The Masked Vampire King's Accidental Bride
Chapter 358: It’s tit for tat

Chapter 358: It’s tit for tat

Elliana walked further into the corridor as she followed a particular Duke who looked like he was trying to sneak out of the party area to find some peace.

It was amazing how a b*stard like him was trying to find peace after disrupting lives and the peace of others.

She pulled out her phone and dialed the number.

"I am there. Where are you? He is right in front of me. I am walking towards the East wings of the venue," Elliana hushed as she kept walking, trying to make as little noise as she could.

"Come here as soon as possible. You know I am not capable of taking down a Duke," Elliana whispered before ending the call and following the man.

She paused when the man suddenly stopped and hid behind the pillar, trying her best to collect her dress behind the pillar.

It was more important for her to maintain a healthy distance from the Duke. She needed to keep her heartbeat calm, the most sound her body was making involuntarily and she didn’t know have any control over.

After taking a few calming breaths, she looked towards the corridor from behind the pillar, her brows squinting when she couldn’t find the man.

Shit. She lost him. How will she -

Her gaze relaxed when she saw a few familiar people dressed in all black from head to toe sneaking in a particular direction.

She walked to where they were moving in hurried steps, feeling safer that her team was there.

"What took you so long? Didn’t I tell you to enter beforehand?" Elliana hissed at the girls before she looked in the direction of the Duke who was talking to someone over the call while smoking a Cigar.

"Let me handle it. Take your positions," she walked to the Duke in unhurried steps even though she knew she shouldn’t be out of that part hall for long, or the entire group of royals and her friends would come looking for her.

"Mr. Tyson," Elliana whispered after ensuring her mask was in place.

The girls, as instructed, hid behind the entrance of the balcony, waiting for Elliana’s signal.

"Who are -" The Duke paused.

"What is a human doing here at the annual vampire’s party?" The Duke looked Elliana up and down.

"Aah, so you are one of those. I didn’t know they were allowed to bring blood slaves this time," the Duke commented as if realization dawned upon him.

Elliana pressed her lips into a thin line.

She looked at the Duke who was well dressed. He didn’t really look like someone who would commit that kind of sin. Then again don’t they say to never judge a book by its cover?

What if he was one of those who exploit their powers because they think no one would hold them accountable for it?

At the moment, almost all the Dukes knew the princes would try to win their favor by voting for the throne, which gave them the courage to do whatever they wanted.

"Who am I, what am I, why am I here, these questions are not something I am here to answer. I have a question for you, Mr. Tyson. The correct answer will allow you to live and the wrong answer... Well, let’s not talk about it," Elliana smiled, her smile meaning nothing well.

The man in front of her looked at her for a few seconds.

Unlike other powerful people she had met, he didn’t laugh at her. For some reason, he believed her even when she didn’t execute any kind of power. It meant he was a good judge of character too.

Unfortunately, he sinned when he thought messing with them was okay.

"What is it?" He took another whiff of his smoke.

"Yesterday, in the evening, near the Black Woods forests of the vampire Kingdom, you met human rogues to make a deal about selling them the illegal ammunition that you have been illegally preparing in the basement of your Textile industries. I am not asking this. I am stating it," Elliana said.

Every word she said, made the Duke clench his hand around the railing, though his expression remained neutral.

"After making that deal, on your way from the brothel to your home, you met a mute girl who was shopping silently by the side of the market. Since you didn’t have any fun there, you daringly took her to your palace. That mute girl couldn’t scream, and you took advantage of it. The girl was named Chloe. You were quite violent with her," Elliana stated the facts again.

"What the hell do you want?!" The Duke asked, his voice cold and laced with wariness.

"We found her dead body near the Silver Water Lake. Here is the question for you. Were you the one who killed her? Yes or no?" Elliana’s gaze turned dark as she asked the question that she honestly didn’t know if she was ready to hear the answer.

"I don’t see why I should answer you," The Duke gritted his teeth.

"For violating my girl and sexually assaulting her, I would like to punish you. I have a few options for you," Elliana leaned on the wall, her gaze meeting with her girls who nodded at her to let her know they got her and were ready to attack the vampire any second.

"First, come with us and take that punishment from that girl’s guardian, which is me. Second, we kidnap you and take you against your will. Third, come with us and take that punishment from alligators.

Every option comes with its pros and cons, but keep in mind, you are coming with us either way," Elliana ended.

The Duke didn’t lose his composure. Rather he looked straight into her eyes and scoffed.

"For a human, you really overestimate yourself. Do you even know who I am?" He asked.

Elliana pulled out the gun that she borrowed from Glow and pointed straight at his head.

"Do you know who I am?" She asked.

"No... But even after that, I don’t think any human is worthy of -"

"Wrong answer," Elliana sighed.

"Take him away," Elliana said, and the Duke narrowed his eyes.

"What do -" he couldn’t even complete his sentence when he saw seven people dressed in all black with their faces covered with a black leather mask that only made their eyes visible.

"Make sure no one catches you. You can play with him before killing him. It’s tit for tat in our rule book. I don’t really want to bother with it," Elliana shot the Duke straight below his neck, rendering him unable to move.

It wasn’t a regular gun, but a device with the drug shot to render a vampire unconscious.

As Elliana walked back to the hall, she nearly shrieked with wide eyes when someone grabbed her hand and pulled her to the side.

"It’s me. Stop shouting!" Marcello whispered to her.

Elliana’s gaze immediately darkened.

"What are you doing here?" She pushed him away, and Marcello smirked.

"I heard what happened to Chloe from Misha. I am sorry to hear that. I have already asked my men to make the Duke and all his underlings who have hurt any woman in the past, pay a hefty amount with their limbs," Marcello said with seriousness, and Elliana hummed.

It was this afternoon she heard about the message, and though Chloe wasn’t someone she was deeply attached to because she joined when Elliana was away, she was still devastated at the news.

That was the reason she had always been worried about her girls too.

"How did you find me?" Elliana asked, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Guess what? I knew their knight in shining armor would be coming here to avenge her girl’s humiliation. So I was kind of keeping a gaze on that Duke too. Guess what? Voila, you indeed showed up," Marcello smiled, too proud of himself.

"And? I don’t understand your need to stop me. I am sure Glow transferred all the money -"

"I am sorry," Marcello held her hands and looked at her sincerely.

"You have no idea how guilty I feel these days. I am deeply sorry, Elliana. It was almost like I lost one of the most precious partners of mine -"

"You are just anxious because you were looking forward to the poison and my other intentions," Elliana cut him mid-sentence, and Marcello paused.

He sighed.

"Well, you are right, but... It’s also because I really care about what’s between us,"

"There’s nothing between us," Elliana glared at him.

"Don’t speak like that. Think about all these endless nights we spent together, calculating the revenue and forming plans to launch an illegal item. We have a bond between us. I call it illegal fre-partnership," Marcello grinned from ear to ear.

Elliana rolled her eyes and started walking back to the ball while Marcello tailed her.

Glow, who was leading the girls out. Looked at Marcello following their leader and sighed.

She was the one who told him Elliana would be here and he needed to rub his nose on their boss’s feet if he wanted to have anything to do with her.

She just hoped Marcello succeeded in whatever he was doing or she would have to leave him brokenhearted without any second doubt.

Glow sighed and turned around, her hands trembling at the thought of how she used to attend such balls too until her family threw her out, just like most of the girls in the group.

~~~~~

A/N- dedicated to Dorcas_Idehen.