"Psstt…"
"Psstt…"
Treegan glared at the man standing next to him who was now buzzing like a damned bee into his ear.
"What!?" He snapped in a whisper while glaring at those icy blue eyes of his neighbor.
Rein flinched at his abrupt snarl but managed to whisper back what was on her mind.
"What's going on here?" She inquired while fixing her eyes on the woman who was down on her knees.
From the looks of it, Reina could assume that the maid had done something to offend the King and was unfortunate enough that he had found out about it.
Having been confronted by that scary man, the maid chose to confess her sins to not implicate her Madame, Marin Zolvak.
'She is smart to do that.' Reina nodded in appreciation of the maid's forethought.
However, Treegan, who had been observing everything with a keen eye, was not so pleased with this outcome.
His eyes then turned to the man standing next to him and he leaned closer, towards his ear.
When Reina felt his body leaning closer to hers, she froze for a second as she disliked it when people got too close to her.
"She did something that she shouldn't have. That's all you need to know." Treegan disclosed before he leaned away.
King Zander's eyes had been fixed on the woman who was one of the candidates he would have to choose as his Queen someday.
Her maid was on the floor, cowering and begging for forgiveness but Marin stood still with her back upright, unaffected by the pitiful plight of her servant.
"It looks like you still think that you can do as you please in my Palace." The King spoke while holding up a crystal chalice filled with red liquid.
Swirling it around, he glanced at the woman before him while taking a sip from it.
Marin's back stiffened but she did not let her fear or guilt appear in her eyes.
Yet for King Zander, it was clear that she had understood what he was trying to imply after noticing the sweat forming on her forehead.
Not to mention that he could sense her heart rate increasing as each second passed by.
Reina and Treegan were mere spectators to what the King was doing up ahead of them.
Taking another sip from his chalice, he glanced at the maid whose face was now filled with tears.
"Marin Zolvak, were you aware of your maid's misdeeds?" He interrogated the woman but his eyes were fixed on the servant.
Facing the stern interrogation of the Vampire King, Marin gulped her saliva which sadly was heard by everyone in this room as they were all vampires here with heightened hearing.
Every single one of them present in this room right now were the exact same creatures of the night with the only difference between them being that they held different powers.
Reina's eyes were fixed on Marin who was exhibiting all the telltale signs of fear but was trying her best to mask it.
"No, My King. I was not." Marin answered in a confident voice once she calmed her mind.
She was the candidate chosen by the Elders to be the next Queen of Valanthur.
The other two candidates were just a formality and were no threat to her position.
She would be the one to stand next to King Zander and rule by his side, aiding him and assisting him in all of his endeavors.
This belief was where her confidence stemmed from.
She was sure that even if she did create a mess, the King would at best reprimand her and send her away.
In return, as an act of penance, she would punish her maid and this entire matter would be a thing of the past.
Marin's eyes flashed with a smug victory for she would not be affected by this incident in the least bit.
"Hmm… Alright then." King Zander nodded before finishing the contents of his chalice.
Treegan widened his eyes when he found that this matter had come to an end just like that and he turned his confused gaze towards his Master.
Reina was ever so confused and chose to take in the view before her in absolute silence.
Gloating that the result was just as she had expected, Marin bowed before the King and then turned to her maid and helped her rise from the floor.
"This maid expresses her gratitude, Your Majesty." The maid sniffled while bowing before him as well.
King Zander was still seated at the head of the table and looked up at the two women who stood next to each other.
"How will you gain forgiveness for the sin that you have committed?" He tossed another question but this time it was to the maid.
The lowly woman glanced at her Madame and after noticing her confident expression, she too regained some of her composure.
"Anything that the King deems fit for this slave." She answered and lowered her head.
Tilting his head to the side, King Zander's lips curved into a mesmerizing smile but that same smile brought panic to Marin's heart.
She turned her head towards her maid to make her shut her mouth but it was already too late.
*Snap*
The King's fingers snapped together and with that, the maid standing next to her disappeared.
Marin's eyes widened in fear and disgust when her face and her clothes reeked of a fishy and metallic odor.
She felt sticky all over but her body wouldn't move an inch, frozen still and terrified of what she had just experienced.
Treegan had watched the entire scene and he had grasped what had happened.
The maid's body that had disappeared in that instant was due to the King's pressure that he had projected onto her, causing her body to implode.
The only bodily remains of the maid was the blood that had splattered in all directions.
However, it was surprising to see that only Lady Marin was caught in the crossfires as none of the others had even a single droplet of the maid's blood on their clothes.
'The King is very kind.' He praised his Master who had made this possible by creating an invisible shield to protect them from being covered with the maid's blood.
Lady Marin remained frozen in place as her maid's blood was literally on her hands and her entire body.
King Zander's eyes flashed with menace and he did not conceal his anger when he looked at the woman standing before him, stained with blood from her head to her toes.
"The next time you try to touch my men. Remember… it will be you in the maid's place." He warned her and watched as she stiffly nodded her head.
"P-pardon, Your Majesty…" She stuttered, no longer using that sultry voice in an attempt to ensnare him.
Her maid disintegrated into a splotch of blood that was now covering her body and she might very well be next so seducing the King was not her top priority right now.
Treegan rolled his eyes at Lady Marin for among the three candidates, she was his least favorite lady.
Thinking of the man standing next to him, he sneered as everything that had taken place here had been done for his sake.
'You should be eternally grateful to our Master for avenging you.' He harrumphed but narrowed his eyes when he found the young servant being as still as a stone.
He found the Chamberlain's face to be pale as ever and instantly realized that something was wrong.
"Melk!" He called out when he saw the man's body leaned to the other side, displaying signs of collapsing on the floor.
The King and Lady Marin turned their eyes to the source of the ruckus and found the King's aide, Treegan holding the Chamberlain in his arms.
King Zander frowned when he saw Rein Melk's unconscious body being held snugly in Treegan's arms.
His one arm was wrapped around Rein's waist while the other was holding onto his shoulder.
Treegan had a conflicted look in his eyes as his fingers took in the warmth coming from the person in his arms.
"Call for the Royal Physician!" The King's orders woke the aide up and he nodded his head in compliance.
This once again brought a frown to King Zander's face when he noticed that for the first time, Treegan had not shown hostility towards Rein as he usually did.
Just the mention of Rein's name was enough to garner a sullen look from Treegan but now, he was hurrying to carry out the orders he had received.
Under the King's watchful eyes, the aide was quick to summon a guard and ordered him to fetch the Royal Physician.
King Zander then turned his gaze towards the woman covered in blood and leered at her.
"Stay out of my sight for now." He spat out and walked out of the room without giving her a second look.
Lady Marin then watched how the trusted aide supported the unconscious servant's shoulder and followed after the King.
'Why couldn't you just die, Rein Melk!?' She gritted her teeth once she was alone in the dining hall.
Glancing down at the blood over her body that was beginning to dry up, she felt a wave of nausea take over her.
Not wanting to remain here any longer, she exited the room using another passage while adhering to the King's orders of staying out of his sight.