Lady Dhampir
Chapter 214

"My Condolences, Your Highness."

Milena simply inclined her head. This was perhaps the hundredth time she has heard that sentence today, and she was sick of it. Quite literally. She was tired and just glad her pregnancy was an excuse to sit through all of this. She was also grateful to have Raphael by her side, and her friend Chartiana De Pristin quietly holding her hand on the other. This whole ordeal was almost over, and she was hoping it would be soon. She wanted all of them gone, and she wanted to be left alone with her family. It had been too hard and too painful, the whole thing. She had hesitated three hours before agreeing Valentin's body. She found not an ounce of relief in it, but at least she had some form of closure. Seeing her brother had made his death more concrete, and somehow, a bit easier to seal in her heavy heart. He was nicely dressed in a formal black outfit, and everything had been prepared so there would be nothing too shocking for the family. Milena didn't know how she would have handled it otherwise. Her brother just looked like he was sleeping, but he was in a coffin wearing their family's crest and colors. She had tried to caress his cheek, with trembling fingers, only to realize his skin was now colder than hers.

This was one long, long day and night for the De Crescent family; if she had to do this alone, Milena probably wouldn't have been able to see it through. It was hard to imagine this whole ceremony had been thought ahead by Valentin. He had planned his own funeral ahead of the war just in case, and now, his family was realizing this was like some horrible prophecy coming true. Milena let out another little sigh. Her feet were sore, her back was aching, and her head was throbbing. She was glad a dark veil was covering her face, like Eugenie's, because she didn't want anyone to see her. She didn't want to see anyone either d she was barely glancing up at the people arriving. She knew she had to take note of their attitude and who had come to pay their respects, but there were she was the one on the receiving end of those damn words.

so many funerals held in the past few months, it felt way too similar. The only difference was that this Milena glanced to the side, where her Father stood. The Duke's severe eyes discouraged anyone to look up and hold his gaze for more than half a second. Those who could have didn't make the trip. In fact, not many people had come, considering this was a young Duke's funeral. In normal times, this whole parade of people presenting their condolences would have been much longer, but they were holding this ceremony in the evening and the snow was falling heavily outside. Many people had the perfect excuse to only send a letter to the Manor, or just one representative to convey their words. Milena didn't care much. Valen d never been fond of crowded events, anyway, and both she and Eugenie didn't want this to last a second more than necessary. There was nothing to be done that would alleviate their grief, so if she had to choose, she'd much rather grieve privately than go through this. She even envied Lucian a little for that. At least he had been able to say goodbye to Valentin alone... een a bigger comfort to her than the other way around. She had rarely been good at expressing her feelings, but lately, her letters had probably been not t time. It wasn't fair if she leaned on him all the time...

She took another deep breath, remembering Rayan's words. She felt a bit ashamed that her husband much more than endless complaining... She silently promised herself that she'd definitely do better n When the next person appeared, a grimace irrepressibly appeared on Milena's face.

"... Duke De Winter," she muttered between her teeth, pissed he was there.

"My Princess," he said. "My utmost condolences for this loss. The young Duke was a promising and brave man... It is truly too disheartening, what happened to the De Crescent House. I hope the luck will turn back in your favor soon... I'd be sad if you had more tragedies to face."

As he said that, his eyes went down on her belly, making Milena want to slap that horrendous look on ce. In fact, if Chartiana hadn't been holding her dominant hand, she would have. The Princess was trembling in anger, and she already had a dozen scenarios in mind on how she'd like to forcefully remove that person from the premises, all of them painful for him. She was just grateful Chartiana had been reactive to her anger, unless the young Baroness was upset herself. "If you have the guts to say to our faces that my brother died by sheer luck, Duke, I suggest you learn to curb your language," hissed Raphael, his red eyes glowing in anger. "We do not appreciate the meaning of your words, nor the familiar way you talk to my sister." "Oh, no need to be angry, Young Duke," said Arseus, almost a smug smile on his face. "I only meant to present my condolences. I didn't think this young vampire duke would be so easily upset by my words..." Milena glanced to the side. This wretched man was doing this on purpose, calling her brother a vampire out loud, as if anyone needed a reminder. If Raphael lost his cool there, it would be reported as another vampire losing his temper, no doubt about that... She was pissed this man was even dumb enough to think her brother would be so easily trapped like this. Raphael was one of the few people about as cunning as his sister; he wasn't her spy in the vampire socialite circles for nothing. Instead, her brother scoffed loudly, staring down at the Duke as if he had been some rodent.

"Upset? I'm not upset, Duke. I'm just worried that the Head of the House De Winter can't even remember the Grand Princess' title, and treats any noble familiarly. Have manners and etiquette somehow been omitted from your education? Or is it that the Queen being a Lady of the House De Winter makes you feel like you're the King, too?"

Arseus looked like he had been slapped. He has very rarely been in contact with Raphael De Crescent, which wasn't surprising. The second son of the House De Crescent's way of speech was just about as venomous as his sister's, if not more. It was probably even worse as Raphael was going through a very rough day, and willing to take no crap from anyone, especially not a man who had been lurking at his little sister basically her whole life. The blond duke's eyes went from Milena to Raphael, at a loss, but Milena was just fine letting her brother eat this creep alive.

Clearing his throat a bit too loud, Arseus tried to regain his composure, and move on to Eugenie who stood on the other side of Raphael, but there was no way he'd be let off so easily.

"Aren't you going to present your condolences to me, Duke? Did you just come to glare at my sister's belly?"

Raphael had spoken loudly on purpose. This shouldn't have been done by a noble in the middle of a funeral, especially not the family on the grieving end, but he didn't care at all. In fact, he cared a lot more about his sister's feelings, and teaching that Duke a lesson. He could even proceed knowing Valentin would entirely approve of this.

He smiled, wide enough to show off his fangs, and extended his hand to the Duke, making it clear he was waiting for him to shake it. Arseus stared down at his hand, completely dumbfounded, as if he had no idea what to do with that thing hanging out. "What is it, Duke?" Said Raphael before he could react. "Are you scared to shake an upset vampire's hand? Or is it because my title is below yours, perhaps? After all, I'm almost at the same rank as you, aren't I?"

There was nothing more that could annoy a man like Arseus than being compared to someone he considered below him. It was even worse for Raphael, a second-born, a bastard's father, and a vampire. However, he was right. He was a young Duke, while Arseus had recently gotten his father's title. Plus, with Valentin's death, many nobles probably expected him to somehow try and take over, although their family knew better.

A bit late, Arseus realized he couldn't leave the vampire with his hand held out any longer without really passing for an uneducated and impolite, turd. Trying to put on a smile, he took that hand to shake it.

He knew he was going to regret it the second Raphael's smile vanished. The pressure exerted on his hand made him wince before he could even hold it in. The vampire's strength was crushing his hand like it was just some snow. Arseus glanced back; he could feel Milena smiling under her veil, and the line of people behind them. He couldn't cry out now or he would lose his reputation forever. Hence, he held it in, crying inside as he felt his hand being smashed. He was almost sure a bone or two were broken. Luckily for him, Raphael had no intention to hold that hand any longer. He let go, almost abruptly, and let Arseus quickly step aside to go and greet Eugenie. He may have thought he was now safe from the vampire's terrifying clutch, but unluckily for him, the new Lady De Crescent shouldn't have been underestimated either. Because he had so quickly stepped away, his hand was still hanging mid-hair, and Eugenie was able to grab it and press it again, exactly the same way Raphael had done. Eugenie wasn't particularly strong, but the logic of pressing on an injury worked in her favor anyway, so Arseus jumped like an injured animal when she seized it. Even more satisfying was how that gentle woman seemed to hold his hand normally while Arseus was wheezing and tearing up. When she let go, and Arseus realized the last person waiting for him was the Duke himself, he looked like he was going to pass out.

"... Thanks," whispered Milena while her father was busy crushing Arseus' hand.

"Oh, no need. I quite enjoyed it too," chuckled her brother. "Arrogant bastard. One day he's going to be murdered in a painful way, and I hope I'll be there to watch that..."

Milena sighed faintly, and felt Chartiana gently squeeze her hand. She was so tired of this all... luckily, the higher ranked people were the ones who could afford to come last or late, so this probably will be the last. Henry De Boreal had sent a representative, and the old Duke De Nova had done the same.

She was proven wrong. Against all expectations, Philomenie appeared in the quiet little Chapel a few minutes later, wearing a dark blue coat, looking a bit tired by the trip there. She walked over and since no one else was there, quietly and politely presented her condolences; she had even brought some white flowers for Valentin. She gave them to Eugenie, but her eyes were constantly going to Milena, leading her to think the Queen had something to say to her. Milena turned to her brother. "... Can you finish this without me?"

"Don't worry."

She nodded and followed Philomenie who was walking out, her little heels looking very uncomfortable in the snow. Luckily, the Queen's carriage was not far, and with their maids' help, the two women got in safely to warm themselves up a bit. "Why did you come here?" Asked Milena right away. "And without a proper escort, too. You look like you ran away!"

"I could say the same about you," pouted Philomenie. "You left all of a sudden without a word, and I just got a note... You're still so rude at times, Lady Milena. Still, I wanted to come and talk to you without my husband knowing." "Your brother just left."

"I know! I waited here for him to leave, I had one of my maids on the lookout... I don't even know why he came here in the first place, all things considered."

Milena could have asked the same questions, but she wasn't as blind as the Queen towards her brother's ominous character. She sighed.

"No offense, Lady Philomenie, but I just want to go home and get whatever this is about over with quickly. What is it? Did something happen at the Castle?"

"Oh, no, no, everything is quite alright! I mean, everything is quite the same, maybe my husband is a bit more on edge about your... uh, proposal at the military council, but you know I don't like to get involved in that. I've already heard what I need to hear and I think it will be better if I sit this one out..."

"I concur."

"No, I wanted to come and talk to you about a more... private matter."

Seeing Philomenie so nervous, Milena wondered what it could be. The Queen brushed her blonde hair back, careful about what she was going to tell the Princess now. Her eyes kept going to the window, as if she was worried anyone from inside the Chapel could hear them. It wasn't like Philomenie to have ideas that would require this much secrecy, so she was starting to get a bit nervous as well. "What is it?" She pushed her, a bit impatient.

"You know, after the... other night, when you fell quite ill, and I helped you, I thought about... our pregnancies, and how they feel wrongly timed with one another."

"... I feel like I'm not going to enjoy wherever it is you're going with this," Milena frowned.

"Sorry, I'm very bad at explaining things, but hear me out. You know how Ellias is upset about your... pregnancy, and the idea that you might give birth before I do." "Like a lot of people."

Philomenie nodded, her lips trembling a bit. She was clearly scared of her husband's reactions, and it was getting more and more obvious each week. Milena had sometimes wondered if she shouldn't ask Blanche or Ruby to spy on the Royal Couple and find out what was going on behind closed doors, but she had always tried to repress it, at least out of respect for her sister-in-law's privacy. She would probably have discovered if things were really bad.

"It's just... I'm very afraid of what Ellias might do if you give birth before me. I know this is a... partially selfish concern of mine, but I'm also worried about you. I'm not involved in this, I promise, but there are so many bad rumors going around about your babies, and the fact that they are Prince Rayan's... A lot of people in... my brother's faction believe you shouldn't have those children at all. That if you do, people will think your children are a sign that Prince Rayan could become the King once he returns. Of course, I know these are just horrible rumors, and you don't want that, but..."

Milena tried to hide her emotions. In fact, if Philomenie had asked her instead of speculating, she might have not been able to lie and say she didn't want her husband to become King. She did want to, and she deeply believed he'd make a much better King than his twin. However, Philomenie didn't need to hear that.

"I swear, I want nothing bad to happen to your babies, Lady Milena, and you know I would never, ever want such a thing to anyone's child. However, I have been thinking... if... I don't know, if we thought about it, and maybe, we just hid your children's birth as a preventive measure of some sort..."

"You think Ellias would go easier on both you and I," said Milena, sighing a bit.

Philomenie nodded, her cheeks bright pink. She was clearly embarrassed by this indecent offer she was presenting to her sister-in-law. In fact, Milena was even shocked the Queen had that idea at all. It wasn't like the Philomenie she knew to come up with such a thing and that much reasoning by herself. She wondered if someone had given her that idea, or if, worse, the Queen had been pushed to that extremity by fear of her own allies.

Milena didn't answer right away. It wasn't as if she hadn't thought about it, too. She completely hated the idea of having to hide her children's birth, but indeed, it would have taken a lot of enemies off her back. Moreover, this wasn't just about her own safety, but about her own children's as well. She was already terrified by the idea that something might happen during her delivery, but even if she gave birth safely, her children might never be safe. At least, not until the current conflict between humans and vampires was solved... or their Father came back. Milena was praying each day Rayan would show up, and make everything seem easy, like he always did.

However, days passed and her prince was still faraway on the battlefield. Leaving her to make heart-wrenching decisions like this.