Chapter 163: Why..Why
Before they knew it, the gate made a loud bang. Stephanie jumped back in shock, as she did not expect this at all. In fact, the sudden outburst did not shock just her, but Raven too.
"Give me the blood!" the maid roared like a beast, saliva dripping from her lips, her eyes blood-red, nails extended, and teeth transformed into fangs. Ariana stared at her. Just as she had guessed, the lady was a vampire.
At first, she had brushed the idea away, thinking it impossible—after all, she would not have been allowed past the castle, much less the royal duplex where the royals stayed. If not for Lady Stephanie that day, Ariana knew she would have been poisoned without realizing it.
At first, Ariana had asked for blood from the guard who accompanied her—a little animal blood, just to check something and surprisingly her thought were confirmed, The lady seemed not to mind at all, as her hunger made her ignore where the blood was coming from.
One thing about vampires is that they drink human blood, and the sweetest and fullest blood usually comes from their partners. They often pay a large amount to drink from other that was why they had partners, as most half-vampires volunteer willingly to lend blood for money.
Before a vampire drinks animal blood, it usually means they have no other choice—their hunger has reached its absolute limit.
The maid, had taken a huge amount of blood before she came to the duplex—enough to last her from the beginning of her mission to the end. That was the intended duration: once she poisoned the queen, she would leave.
She knew that taking blood with her would only raise suspicion from other maids. Weeks had passed since then without her taking any, and the hunger had been building ever since.
"No wonder she refused the food and took only water. The food would have only starved her more instead of quenching her hunger," Ariana explained. The lady growled, her hands pulling at the strong metal gate.
Raven moved quickly, pressing the switch, and the lady was forcefully pulled back by her hands through the chain. It was then Ariana finally noticed the chains on her wrists.
Even though Ariana felt pity for the lady, she knew that without intervention, she would have been dead by now—and the lady herself would not feel even the slightest pity. Still, Ariana couldn’t help but feel it.
"B... Blood. I want b..blood!" she growled deeply, her voice hoarse yet rough, as her head shook, fighting the urge. Ariana could see that the lady was truly struggling—it was visible in every motion.
"I will give you blood," Ariana finally said. The place fell silent. Raven’s eyes widened in surprise at the queen’s sudden words. Even the guard’s lips parted. Not just him—Lady Stephanie simply stared in shock.
The lady finally raised her head. Red veins appeared at the corners of her eyes. Ariana stared at her as their eyes met. The lady breathed hard where she sat, not daring to move further, already too weak.
"I will give you the blood only if you answer my questions—one cup for every five questions," Ariana said. The lady’s chest rose and fell rapidly. Her lips parted as she breathed heavily, desperation in her eyes, visibly struggling with herself whether or not to accept the offer.
Her face tightened, red veins popping out more, her hands moving to her hair as if she wanted to scream.
’Is she in torment?’ Stephanie wondered. She had never seen someone struggle like this before. Was the lady fighting her loyalty versus her hunger? Ariana wondered the same as Stephanie.
After several deep breaths, the lady lowered her head, raising one knee to rest her head upon it as she sighed, her body arching.
Stephanie pressed her lips together. Was this how hunger felt for vampires? The lady seemed to be going insane—purely insane.
"Tell me, do you agree... one cup of blood could free you?" Ariana’s words were cut short by the lady’s constant nodding, her head still low.
"I..I agr..agree... I do," the lady managed to say in a low voice, her hands curling into fists. Ariana smiled softly.
"Is Mr. Frederick alive?" she asked curiously. She had asked before, but never knew if he was truly alive or dead. What Stephanie knew about him had come from the letter, not the man himself.
The lady’s hands moved to her face as if blaming herself. Her eyes looked defeated, more like annoyed at having been swayed by food. But she was hungry, and the scent of blood had ignited something inside her. Before she could control herself, she had hit the gate.
Maybe she could just answer this five questions, take a cup, and that would suffice. But answering this questions could slightly blow her cover, allowing the queen to suspect she was a vampire.
What surprised the Raven was how critically the queen had thought about this. She must have assumed she would deny, since there was no proof.
Weeks had passed without a taste, driving her insane. She tried not to eat the food brought to her. Knowing that when someone is very hungry and sees food they dislike, they would eat it out of necessity—but vampires were different. Eating would only intensify their starvation, making them crave blood more than ever.
"Y... yes," she finally spoke. Raven remained silent, feeling guilty. He knew she was alive, but he didn’t like that the queen was discovering this in such a way. If he had suggested it to His Majesty, he knew his head would be on the line.
He knew His Majesty wanted the best for her, but he also knew she deserved to know the truth, as she was smart enough.
Ariana stared at the lady, and for some unknown reason, she felt a slight pity for her. She didn’t know why—perhaps because she was a fellow woman—but seeing her on the floor made it hard to stay firm. Still, Ariana forced herself to remain strong, knowing it was necessary. She looked at the lady once more and spoke softly.
"Second question... who sent you to poison me?"
Her voice was quiet, but the words struck deep. The woman fell silent. Ariana could tell that this lady was truly faithful to someone. It was clear in the way she struggled internally, refusing to utter a word.
Ariana could see it—the way the lady bit her teeth, how the veins on her skin bulged, even creeping into her eyes until they turned bloodshot. Her tongue flicked in and out as though she were fighting to keep her answer locked inside. That alone told Ariana enough.
At last, the lady broke.
"It’s... it’s..." she trembled before forcing the words out. "It’s Frederick."
Her voice was quiet, her head lowered in shame, as though disgusted with herself for answering such a question over nothing more than a cup of blood.
Ariana noted her words carefully. "So you do recognize the letter," she murmured.
The lady remained silent.
Ariana’s heart wavered. She couldn’t understand—if Frederick had a lover, why did he marry her instead? What was his plan? What was his motive? If he already had someone else, he could have simply married her. So why... why did he marry Ariana?
She sensed something deeper, that none of this was coincidental. If Frederick was alive, why had he claimed to be dead? Why had they had Beria? Did this mean the chief was also on his side—or had Frederick faked everything all along?
Her thoughts twisted into knots. So all this... why? So all this... why?
She felt it in her bones. That dream—so vivid, so real—was it Frederick who had entered her dreams to tell her he was alive? She had felt it, yet she only wanted confirmation. This alien presence of doubt caught her off guard. Still, the same question pulsed in her mind repeatedly:
Why? Why?
Her question was true, and throughout, the only word that echoed in her head was why. Why had he planned all of this? Was he plotting to ruin her life? And if so, what was so special about her that he went so far—so far that even rumors had spread about her killing him?
She stood in silence until, at last, she spoke.
"And why... why was it that..." Her voice grew softer, almost breaking. "Why did Mr. Frederick also plan on marrying Lady Stephanie?"
The lady’s face faltered slightly, and Ariana knew that expression meant something. Either they were involved in something illegal... or in something Ariana didn’t want to imagine. This wasn’t natural. It wasn’t normal.
And if Mr. Frederick was truly mixed up in some kind of taboo, Ariana couldn’t wait to uncover the truth.
Lady Stephanie’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Ariana, confusion flashing across her face. She tried to make sense of Ariana’s words, and then—finally—it struck her.
The man Lady Emberg had once wanted her to marry, the man who had visited her countless times, the man she was meant to wed before Ariana had saved her life... was none other than the Queen’s ex-husband.