Chapter 150 Elena
Elena was the definition of grace and beauty. Poets based their endless poems based off of her ethereal glance and mesmerizing smile. As she graced through the doors of Mavez Mansion, people swore flowers bloomed in the middle of winter for her. Each time Ophelia laid eyes on the great beauty, a part of herself quivered.
"Let's skip the pleasantries, Duchess," Elena mused with a slight smile as she seated herself amongst the salon, known for entertaining guests. "I hope the tea is to your liking, Princess," Ophelia stated, watching as Elena took an elegant sip from the priceless porcelain.
"A hint of sweetness to vampires… this tea must be high in iron," Elena nodded her head in appreciation. "Well done, you've improved."
This was Ophelia's house, yet a part of her knew Elena held some sort of control here. She left the tea untouched, for it was unsuited for a human like her. The metallic taste would've made her gag.
"How have you been?" Ophelia asked. "I-I was quite surprised when you sent that letter."
"I could be better," Elena agreed with a slight nod of her hand, her motions fluid and slow. She wasn't the kind to lose her composure. "The King and Queen of Solaris hope Everest will wake up soon, they miss him dearly."
"But you'll make sure that won't happen," Ophelia innocently responded.
Elena stilled, her shoulders stiffening for a split second before she revealed a controlled smile. "What makes you say that?"
"You would make a great Crown Princess," Ophelia continued. "I have confidence you'll rule better than your brother ever can."
"What you said might as well have accused me of treason," Elena teased. "I see you and the Alpha are the same, both fearless in your criminal accusations." "A-Am I wrong?" Ophelia muttered, tilting her head as Elena released a quiet chuckle like that of a soft bell ringing on Christmas. "If you were truly worried about Everest, you would've stayed by his side instead of coming all the way to Pack Mavez. Though, I couldn't care less of his condition."
Elena's crimson eyes shimmered bright with amusement, flickering like rubies under chandelier crystals. "I assume you're well aware of his misplaced feelings for you."
Ophelia shrugged.
"I'll make my intentions here short. I only wanted to see you to see if you were alright after the miserable aftermath of the war," Elena rose, placing multiple pieces of wax-sealed and folded paper onto the table in front of them.
"I'm here to deliver this as well, they're all addressed to you," Elena stated.
"Now, I know you truly want him dead," Ophelia murmured, noticing the neat handwriting of what she assumed was Everest's. The papers were all addressed to her without a proper envelope, as if he wrote it in his deliria and sealed it to never be seen by anyone.
"What makes you say that?" Elena teased.
"You i-intend for me to read the letter, and for Killorn to be so pissed off by the revelation that Everest had always been trying to covet me… you hope that Killorn would be so pissed off, he'd enter the castle and kill Everest with his own two hands," Ophelia concluded, hoping her predictions weren't wrong. She didn't even bother to touch the pieces of paper, lest her scent lingered on it and irked Killorn.
"That was never my intention," AElena stated, resting her hands in front of her emerald green dress. "I simply wanted to carry out my brother's last wishes."
Ophelia was shell-shocked that Elena would openly say it out loud. "The doctors privately confided in me that Everest may never wake up," Elena softly sighed. "When the Vampire Overlord returned Everest to us, almost all of the blood was drained from his body as punishment. Do you know why?"
Ophelia blinked, pausing and waiting for the answer. Then, she realized it was a genuine question. "I do not know why…"
"I simply came today to see if you did, but since you don't, you can rest assured that the royal family will leave you alone for a while. You are still magically under the Overlords' protection," Elena forced a tight smile. "What a lucky girl you are."
"Their protection didn't stop the war, though, in fact, they were so eager to go to battle," Ophelia scoffed.
Elena giggled. "No, but the Overlords have been hunting down people left and right for anyone that tried to disobey their command before the war."
Ophelia frowned. "And besides, if you know of my childhood, you'd never consider me l-lucky," Ophelia said, rising to her feet as well, so that she could personally walk Elena out. It would be impolite of the lady of the house to not bid the guests farewell.
The two ladies walked downstairs in silence, until finally, Ophelia spoke up again. "Keep the royal family away from me," she whispered. "And one day, when you become Queen, I would advise you to keep the Mavez Dukedom as an ally. It would be foolish to make us an enemy once more."
Elena revealed a humored smile that finally reached her eyes. "Will you support me then?"
"If you keep us safe," Ophelia said. "Then, of course."
"Trust me, Ophelia," Elena quietly stated, stepping closer and lowering her voice. "I won't make the same mistakes as these foolish men."
- - - - -
As Ophelia petted a sleeping Nyx in the dead of the night, she began to ponder what Elena said. In particular, the punishment that Sanguis, the Vampire Overlord, dished out to Everest. Why drain the poor vampire almost entirely of his blood? None of this made sense.
Suddenly, a chill crawled down Ophelia's spine. She straightened instantly, putting two and two together. The Overlords knew something that the couple did not. All along, the truth was right under their nose!
The doors to their bedroom creaked open and immediately, Nyx was on high alert, jumping to his feet. He scurried through Killorn's legs, hopping into the hallway before he could be scolded.
"How was your talk with Elena?" Killorn greeted, entering with exhaustion upon his features. Despite that, he grasped his wife's waist and kissed her fondly on the cheeks, his usual greeting that resulted in her melting against his body immediately.
"Good," Ophelia responded, deciding to get straight to the point. "How many bottles of my blood were there again?"
"There were supposedly ten, but we only found nine," Killorn started with a deep frown, his gaze growing colder and darker. "We've yet to locate the last bottle, despite combing through almost the entirety of the kingdom."
Ophelia exhaled slowly. "Precisely. Today, Elena told me of Sanguis's punishment on Everest."
"Oh?"
"Sanguis drained nearly all the blood inside of Everest, and left the man barely alive," Ophelia explained. "Don't you find that to be such a strange punishment?"
Killorn narrowed his eyes as the gears began to turn in his head.
"Killorn… I think I know where the last bottle of my blood went," Ophelia whispered. "Everest must own it." Killorn's brows shot up in disbelief. The fireplace crackled as the air thickened. He gritted his teeth in fury at the revelation. "Now that you mentioned it, Reagan and I believed it was quite strange how the monsters tried to attack us, but not the royal family's allies."
Ophelia nodded her head. "Do you think… we can request an audience with Sanguis? I fear he has all the answers to my questions."
"I'll arrange for it immediately," Killorn reassured her, his voice barely above a whisper. He clenched his jaw, his glare set ablaze at the realization of what Everest had done. He knew he should've torn the f*ckard apart, limb by limb when he had a chance on the battlefield.
"Being in a coma for the rest of his pathetic life i-is more than enough of a punishment, Killorn," Ophelia warned the husband, almost as if she read his mind. She knew it was the truth, for the proud Prince would never be able to inherit his rightful place on the throne. And who's to say he'd ever wake up with Elena's meddling forces?
Everest would lose his mind if he knew the little sister that he kept on a tight leash had learned to become the master, instead.
"Trust me," Ophelia asserted with a bright smile up at her husband, not realizing his blazing emotions were replaced directly upon her now.
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