"Lucinia! What are you doing!?" the woman suddenly screamed.
"Princess…It's Princess Lucinia." she smiled. "Or are you trying to say that you consider the royal family as your equal?" Silence followed her words. Seeing the woman let go of the boiling blood, Lucinia only sneered and stared at the still swirling liquid in her own wine glass. Then she walked towards the woman in red, her eyes darted towards her siblings as if challenging them to say something to her. Seeing that none of them were showing any signs of stopping her, Lucinia gave an innocent smile before she suddenly threw the contents of her wine glass towards the woman.
"AHHHH! What is this? Why is this hot!?" for a few seconds, the woman panicked and tried to use her hand to remove the blood on her face.
"Vampires heal fast," Lucinia uttered. "Or have you forgotten that you are a vampire too?" her words were enough to silence the woman. Just as Lucinia said, the burnt skin from the woman's face was already showing some signs of healing. "Consider that as a small punishment for thinking that you are someone from the Royal household." She said. Then she dragged her gaze towards the other nobles who are now staring at her with mixed emotions in their eyes.
She snorted. These people have forgotten that the Royal family feared her because of her ability to control their food. They consider her skills an abomination, but stakes and fire don't work on someone like Lucinia. They could, of course, capture her and imprison her, but because no one really knew what kind of ability she had aside from controlling blood, the Royal Family chose to send her away instead.
"Younger sister… " One of her older brothers suddenly called out. Lucinia turned towards the man who had similar features as her. The same beautiful pale face, blood-red eyes, and small and pouty lips. However, this man was blond— something that he inherited from the Queen. "Father is here… talking to the Duke." She didn't miss the mockery in the man's voice.
Their father forbids Lucinia from using her ability in public as this would surely scare the other nobles. "Really?" Lucinia faked surprised. "Then good. Please take me to see His Highness."
"You think you can just— "
"I want to relinquish the vow that my knight gave me." Her voice was not loud but it was enough to shut the prince up. Everyone turned towards the man who was standing by the door of the hall then towards Lucinia. Even her brothers and sisters were showing surprise in their faces. Relinquishing a vow was like an insult to a knight. It was as if she was telling him that he was incompetent and doesn't deserve to serve anyone.
"You— "
"Take to me see His Highness." She smiled. "Trust me… you wouldn't want me to repeat my words… Elder brother." Everyone in the Royal Family knew that her ability works for every one of them, including the King. This made her more dangerous than even their mortal enemies, the witches.
"Alright." The blond man stood, appeared in front of her. Then he shrugged and started walking towards the second floor of the silent hall.
"What are you going to do?" Zacharia's hands held her wrist, halting her steps.
"You are going to let me go." She said, her voice emotionless. "Or you will die."
Zacharia clenched his jaws. Seeing everyone's attention still focused on them, he let out a silent curse before he followed them towards the Vampire King.
After Lucinia left, the silence continued for a few seconds before someone started speaking. "I didn't know the rumors were true."
"The people who attacked her for fun— " the gazes turned towards some of the nobility. "I better go and tell my father about this."
"Hmmm. Same here… this is something big. Who would have thought that she could actually subdue a powerful vampire just like that?"
"Do you think her ability works on humans and witches too?"
"Then… that would make her more powerful than the— "
"Shush! Shut your trap. We should bid the others goodbye then leave."
Not long after, the banquet who had about thirty young nobles was now reduced to less than ten. All of them were either princesses or princes. Until now, not one of them was talking. "She's changed." A woman with blond hair spoke, she was sitting next to the princess consort. "You better not provoke her."
"Elder sister… "
"I think Elder Sister is right. We needed a plan to subdue her. Let's go and talk to our mother. I know that father wouldn't want to do something about her."
Again, silence coated the atmosphere as everyone was too engrossed in their own plans about Lucinia's sudden changes. Of course, she wasn't aware of any of this. Right now, Lucinia was staring at the man who looks like an older version of her. The Vampire King, Leonardo de Carinus.
"You wanted to relinquish the vow that your knight gave you?" the King's tone was always calm and soft. Yet, everyone knew that this was nothing but a facade. Contrary to his beautiful appearance, the king was another bloodthirsty creature who wouldn't hesitate to slaughter thousands of humans for his own selfish needs.
"Yes, your highness."
"You think… he is not suited to guard you?"
Lucinia lowered her gaze. "Yes, your highness."
Narrowing his eyes at his youngest daughter, the King grunted. "What do you think… Duke Mo?" He turned his head towards the white-haired man sitting opposite him. The mention of the man's name made Lucinia frown. According to her memory, Duke Mo was another mysterious entity in the vampire world. He was as old as the King and might be more powerful than the ruler himself. However, he always stayed inside his villa and doesn't even attend banquets like this.
The only thing that she knew about this Duke Mo was the fact that he would absolutely hate anyone who would try to revolt against the King. This was also the reason why Duke Mo would hate the villain, Prince Gavril as he would try to instigate chaos for the throne. Slowly, Lucinia raised her head and stared at the white-haired man a few feet away from her. She was surprised to see him staring at her as if … as if they already knew each other.
How weird.
She quickly turned her head away when she noticed the tingling pain in her chest.
"Relinquish the vow." Duke Mo uttered. "Princess Lucinia… does not need this knight. In fact, she does not need a man to defend her."
