Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate
Chapter 36: Sharp Swords and Sharper Words

Chapter 36: Sharp Swords and Sharper Words

The nobility signed a petition to prevent Riona from joining the Nightwarden. What a way to crash someone’s party, right?

Of course, it wasn’t like she didn’t understand their decisions. If she became a Nightwatch, and any major incident happened, her first instinct would be to trap the nobles inside the danger so they would be devoured alive.

Alright, maybe it wouldn’t be to that extent. But at the very least, Riona would never be controlled by those self-indulgent nobles. She wouldn’t be bribed by gold or power.

And someone who couldn’t be bribed could serve as their personal stake in the future. So better dull the pointy end before it was directed at their hearts.

Riona thought of going to Sir Dusan, someone with enough authority to investigate this matter but also close enough to her. But she dismissed the idea.

He had allowed Lisbeth to interfere with the Nightwarden Trials for some reason, and she was sure that this petition was also initiated by someone on the princess’s side, so how could he trust him?

Thus, Riona made a bold decision and went to the highest authority in the food chain–no, wait, not the vampire king; oh gosh, she didn’t want to be eaten alive by him.

The highest authority for the Nightwarden, the one in charge of the defense of this kingdom. She was seeking an audience with the Minister of Defense, Margrave Edward.

"State your purpose!" the guard barked. He must not like Riona.

But she also didn’t like him. Sneering, she replied, "I can’t tell you. It’s a private matter."

"Then you will have no audience. Return when you are ready to speak." He glared at her.

Riona was used to being shoved to the side, ignored, or blatantly rejected. And even then, she still didn’t know how to give up.

She took a step forward, leaning in to give the impression that she would fall onto the guard’s face. But as soon as he flinched back, she turned around and grabbed his sword, unsheathing it from the scabbard and pressing the sharp blade to his neck.

"Let me in or this sword shall drink a significant portion of your blood," she hissed.

The guard was enraged, but the sharp blade pushed him further. He gulped, contemplating whether his dislike for this fangless vampire warranted a little bloodshed.

"T-the Margrave is o-occupied with another guest," the guard stuttered.

Riona raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Who?"

"I–I can’t tell you."

The guard didn’t have to. The door of the Minister’s office soon opened, and Sir Kai stepped outside. "—believe that it’s for the best–"

Sir Kai’s words abruptly stopped when he locked eyes with Riona, who still had her hand up, the sword was on the guard’s neck. She quickly threw the sword away. "Greetings, Sir Kai."

"Lady Riona?"

"Hm? Is there anything wrong, Sir Kai?" A strangely high-pitched voice came from behind the Nightwatch Captain, soon materializing into a tall man with a particularly bulging stomach, even though he was not fat.

Riona bowed politely at the man, who must be the Minister of Defense she was looking for. "Greetings, Margrave. May I have an audience with you?"

Met with silence, she stared at Sir Kai, looking for an answer. But the man Riona thought as Margrave Edward shrieked into a big, creaky laughter. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he said, "I’m not him, child. I’m just a Count. The Margrave is inside the study."

Riona thought vampires should die out of embarrassment, not just a stake to the heart because right now, she only wished that she could disappear from this place.

Why did she have to jump the gun like that, only to end up making a fool of herself?

"Forgive me, My Lord. I... I didn’t know..."

"Clearly," the count let out another laugh, but fortunately, he didn’t make a big deal out of it. He appeared to have simply found amusement in the whole situation.

"Why are you here?" Sir Kai whispered, perhaps worried that Riona would make another scene.

"I need to speak with Hir Lordship the Minister of Defense. There is something urgent that I need his help with," she answered without divulging the specifics.

But Sir Kai had caught wind of it. "Is it about the petition?"

Aren’t you an all-knowing person, Sir Kai? Riona thought sarcastically.

He was spot-on. Although the petition had become public knowledge by now–since Florian also learned about it—she didn’t expect Sir Kai to correctly guess that she was here about that.

"Uh, um, yeah."

Sir Kai creased his forehead. A look of worry flashed across his face before turning into a determined expression.

Riona knew that it couldn’t be something good.

"I’m coming with you," he declared, confirming Riona’s biggest fear.

Why had she been surrounded by people who liked to poke their noses where they didn’t belong lately?

What had she done so wrong that the Lord of Darkness punished her by sending those people to her otherwise serene life?

Well, calling it a serene life might be too much because, uh, Riona often sparked it up a little bit, but at least she found her comfortable solitude in being ignored and hated.

Anyway, what she tried to say was she was fine with how it had been, and she needed no one to play the hero for her. Not Thorin, not Sir Kai.

"I appreciate your concern, but I would have to decline, Sir Kai," Riona said, proceeding into the study without waiting for a reply.

Margrave Edward looked just like any other vampire, but his skin was a testament to the battles he had fought. Even his face bore some small scars. Vampires were able to heal themselves within a certain period of time, but the scar remained.

"My Lord, may I have an audience with you."

The Margrave lifted his chin and responded, "Go ahead."

"I found out about the petition against me. But, My Lord, the Nightwarden must stand its ground against skunks who think they rule this kingdom. This isn’t just about me..."

But it was just about Riona.

"This is about the Kingdom of Eira."

Riona didn’t care about the kingdom one bit.

"This is about the people of this kingdom."

Nah, she couldn’t care less about them.

"And this is also about the esteemed institution, Nightwarden. My Lord, I have faith that you will be just in your decisions."

She was balancing her rapid breath. Riona didn’t know that spouting lies so many times in a row would be exhausting.

"You must be... Riona," Margrave Edward concluded. He put on a smile, and Riona was getting hopeful that he might be one of the good guys until he said, "I don’t care about the petition or those... skunks... but from the beginning, I had never intended to let you in."

"I’m sorry?"

"You’re not joining the Nightwarden."