Lady Dhampir
Chapter 268

"It wasn't your fault, Milena."

o me, so they got rid of the next annoying thing! In a Banquet Hall full of guests, those wretched bastards managed to poison someone right under my nose!" vile falling, making all the servants present jump. They weren't scared of their masters, but already quite emotionally worn out by the recent events. It was scort all the guests and their masters out. Plus, the De Crescent Lady's fury was keeping everyone on edge, and they even hesitated a second before running too, looked disheartened as she handed her a new, more comfortable dress to change into.

"Of course it was," she retorted. "I took her out of her cell and exposed her in plain sight. They couldn Milena angrily threw her blood-stained dress across the salon. The heavy piece of clothing made a ruckus getting quite late for them too, after spending the whole day setting up the Banquet, and now, they h to get the abandoned dress. Meanwhile, Milena heard her father sigh on the other side of the screen. "...Can't we somehow prove the Church was behind this?" Muttered Chartiana, who was also waiting on the gode. "If we can, we will. We have to interrogate the servants, maybe even the guests. Perhaps someone saw something." "I still don't understand why Ora willingly drank that poison... but I need to check on the Sevira sisters someone from their household should have shown up by now, and the knights we sent still haven't re an event happen without her."

"If you just wait," said her Father. "Our knights will return soon."

"I don't have the patience to wait for them. They should be back already. ... Anyway, what do I gain by s Anton sighed, but he knew there was no holding her back. Milena was just so mad, she needed somet "At least wait until more of our knights come to escort you," he finally said.

"I said..."

"They are already on their way."

Milena sighed. Her Father had probably called for more of them to arrive after the Banquet's suppose "Fine," she groaned.

grumbled Milena. "Dinah, tell them to get Black Bella ready as fast as possible. I can't stay here, I have a very bad feeling... At least one of the sisters or . It means whoever we sent had to go all the way to the Sevira residence... and is probably held there one way or another. Genia would have never let such

and waiting here? The Banquet's over, they already ruined what they could of my plans and there's nothing more I can do. I'm past waiting, Father." get herself busy with. It was a family trait to not handle patience very well.

ng time, to take her home in case anything happened... Which meant they would indeed be there anytime soon.

She needed to finish getting dressed anyway, and for Black Bella to be ready, so there were at least a winutes. She let Dinah attach her corset around her, a metallic, protective one once again. She was getting used to the weight of that thing, although that was not exactly a good thing.

"You should eat something," bravely said Chartiana, clenching her fists as well.

"Chartie, do you think I'm in the mood to eat anything now?"

"It's not for the pleasure of it," retorted her friend. "But you haven't eaten much all day, and I'm worried, especially if we're not done yet. You don't want to collapse at such a moment!"

Milena sighed. She knew both her Father and her friend were doing their best to keep her from getting too restless, agitated and making irrational decisions, but right now, Milena was just feeling the desperate need to do something, anything. Ora's death was too much of a blow. No matter how much the Oracle had foreseen her own death, the fact that she was actually gone was just too much of a shock for Milena. In her head, Ora was the one who always survived, finding her way out of political conflicts and somehow surviving until the next. For her to be really gone... It wasn't even as if her power had failed her. Milena just couldn't understand why she had chosen this kind of end. She had seen her willingly drink from that cup all evening long, when she had almost never seen her eat or drink anything in public before. What made the Oracle think it was better she died now? To give Milena an advantage by dying as her ally? Or to piss someone off? To prevent changing sides again? There were too many possibilities, and no concrete answer. It was truly too infuriating.

Soon enough, she had mindlessly eaten what Dinah had brought, and was putting on her riding boots and preparing to leave in the lobby of the Royal Castle, Chartiana holding her coat for her. Her father too, was ready to come along with her. Her friend sighed. "I'll find Lady Bella and let her know what happened, if it's not already been done... What else do you want us to do?"

"I need her and Tiphania to make sure our business works fine, even without me. Ask Prudence for the details if you need, but either way, those three already know what to do."

Milena was glad she had chosen reliable Ladies-in-waiting. If not for them, she would have been running in all directions trying to save her businesses, fend off her enemies and lose time over the smaller matters. Luckily, none of the young women she had chosen were clueless; they knew exactly what to do without Milena having to give them any direction. Even the youngest, Chartiana and Prudence, were doing their very best any time they could to support her, like now.

"Don't worry," sighed Milena. "Just go to Bella, and then go straight home, Chartiana."

"What of the Sevira sisters, though? What about you... Shouldn't I accompany you home?"

"I'll be fine. Just go home and don't worry."

"Lady Milena!"

They turned around, to find Henry standing there. He had visibly come down the stairs in a hurry, a bit out of breath. Milena sighed.

"I'm still pretty mad at you, Duke De Boreal. If you have something to say, make it quick. I'm in a hurry already."

"I need to thank you, Grand Princess. ... What can I do to repay my debt?"

"Sort out the b****y mess with the Society of Vampires," hissed Milena. "Just because the King spared you this time doesn't mean he won't find another poisoned head to pull out of the nest. If you want us to keep the few allies we have and need, it's time to officially cut ties with the others, including the Supremacists. Make it clear. After tonight, they will all already know which side they pick anyway."

"...I understand."

Milena turned around, and quickly got on Black Bella's back. She was in more of a hurry than ever to leave this place.

However, before she and her father could even get their horses to run, Milena caught her father's shocked expression. She followed Anton's gaze, and spotted it. It was far away, and only very acute vampire or dhampir sight could see it, but there was a thin, long and dark trail of smoke coming from the south. They exchanged a quick glance.

"That's the direction of the Sevira Residence," muttered Milena.

Her father nodded, and without adding another word, they both set off, leaving the Royal Castle behind in a wave of snow. Milena couldn't help but push her horse to go as fast as she could. If that trail of smoke was really coming from the Sevira Residence, things were even worse than she thought! How could such a thing have happened? There was no such thing as an accidental fire, in a Kingdom dominated by a cold and wet winter for decades. It had even snowed again during the Banquet, judging from the new layer of fresh snow Black Bella's legs were throwing around them. So just how? Why?

Milena already knew this had to be related to their work. There was no other reason to target the Sevira sisters, except for someone who wanted to attack her indirectly. First Ora, now this? Things were even worse than she thought, and she regretted not coming to check earlier. She should have known something had gone critically wrong as soon as she realized Genia wouldn't show up!

The Sevira Residence wasn't too far, and thanks to the streets being empty at that hour, their horses were able to run fast, even downtown. Milena's heart was growing more and more worried as they got closer to the smoke, and she was right too. The terrible smell of a fire hit her before she could even see the flames. Not only that, but they crossed paths with servants that were busy running to the snow to fill large buckets of it, and running back to extinguish the fire. Someone had set all the cattle and horses of the estate free for them to survive.

Milena immediately got terrible flash-backs of her own house in flames as she saw the state of the residence; the once gorgeous three-levels house was now being eaten up by tall, hungry bright flames. Despite the servants' efforts, anyone could tell it was way too late; everything was going to be burned. All the windows had been blown out and were now filled with more flames. She could even hear the floors and walls already starting to collapse, while the last servants were trying to convince their peers to get away from the flaming nightmare.

Milena jumped down from her horse, running with her father to the first servant they could find. To their surprise, the De Crescent knights they had sent were also there, most of them. They were obviously busy trying to help the injured servants, calm down the panicked horses or protect the few things that had visibly been taken out of the residence and saved in time. However, Milena couldn't see any of the Sevira Family numbers.

"What happened?" She shouted at the Butler that came up to her.

The poor woman was crying out loud, all dignity forgotten, her hands covered in blood and pitifully holding on her half burned jacket. She was covered in injuries and burns herself, some deep enough to show her flesh and long, visibly painful red stains. Her hair had visibly been burnt and brutally cut, probably to escape the flames. She had an ear bleeding, and the right side of her face was completely tumefied. Still, she tried to mimic a bow, her lips trembling and her tears continuously falling.

"M-my Lady, a fire began in the Residence! We tried our best to evacuate, but my ladies were trapped by the flames! We really tried to save them..."

Milena's heart dropped. What did that possibly mean? She followed the butler's gaze, and discovered the already lined up bodies, several steps away. She hadn't even noticed the bumps under several carpets, coats and long pieces of fabrics they had gathered for this. She couldn't believe it. Milena went towards those bodies. How come? There were at least thirty of them... perhaps more. Some were even visibly too small to be adults.

"What... How..."

"I don't know, my Lady," cried the Butler. "I still just don't understand. Everything was alright, when suddenly, we heard a terrible noise. I tried to go to our master, but there were already flames everywhere... The staff ran outside as fast as they could, but a few of us tried to save our masters... The knights arrived just when the fire had started, and they helped us get them out of the flames, but... but it was already..."

"Show me."

Milena's anger was driving her right now. She couldn't afford to be in shock. She was mad for her friends, for the Sevira sisters who had obviously been the target and victims of an attack. "What happened?" She heard her father ask behind her.

"We saw the residence was already on fire when we arrived, my Lord," answered one of their knights. "We did our very best to help them and save as many people as we could, but the flames were progressing quickly. We had some people already... passed out or dead from the fumes when we grabbed them out. Some of us set off right away to try and find who could have done this, but they had just returned a minute before my Lord and my Lady arrived. Come on, tell the Lord."

"We found traces of two riders who had left fast, taking the long way around the residence. We tried to make chase, but the lead disappeared into the Capital. We considered whether or not to keep searching for clues, but we thought it was more urgent to come back here and help rescue the survivors. ... My apologies for our failure, my Lord."

"...You did well."

Milena thought the same. There was no way whoever had done this was going to let themselves be caught... Moreover, she was grateful the knights had followed their code of honor, saving lives over retrieving information. Still, Milena was feeling utterly defeated, for the second time that night.

"...Did you find the sisters?" She asked.

The butler nodded with a sad expression, and pointed at four of the bodies, lined together at the back.

"We found the Master first," she explained, walking over with Milena. "He was unconscious, but we managed to have him sent out. He should be at the Royal Hospital by now. Sadly, the Ladies were close to where the fire started... Their maids think it's them." "...Show me."

The butler turned to her with a horrified expression.

"Are you sure, my Lady? I don't mean to offend you or protest an order, but my mistresses... their bodies state' is..."

"I said, show me."

Milena had to make sure for herself. If not, she knew that doubt would be on her mind. It wouldn't be the first time someone manages to escape a fire and fake their disappearance. Moreover, the Sevira sisters were among the brightest minds of their generation. She couldn't believe they wouldn't have tried something when they saw the fire starting...

The Butler of the Sevira family sighed, but did as she was asked. Slowly, with her hand trembling, she lifted the fabric that was covering the four bodies. Milena immediately gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth. The bodies were so burned, they were barely recognizable. It was even worse than she had thought. It was like staring at four pieces of charcoal, with vaguely human appearances. She felt like screaming, or crying. She couldn't believe the sisters were dead. She had spoken to them just a while ago... She clenched her fist, and approached anyway. Although most of it was burnt, the several layers of thick clothing and the shape of it definitely showed that those bodies were wearing noblewomen dresses before the fire had occurred. Not only that, but some of the jewelry was still there, like the necklace that Milena had always seen around Genia's neck, Kalliope's ring, or Nessidie's bracelet. She glanced down, and found a strange detail. All the bodies still had their shoes off... Why would their shoes have come off if they had no time to run? Women's shoes were usually tight so a woman couldn't possibly lose it by walking too fast, or risk tripping.

Milena turned her eyes to the Residence, frowning.

"...You said the fire started near them?"

"Yes, my Lady. We couldn't quite determine the exact space, but... The Ladies were last seen in the research room, and they rarely allowed anyone but their personal maids in there. We found them in that area, but the walls had crumbled, and the... their bodies were a bit scattered under the..."

Milena frowned. The house was still burning, but servants had managed to grab completely calcined bodies? "...You took them out of the fire?" Asked Milena.

"Yes, my Lady. The fire moved to the other rooms quickly, and, to our surprise, when the servants and knights tried to go in again, through the window, to grab the ladies, they managed to find their bodies. They said the fire had stopped in that room, or at least, it had moved further away. They were close to a window, so..."

No. There was no way things had happened in such an improbable way. The Residence was still burning and on the brink of collapse, there was no way the fire had simply left an area, enough for people to get in so soon after. Milena was sure of it; it wasn't about the fire position at all. The sisters had been burnt before the fire in the Residence had started and spread. She turned once again to the bodies. Whoever had done this had targeted the sisters' research, and tried not to leave any clues behind? Even so, it didn't make much sense... Why would their bodies be completely calcined? On the contrary, someone who wanted to send a message and punish the Sevira's allies, like Milena, would have left the bodies disfigured perhaps, but they wouldn't have bothered enough to make them unrecognizable... Unless they hoped to have people think the sisters had died in the fire? But there was no need to burn them first, if they were to set the mansion on fire anyway... They could have simply killed them, and left them in the middle of the fire. Why go to all the trouble to burn them first?

Milena thought long and hard, and got down on her knees, close to the bodies. She had to think about this differently. She knew how bright and smart the sisters were; what could have happened? If someone had come, it was for their research, and they had to kill the witnesses... The sisters weren't fighters. They only had their knowledge for themselves. They wouldn't have been able to put up a fight, but they would have tried to outsmart their opponent somehow. They would have protected their hard work before anything else... Suddenly, she understood.

"...It's the sisters," she muttered. "There was no reason for their attackers to burn them. The sisters are the ones who made sure their bodies wouldn't be recognizable, they probably used something to accelerate the combustion anyhow... They made sure they wouldn't be recognizable if they died in the fire! That makes more sense.... they knew they were about to die, so they used something that would destroy their bodies, so no one would recognize them. But... but they knew I would suspect something, and realize something's off."

"... Why?" Her father frowned; "What's the point of destroying their own bodies....? Their servants recognized them."

"No, they recognized their clothing, and four bodies in a room... It only had to be that. Four bodies, the right clothing. So no one would look for them if one of the sisters was missing," muttered Milena.

She turned to the bodies again. It was right there, under her eyes. The sisters had left her a clue, on purpose. Their sizes were probably similar to their personal maids, so there was no way she'd be able to determine the truth using something so simple as their body type. If that was the case, anyone could have done it. No, the sisters had found a clue only someone who had understood their trick for the start would look for. They had replaced one of them with one of their maidservants; She had died wearing one the sister's clothing, but there was one thing they had left out on purpose. Milena kept looking, but the more she observed the bodies, the more she was sure of it. Out of the four bodies, only one didn't have any of the sister's personal jewelry. The Sevira sisters weren't interested in the trends, and their house wasn't so rich; they pretty much always wore the same pieces. Yet, that body was wearing some that Milena couldn't recognize; she had never seen it before. None of those were part of Euphoria's usual set. Milena jumped back on her feet, sure she was right. The youngest sister was alive.