Chapter 106 - Princess Ivanka (2)

Half of what Valerie said was bullshit. The other half was the truth. There is information that Princess Ivanka was very worried about her younger brother, Prince Yuri, who was now under house arrest due to a mysterious illness. It was said that he acts like a monster who often loses consciousness. Some of the intelligence data that Florentia had collected said that, prince Yuri had actually awakened his demon DNA.

However, his family did not want to make him better. He was a prince, of course the king and queen of Avalon didn't want him to die. However, Prince Yuri, who was still 18 years old, hangs out with the rebels. He plans to overthrow the two ruling factions, both Florentia and Avalon. It was actually an unforgivable mistake. Conspiring to treason was a crime that the judges would without a doubt sentence him to death.

The kingdom officially declared that Prince Yuri could not leave the palace due to serious illness. But some of the palace dwellers testified that prince Yuri was sentenced to be a monster forever in the dungeon. No one could approach let alone treat him. Even if it were possible, no one in the palace knew how to cure him.

Usually only military people know about the Demon's DNA. Princess Avalon didn't know what had happened to Yuri's body. The knights of Avalon seemed to be hiding many facts from him. Therefore, Ivanka, who wanted to save her brother from suffering, sought information secretly.

Avalon's side was very careful about handling the demon DNA awakening phenomenon. So they used a code and didn't explicitly name a condition similar to that experienced by Prince Yuri. When Princess Ivanka finds Avalon's medical expert journal, she finds a match with Yuri's symptoms.

The intelligence gathered, made Florentia believe that prince Yuri, who was close to the rebels, was the owner of the devil's DNA. They also know that Ivanka really cares about her brother. But no matter how much she begged, her father aka king Dimitri was not willing to heal Yuri.

Florentia used the desperation of princess Ivanka to bring Florentia close to the heart of the mysterious king Dimitri's inner circle. But they couldn't do that without Valerie. It was not just Avalon who was researching the phenomenon of demon DNA. Some of Florentia's pureblood vampires also started to awaken their demonic DNA.

They know that some trials have shown that certain music could calm them down. Therefore Valerie's role was quite important here. Because not many knights have an artistic background. But Valerie, as the daughter of a Duke, could play the piano well.

Miriam Richie's transformed maidservant had actually been planned long before Valerie arrived at the Richie's house. All of that so Princess Ivanka was interested in Valerie's knowledge and piano skills and invited her to the palace herself.

"She's my guest, I recruited her myself when she played the piano at Marchioness Richie's house. I'll make her my personal piano teacher," Ivanka confirmed to her butler Ryan, who was thin and tall and had a gaunt and pale face. His hair was silver. Although at first glance he looks frail, his fingers are strong. Valerie knew such a person had a firm grip on his hands.

"Your Majesty, the King asked me to—"

"I know, I won't be causing any more trouble, let alone escaping from the palace. I've agreed to my terms," ​​said Ivanka curtly, taking off her long gloves and handing them to the maid.

"Princess, why did you suddenly bring in a piano player? If that's all, we can find another piano player to—"

"Listen, I've chosen my own piano teacher. I want to learn new things. I can't stand being watched by you guys. Can't you guys just let me do a little bit of what I like? You can check on Lady Celia and if it turns out she's suspicious I'll kick her out," said Ivanka firmly.

She had sacrificed much of her freedom when he was desperate to single-handedly leave the palace and climb Mount Rubera. It was all for the sake of finding a cure for her brother Yuri. Disappearing from the palace was a big mistake. Plus she disappeared in order to find a cure for Yuri. She also steals Avalon's secret medical journal. If she hadn't been a favorite daughter of king Dimitri— she would have lost her pretty head on the execution knife.

"Come here, Lady Celia. Pardon my maids. They don't really like the presence of new people. But as long as the king and queen are not around—I am the ruler of this palace. No one can hurt you," Ivanka said back to her kindly. However, her stern eyes made it clear that she wasn't willing to play around. She had high hopes for Valerie.

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry but I didn't think of moving to the palace so soon. I didn't prepare enough clothes," Valerie reasoned. It was strange that Celia wouldn't be nervous about this situation.

"I will fill your wardrobe, I will also give you the best prey..Well, before your room is ready, I want to talk to you about a few things, Lady Celia," said Ivanka again as she ushered her into her room. Valerie acted as if she was nervous and amazed by the princess's spacious room. But actually she wasn't too foreign to luxury.

"I—can I sit here?" Valerie asked doubtfully.

"Please," Ivanka smiled at him.

"Oh, sorry I've never touched a chair this soft before. Did a human craftsman make it?"

"Human?" Ivanka squinted.

"Sorry, I've only ever heard that humans are very skilled at making furniture like this," Valerie was a little nervous. Maybe she had chosen the wrong subject.

Ivanka removed her scarf, revealing her sky blue dress adorned with luxurious sequins at the seams. Then she laid her beautiful body on the red velvet-covered soft sofa opposite Valerie.

"You talk about humans, yet you hang out with the human-hating Lady Miriam. The Jalad-hur authorities even punish those who talk about humans or write news related to them..Then, with whom are you gossiping about humans? You sound like a Florentian," said Princess Ivanka while smiling mysteriously at her. Valerie in disguise wore a confused expression.

"Oh sorry did I offend you? I grew up on the border of Jalad-hur and studied piano in Lapella, so—"

"Ah yes, Lapella, so, you graduated from the music academy in Lapella?" Ivanka said again who did not continue her suspicions.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Valerie nodded.

"I've never been there, even though I wanted to..you don't have to worry. Unlike my father and mother— Yuri and I are moderate people. I don't hate humans that much, although I may never get used to drinking their blood using a glass. So, get on with it. I want you to play the piano for Yuri and me."

"Am I not here as your piano teacher?"

"What? No, I'm not interested in learning the piano. I paid lady Miriam a hefty price to bring you here. But I just want you to play the piano in the palace," Ivanka insisted.

"You sure? You have slender and beautiful fingers. You might be able to play the piano better than me later," Valerie confirmed.

"I don't have much time, so explain what really happened to Lady Miriam's maid earlier? Have you ever met a Vampire like her?" Ivanka insisted.

"Yes, one of my teachers once showed it to me. Then he played the piano for him. Then he became calmer. It is said that the Florentian knights took the poor vampire away,"

"What did the Florentian knights do to him?"

"As far as I know, vampires who turn crazy like that will be picked up by the knights. I don't know, as an Avalon I don't dare to investigate. I also find it uninteresting to me," responded Valerie elegantly.

"So this is a common thing?" Ivanka looked thoughtful.

"My teacher said, they are vampires who have mental and hormonal disorders," Valerie said innocently, she didn't mention the Demon's DNA at all.

"I know about Shadows, Rutherford even once showed me how he created monsters from non pure blood vampires. However, what happened to my sister was different. Celia, do you have a sister? How does it feel when you know your sister might one day forget about you?" Ivanka has shed all her image as a princess; she now sees as a sister who has a human side in her heart.

Valerie immediately sympathized, because her brother Jasper also experienced the same thing. Worse, Valerie was completely unaware of his plight and did not accompany him when Jasper needed her.

"How can I help you, Princess Ivanka?"

"My sister, Yuri, she went through something similar to the maid lady Miriam earlier. So, I want you to play that song for him.. Please, help Yuri so that he returns to normal and remembers himself again," said Ivanka with sorrow in her eyes.