Claimed (Bloodline, #2)

Chapter 19

19 : Brewing Mayhem

Few nights had passed since the royal court assembly, and to my surprise, the nobles were yet to retaliate. It was fortunate that they were behaving, but it was also quite worrying.

"Your Highness, you're still full of openings."

My thoughts were interrupted by Sigrid's attack, and it was already too late for defense. Her punch sent me flying for a few meters before Moria stopped my momentum midair.

"Aren't you being a little too rough on our princess, Sigrid?" said Moria as her barrier brought me beside her.

After completing their training under Roesia and Baldric, I requested them to fight against me for practice. Now that the nobles are not hiding their hatred against me and Zaria, I had to thoroughly learn how to defend myself, especially against the stronger noble houses.

"I just want the lady to know the consequences of being distracted during a fight," retorted Sigrid.

"She's right," Kei seconded. "They may be noble-bloods but most of their heads are battle veterans. You need to be careful, Your Highness."

Even Irus agreed as he nodded passionately after Kei's comment. For an assassin who had executed and seen the most brutal deaths, his agreement meant those nobles were the real deal.

And speaking of dangers...

"What are your thoughts about the recent attack?" I asked, shifting the topic from nobles to other vampyr kingdoms.

There was a vague cast of foreboding to their already serious faces.

"It's quite odd, if I am being honest, Your Highness," replied Moria.

"Why is that?"

"The ancient law forbade the kingdoms to attack one another but that didn't stop them from checking the status of each other by other means," dagdag ni Kei. "For instance, the kingdom of Slovar would occasionally send bats just outside Vrivarya's and Remis' territories to monitor their movements."

Sigrid sent her scythe back to the shadows and gave an input. "But they would usually only send a small group of undead or familiars. Sending a highly capable soldier for reconnaissance is too risky as it can kickstart a fight that will surely escalate into a war."

"Remis has done the same about a week ago, lady, when they sent a horde of undead, but they clearly trespassed our borders since they traversed the Sybaris Forest," Moria added.

"Remis' undead..." muttered Irus who was gripping his rapier tight. He must have been frustrated since the attack happened during the day and he was severely handicapped.

"Do they use humans, too?" tanong ko.

They all shook their heads as their expressions turned grim.

"Human travelers from Tuzkan would sometimes accidentally trespass our borders when they want to reach the Western Lands by sea since they have to cross Vrivarya to access the Sea of Mirovia, but we usually redirect them to the common road to avoid any kind of risk," Kei explained. "However, this was the first time that the Lilith clan of Remis kingdom intentionally used humans for reconnaissance."

I suddenly remembered what Zaria had said during the emergency meeting few nights ago. "Zaria said they may be planning to drag the magi into this matter."

Kei's shoulders twitched as realization dawned on his face. "Right. That must be what they are trying to do. If we killed humans, the magi would surely take action."