Chapter 79

79 I...

“Did you get a chance to talk with the blood servants?”

Tilla gave a nod and whispered back to Anastasia, “Yes, I met a few of them. They told me that there were fourteen of them, two for each day of the week. And the amount of blood that each vampire get depends on their status.”

“Hmm... And how did those humans look? Did they look too pale or were they healthy?” Anastasia asked again with a serious look on her face.

Tilla gave a nod and replied, “They looked healthy to me. And Lord Zenon wasn’t lying when he said that they were paid the highest. They also get their own rooms in a separate quarter. And they said that they prepare their own meals but the cost is borne by Lady Edith. So I see why they would willingly want to be a blood servant.”

Anastasia was a little relieved to hear that. But she asked again, “And what about other houses? Do they also treat their blood servants fairly?”

“I didn’t get a definite answer regarding that since the people there said that they hadn’t met the others directly.” But Tilla looked down and replied in a rather dejected voice, “But they did say that they had heard of some bad incidents, like their masters losing their control and draining them dry.”

Anastasia felt a pang in her heart. She looked away at the closed window and thought to herself, ‘The system isn’t fool-proof, is it?’

‘Can I do something for th-‘ Anastasia suddenly felt something hot running down her nose.

She quickly covered her nose and tapped on Tilla’s thigh.

.....

“Oh god!” Tilla quickly rummaged inside her pocket and pulled out a kerchief. She swiftly handed it over to the Queen.

Anastasia took the kerchief and pressed it over her nose.

“My Queen, is everything okay inside?” one of the Royal Guards asked from outside upon smelling blood.

Tilla hurriedly covered her own nose and replied, “Everything is okay. I got a nosebleed because of today’s heat. I would like to apologize if I made you all feel uncomfortable.”

“Do you need us to stop?” the guard asked again.

Tilla quickly answered, “No, there’s no need. The bleeding will stop soon. Sorry!”

And that guard said again, “You better clean that blood quickly. We don’t want to attract any stray or hungry vampires here.”

—

Back in the Kilerth Castle, Caspian was waiting outside for the carriage to arrive.

He had been pacing back and forth for about half an hour now. Every now and then, he would stop and would look at the road ahead; he would try to catch the sound of the hooves and the sound of the wheels.

Zenon was standing close by, while Vincent was leaning on a pillar a little far behind and was enjoying seeing Caspian on edge.

“Your Majesty, shall I go ahead and look for them?” Zenon asked Caspian because he could not bear to see his King getting that restless.

However, Caspian denied it. “They might be on their way. And you don’t have to keep on standing here with me, Zenon. Go and rest.”

“Yeah, Zenon. Why don’t you go and rest when the King is asking you to?” Vincent shouted from behind and chuckled.

But Zenon pretended not to hear both Caspian and Vincent, and he kept on watching the King walking to and fro.

Vincent decided to poke fun at Caspian. So he shouted again, “Hey, Caspian! What if Tilla dragged the Queen like before and ran away with her? They might have crossed the border by now.”

Both Caspian and Zenon turned their heads and gave an icy glare to Vincent.

Caspian turned to face that nasty friend of his. And he said while giving off a dangerous aura, “Don’t push your luck, Vincent. You’ve done enough this morning. And you’re not funny.”

Vincent shrugged and said again, “I was simply saying that it could have possibly happened. The Queen might have finally run away.”

Caspian gave an angry smile. And he gave a subtle threat to Vincent, “If they did really cross the border, then it would be your fault. You were the one who scared Tilla, weren’t you?”

Caspian then gave an evil smirk to Vincent. And he threatened him some more, “If the carriage doesn’t arrive here within 5 minutes, then I am going to snap your neck.”

Vincent stopped leaning on the pillar and instead slowly backed off. “Come on! That’s not fair! You know I was just pulling your leg. How can you intertwine my fate with the carriage which might or might not arrive within 5 minutes?”

“You better hope that it will arrive soon.” Caspian turned to face the road again. And he said with a whimsical smile on his face, “Or start counting backward, Vincent. You should keep track of your last few minutes on Earth.”

The two of them kept on bickering over it.

After some more time, Caspian abruptly stopped teasing Vincent and looked far ahead at the road. A brief sigh of relief escaped his mouth when his eyes fell on the carriage and horses far away.

And Vincent also heaved a sigh of relief because he was almost sure that Caspian wouldn’t have minded snapping his neck.

But when the carriage entered the gate, he ran off because he wasn’t ready to face the Queen yet. Or more precisely, he wasn’t ready to face Tilla yet.

When the coachman opened the door of the carriage, Caspian went to give a hand to his wife.

“Did you enjoy yourself?” Caspian asked while holding out his hand and giving a smile to his wife.

Anastasia smiled back and gently placed her hand on his palm. “Yes, I had a fun time,” she replied and stepped down from the carriage.

“Tell me all about it.” Caspian put his arm around Anastasia’s shoulder, and he led her inside the castle.

While the two of them headed towards Anastasia’s bedchamber, Anastasia began talking about how her day went.

Even after entering the antechamber, Anastasia kept on briefing how welcoming Lady Edith and Hamilton were. Apart from the talks about Percival and her ‘secret mission’ about finding out more about the blood servants, Anastasia shared everything with Caspian.

And Caspian sat beside her on the sofa and listened to everything that she shared. All while long, he had a subtle smile on his face.

“And that’s it.” Anastasia declared after talking non-stop for about half an hour.

Caspian kept on gazing at her while maintaining the same serene expression on his face.

“Caspian?” Anastasia furrowed her brows. She then poked her husband’s cheek to check if he was sleeping with his eyes open. “You didn’t get bored with all my ramblings, did you?”

Caspian grinned and shook his head. “I could listen to your talks for hours and hours. And even then, I’m pretty confident that I wouldn’t get bored.”

Caspian lightly pinched Anastasia’s cheek. And he charmingly praised her, “Your voice has magic in it. It’s so soft and calm that I can feel my soul healing just by listening to you.”

Anastasia smiled ear to ear and shyly averted her gaze. One simple praise from him and her heart would jump with excitement. One loving gaze from him and she would melt like a burning candle.

She turned to gaze back at her husband. His beautiful red eyes were still on her. And she softly mumbled, “Being alive for centuries comes with its perks, I guess. You know your way with the words.”

“Oh, don’t flatter me. I’m still learning.” Caspian smiled and gave a wink to his wife.

Anastasia’s heart fluttered. She suddenly recalled what Hamilton had said to her before she left the Wintertide mansion.

Like Hamilton, she didn’t want to have any regret, especially if something was to happen to her. So she mustered up the courage.

She held his hand and then opened her mouth, “Caspian... I...”