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Chapter 47
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The Demon Chapter 48
I was reading those thoughts on his face as clearly as if the duke was shouting them at the top of his lungs. When he turned toward me, I helped him.“Your Grace, I must keep vigil at my cousin’s side, but you will conduct an investigation, won’t you?”In a minute he would have rushed to embrace me, I swear.“Of course, Your Highness. I swear on my honor!”If you swore on something that you actually had, I might believe you. But a man whose wife had borne a vampire’s child, a man who, most likely, had forced her to do that himself?Sir, the honor of your family has long since gone running, like a deer in the woods.Why deer?Well, maybe a moose. Wearing the horns of a cuckold.I spent around four hours at Andre’s side, Tommy was nearby, also pretending to be appropriately distressed. But...“Alex, but that was her doing.”“So what?”“Won’t we get revenge?”My ass.Avenge Lavinia’s help? I was in her debt. Maybe I won’t even kill her right away.“Tommy, could we survive the war with Te
The Demon Chapter 49
The duke finally left, and Tommy brought me a tray of food that we shared.Great, no poison, no sedative.“What will we do?”I took a deep breath.“Pray, Tommy. We will pray.”I knew prayers by heart. Know your enemy and kill him with your own weapon, and I did. I knew them to the last word, to the last comma—and could even visit the church. And so I prayed until almost midnight.Then I ordered Tommy to bring me a warm cloak. Well, more precisely, I ordered a servant, who then summoned Tommy. He came sleepily, also in a warm cloak—it was pretty chilly there.I dismissed the servant, and in five minutes, Tommy came out, just the way he had entered, cloaked, dark-haired, in a hat.Dark hair? A wig!What can be more simple? And another man in the prince’s cloak continued praying before the altar. I hoped I had managed to cheat the onlookers.The duke probably didn’t expect any seserious dirty tricks from me, anyway. He was too relaxed, having bought into my idiocy...Which was exactly ho
The Demon Chapter 50
I lowered the assassin down without any issues. Nobody had seen or heard us, so I warned him about Tommy and returned to the shrine, as I needed to provide my lord a warm shirt, too. You know, just in case. The guards, drilled by the duke, let me pass without any objections, and no wonder. The best and the brightest weren’t there, but guarding Lavinia, the duke, his children, and would later go into the dungeon.Those here were the worst of the bunch. It made sense, too—leaving smart people in the same house as a vampire wasn’t a good idea. Soon enough, you’d get tired of hiding the bodies. So, I was praying hard, Tom went to the assassin, and outside, chaos erupted.The assassin was gone!Naturally, the duke dropped by the church, and I immediately threw a tantrum. The prisoner has escaped?He’ll kill me, for sure!Assign me a guard duty!To the church, my chambers, even my horse! What if he kills the horse, too? I wouldn’t be surprised if the duke wanted to kill me, too, but he man
The Demon Chapter 51
I had a talk with Lavinia as well. She came at night, and I barely managed to stop my unruly arm from hitting her with a dagger. Oh no, you didn’t.My slap threw the half-vampire across the room. I don’t know if I could hit a woman, but Lavinia was no woman. She was a monster, and with her, everything was permitted. If I had to, I would beat her with a silver chain across her spine.“Back away, you tramp.”That was bound to make her shut up. Lavinia hissed, but bit her tongue until it was bloody.I nodded at a chair.“Sit down.”She obeyed.“So why did the Dark Tempter send you here?”“Why did you agree to the marriage?”I smirked.“Maybe I wanted someone exotic.”“That’s not a satisfying answer.”“Then why did you tell your father that you wanted to be satisfied with me? Or at least with my answer?”I mocked her. She hissed again.Maybe I should dig out a snakepit?“He wants the throne...”“What a coincidence. So do I.”“Then refuse to marry me.”“You wish... Who’d refuse such an off
The Demon Chapter 52
As hard as Tevarr was trying to earn my favor, it was as cold as my homeland of Radenor was toward me upon my return. One more scene from a classic tale of chivalry.A procession approached, and king and queen, dressed all in black, fell on their knees before Andre’s coffin without deigning to look at me.“My son...”“My dear child!”Crocodile tears in their eyes, or at least in Abigail's. Her hope for ruling the country was gone, even if Rene had informed me that powerful life mages had been summoned to the castle.I really didn’t like it. A powerful mage meant a practicing mage, and who knew what they would discover? Yes, I was half-human, but sometimes, my demonic nature awoke inside me, and chaos reigned.During such moments, I couldn’t control myself, and I had no intention of announcing my half-demonic nature. Fine. Let them come, and I’ll find a way to deal with them. Maybe they won’t even accept the invitation.Rudolph did portray himself as the Templars’ loyal son, and they w
The Demon Chapter 53
The wedding was to take place in three days.Why so soon? We had to prepare for war, and Tevarr could help us only after the marriage. Therefore, the wedding would have to be quick and small-scale.Lavinia never left Abigail’s side, and the latter seemed quite affectionate. We could speak in private only when we danced, and even then...“She lied about being pregnant.”“I know.”I was sure of that myself, but getting a confirmation from a vampire was nice.“Are there pregnant women in her entourage?”“Yes. Two, both at early stages.”I nodded, my suspicions validated.“Why would she need to give birth herself, really?”Lavinia lowered her eyelashes. She realized everything as well. The baby would be presented as a fruit of Abigail’s loins.She didn’t give a damn about that child having any royal blood. She just didn’t want to go back to the dirt she had climbed out from. And again, if I had a baby cousin, could I ever hurt them without earning the hate of the entire country?A child k
The Demon Chapter 54
The court was buzzing with wedding preparations. I was busy as well. I had to leave the capital for two days to chase the Riolonian ambassador. I didn’t really have any choice; when the coffin with Andre’s body was delivered to Alethar, Uncle went into a frenzy.He obediently ate the bullshit he was fed and declared war on the Riolonians. The ambassador heard him out, tried to purge Riolon of suspicion, got a vase thrown at him, managed to dodge it, and ran away. He made the right call, really.Enraged, Rudolph could easily attack him with a sword. I caught up with the “Riolonian schemers” in two days’ journey from the capital.My horse could barely move, but that was worth the cost. The eyes of the Riolonian ambassador upon seeing me were enough to compensate me for all my misery, including my butt, sore from riding in the saddle.They were huge and wide with shock. Without thinking twice, I threw the reins to a servant and sat down near the campfire.“I come on business. Or will you
The Demon Chapter 55
I woke up to a hand touching my...private parts.Lavinia clearly wanted to consummate the marriage. I had to tear her wandering hand away from me and give her a brief clarification.“I’ll rip your fangs out.”The vampire hissed viciously, but I was as unrelenting as a righteous man.“For now, I’m putting you on short ration. Later, we’ll see.”“What about children?”“From you!?”Don’t get me wrong. I had been willing to have children with Carlie, and if I married any ordinary girl, I wouldn’t be against.**I got just three days to enjoy my newfound domestic bliss. After that, Uncle declared war on Riolon and summoned me.“So, Alex, if you couldn’t protect my son...”I raised a deep sigh that I had prepared in advance. I really couldn’t, because I wasn’t trying to. But I’m grieving it so much.“I entrust you with the army. I hope you won’t fail me.”Yeah, right.Make Lavinia pregnant and die soon?Don’t count on that. Still, I accepted the army. On the first troop review, I swore like
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