Lady Dhampir
Chapter 247

The two siblings spoke even more than they thought over dinner, one matter being Milena's ride to the Emerald Forest, the second Raphael's meeting with the Council. While he was upset about his sister riding outside again, considering her injury, Raphael didn't waste much time trying to persuade her otherwise; there was just no use. With her gunshots healing quickly and Blanche back, Milena was re-energized, and desperate to do something, anything. Luckily for him though, she wouldn't go tonight. Blanche was still tired and curled up against her mistress, and wouldn't go anywhere that night. "Try to bring Father home on your way back," Milena sighed, accompanying him to the entrance hall. "He shouldn't spend too long outside. At least, not to terrorize others. He's going to get wrinkles if he keeps glaring and frowning all the time..." Her brother chuckled.

"Fine, I'll tell him that. He should have enough of them all by now, anyway... Just stay home and rest some more, alright? I will accompany you to the forest myself tomorrow if you can wake up before dawn."

"Telling me to sleep well, and then trying to have me wake up so early?"

"You'll be up. You slept all day."

"Ha, just go, big brother," she sighed, waving her hand. "We'll see tomorrow morning."

And just like that, she watched Raphael leave, her coat wrapped around her shoulders and Blanche curled up in her arms. Milena sighed. They really couldn't catch a break... things were constantly looking as if they'd explode any time.

She went back inside and, as promised, went to bed right away, although she ended up wide awake for a good portion of the night before finding sleep. She was just glad to have Blanche back, at least. She kept caressing the silver-white fur. She had managed to convince her to take a proper bath, for once, and had taken care of her injuries herself, so now her dearest Blanche was all clean, smelling good, and sleeping soundly. Perhaps the return of her friend would only be the beginning of things finally going their way... Her Institute's inauguration was only a few days away now, and she hoped this would be the promise of their Kingdom shifting to a more peaceful direction. Milena felt like she had grown older than she was, again, in those last few days... Despite her own expectations, she woke up a bit before dawn, when the sky was only wearing the first purple streaks of the upcoming sunrise. The snow had finally stopped falling, but she suspected this would only be a short respite before it resumed. Quickly, she got ready, exchanging her usual dresses for a pair of hunting pants for the first time in a long while. She felt a lot better since giving birth, and even the injuries on her stomach had healed fast and neatly. She probably shouldn't push it if she didn't want her fresh scars to open up, but Milena felt like riding today. Her enemies had already gotten what they wanted anyway, and no one would dare to attack her again so soon. Moreover, at this hour, it was unlikely anyone would suspect her leaving the Manor. "My Lady, Master Raphael is waiting for you downstairs."

"Thank you, Olivia. I'm coming."

She put on her leather gloves while Blanche stretched with a yawn. Her companion seemed well-rested, and just as eager to go outside.

Suddenly, Ruby appeared in the room, her knee down as usual, making Milena jump.

"Ruby!...Welcome back. Are you alright?"

"Yes, my Lady. I apologize for coming back so late, my Lady, I had to be careful not to be followed."

Despite saying she was alright, Milena could tell her bodyguard had had a rough time. Her hair was cut even shorter than before, and her arm was entirely bandaged from the shoulder up and down to her hand, where two fingers were missing. She also was holding herself a bit more rigidly than usual, making Milena figure she might have more internal injuries.

"...I'm glad you're alright," sighed Milena. "Blanche quickly explained the situation to me, so tell me what I might have missed."

Ruby nodded. Of course, being Milena's bodyguard and by her side almost all the time, she knew of Blanche's real nature as a shape-shifter.

"We realized we were followed a while after leaving the Manor, my Lady, so I suspect they had spies waiting all around the Manor's Lands. They struggled to catch up to us, so we thought we would be fine, until we crossed paths with one who seemed to be my Lady's Nanny."

"Sofia..."

"Master Lucian and myself were suspicious as to why Madam Sofia would have gone so far off her dedicated course, so we were cautious. Miss Blanche also let us know she was suspicious by growling and keeping her from approaching. She asked that we hand over my Lady's children, pretending the plan had changed and my Lady wanted them to be brought to a new location. Of course, we refused, but we were extremely confused about the situation, and Master Lucian was reluctant to attack."

Milena would have been the same. Sofia was their nanny, and if the person her brother had met looked just the same as the one who had raised them, she couldn't blame him for not being able to give the order. She wouldn't have dared to attack either. "We tried to verify her identity, too, but she responded exactly like Madam Sofia would have, even to our hardest questions. We were truly baffled, but it is my belief she was stalling since we wouldn't hand over the babies. Once she understood Master Lucian was reluctant, Miss Blanche attacked first."

Milena was a bit shocked, and her eyes went down to the silver-white wolf. She knew Blanche had much better instincts, and a very different, more animalistic way of thinking. If she was sure the person they had met wasn't Sofia, she probably hadn't thought twice about attacking a potential enemy.

"Miss Blanche's instincts were good, as always, My Lady. Not only did the stranger fight back, but assassins appeared, who had most likely been keeping their distance until they saw whether we'd hand her the children or not. Miss Blanche, the twins' bodyguards and myself focused on winning Master Lucian time while he escaped with my Lady's children. As soon as it became clear victory was ours, I sent Garnet and Cobalt to catch up to Master Lucian, and asked Blanche to stay and watch the perimeter while I investigated the scene." "...We only found Sofia's body."

"Yes, my Lady. I got rid of the others, knowing the De Crescent Knights would still be able to investigate the traces and know there were more, but I wanted my Lady to see Madam Sofia's body, to see for yourself. I was confident my Lady would be able to grasp the situation we had been in."

Milena sighed. So that was what had happened, and it explained the missing bodies. Indeed, it wouldn't have been too good to have so many bodies scattered, and she knew Ruby had most likely done all the investigating she could by herself. She nodded. "...Alright, I see. Well, at the very least, I'm glad to see you alive... Do you know if Lucian made it to the destination?"

Ruby lowered her head, visibly feeling guilty.

"I... I believe so, my Lady. I apologize, I thought I might gather too much attention if I followed Master Lucian too far toward his destination. I remained around the perimeter to see if I could find any more attackers, or pick up any clues. I had hopes that whoever had sent those men would come to retrieve the bodies, but they didn't. So I found a place to have my wounds healed; Miss Blanche insisted on accompanying me. When we returned to the scene, the De Crescent Knights had already left and taken the body with them. So Miss Blanche and I got on our way back."

"...I understand. Thank you for this detailed report. We caught... more people, who attacked me in the meantime."

"Is my Lady alright?"

"As you can see. But Father kept them, so you can check our prisoners and the corpses later to compare, if you want. Perhaps you'll find clues we missed. For now, I was about to go out and investigate the Emerald Forest. You don't need to come if you need some rest." "No, my Lady, I'm fine. I will come along."

Milena sighed. Truthfully, she wished Ruby would catch some rest, but perhaps she had already gotten some, seeing how she had appeared in a timely manner in the bedroom, her dark clothes looking dry and clean. In any case, now that she knew Milena had been injured while she was gone, it was unlikely Ruby would agree to stay back.

"Alright. Let's go now, then."

Ruby disappeared just like she came, and Milena and Blanche stepped outside. The silver-white wolf was acting even more clingy than usual, and Milena kept petting her head and collar the entire time while they went down the stairs and to the entrance hall. "Good morning," Raphael greeted her. "...You're riding today?"

"Yes. I missed Black Bella, and I feel good enough to." "Alright..."

He didn't protest, and they made their way out, their horses already ready. Not only their mounts but their weapons were ready for them. Raphael wore his long sword, as well as a long-range g*n, while Milena had a short sword, two twin guns on her hips, and an extra long-range g*n packed behind her saddle, along with her ammunition. Her brother and the knights each had a similar bag ready on their horses. Given the recent events, no one said anything about them carrying extra weapons for safety.

They departed with a personal servant each, and six of the De Crescent Knights escorting them. It was the minimum for security, the maximum for secrecy, and a perfect compromise for the two siblings and Digory, who watched them go with a worried expression. They quietly rode through the forest rather than the main street. Milena had offered to take a detour so they wouldn't wake people up by crossing the main roads of the Capital so early. Plus, she didn't want to be noticed and announced at the Castle when she had no intention of stopping there. They didn't want to push the horses either; it was still early enough that they would get there before Raphael would be bothered by the sunlight.

"How did it go?" Milena asked after a short while.

"Not as well as I would have hoped... Your friend Lady De Camellia was right. The vampires are seriously doubting their own positions, more than ever. A lot of them pressured me about the Institute, while others mentioned ideas that seem to clearly indicate they would side with the Supremacists. I did my best, and Father's speech at the Council had quite an effect, too, but I'm afraid our family's reputation isn't enough to keep them in the ranks anymore. Surprisingly though, Sir Henry is indeed making his mark around. I think his new ideas might not please the De Boreal Duchy, but for the younger vampires, he's definitely an appealing leader..."

"...I see. I wish you were the one who could gather attention though, Raphael. Isn't that why you decided to take a seat at the Society's head, to begin with?"

"Millie, I am! However, I never realized becoming part of the Society's head means that they are all less trusting of me, you see? I mean, I went from being rather quiet to asserting my dominance and taking an important position in such a short time. I would be suspicious, too. However, I did chat with Henry, for quite a while too. He supports you fully, including the Institute. So, we have enough in common to consider him our ally. He's almost rallying more vampires to us, isn't that good?"

"Almost too good," sighed Milena, patting Black Bella. "I'm afraid it sounds almost too good, Raphael. I wonder why Henry would be so active, all of a sudden?"

"From my understanding, the King is rubbing him the wrong way, and he's afraid of a civil war just as much as we are. He wouldn't have acted so openly nor so quickly if it wasn't for everything going on right now, I believe. Bryce might have convinced his brother, too. If Henry has issues asserting his position as the Duke in his own house, what better plan than to assert it through the political circles? He only has little angles to go with, and this was the most obvious....He's aware the Duke de Nova is getting more attention, too."

Milena nodded. From a bigger perspective, this was almost the natural result of one generation slowly coming to replace another. Henry wasn't like his father, and he was the first vampire leader of the De Boreal family in a long while, too. His position must be fragile. Meanwhile, the Duke De Nova was fighting his daughter's opinions, and the De Winters were most likely using their children to get back at the King, too. The main issue was, the King was already the new generation, and so was the rest of the Royal Family. Thus, it was essential all the families put forward their own new generation, but there were bound to be some issues with long-established leaders like Duke De Nova, who wasn't ready to let his daughter take the lead. Perhaps if her father hadn't been secluding himself already, or without the age gap with her older brothers, Milena might have been kept away from the politics longer, too. Like Philomenie, she might have been raised as a future bride only, a doll without much knowledge about what was going on in the higher spheres...

"Let's try to keep the status quo as it is," Milena said as they got closer to the Royal Castle grounds. "Keep a close eye on the vampires, and on Henry's actions. If anything looks like it gets worse, let me know. In any case, the inauguration of the Institute shall solve a lot of the issues the vampires are fighting about... including their relationship with the King. Even if they don't like his policies, they will be smart enough to know the commerce of blood will help lift all the current suspicions towards their kind."

"I agree. To be honest, so many people asked me about the Inauguration, as if they feared they would miss it or you'd change the date last minute or something. Some were still dejected they couldn't buy shares."

"There are no shares left to buy," scoffed Milena. "Those who reacted when I was scouting around got the largest part of the cake, it's as simple as that. I don't know why they are all acting like cats in heat only when they realize they are too late. Let them regret it. It's their fault for ignoring me when I sent out openings for business deals. If they couldn't understand the importance of blood commerce, they wouldn't be decent business partners anyway." "Let's just hope the Inauguration goes as planned, then. It would be fine if something goes as we wish, for once..."

Milena felt the same, but she kept herself from adding anything.

They finally reached the Emerald Forest. Because they were on the grounds of the Royal Castle, Milena had to show her identity twice to the Royal Guards patrolling the area, but most didn't seem to care much about her delegation; more men than usual were posted there, their eyes riveted on the forest.

"What's going on?"

"Greetings, Your Highness," said the Team Captain, him and his team putting a knee down. "Reporting to the Royal Princess. We received reports of movements in the Emerald Forest from the night patrols, so we sent extra men to guard it." "Haven't you sent scouting units?"

"We did, Your Highness, three of them. But that was two hours ago, and none have returned."

Milena and Raphael exchanged a look. That couldn't mean anything good.

"What are your current orders?"

"Simply to look out, my Lady. We relayed the news to our superiors in the Royal Castle, but this isn't the first time movement has been spotted in the Emerald Forest since His Highness Prince Rayan sent news of winning the war, and each time we've sent and lost men..." Milena sighed. Sadly, it was too dangerous to send more men, but that also meant they remained in the dark as to what was going on at the border. She turned to her brother, nodding.

"Let's go."

"M-My Lady!" Exclaimed the Captain. "You're not really thinking of going? Like I said, it's dangerous! If our superiors hear we let the Royal Princess go into the Emerald Forest in those conditions... Please, my Lady, reconsider!"

"We won't go very far," said Milena. "But we can't let more Royal Soldiers be killed indeed, and I believe it is high time we find out what's going on in this forest that's keeping our army from returning."

"But the King's orders..." Muttered the Captain, visibly torn.

"Aren't my own. Feel free to report to him, but don't you dare get in my way."

Without adding anything to that, Milena had Black Bella venture first past the line of trees, leaving the Royal Guards completely speechless and at a loss. Raphael stopped in front of them, giving them a sorry smile. "Try stopping her," he chuckled. "I have never been able to for the past ten years!"

With that, he and the De Crescent Knights followed his sister into the Emerald Forest. The Royal Guards exchanged worried glances, the Captain brushing his hair back.

"....T-The King," he muttered. "Come on! He might be up already, one of you go and let His Majesty know! The Grand Princess went into the Emerald Forest!"