章 13: Max
Seeing her reaction, a tight-lipped smile appeared on his lips.
It was as if he could read her mind.
"Seeing that I know your secret, I thought it would be good to share mine with you," he said, his voice sounding like velvet. It was enticing— deliciously enticing.
She hated that.
Vampires always have the tendency to ensnare people. This was just a part of their charm.
Her senses heightened.
It was not going to work on her!
"Lower the mop Eve…" he uttered.
Seeing that she was still holding the mop, Eve quickly lowered it. Then she summoned a small ball of fire that rested on her pointer and pointed it toward him.
"If you move an inch…"
"You would not be able to see me."
"If you—"
The power dynamic was not fair.
The realization soured her mood.
"What is it that you want?" she asked.
"A decent conversation."
"Something that does not involve drinking someone's blood?" she asked, still wary of him.
"If I wanted to do that, I would have done it a long time ago."
"I am not going to lower the ball of fire."
"Of course," he smiled. "Do as you wish," he smiled and walked towards her bed. He sat there, still smiling.
He was silently telling her that he knew where she was sleeping. Her lips thinned. The other night, she felt someone watching her when she woke up in the middle of the storm. She was actually right.
"Tell me," he placed his hand on her bed that was already made. "Why would a sorceress come here?"
"Perhaps I am a spy," she answered. Seeing that she was not dead yet then it meant that the man did not want her dead.
"Forgive me. I didn't mean to sound harsh, but it's clear that intelligence wasn't your strongest suit at birth, was it?"
"So you decide to come here and insult me. Do you want a round of applause?"
"The investigation said so," he shrugged. "Judging by your obvious discomfort, I suspect that the investigation may have been off the mark."
"You just called me dumb. Did you expect me to thank you?"
"The Eve Lucrecia that was investigated was meek and could barely form a word. While you—"
Eve swallowed. She had forgotten about this.
Up until this point, Evelynn could only recall fragments of memories from this body. It hadn't occurred to her that Eve Lucrecia might have been born with limited cognitive abilities.
"You on the other hand are eloquent, smart, and effortlessly quick-witted, with a fearless and elegant demeanor. Yet, this was not the Eve Lucrecia portrayed in the reports."
"Did I forget to mention someone that could use sorcery? Albeit weak."
The way he remained so composed was beginning to make her feel uneasy.
In just a few seconds, he called her both smart and dumb. Then he called her weak.
He may not have come here to harm her, but it was evident that he was intent on getting under her skin.
It was working.
Eve cursed inwardly.
"You look like a cornered cat," he uttered. "And that look does not suit you at all."
"So, you plan to sit there and insult me instead of telling me what you want," she muttered.
"You are right."
"What?"
"I wanted to see how you would respond."
Was this man serious?
What was wrong with him?
Her face darkened as she glared at him.
"Now, that is better."
Eve did not know what to say. How could a vampire like this exist?
"Are you making fun of me?" she asked.
"In fact, I am."
Eve was at her wit's end. What was this man doing? She had never met a vampire this… languid.
"Your Highness—"
"Max—"
"Pardon?"
"You can call me Max when we are alone."
So, he was planning to keep doing this?
"The rules said that —"
"The rules are a trap for the coward. Those who obey them often meet their demise." This time, the Prince looked at Trinity's empty bed. Then he smiled at her. "Don't you agree with me, Evelynn?"
"What did you just call me?" Eve's heart sank. Did she miss something?
Had she been too obvious?
How did he know her name?
Was it Lucius?
Her heart drummed against her chest, fear flashed in her amber eyes.
"I thought calling you Evelynn is better than merely Eve."
"My name is Eve."
"People call you Eve." He got up and stood a few feet away from her. "I asked you to call me Max. Isn't it polite that you reciprocate?"
No words escaped Eve's lips as she stood in stunned silence.
What was this situation?
"I dislike that name," she managed to say. How could he call her that name? Evelynn Rosetta was dead!
He only responded with a smile.
"I'll see you again, Evelynn," he uttered in a low silky voice. Before she could react, he disappeared into thin air, leaving the door wide open in his wake.
Vampires.
Eve dropped her hand and picked up the mop that she threw earlier.
She did not know why he came here, but she was certain that this would not be the last time that they would see each other.
"You—" started one of the maids who walked through the opened door. "What have you been doing? I expected you to be done by now."
Eve said nothing. Instead, she started mopping the floor.
After that tedious conversation with the Prince, she no longer had any energy to deal with another person. All she wanted was to get this over with so she could enjoy her meal in peace while planning her next move.
The Prince seemed to show interest in her.
Did that mean she was doing something right? Or it was simply because she could use sorcery?
Was he trying to keep his enemies close before he torture them to death?
Clearly, she was overthinking things, but she wanted to be prepared for everything. Right now, everything was uncertain.
However, she could only see two paths in front of her. It was either she succumbed to her fear and revealed more of herself or… took advantage of the Prince's interest.
Her lips curled up in a slow, dawning smile, revealing her delight.
The game had already started.
This time, she was going to bet everything. For revenge… she would risk it all.
章 14: The Spawn
Contrary to Eve's first assumption, the Prince did not come back to see her again.
She found herself a bit disappointed as she had come up with a way to factor him into her plans.
Still, she took advantage of her punishment as best she could. Eve found that confining herself to the room for a week was surprisingly beneficial, and not just for her sorcery. It was also the fact that she was not included in the group of women that were once again taken, never to be seen again.
The week had passed and now Eve was required to take part in the 'lessons' that they taught. Quickly, she realized that these sessions were actually the vampire's way of trying to convince the humans that they were not a threat.
To hell with that.
Eve frowned as she continued listening to the instructor.
"There are six great covens inside the Kingdom and each of them is led by high-ranking vampires," the woman said. Their current instructor was named Susinda.
She used to be a mistress but was now working as one of the instructors that would be teaching the women everything they needed to know about the vampire world.
Just like the other mistresses, Susinda was human, a beautiful human with black hair and large dark brown eyes. She should be in her thirties already. She was slim and tall, and her hair was up in a perfect bun. She was wearing thick eyeglasses that made her look smarter.
She talked about the vampire's ranks and their abilities and then some more history.
"It would be easy to spot a higher-ranking vampire as their eyes looked normal. Usually, a vampire's eyes were red, but a higher ranking one had the ability to hide their eye color, making them look normal." Susinda said.
Just like the Prince, Eve thought inwardly.
Even Lucius had a different eye color as he was a Duke
"During the war, the high-ranked Vampires of six covens helped the humans in defeating a few demons residing north of Imperion. Because of this, the current Emperor of the Humans, Emperor Ronaldo, made a deal with the King of Imperion, allowing the vampires to open their doors to women from the Empire who wished to join the Night Courtship."
Eve's lips twitched.
It seemed that stories like this were quite abundant in both the Human Empire and Imperion.
She badly wanted to open her mouth and correct them. In the end, she chose not to.
She could wait.
She needed to be patient.
"Last week, we talked about the Coven's Symbols and Scripts that represent their history. Please study the notes that were given. You may leave now," Susinda said, bringing the class to a close.
"Miss?" Eve followed Susinda as she started arranging her books.
"Do you need something?"
"Last week, I was not given anything since—"
"You were not included in the lectures because you were punished, no?" Susinda cut her off rudely.
"You are right."
"In that case, you won't be allowed to keep any notes."
"Why is that?"
"You were not in the lectures because of something you did. I do not see any reason for you to be given the notes," Susinda said coldly. Then the woman grabbed her books and left the room. "You should not stay inside this room for too long. The sun is going down."
Without sparing Eve another glance, Susinda left the room.
So, she was expected to take the exams without any reference notes? Eve sighed inwardly.
When it came to the exams, she was quite familiar with the six Covens.
Unfortunately, this could pose a problem of a different sort.
The Prince had already called her out for being smarter than the Eve Lucrecia that everyone knew. It would not take too long for everyone around her to notice the changes as well.
Sighing, she made her way to the room where the others were waiting.
At this moment, the count of women who were still in the Night Courtship was around forty or so. The rest were either selected for some nightly activities and never returned or they were eliminated because they broke the rules.
As a result, their room arrangements had to change.
There are now five groups and each group had eight or nine women in it.
"Eve!" Willow greeted me. Since that incident, she found Willow was acting a little closer to her.
Could it be that Willow assumed she had been traumatized by the sight of a vampire feeding on a body?
Or was it because the victim being drained by the vampire was someone that both of them knew?
"How was it? Were you able to get the notes?" Previously, everyone had been instructed not to share their notes with everyone. Their focus was on winning the game and not on making friends.
"Of course, she wouldn't be able to get it. She broke the rules," one woman with raven black hair said. Her name was Janeysa and she is someone from the Kingdom of Weres. She was one of the humans born in that kingdom as her parents were slaves working for the noble Lycans.
By now, Eve already knew most of the people in the room. At least the basic information like their place of origin, their names, and the reason why they came here.
"If she broke the rules, she would have been long dead by now," Willow reasoned.
"Well— we shall wait and see."
Willow rolled her eyes.
Ever since that night, Willow consistently made an effort to initiate conversations with Eve. To be quite honest, it was making her uncomfortable.
However, Eve did not have the energy to push the woman away.
As the number of women dwindled, Eve understood that now, everyone had their own agendas and things that they wanted to do to win this competition. Each of the women in this room wanted to stand next to the Prince and she could not blame them for using various methods just to win.
She, too, was prepared to do anything to ensure her victory.
Just as everyone started to fall asleep, a piercing shriek echoed in the halls, shattering the stillness of the night.
Startled, everyone sat up in their beds, their expressions a blend of confusion, alertness, and fear.
A flurry of footsteps added to the echo outside.
The sound of voices reached their ears, but the words were garbled and incomprehensible, leaving them puzzled.
Soon, Mistress Ophelia walked in, a ghastly expression plastered on her face.
"Lock the door and windows…" Ophelia uttered.
"What— What is going on?" one of the women asked.
"A— A spawn just appeared out of nowhere," Ophelia said, disbelief flashing in her eyes.
While everyone looked panicked and scared, Eve turned her head towards the door. The scream earlier was clearly not from a spawn. Ophelia might not be lying about the spawn but she was hiding something else.
....
A/N: This novel will be contracted. I am waiting for the contract to be verified then I will start mass-releasing chapters. I really hope I can get the contract before the month's end. Thank you for your support.
If you have any questions, feel free to comment below! I will answer everything. No spoilers though. :D
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