Hellbound Heart

196  That woman

The conversation with the ladies had been quite pleasant at first. Though she did not speak much and only listened as the conversations flowed around her, she quite enjoyed the chit chats like she usually did whenever she was attending events previously in this country. Everyone had been polite and respectful to her as usual.

But later on, the topic took a nose dive when a lady named Milette joined them. She had greeted her and introduced herself to her ever so politely, making it known that she was a noble vampire. Elle had asked Sebastian about the reason why no one had ever mentioned anything about vampires in the previous parties she had attended. Sebastian said that it was because all parties she had attended previously had been actually filtered and pre-selected before getting Lucas to hand her the invitation cards. All the parties and events she had attended were what they called a 'general event'. These general events were events attended by all and during these circumstances, according to the vampiric law, no one was allowed to speak about anything related to vampires or do anything that the humans might find as supernatural. Essentially, they were to suppress their vampiric nature and behave as any ordinary human. That was why during those times, Elle had never heard or seen anything unusual. Her birthday party was labeled as a 'private event', and so everyone was allowed to talk about things they were not usually allowed to during general events as well as behave as their normal selves. Thankfully, Sebastian had already briefed her about this. So, she was already prepared for such topics. Still, she was not quite prepared for the topic that came up next. "Have you met with Lady Kana yet, princess?" Milette asked in a curious tone, both tone and body language indicating that she was all ready for some interesting gossip. The name alone was enough to affect Elle. But she tried her best to keep her expression unaffected. "She is here. Hmm… where is she? I had spotted her around just a while ago." The woman looked around as though she was searching for someone. When her gaze returned to Elle, she continued, without giving anyone a chance to speak. "I'm sure you already know who Lady Kana is, right, Princess?"

Another lady piped in. "Oh Milette, what kind of question is that? There's no way she does not know Lady Kana yet. I've heard that Lady Kana was here in Reigns castle just the other day. So it's impossible that Princess Izabelle has not met her yet." Though her words were meant to be understanding, Elle clearly felt the jab from her tone.

"Oh, now that you've mentioned that… I have been meaning to actually tell you this, Princess, but there have been gossips spreading out that the prince didn't like your blood. And that's why he was still calling for Lady Kana." "I'm sure Princess Izabelle understands the circumstances even if that rumor is true," Milette butted in before Elle could speak. "Lady Kana had been serving Prince Sebastian for so long. Even since she was younger. And Prince Sebastian was the one who chose her specifically, so he must really like her taste. The fact that he never changed her, unlike how the other royals would, is enough to tell everyone that Lady Kana's blood is irreplaceable to the prince. And I don't think he'd ever change her." Milette sounded as though she was lobbying for Lady Kana and seemed to be her loyal supporter.

One thing that made Elle frown a little before Sebastian let go of her was when he whispered to her that if anyone started to gossip about things she did not like to hear or feel uncomfortable about, then she should signal for Sebastian immediately. Elle was a bit curious when he said that but now, she understood why. She glanced at him and she saw him still watching her even as he was speaking. Sebastian had told her that she needed to signal him if there was even a little thing that bothers her. Elle had read in the modern book in the library that the modern vampires had found it bad manners to listen in on anyone's conversation. So, vampires almost never do that unless it is extremely necessary. "You really didn't need to say all of that here, Lady Milette." the other lady, named Almira, retorted. She was one of the nicest vampires Elle had met. In fact, they had been talking quite a lot in the previous event and even in the couple of dinners before. "Everyone already knows that. I don't think that we should be talking about Lady Kana here–" She tried to stop the conversation from going down this path before anything bad might happen.

"I think Princess Izabelle doesn't mind, right? She's a rational woman and can understand the circumstances behind this." Lady Milette cut Almira off. "Also, it's been a while since Princess Izabelle showed up in public. Let's not limit our conversation to just the serious matters. Actually, isn't it better if the Princess knows more about all the gossip going around lately?"

"What gossip?" Elle finally spoke, her curiosity piqued. Her expression was still composed. Almost serene even.

"It's about you and Prince Sebastian, Princess." Another woman joined in. "There are rumors saying that you snatched Prince Sebastian away from Lady Kana." And then almost everyone began to join in the conversation. "I too, actually heard a ridiculous rumor that Prince Sebastian only married you for a show. And that your marriage is just abrupt and shady." "Enough with this." Almira cut in, annoyed at the direction the conversation was going. And then she faced Izabelle. "Please don't listen to them anymore, Princess. What they're saying is just ridiculous." Elle smiled understandingly at Almira.

Some of the ladies were not happy at Almira's interruption until Milette gasped softly and uttered. "Oh, there she is. Lady Kana is right there with the Queen!" Elle followed Millete's line of sight and the scene she saw next to Queen Layla nearly broke her composure completely. That woman… she had seen her before… so that woman was… that beautiful woman Sebastian was with, in that restaurant was… Kana, huh…