreciate the Princesses protecting our vampire Nobles, but I wish we also found a way to prove there is no longer any danger for the human folks."

Ellias turned to his brother, not hiding that little satisfied smile on his face. Still, Rayan ignored him and instead, stood up.

"I understand your concerns. Unfortunately, we are still investigating those matters. While I wish I could say we have captured and killed all the perpetrators, we have reasons to believe there are quite worrying motives behind those, and it could lead to more attacks."

"Can all vampires end up like Her Highness the Queen, Your Highness?"

"No," retorted Rayan. "What happened to my mother was an extremely rare mutation caused by people in a deliberate fashion, and it was in no way her doing or voluntary. The one thing I can say is that whoever was behind it was working against the vampires' intentions, if that's what you are all worried about."

Once again, his words brought a lot of noise in the ranks. Milena was surprised so many Senators actually still had the Wendigo attacks weighing on their minds. This matter had been concealed as much as possible by both Princes, but apparently, that wasn't enough... Surely, they couldn't avoid people talking, and those murders had made too much noise too. Milena took a deep breath. At least, Rayan had put the doubt away from the Vampire Nobles for now. If those transformations were involuntary for the Wendigo people, the vampires surely weren't to blame. Milena glanced towards the Saint, but he was pretending not to know about this, simply standing still a couple steps behind Philomenie's throne, like a personal guard or maid would. "Alright," said Ellias. "Let's just go back to our main matter."

However, as he said that, Rayan did not go back to his seat. Instead, he walked to the young Count Leonidas. The young man, surprised, exchanged a look with the vampire Prince for just one second before lowering his head.

"You said you were told to gather outside the Church."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Does that mean you received orders from someone?"

The young man seemed to hesitate, before taking a deep breath.

"Not exactly, Your Highness. I am part of a small group of young Vampire Nobles. This group was mostly meant as a group of discussion, to exchange ideas and have fun like people our age do."

"What kind of ideas, and what kind of activities?"

From her seat, Milena could see a bit of the young man's face, even as he was on his knees and head down. He seemed surprised by Rayan's questions once again, but answered immediately.

"We usually chat about politics, history and scientific concepts and innovations. Also the research on blood... Our activities are mostly about training together, spending time in a drinking salon in the evening, and from time to time we attend private parties." "Do you practice any illegal activities."

The young man hesitated, his head going lower.

"Answer me," hissed Rayan.

"Y-yes, Your highness. We've practiced gambling, and attended some... illegal auctions. We also hunted a couple of times without authorization..."

So far, there was nothing actually too shocking. Those were among the activities most bored young nobles would do to get some thrill, away from the parental pressure or the duty of their ranks. It was part of the unspoken fun most young ones would have, and if they were caught, nothing was worth a heavy legal sanction either.

"Did your group ever get involved with Supremacists or Anarchists?"

"...There are a lot of different people in this group, your Highness. ... I have heard some members spread anti-monarchist or anti-human ideas, yes."

Milena closed her eyes. So this is where this was going.

"How many people?"

"It changes; I'm not even sure h-how many exactly... People seem to come and go, and I've merely been introduced a few months ago... I simply joined because it was fun."

"It must have been thrilling to plot against me," smirked Ellias.

The young Count grimaced, angry at the Prince's words.

Although he glanced over his shoulder, Rayan didn't pick up on his brother's stance, and went back to their prisoner.

"...so this is called the Society of Vampires?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"But you don't know all the members, and the discussed ideas aren't shared by everyone either?"

"No, Your Highness. From... what I have witnessed, the main purpose has been to share knowledge and ensure the safety of vampires. Not against humans, although some have mentioned those... extremist ideas. The salons I have attended were much more about how to save our species, Your Highness. We know there are less and less vampire children born each year, and we hope to beat those odds."

"If you have such thoughts, how did you actually find yourself involved in a plot to take one of the Princes' life!" Exclaimed one of the Senators, slamming their hand against their desk.

"....I only heard of the details last minute. The truth is, although I have never... shared the ideas of extremist vampires, I do think we are... more at risk than ever." This time, the young man lifted his eyes, and stared right at Prince Ellias.

Milena was surprised. She hadn't discussed the Society lots with her brother recently, so maybe she had missed the growing insecurity among the vampires. Indeed, they ought to be the ones most worried about vampires suddenly turning rogue and attacking humans as Wendigos. It wasn't easy, when one species was the original predator, yet needed the other one to feed and breed. Vampires needed humans, but the other way around wasn't true. It was truly a difficult position, especially with the growing anti-vampire feelings. Milena herself knew it was harder for young vampire men to find brides. Raphael hadn't received any marriage proposals yet, despite his good position. Milena herself had been seldom courted, for a young lady with her looks. Rayan was still scary for a lot of people. In comparison, the humans did seem like they were doing well and better each year...

"This is unbelievable!" Exclaimed Ellias, visibly offended. "Has all the vampire population of our Kingdom suddenly decided that I am that horrid character going against their interest?"

"Your Highness did go against taking a vampire bride, for starters," said Rachael with a smirk. "That was one statement in itself, don't you think?"

Ellias looked as if Rachael had slapped him. He hesitated for a second, before pointing at Milena.

"My brother didn't pick a human bride either!"

"I picked the best of both worlds," chuckled Rayan without even looking back.

Rachael and Milena exchanged complice glances, while Ellias looked defeated.

"That's not the question today, however," continued Rayan. "And a bit late to regret too. Young Count, I'm still waiting for more explanation."

"...There was anger," he said. "Several figures among the vampire nobles have recently been attacked, notably the House De Crescent. A lot of us have high hopes for Princess Milena and Prince Rayan, yet the Princess has already been attacked twice... With what happened at the House De Crescent, the loss of the Archduchess, and even our Queen herself, a lot of vampire nobles felt like the Monarchy was failing us."

This time, Milena was shocked too.

She hadn't thought that what had happened at their Manor would have awoken such strong resentment among the lower noble vampire circles. Thinking back, her great-grandmother was indeed a highly respected figure, and her death had been a huge shock for a lot of people. The attack at the Manor too, still had yet to be explained, and it had happened right after the Queen herself had been subjected to such a terrible ordeal.

Moreover, the fact that the King or the Princes have been unable to bring rest to those cases probably added fuel to the fire. For such a crime against the high nobles to go basically unpunished was truly unheard of. The only one who had openly acted was no other than Rayan himself, who had gone on a rampage after Milena's poisoning incident, and he had acted not only without any other support, but against a family that was openly supported by Prince Ellias and his wife. If she added that to the fact that her own family had ended the De Bertrilly, it did seem like the vampires were left to fend for themselves, while Ellias might have been pulling the strings to those crimes himself...

"This is ridiculous," said Ellias. "You're saying this Society of Vampires suddenly turned against me, Your Prince, simply because of what happened to the House De Crescent? Just admit this is an extremist faction!"

"I think nothing in what the young Count said sounded extremist, or unreasonable, Your Highness," said Milena.

"Be very careful with your words, Lady Milena," said Ellias, suddenly pointing his finger at her.

"Oh, I am," she retorted. "You're hearing for yourself. Just like there's an anti-vampire resentment growing, the vampires have been led to unrest by multiple attacks against their representative figures, including myself. I lost my great-grandmother, my mother-in-law and got almost killed twice already. Why is it that you'll only acknowledge the worries of our human population, and not that of our vampire peers?"

Her words echoed in the room, many members of the Council agreeing to Milena's stance.

"Princess Milena's right, Your Highness!" Claimed a vampire Senator. "How come none of those crimes were properly investigated!"

"Princess Milena risked her life to shield Princess Philomenie during the latest attack, Your Highness, yet no one but Prince Rayan acted to avenge her poisoning!"

The clamors grew quickly among the ranks, more and more Senators agreeing to Milena's words. Some began fighting between themselves, many defending Prince Ellias and also doubting the young Count's words. The Royal Secretary had to insist several times to bring back order in the room.

"As you see brother, the Society of Vampires in itself can hardly be held responsible for this attack."

"You're spouting nonsense, Rayan! This young man admitted for himself that they were spreading anarchist and supremacist ideas!"

"Participating in debates where not everyone agrees to the ideas is precisely how discussions are conducted in our Kingdom. You can't hold a whole population responsible for a few extremists among them!"

"Then what! Do you want us to pretend this young man didn't participate in a complot meant to take my life? He was there!"

"I am saying the Society of Vampires and that attack should be formally dissociated! There are dozens of people in that Society of Vampires, are you going to arrest all of the Vampire population? You're only missing a few!"

"We can't let such ideas keep running, Rayan!" shouted Ellias, suddenly standing up. "I understand the Vampires' concerns, but I also have to speak for the human half of the population! All Supremacists and ought to be arrested! Members of the Society of Vampires should be interrogated until we can find the real culprits and release the innocent!"

"You already treat them all like culprits!"

"Do you have better suggestions, then!"

"Enough!"

Both Philomenie and Milena had stood up and shouted at the exact same time, gathering all the attention. The Princes, both furious and out of breath, were still glaring at each other. The Council didn't dare say a word, they were like trapped in this back-and-forth. Milena and Philomenie didn't exchange a word, but both sat back, exhausted. Milena thought it would have been quite ironic if, like her, her sister-in-law suffered from nausea...

"Enough," repeated Milena. "We should interrogate all the people that were arrested at the Church, but send everyone else home and ask them not to leave their residence."

"We can't let them flee," said Ellias. "It will be too easy to..."

"Flee where?" retorted Milena, annoyed. "Prince Ellias, you're not..."

Before she could finish her sentence, two Royal Guards ran into the room and bowed.

"Our apologies, Senators, Your Highnesses. The... Duke De Crescent is on his way here."

"The..."

Several people gasped, but before anyone could say a word about this, loud steps were heard outside. Even Milena was a bit excited. Had her Father made his way to the Royal Castle after hearing what had happened? They had said the roads were impracticable because of the inches of snow...

The doors suddenly opened wide, and an ice-cold wind took the room like a white storm. Snow even flew in the room, not from the sky but from the very figure that stood on the doorstep. The large and dark shadow took several steps inside, very slowly, flanked by two smaller ones. A lot of Senators gasped or swallowed their saliva, impressed by the ruby-red eyes.

The Duke De Crescent stood there, glaring across the room like a wild beast had suddenly arrived. Ellias fell back in his seat and many, many people suddenly found themselves extremely nervous. It had been a while since Anton De Crescent had graced the Council with his presence, and he was more imposing than ever. His large fur coat was covered in snow, yet his black hair was impeccable. His leather boots, too, were literally making a little red pond on the floor, making the closest Royal Guards step away. It looked like the Duke had stepped in a body right before coming in.

"D-D-Duke De Crescent..." muttered the Royal Secretary, completely in shock.

The Duke slowly took off his leather gloves. Despite the Royal Guards closing the doors behind him, a horrible icy chill was still emanating from the Duke himself, making the closest Senators tremble and shrink on their seats. The only ones not bothered were Raphael and Lucian, by his side.

"I heard my daughter almost died. Again."

Despite his very low and cold tune, that last word was full of anger and death threats. Moreover, the Duke was looking around at the audience, like a predator looking for prey to hunt. Some of the Senators looked about to faint. The only one that seemed pleased with his arrival was Rachael, on the first rank, a smirk stuck on her face.

"Father..." muttered Milena, almost standing again.

Anton looked at his daughter, and a furious frown appeared in his eyes. Milena's state probably wasn't going to help him calm down. However, the first one to move was Lucian. Ignoring the protocol like always, he walked to his sister, visibly worried. "Are you alright, Millie?" He asked her directly.

Milena nodded, but she was still under the shock of seeing her Father and brothers show up. Meanwhile, one step behind his brother, Raphael crossed his arms. He had terrible dark circles under his eyes, but Milena had actually never seen her brother look so annoyed.

"We heard quite an interesting resume of the situation on our way here," he said with a raspy voice. "Prince Ellias, you want to arrest all of the Society of Vampires, do you?"

On his seat, Ellias looked literally about to melt. The Duke De Crescent's eyes went to him, and no sound came out of the Prince's mouth. Anton was liking pinning him to his throne, despite being the one standing.

Slowly, the Duke began moving like a panther in the room. He walked slowly towards the thrones, but strangely, he stopped right next to Rayan, and gave him two pats on the shoulder. The Prince hadn't said a thing, but there was definitely something going on between those two. Then, the Duke walked to his Council Seat, one that had been left empty for a long time. Lucian, once again acting as he pleased, remained right next to his sister, just like the Saint was right by Philomenie's side. The only one remaining on the main scene was Raphael.

After he stood there for a long time, and none of the De Crescents added a word or made any moves, the Senators began to feel a bit nervous again, wondering what he was waiting for. The eyes went to Ellias and the Royal Secretary. Seeing that the first one was still frozen on his seat, the Royal Secretary had no choice but to clear his throat a bit loudly.

"Y-young Duke De Crescent, uh... S-shall we add a seat for you?"

The question itself was meaningless, as there were already plenty of seats available. However, Raphael simply smirked, and crossed his arms, staying standing right next to the Young Count.

"No. I believe Prince Ellias wanted to arrest the members of the Society of Vampires. So, here I am."