Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

"The time of the year has finally arrived. We celebrate this day in honor of our ancestors who founded Nightbrook and brought us into civilization. We shall not forget our customs, and just like every year, this day will be observed in the same way," announced the king, who looked as young as his two sons standing behind him in black attire, like everyone else in the hall.

"Hail Your Majesty!" Everyone bowed their heads in respect. Soon after, the king waved his hand, and the servants began moving through the hall, distributing maps of the forest to each group.

Once the maps were given out, the king continued to speak.

"In the map, there are a few paths with red marks. Those red marks are the paths and sections of the forest you shall not venture to during the hunt. It has been outlined as the danger zone, where the rogues have taken as their homes. I have sent men to look around days ago, and every other side of the forest is safe to be in."

Murmurs broke in the hall as everyone began to look down at their maps.

Belle and her group members placed it down on the table and studied it. Indeed, a few places were marked with red, but apart from that, the map was an easy thing to understand with clear paths.

But then she couldn’t help but ask, "Since we will be hunting for ourselves and not in a group once in the forest, shouldn’t we be given individual maps?"

"What are you, a princess?" came the sarcastic words of Lady Benedict as she looked at Belle with scornful eyes. "Only the royals get individual maps, Lady Dagon. You should consider yourself lucky you are still welcome in society despite what your husband did many years ago to our great king and queen. If I were the king I wouldn’t have even—"

"Thank heavens you are not the king, Lady Anne, so if you may, please keep your mouth sealed so we can study the map in peace, it will be good," said Evenly as she gave the other woman a tight smile and a warning look.

She had always hated this particular women’s circle and had avoided them. It just so happened that she was unfortunate enough to be in the same group with them this year.

Lady Benedict looked offended for being cut off like that, but she knew better than to offend anyone of the Clifton house. Hence, she glared at the mad vampire’s wife and moved closer to her friend, Grace Johnson, who made sure not to cross any lines to speak to the other two ladies, as her own family background was nothing compared to theirs.

Evenly turned to Belle and answered her question like Lady Benedict had not ruined the mood. "We get one map because we are to study it now and know where we shouldn’t go. The participants with the higher score last year will be the ones to hold the map in their possession in each group. Since we won’t be far away from each other in the forest, anyone who wants to check will come back to look through it or, better yet, study it enough now. That’s why the map is made easy to understand."

Belle nodded in understanding and then asked, "Who got the highest score last year among you?" She looked at the three, hoping it wasn’t any of the two ladies she did not like, and fortunately, the two gossipmongers turned their eyes to Evenly and pointed to her.

Last year, Evenly had been in a vampire group, and despite that, she had managed to get the fifth most biggest animal. She had not been rewarded, of course, but it gave her the advantage to lead the group she was in this year.

"My score was higher than Lady Benedict and Lady Johnson," Evenly said humbly, without the intention to brag but to explain to Belle, but the two other ladies were silently fuming in fury and jealousy.

They had hoped to get close to Belle and turn her against Evenly, who had already made it clear that she did not like them. But it turned out Lady Dagon was no different from the other woman. They both had the most powerful and craziest husbands among the humans and vampires respectively, and because of it they think they were above them. Bitches!

Belle, on the other hand, tried not to pay attention to the hateful glares of the two women as she tried to study the map and cram it to mind. For some reason, she did not like the idea that they would all be using one map in that large forest, especially when she wasn’t good at keeping track of places, Belle thought in dismay.

When everyone finished studying their maps, the king’s assistant continued to speak, and Belle, along with everyone else, listened attentively. From what she understood, there were no chances of cheating, as vampire guards were stationed in the forest trees to keep watch over them.

Once the king’s assistant was done speaking and the king himself motioned for everyone to walk forward and pick their weapons, she thought she saw his dark red eyes shift toward Rohan. They lingered there for a moment, his jaw tensing, before he looked away and left the hall, leaving his assistant behind to supervise the people.

His eyes had been filled with resentment, and Belle turned to see that Rohan was looking at the king with the same resentful gaze. He watched the king’s back until he disappeared from the hall.

The king’s resentment towards Rohan was understandable, Belle thought. After all, he had lost his brother because of Rohan. But then, she had a strong feeling their silent hostility towards each other went far beyond that.

Everyone chose their weapon, including Belle, who picked the only one she now knew how to use: the crossbow. Rohan, she noticed, had taken a gun like most of the men. Without waiting for anyone to finish admiring their brand-new weapons, he walked out of the hall. He did not even look her way this time.

"This is your first time hunting, Lady Dagon," came Evenly’s whispered voice as she cleaned her gun, "but I want you to know that it’s no child’s play. Many lose their lives in it because some people take it too personally when another member makes a big catch. Don’t let your guard down, even for a moment."