The Vampire Duchess's Secret Marriage Contract

5| Spurned By The Divine

I groaned.

“Father, I don’t want to be in the crowd of over five hundred humans.”

He frowned at me. I kept going.

“What if I bite some delicious smelling human? I am but a young vampire, after all. Only half, but I’m still a predator. Would people not be scared of me? I definitely do not want to ruin the ball for others.”

Father sighed.

“Tia, those excuses are nonsense. Did you really think they would work on me? And I would rather you not attend either since I know how you feel about crowds, but there are… circumstances.”

I raised an eyebrow at that.

“What do you mean, father?” I asked. I felt that whatever it was going to be was not going to bode well for me.

“His Majesty invited you personally,” he said, making me choke.

“What? Doesn’t the Emperor hate me?!” I yelled in surprise. Father looked at me, his eyes guilty.

“I may have praised you a lot in regards to how well you are doing your duties as an heir.”

I held back the urge to bash my head on the table.

“Father, did I not tell you that I really do not wish to attain His Majesty’s attention, no matter what kind?” I asked in annoyance.

“But Tia, I don’t understand why His Majesty The Emperor dislikes you. You may be half vampire, but you are a wonderful kid. And you have no connections to any vampires. It’s not fair for you to be judged just because you are not fully human,” he said, sadness tingeing his voice.

I stood up and circled the table to give him a half hug.

“I don’t really care as long as you love me, father. And you know, after the previous war with vampires, it’s right that they are wary of me. We can’t change that right now. When I take over the Duchy from you… well, no one will be able to ignore me then.”

A determined expression took over his face as I stepped back.

“Yes, I will hand over the estate management to you next month and will announce that you are my official heir on your twentieth birthday, dear. Let us see who will dare to discriminate against the only heir of Kadirah.”

My twentieth birthday was in a week’s time… It was a significant event for both humans and vampires. For humans, they become eligible to inherit their titles and get blessings from the Temple of Terra to ward off illness and bring fertility to their lands.

Human mages got additional blessings from the Temple of Isis, the goddess of magic. Though I had little magic, it was enough for me to be considered a mage.

For vampires, they gained their special abilities and were given the right to choose a clan to be a part of, a family, per se. It was done in an elaborate ritual in the Temple of the Lord of Darkness, Lucius.

Lucius was one of the gods who opted to stay in the mortal realm, though he never set foot out of Vetresca.

Vetresca was the modern day leech capital where all those posh and noble bloodsuckers resided and reigned over their territories like kings and queens, though the only true royals were the purebloods sired by Lord Lucius himself.

It was true that the clan heads were indeed like Royals in their own right, considering how much power they wielded.

As a half blood vampire, I wasn’t even allowed near the Temple of Terra or the Temple of Isis, lest my dark origins ‘taint’ the holy grounds. I wasn’t allowed to attain my blessings from Lord Lucius since I was a ‘filthy’ half blood.

The thought that I could not get blessings from any of the gods made me depressed. What wrong did I do to be abandoned by the divine?

Noticing my downcast face, father started to panic.

“It’s okay, Tia. Who cares about those lofty Gods? We will make your birthday ball the grandest occasion in the history of the Empire. Even better than the Imperial Ball! Just put your trust in this father of yours,” he declared. I smiled.

“If you do that, His Majesty would be terribly unhappy with you, father.”

“That old man be damned. He has no eyes. His Majesty does not know the joys of having a daughter.”

A genuine laughter spilled out of my mouth.

“Even if he’s your best friend, you can’t possibly damn The Emperor. The walls have ears, father,” I warned, shaking my head in amusement.

“I would not have to if he doesn’t keep trying to bully my only daughter out of the Empire,” he muttered.

“It’s okay, father. I will attend the ball. Though time will be tight since I have to prepare for the Imperial ball and my birthday party. Do tell me on what date the ball is to happen,” I asked, hoping that it would not fall on the day before or after my birthday.

Father hesitated.

“About that…’’ he trailed off. I watched him curiously, awaiting his answer.

“It’s on the fourth day of the week, Tia.”

The armrests crunched under the strength of my hand. My father winced as he saw the damage made to his favorite mahogany chair. I looked down at the hand print I had left with a blank stare.

“Ah, I’m sorry, father, I must have not heard it right. What day was it again?” I asked slowly. I heard his audible gulp.

“His Majesty originally wanted to keep the Imperial ball on the same day as your birthday. Some nonsense about how you should have a grand debut. But I knew you would hate that, and I made him postpone it to the next day,” he blabbered, trying to calm me down.

The anger bubbling within me made me want to go to the Emperor and ask him what was his problem with me, but I decided against it. There would come a day when I could exact revenge against that scheming old fart.

I forced a smile onto my face.

“I’ll take care of the preparations, father. We’ll put on a ball that will stun the divine,” I said with newfound determination.

The Gods won’t bless me? Fine. I would show them that I didn’t need them either.

W/N
Yup, Gods exist in this fantasy world and are quite active too. Don't forget to vote, comment and share!