“I need your assistance for the next rebellion.” Hazel choked on her own saliva and covered her mouth as she coughed.
“Oh my, I think I have drunk too much. Now I am imagining words!” or was she heartbroken to get delusional suddenly!
She could swear, she heard him asking for her assistance. What a joke!
“You have heard it right. I asked for your help!” with a blunt look on his face, he repeated his words gaining all her attention.
“There must be some mistake. I have never been trained as a soldier or a knight. I did not know swordsmanship.
I have never used any other weapons either.” she assured as she did not understand why he had chosen her suddenly.
“Just look at my tiny frame, I did not think that I would be able to support you. Not that I do not want to.. It would be my honor. But I am not strong and worthy enough!” looking at his eyes narrowed at her face, she tried her best to explain herself with a look of flattery over her face,
“You are the great lord of the three lands. How can I, a mortal, think of supporting you!” ‘So leave my life and me here to live a quiet life.’
“So you are refusing to help without even hearing the offer!” she gulped as she sensed the irritation from his voice, his eyes were filled with mirth when he asked her simple questions whose answer could take her life.
“That’s not it! I am not strong enough to help. Otherwise I would have loved to join you!” with an awkward smile on her face, she tried to find a way out.
Did the vampire forget that she was a human? Though she had never been much in contact with them and did not feel much attached to them, she was still one of them and could not betray them to support vampires, who would never accept them.
“I am not asking you to work as a knight or go and kill humans. So, you do not need to worry about strength and bravery.
I am giving you a simple offer. Help me in exchange for your freedom.”
“Thud!” She knew that he was telling all that for a reason.
There was no way that she would be able to make it alive after knowing his secrets.
Her hands held the glass tightly as she tried her best to smile.
“What kind of help are we talking about here?” if the worst comes to worst, she would tell the truth to humans and run away.
There was no way that she was going to place her life on the line for vampires who had scorned her presence and tried to kill her.
“I have never backed away from a war or challenge but humans are deceiving. They are trying to attack sneakily.
And if you think they are doing it for the welfare of humans then you are wrong.
They only want my wealth and power for themselves. I have never treated humans that are living under my wings badly.
Arent your maids human too? You can ask them!” her eyes stared at his face with horror.
Why did she feel that he knew what she was thinking and replied appropriately?
“What is it that you want from me?” the more he tried to stall the answer, the more she could feel the anxiety crawling in her heart.
If it would have been any easy matter, he would not have gone up to such lengths. He could have simply ordered her to follow his commands.
As his wife and as the person who was dependent on him for living. How would she have been denied?
She could see the swirl of emotions in his eyes that only made her hold her breath. There was no way the matter was simple.
“I have indirectly used you to show a feud between me and the count. I want to use you again in the same way to kill the next rebellion.” that was it? She raised a brow and continued to stare at him without giving any reaction as if she was still waiting for him to tell her the hidden part of the deal.
“You do not trust me, do you?” a soft smile formed on her face as she looked at his amused reactions.
“We both know the answer my lord. Then why ask?
More than trusting you, I would prefer that I understand you and know that it could not be as simple as you are presenting it.”
“It is. Come with me, live there. Find faults in them and complain to me and then I will execute the whole family.
That way, council not only would doubt my intention of killing humans out of the blue and you will get an image of villainess and they would be scared of you to ever taunt or cross path from you.
Isn’t that what you wanted from the start and acted like that?” she nodded as her main goal had always been survival.
Come to think of it, it did not sound so tough!
“And you will give me freedom after that as in letting me go wherever i want?” she asked as she was sure there would be a hidden glitch in it too but he nodded in a heartbeat.
“I will give you a summer palace, 20 maids with a monthly allowance so you do not need to worry about the future.
Above that, if you want to start working, I will invest in it too.” a confident smile formed on his face as he knew that he had already won the battle. With the way she was biting her lips, he could see that she was tempted.
Hazel had to agree that the offer was too good to be true.
She would not need to worry about anything and could have a leisure life if she accepted it.
“Which family are we talking about here?” though she did not know much about them, she had read about every family and wanted to know which family have the courage to challenge his authority,
“Your father!”