บท 11: Which Family Do You Come From?

Christine sat nervously in the garden of the Queen's palace, surrounded by ornate flowers and lush greenery.

'So… this is tea.'

Christine stared at the cup filled with something light brown liquid in front of her. Something she had learned was called tea.

The woman's face immediately looked nervous and she felt like she wanted to leave when she realized that it was something consumed by humans.

As a vampire, Christine had never consumed anything humans eat and only drinks blood.

They can even go a week or at most two weeks without drinking blood before they start to become thin, then their brains will start to not function properly, and then eventually they may die.

Well, Christine also doesn't really know what will happen because so far she has always been given enough by her parents who go hunting humans.

However, isn't it dangerous to eat something consumed by humans? What if she's poisoned? Or after she's drinking it, people will immediately find out she is a vampire?

"Why are you only looking at the tea? Don't you like it?"

Christine raised her gaze and looked at the old lady sitting in front of her. The Queen's face looks displeased.

"No, I like tea. I'm just mesmerized by the way it looks," Christine answered with a sweet smile, then took the teacup and started to lift it.

Christine couldn't help but feel anxious as she stared at the delicate teacup in front of her. As a vampire, she had never consumed anything other than blood, and the thought of consuming something that humans did made her uneasy. But she had a job to do, and she couldn't risk being discovered.

Inside, Christine really wanted to curse Cassius. If he wanted her to pull off this cover, shouldn't he at least tell her a thing or two?

She should have been better prepared before entering enemy territory like this!

But, Christine was talking about Cassius, the man who mercilessly held her parents hostage. She shouldn't expect too much from the man.

She glanced over at the Queen, who was watching her intently with a displeased expression. Christine forced a sweet smile onto her face and lifted the cup, pretending to admire its appearance

With a deep breath, she brought the cup closer to her lips, feeling her nerves intensify with every inch. She could sense the eyes of the ladies-in-waiting on her, and the pressure only made things worse.

Finally, she took a careful sip of the tea, letting the warm liquid slide down her throat. She couldn't help but let out a small slurping sound.

The sound of slurping finally filled the tea table in the Queen's palace garden.

The two Queen's ladies-in-waiting who heard that widened their eyes at the rude attitude, as well as the Queen who this time could not hide her surprise.

"Ohh! This tea is really good! I like it!" Christine said then put the glass cup back on the table.

Inside, Christine could only hope that nothing would happen to her from drinking the tea.

Well, she had only taken a sip, so nothing should have happened, right?

"Oh, yes," said the Queen, trying to adjust her attitude back to look elegant as usual. It took her completely by surprise.

It was the first time she had seen anyone drink tea in such a manner.

"So, your name is Christine, right?" asked the Queen casually.

Christine nodded. Perhaps it would have been better if she had used an alias, but Christine liked her name. That sounds pretty.

"So which family do you come from?" asked the Queen gently with a smile on her face.

The old lady was suddenly curious about which family the young lady sitting in front of her belonged to.

"Eh?" Christine was suddenly confused by the question.

What family is she from?

What does it mean?

Did the Queen inquire about her family? But she is a vampire. Should she answer like that?

Christine again cursed Cassius in her heart because the man didn't prepare anything at all and threw her into the enemy's nest which could attack her anytime after her identity as a vampire was discovered.

Seeing that Christine didn't answer at all, the two nearby ladies-in-waiting immediately whispered to each other.

"Is it possible that she is a slave?"

"I thought so too, but isn't she too beautiful as a slave?"

"I know, but her attitude doesn't sound like royalty at all. You saw how she behaved!"

Even though the two women were whispering between themselves, Christine could still hear it clearly and it made Christine's forehead furrow.

Slave? What does that mean?

Although the word was new to her, Christine could tell from the way the two women whispered that it wasn't something pleasant.

Meanwhile, the Queen looked calm and drank her tea again. She could hear the whispers of her ladies-in-waiting, but the Queen had no intention of reprimanding them.

Well, they've been together for quite some time and have practically grown up together. What they were doing at this time was still tolerable by her.

"That…." Christine's brain tried to think quickly, looking for answers that could be given to the Queen.

"To be honest, I'm not from this continent," she finally said, deciding to tell the truth but withholding some details.

The Queen's facial expression slightly flinched when she heard that. She had heard that there was another continent out there, but she had not yet been there

"When I was little, vampires attacked the continent so I and my parents had to run away from there, but in the end I got separated from my parents and here I am," Christine replied calmly, trying to smile.

As Christine recounted her story, the room fell silent. The Queen listened intently, her eyes fixed on Christine's face as she spoke. Despite the fact that Christine's words were not entirely truthful since the one who attacked was a human but she did come from another continent.

Even so the young woman spoke with conviction and the Queen couldn't help but believe her.

Suddenly, the old woman stood up and made her way over to Christine, causing her to look up in confusion.

Did she misspeak?

Did the Queen not believe her words?

She had purposely told her own story to make it easier to believe, but why did it turn out like this?

However, different from what Christine was thinking, suddenly the old woman came closer and opened her arms wide embraced her.

"You must have had a hard time," said the Queen softly.

Christine's eyes widened when she saw what the Queen was doing.

Even though what hugged her was supposed to be her food, why did that hug feel warm?

Like her mother's hug to her…

The two ladies-in-waiting were also shocked when they saw what the Queen was doing. They had never seen the Queen act so compassionately towards a stranger.

"Ah, I apologize," said the Queen who suddenly realized what was happening then immediately let go of her arms and returned to her seat.

"I can more or less understand what happened to you," said the old woman with a smile.

She was indeed not from this kingdom and was a princess from a neighboring kingdom who was betrothed to the King for political reasons.

She really came alone to Maeteron with no one, no friends, and also no family.

So, the Queen got a little carried away when she heard what Christine said.

Well, maybe it's because she's also old that she's become like this.

"Ah, it's okay," Christine replied with a smile.

Christine was starting to feel strange, humans should be cruel creatures, but why did the old woman feel so warm?

"By the way, do you want to go to the square with me tonight?" the Queen suddenly offered.

"Square?" Christine asked in bewilderment.

"Yes, tonight there will be a star festival and lots of snacks gonna be sold in the market. We can also see the fireworks together," replied the Queen cheerfully.

Christine didn't answer right away and tried to think, before she finally shook her head.

She had liked to be with the Queen so her plans could work, but tonight she planned to think about what she should do.

"I'm sorry, Queen, but tonight I plan to rest. We can hang out another time," Christine answered with a smile.

"Ah! Okay!" The Queen looked a little disappointed when she heard that the woman refused, even though she really wanted to be able to show many things to the poor woman.

"We can go together another time. Maeteron is a beautiful kingdom. I think you will definitely like it, "said the Queen.

Christine just nodded. She couldn't wait to have a look at it together with the old woman.

However, Christine had no idea that that afternoon would be her last meeting with the old woman.