Chapter 14

14 Ten Folds

Anastasia suddenly felt weak in her knees. ‘What is she trying to say? Is she hinting that she is going to kill me in this ball? Or is she going to kill me right now?’

That monstrous woman stretched her hands again, this time, aiming for Anastasia’s cheek.

Anastasia’s heart was beating so fast that she felt like she was going to pass out on the spot. ‘Caspian!’ She wanted to scream and call for help but she couldn’t even move her lips, leave alone make an audible sound.

“Your Highness, may I have a dance with you?” Anastasia heard a familiar sound from her side just when she thought that she was going to get bitten to death by that woman.

Without thinking for another millisecond, Anastasia turned to her side and took the hand that was being offered to her, “Zenon! Yes, why not.”

Zenon glared at those two women who were trying to intimidate the Princess. If looks could kill, then those women would have dropped dead by now.

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Seeing the fury in Zenon’s eyes, those women spared no time in scurrying away from there.

When they were gone, Zenon reverted to his cheerful self in a flash. He gently swayed with the beat of the music and asked the Princess, “They didn’t do anythi-” before he could complete his question, his eyes fell on the slight cut on Anastasia’s neck, “They did that to you?”

Anastasia gave a wistful smile and tried to brush off the matter, “It’s just a scratch. It will heal in no time.”

.....

“You shouldn’t be taking such serious offense so lightly, Your Highness.” Zenon glanced across the hall to see where Caspian was. “I will have to deal with those women before His Majesty gets angry.”

Zenon was about to head out but Anastasia was still in shock from what those women did to her. And she didn’t want to be left alone. So she insisted, “It’s just a scratch, Zenon. Let’s not create a fuss on this happy occasion. If they try to repeat it in the future, then you may punish them.”

Zenon didn’t have the heart to defy the Princess. So he nodded his head and kept on dancing with her.

Though Anastasia was dancing, her mind was still stuck on those women. ‘Who were they anyway? Will I be meeting those women in the future as well?’

She dreaded the thought of meeting them again. And just to be sure, she asked Zenon, “Zenon, will you tell me who those women were? Are they His Majesty’s mistresses?”

Zenon looked surprised to hear what the Princess was assuming. However, he got why she would ask that. So he politely denied it, “No, Your Highness, they’re not. They are the daughters of a noble family. Though one of them had her eyes on His Majesty from a long time.”

“I see,” Anastasia nodded. She felt relieved that they were not Caspian’s mistresses. ‘That means I won’t be seeing those bullies often. That’s good.’

Zenon was exceptionally good at leading the dance. Anastasia’s heart calmed down within a matter of a few minutes. He made her twirl around to the music. And that was when she saw Tilla standing close by, alone.

Anastasia didn’t want Tilla to go through the same horror as her. So she abruptly stopped dancing and said, “Zenon, thank you for the dance. My handmaid will accompany me.”

Zenon gave a polite bow to the Princess and agreed to her request. “Of course, Your Highness. I will be close by, so if you need anything or if someone tries to offend you again, then feel free to give me a sound. I will be right at your service.”

Anastasia looked into Zenon’s red eyes that were partially being concealed by his light brown hair. His eyes would look like a crescent moon most of the time because he would have that constant smile on his face. She felt that Zenon was the friendlier and more considerate vampire among the trio whom she encountered murdering a man.

She smiled and made her way towards Tilla while thinking, ‘Ha! A friendly murderer! Everyone present here has murdered humans, haven’t they? And yet I seek protection from them...’

Suddenly, Anastasia’s feet stopped midways. Her expression turned dull as though she went into a state of trance. And she heard a faint whisper in her head, ‘Come find me...’

Tilla came running towards Anastasia and waved her hand in front of the Princess’ face. “Princess?”

Anastasia snapped out of her trance and saw Tilla standing in front of her. Her dark brown eyes were twinkling and her face was beaming for some reason.

“Tilla?” Anastasia gave a baffled look to Tilla and asked in a concerned voice, “Where did that man take you? Are you alright?”

Tilla smiled and coiled her dark hair around her finger. And she shyly replied, “Lord Vincent took me outside and showed me around the place. There’s a beautiful garden outside, with a huge fountain in the middle.”

Anastasia pursed her lips and gazed at Tilla’s rosy cheeks. She gave a hug to Tilla and whispered, “Oh, Tilla! Even you are smitten by their pretty faces, aren’t you?”

Tilla’s face turned redder when the Princess easily pointed out her inner feelings. She had spent the whole afternoon lecturing the Princess to be cautious of the Vampire King and here she was, harboring feelings for a vampire.

Tilla pulled away from the hug and whispered back while looking guilty, “They are pretty irresistible, aren’t they?”

Anastasia couldn’t help but chuckle at that unexpected confession from Tilla. But soon her face turned serious when her eyes fell on Caspian. He was now dancing with the very woman who had tried to hurt her just a while ago.

Caspian was smiling ear to ear. He looked genuinely happy to be dancing with her. She scoffed at that scene and thought, ‘What kind of relationship do they have? Does he smile like that to every other woman he meets?’

She heaved a sigh and curled her upper lip in disdain. ‘This is the exact reason why you shouldn’t be falling for him, Anna. He is a womanizer and unworthy of your love. Remember that you are just going through all of this for your own sake. It’s okay to be selfish in this Kingdom full of monsters. You have to protect yourself and your stupid heart.’

Anastasia began feeling a burning sensation in her heart. For some reason, she couldn’t bear to see her husband entertaining that woman.

Anastasia tightly clutched her fists and glanced back at Tilla. Tilla was smiling to herself, and she guessed why. She wanted to warn her bewitched friend as well but there were just too many sharp ears around them.

‘Come find me...’ Anastasia cocked her head to the side and winched. And she got this overwhelming urge to go somewhere... to find someone.

So she inconspicuously asked Tilla, “Will you take me to the fountain, Tilla? I need to breathe in some fresh air. It’s too hot in here. I feel like I’m burning.”

Anastasia thought that she was asking Tilla to go outside so that she could have a private chat with her maid. She was completely unaware that someone was messing with her head.

“Sure, Your Highness,” Tilla gestured towards one of the doors and said, “This way.”

Caspian noticed his wife walking out of the ballroom with her handmaid. Though he was dancing with someone else, his eyes kept on following Anastasia until she disappeared from his view.

That brunette woman who Caspian was dancing with was feeling ecstatic as Caspian himself had asked her for a dance. She was resting both of her palms on his sturdy shoulders while both of Caspian’s hands were on her waist.

That lady didn’t miss her chance to express her feeling towards Caspian again, “Your Majesty, I know that your human wife won’t even be able to satisfy your needs.” She slowly trailed her hands down to his chest while whispering, “So if you want someone who can handle you then I- Aaahhh!”

Suddenly, she felt excruciating pain in her waist and grimaced in pain. Her face turned even paler than it already was.

Caspian had punctured holes in her waist with his sharp claws that he protruded from all of his fingers. Blood dripped from her wounds like waterfalls and her soft pink gown turned red.

He looked into her eyes with fury and grimly spoke, “I feel like you were not paying attention to my announcement at the beginning of the ball. So let me remind you again, Beth. Any harm that you do to my wife, I will pay it back in ten folds.”

“And this is me paying you back for what you did earlier.” He narrowed his eyes and pulled out his fingers from her body. His claws as well as his fingers were covered in blood. He retracted his claws then casually wiped his fingers on Beth’s gown and said with a devilish smirk, “I will have someone send a new gown to your mansion.”

Caspian winked at Beth and walked away.

Beth was in a lot of pain. Her wounds were healing but her face looked like it would burst anytime now. She clenched her fists and thought while shaking with anger, ‘You’re going to pay for this, Caspian. You cannot get away this easily after insulting me in the hall full of nobles.’