10 Assembly of the Dukes

Vance lightly pulled Melva's hand to help her up from her seat and only then she realised that she had been holding hands with him this whole time. Her face heating up from embarrassment, she tried tugging her hand from his hold, but he held on firmly, unwilling to let go. Afraid to make a fuss and draw the royal guards' attention, she stopped struggling and let him hold her hand to drag her along with him, out of the dining hall.

A few royal guards trailed behind them almost immediately after they stepped out of the hall to escort them as if on command though no one ordered them to. Vance showed them that he didn't need their escort by leading the way towards the drawing room. It seemed like he had memorised the ways inside the palace, further proving the frequency of his visit.

Unlike Melva, whose first time visiting the palace was today, was now nervous beyond measure to be introduced to the other Dukes. Speaking with the King was already unnerving for her, and now there would be more people of high rank she had to speak to. She was worried that the knowledge she currently possessed wouldn't be sufficient enough for talking with them.

Melva felt Vance squeeze her hand and hold it tighter when they were right before the door they were going to enter, which must be the drawing room. At first, she had thought that it was his kind gesture, trying to calm down her nerves. However, she snapped back to her senses and corrected her thinking. 

This was Vance. He would never think of anyone but himself. He must be holding her hand tightly because he didn't want to look weak in front of the King and the other Dukes. It must be exhausting not to trust anyone and doubt everyone. Which led her to think about the time when he had mentioned that being distrustful and curious was good and her guess that he might have been betrayed by someone he had trusted in the past.

Melva understood that raising someone's hopes after they were brutally crushed was difficult. She never really had anyone she could really trust, so in a way, she was envious that he had had someone close enough for him to put his trust in. She had no memory before she ended up in Ichorhold, where the townspeople didn't really accept her because of her unknown background. Even Mr. and Mrs. Halpine only helped her because she agreed to help their town. Therefore, she was never close enough to anyone to put her trust in them.

"Your Majesty, Duke Vance and Lady Melva of Nightwind have arrived," announced one of the royal guards as he opened the door to the drawing room.

Inside the drawing room were King Hershel who sat in the centre couch and four young men who sat on the other couches and armchairs in front of him. There was a table separating them from the King, which was where snacks with tea were served. After hearing the royal guard's announcement of Melva and Vance's arrival, all of them collectively turn their heads towards the door.

"Vance and Lady Melva, sit and have some tea," invited the King good-naturedly as his gaze landed on them who were entering the room.

Melva and Vance offered their bow before he took her to take their seats on an empty couch at a considerable distance with the others. It was evident that Vance was wary of the other Dukes and he didn't want to go anywhere near them if possible. He was very much distrustful and it was kind of unsettling that this side of him reminded her of her own self.

"Stick close to me," whispered Vance to her ear when they sat down next to each other on the couch. His hand was still holding hers and he placed both of theirs on his lap.

She said nothing to his request, for it was obvious that she was unable to go anywhere since he was still holding her hand firmly, as if he was afraid that she would run away. It was a foolish concern, though, since she was inside a huge palace, surrounded by a lot of powerful people. There was no chance for her to slip away from them. Even if the idea was appealing, she was not that stupid to try something that would surely fail.

"Welcome back, Vance," greeted one of the dukes who had long blonde hair which was tied neatly together at the back of his neck, revealing his pointy ears. He was clearly not a human, judging merely from his appearance. "It has been a long time. Two years, is it not?"

"I would rather not talk about how long I was being bedridden," said Vance coldly, although the Duke with pointy ears spoke nicely to him.

"I miss his snappish remarks. It has been quiet and peaceful without him here," said another duke sarcastically. This one had red eyes, thus he was also not human, although his eyes were not glowing like Vance's. Unlike the pointy eared duke, this duke seemed not fond of the werewolf. He was obviously riling him up by saying things that would irk him.

Vance, being short-tempered as he was, was livid at the sarcastic comment given to him by the red eyed duke. He countered with another sarcastic comment. "You can return to your home and sleep if you want calm and peace. I pray your sleep will last a very long time, hopefully forever."

"Don't be so hostile towards each other. It is our first reunion with complete members after two years," said the pointy eared duke worriedly as he tried to calm the two dukes down.

"How foolish," muttered a duke who sat alone on the farthest seat of them all. He had black hair, black eyes, and all black attire. It was as though he was attending a funeral from how gloomy he appeared to be.

"This is why they say not to let a werewolf and a vampire together in one room. You can see that they are immediately on each other's throats." The duke who was sitting on an armchair next to the couch where Melva and Vance were sitting leaned towards her to talk to her while the other two were arguing. 

The first thing Melva noticed was that this duke had eyes which were somewhere in the middle of green and blue. They were beautiful and clear like the ocean. His blue coloured hair was long and wavy. It was undeniable that the duke was attractive. And for some reason she was unable to explain, she couldn't take his eyes off him. It was as though something was reeled her in.

The duke spoke again as she didn't say anything back to him and only looked him in the eye. "I believe we have not met before. What is your name, beautiful lady?"

"Don't you dare speak to her, Siren," growled Vance angrily at the blue haired duke when he noticed he was talking to her.

Vance's furious growl snapped Melva back to her senses, breaking her trance. 'What is there to be that angry about?' thought Melva in bewilderment as she was finally able to take her eyes off the blue haired duke and turn to look at Vance. 

Her confusion slowly changed into annoyance. The blue haired duke was just politely trying to start a conversation with her. Was she not allowed to speak to anyone other than Vance? She was already trapped in his cage. It was too much to ask her to have no social life on top of that.

"No need to be so jealous there. I am just asking for her name." The blue haired duke that Vance called Siren was looking at her, asking for confirmation. His smile was very friendly and he seemed like a good person. She failed to see what was bad about him.

"It is true. He only wants to know my name," clarified Melva irritatedly as she tried to free her hand from his hold, but he only held on to her tighter.

"Stop, you fools. You are in the presence of the King," grumbled the gloomy duke to remind everyone as the King had not said anything despite their quarrel.

"I apologise on their behalf, Your Majesty," said the pointy eared duke, bowing his head apologetically even though it was not his fault in the slightest.

The King shook his head and laughed in amusement. He didn't seem offended by the arguments between the dukes while being in his presence. "No need to apologise. I don't mind. It is always so lively when all of you are gathered in one place. I do hope there will come a time where everyone gets along well."

There was a pause as all the dukes went quiet, seeming to be collectively thinking that the King's wish wouldn't be granted anytime soon. Melva was honestly surprised to see them have a bad relationship with each other. As fellow dukes, she had thought they would be friends as they worked together. Apparently, that was not the case with them. The blue haired duke was the first one who had mustered his courage to break the silence.

"Your Majesty, if I am allowed to ask, why did you ask everyone to gather here instead of the courtroom as usual?" asked the blue haired duke, changing the topic of the discussion at the same time.

"I would like to introduce someone to all of you and I also have good news to announce," said the King with excitement in his eyes as he turned to look at Melva.