"Where is your queen?"
Talia drew in a tired breath once Dracula's attendant asked this question, she knew that this would be a problem, but she didn't think that it would be a problem so soon. She answered that the queen was injured from a battle and they were sent here to represent the queen. The queen would have loved to come but her injury is preventing her from leaving her room.
"So your queen is bedridden? Is that what you are trying to say? The mermaid kingdom is without a proper ruler?"
Talia immediately blushed in anger as she heard that! Who are they saying is bedridden!? Talia knew she was supposed to be hiding the current state of the queen, but she couldn't stand to watch these pale bastards insult their queen like that! A weak ruler would imply that the mermaids were a weak race and Talia refused to be looked down on by these vampires!
"Our queen is more than capable of movement! She was just injured in a battle and needs rest!"
The attendant's face was still stoic as Talia finished screaming and once he was sure that the queen would not be coming, he turned around and started to leave.
"Come back when your queen is with you. You do not come to meet a king without your ruler. Do you think the vampires are a joke?"
Talia's eyes widened as she realized that things were going bad! This isn't how she intended things to go at all. She immediately called out to the attendant!
"Wait! I was the one that sent the letter to the demon lord, not the queen! I - no, the entire mermaid race desires his help! Please!"
The attendant stopped and turned to look back. So she was the one that sent the letter. The attendant was a little surprised because he remembers that the letter has the royal seal of the mermaid race on it. That seal was something that only the queen of the mermaid kingdom should be able to use. But for Talia to have used it means that that queen was really not able to come at all. Are they telling the truth or are they lying?
The attendant thought about what exactly he should do in this situation, and after thinking for a moment, he decided to just take them to Dracula. Dracula is king and if Dracula does not want to see them then they will send them back. It is very rare for the mermaids to ask for help from anyone and the attendant knows that Dracula would want to see what they wanted from the vampires. Dracula agreed to meet with Alaya in eh first place because he knew he would gain something from her as well. If the vampires helped the mermaids with a big issue, then the mermaids would be in the vampires' debt.
The attendant spoke up to the two vampire maids at his side.
"Bring them to the castle through the front door."
Once he said this, he didn't even look at the mermaids again as he opened a portal and walked through. The mermaids knew that he went to go and speak to Dracula but Talia was still angry at how he simply left some maids in charge of guiding them once he learned that the queen was not with them. This showed just how little he thinks of them and Talia did not like being looked down on.
But she still followed the two maids as they began to walk. The vampire kingdom was very large. The houses in the kingdom were mostly empty since the number of vampires that needed to live here was not large. Most of the vampires lived in the main castle itself with some other vampires claiming their own territory outside the castle.
But the most interesting thing to Talia was the farm that she could see on her far right. This wasn't a regular farm, it was a human farm. The entire region was built like a town. There were stables and houses in the area and animals roamed around the region feely. Some kids were playing on the farms while men worked on cultivating the crops and the women gathered together to cook, clean, and take care of the odd jobs.
This was a regular town in every sense of the word. But the one thing that made it so ominous was the fact that it was inside the vampire's territory and there were more than ten vampires standing guard around the town. The vampires tried their best to stay hidden in the shadow and trees, but Talia could easily see them since she was used to spotting irregularities in any place. But the humans in the town will surely not be able to notice anything and they will think they are alone.
It was immediately obvious to Talia that this was not a farm, it was just a large blood bank. The vampires were rearing the humans in the same way that the humans reared cows and chickens for food. The humans would live normal lives, reproduce and they would serve as food for the vampires until their dying breath. Talia could understand the need to do something like this. The vampires lived on blood and they need the humans to be as comfortable as possible so that they will have an endless supply of blood. It was a very smart move from Dracula.
Talia entered the castle and she was immediately on her guard as she felt stares directed in her direction from every single vampire in the castle. Many regal-looking vampires were moving about the large castle grounds. Some were leaving while others were coming in. But they all turned to stare at her once she entered. Talia narrowed her eyes and continued moving towards the inner castle. She wasn't going to allow a few vampires to scare her. She is a warrior as well and she would not show weakness.
As they got to the inner castle, Talia finally allowed herself to relax when she noticed that there were only maids in the inner castle. Some maids were moving things about the castle and Talia was far more comfortable here since the maids didn't even bother to glance in her direction.
All the maids here had pale skin and they walked with their backs straight and well-measured steps. The maids were some of the most beautiful women you would ever see, but Talia didn't feel inferior to them! She was a mermaid and she knew that her beauty was more than theirs. The only thing they possessed more than her was their unnatural poise and Talia didn't need that.
The small convoy finally made it to the throne room and the two maids opened the large double door and bowed as they allowed Talia and the other mermaids to enter.
Talia saw Dracula sitting on the throne in the room and she sighed internally to prepare herself for the conversation before she finally made her way towards him. Once she was close enough, she spoke.
"King Dracula. I am grateful that you agreed to meet with us,"
Dracula looked at Talia curiously for some time and when he finally spoke, he asked a question that she has already expected.
"Where is your queen?"
Dracula didn't believe for a second that Alaya was injured! They are trying to say that there was a big battle that Alaya ended up getting injured and bedridden. What nonsense! If that is the case, then Alaya would have tried her best not to send any mermaids here and I would have surely heard about the battle. An injury from battle is not a good reason for Alaya to be asking Dracula for a favor!
Dracula waited for Talia to say something, and when Talia was about to repeat the same thing she told Dracula's attendant about the queen being injured, Dracula's Bloodlust exploded.
Boom!
The sudden bloodlust in the room was so intense that Talia was forced down to one knee immediately! The other mermaids in the room didn't look any better and they also fell! Dracula was an SS-class and he had an extremely powerful bloodlust since his powers are blood-based. The entire room was oppressed by the bloodlust and Dracula asked Talia again about where Alaya was! Why the fuck do they keep lying to him!
Talia grit her teeth and she looked up and told Dracula once again that Alaya was injured in a battle and so Alaya was not able to come. Dracula was stunned by this. It wasn't because he believed her. Dracula knew that Talia is lying. There is no way that crazy queen will ever allow her mermaids to come here, so I don't believe for a moment that she is just injured in a battle. Dracula was stunned because of how dedicated Talia is to the lie!
Talia was willing to risk his wrath and she was also willing to Rick her life all in the name of hiding the truth about her queen. Dracula eyed Talia for a long time before he finally started to reduce his bloodlust. It seems that something serious was happening down in the mermaid kingdom. Something so serious that Alaya was not able to leave her kingdom for even a moment and the other mermaids have to resort to seeking help from me. Don't tell me Alaya is dead.
Dracula shook his head. That wouldn't be possible. He would have definitely heard about it if she died.
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