Chapter 77:

The Vampire Court (Part 4)

The Children of Eris


After Lord Ruthven and Lilith had left, David and his council began to get ready for the ball.

With the help of Eva and her maids, they were all bathed, had treatments applied and were being dressed into smart outfits.

David was to wear a black tuxedo while the women, excluding Hilda, were all wearing dresses.

To properly show off his chosen knight, David wanted Hilda to remain in her full suit of armour at the ball. He wanted to show off not only her strength, but also the power of his empire by displaying that they had enough Draconic Metal for an entire suit of armour and a weapon.

As he and the generals were being changed, David had Jessica’s party stand guard outside with Hilda to scare off any prying eyes from the Court. Jessica’s party and the twins had changed before David and Rebecca.

“What do you think of Lord Ruthven’s terms?” David asked Rebecca.

The two were being dressed on opposite sides of a green screen door; Eva and two maids attended to Rebecca whereas the other three attended to David.

“I think they’re very generous, Lord Allaric, if a bit too generous.”

“Do you think it’s a trap?”

“If it is, it’s a well-hidden one. I triple checked the clauses, but the wording isn’t left ambiguous at all; it’s too clear cut and dry. When you took control of the Dread Keep, you offered us terms but left parts unclear so that you could use them to your advantage later.”

David chuckled. “I hope you aren’t criticising me, Rebecca.”

“Far from it, your majesty!” She apologised beneath her breath, then continued. “What I meant was that I’m more suspicious because of the treaty’s wording than anything else.”

“Yes. They seem agreeable enough, at least.”

“They also knew how to properly respect you, your majesty,” Eva added.

“They did, indeed. Then again, the Gørviligr treated me in the same way.”

“However, Lord Allaric, the Gørviligr weren’t observing you in secret for months.”

“That’s what concerns me most.”

If someone’s able to spy on us even with Mimir’s Ravens and Jorōgumo’s spiders in place, then that means other people could and that means highly important information could be leaked.

“They did acknowledge that they couldn’t possibly defeat you, Lord Allaric,” Rebecca said.

“Anyone can easily lie about such a thing. It might be worth having Lord Ruthven and the other members of the Court demonstrate their strength against the twins or Hilda.”

“I volunteer, Master!” Scylla eagerly cheered, poking her head around from the next room.

“I would gladly do the same, Master,” Charybdis followed up.

“If that time arises, then I shall count on you both.”

The twins beamed and thanked him. They were both wearing elegant teal-blue dresses and had their hair done up by the maids; Scylla had hers in two small buns and Charybdis had hers in a braid.

Once the maids had finished dressing David, they presented a mirror to him.

“You look awesome, Master!” Scylla shouted.

Rebecca stepped out from behind the screen and smiled. “You look very handsome, Lord Allaric.”

“Thank yo-”

David trailed off when he saw Rebecca.

She was dressed in a stunning emerald dress; her hair was tied up in a bun on her head and she was wearing very fine jewellery. Without makeup, Rebecca was a pretty woman but, with it, it made her look gorgeous.

“L-lord Allaric?”

“You look amazing.”

Rebecca, slightly confused and embarrassed, smiled awkwardly and scratched her cheek. “T-thank you.”

Out of the corner of his eye, David could see the twins pouting.

“Sis, he didn’t react like that to us, did he?”

“No, Scylla, no he didn’t.” Charybdis put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Alas, there’s no hope for you.”

“Huh?!”

As the twins fought, David sighed before Jessica stepped back into the room.

“Forgive the interruption, your majesty, but Lady Lilith is here to see you.”

Lilith is?

“Send her in.”

Jessica bowed and let Lilith inside.

David once more found his heart skipping a beat when he saw her.

She was just as beautiful as she had been earlier, but the pure white dress and ornaments she was wearing made her look even more attractive.

…What the hell? Why is this happening now?

Like the twins said, I didn’t react to them like this and they’re pretty girls. I didn’t even react like this when Mania slept with me.

What’s wrong with me?

“What brings you here, Lady Lilith?”

“U-um, I was wondering, Lord Allaric, if, um.” Lilith trailed off and played with her fingers. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and, for a small time, she didn’t say anything more than gentle whispers beneath her breath.

Then, with her courage restored, she asked, “C-could you be my escort for tonight’s ball?”

The room went silent.

“…You want Lord Allaric to escort you tonight?”

Lilith nodded; her cheeks became a deeper shade of crimson. “I-it was my father’s idea, originally. He thought it would be good to demonstrate to the rest of the Court that we were on friendly terms with one another, so that they would be much more accepting of the alliance with your majesty.”

“I understand that, but even then-”

“Exactly!” Scylla cried, getting between David and Lilith. “It’s one thing to ask to call our Master by name, but to ask him to escort you? Wouldn’t that be the same as declaring that we’d accepted when his majesty clearly said he wanted more time to think about this?”

“…I know, but…” David could see a tear form in her eye. “I just…”

He sighed and walked over to her. He took her hand in his and said, “I will gladly escort you, my lady.”

Lilith brightened up, wiped away her tear and smiled. “T-thank you! Also, please, call me Lilith, Lord Allaric.”

David smiled back. “As you wish, Lilith. I will be out in a moment, so could you wait one minute for me?”

“Yes!”

Lilith excitedly left the room and David ordered Jessica to bring Hilda into the room.

“Why did you accept her-?” Charybdis tried to ask but a sharp glare from David made her quiet.

“I appreciate your concerns about how this will appear to the Court but, remember, I always act for a reason,” David said coldly. “Do not, I repeat do not, upset Lord Ruthven, Lilith or the Court for the duration of the ball. Is that understood?”

“Yes, your majesty,” everyone answered.

“Good. Now, as we discussed earlier, I do not completely trust the Vampire Court and I will gladly bide my time until I am confident that I can. However, until such a time, remain on high alert and gather what information you can about them during your assignments that I give you tonight.

“Rebecca, keep Jessica’s team close as you go and make yourself known to as many of the most influential members of the Court as possible. Given what Lord Ruthven has said, it seems likely that a number of them could be high ranking nobles and thus you are the best among our party to talk to them.

“Scylla, Charybdis; protect Eva and the other maids as they attend to our party tonight. Further, I do not want any of you eating or drinking anything that hasn’t been delivered to you by our party and checked for poisons and other such things. Remember, you can only trust those who came with us here with your lives.

“Hilda, I want you to shadow me as my guard. I want you to be keenly paying attention to any and all potential threats, but do not engage unless they make a direct move at me or another among our party. If they do, do not kill them; merely incapacitate them.

“Are there any questions?” Everyone shook their heads. “Then, let the Vampire Ball begin.”