Chapter 129 - Dhampir Knight

"...That was your half-brother?" Cylea smiled, astonished.

"Yup," Theora groaned. "And he was a jerk."

Theora had barely been able to wait until she could spill all the beans to her cousin the next day. She had gone back to the Military Hall in a daze the previous day, insisted on having a sparring session with Kleis to get her mind off things, had been silent at dinner, and had an agitated sleep. If her teammates had found her jittery the next day, no one said anything. Theora had spent her whole shift nervous that Breorion would appear in the corridor, show up in the gardens, or summon her to his office or something. She loved Lady Venilla, who was the simplest target to guard when her nightmare cousin wasn't around, but she had darted out of the residence the second her shift had been over, even refusing lunch from the De Boreal kitchens. Instead, she had headed straight to her cousins' house. Her aunt was there, working in her office, but Mymesia had gone on a lunch date with her boyfriend, chaperoned by Herise, so Theora and Cylea had the drawing room to themselves.

As soon as they had sat on opposite ends of the couch, Theora had spilled it all: her morning encounters with 'Orion' months ago, how he'd sent Mischief to the Academy, her ignored letters, and finally, their encounter the previous day, all the way to the point where she had almost passed out upon realizing the 'vampire jerk' was her older half-brother. Cylea had been sipping her tea all along, her eyebrows gradually raising closer to her hairline.

"...Well," she finally said, putting her now empty cup down. "That was... a lot. Why didn't you tell me sooner about... your morning meetings?"

"At the time, it seemed... I don't know. Inconsequential? I didn't think you'd approve of me meeting random guys at dawn, either."

"I don't," Cylea scrunched up her nose. "But you have to admit, the odds of him being a duke..."

"Young duke," Theora rectified with a frown.

"Not for much longer, according to the newspapers. That might be why he's been away from his house so much and at the palace, for the title transfer. They don't really say why he's taking over from his father, but they all agree he's some kind of prodigy or something. He has been growing his family's fortune at an impressive rate."

"Him being filthy rich doesn't excuse lying," Theora grimaced. "And I already know he's loaded. I literally work at his house, remember?"

"A very, very nice house," Cylea chimed, bringing her cup to her lips again.

Theora groaned into one of the pillows. Now, she regretted how much she had spoken about the House De Boreal in the most flattering terms to her cousin. She had already spent her whole morning being silently mad at Breorion for having such a stunning residence; now, she wouldn't be able to dream of working there as a Plan B anymore, not when she knew it was his house. She was still very much set on being an engineer, but for a second, she had found herself daydreaming about working there if things changed, if she couldn't make it as an engineer for some reason.

"So, your brother... didn't recognize you?" Cylea frowned.

"I don't think so, but... How could he not? I look a lot like my mother, and there shouldn't be that many female dhampirs around!"

"Maybe he doesn't know?"

"My father knows," Theora said. "I can hardly imagine him not notifying his only heir that wife number three turned out to have hidden his younger half-sister for twenty years."

"Good point... Maybe he's really not a physiognomist. Either that, or he's decided to pretend you do not exist. I mean, he was the only heir of House De Crescent until you came along. Maybe he's not too happy about you... being around."

"That might explain why he acted like a jerk," Theora groaned.

Cylea gave her a little nod. Theora really didn't want to think about her half-brother right then. It already felt disappointing that he had turned out to have such a bad attitude, let alone the fact that he hadn't recognized her at all. Now that she knew who he was, she wished she hadn't spent so much time avoiding Breorion's eyes and looked at her brother instead. She wondered if he looked like their father... He probably did, given that they were both vampires. She hadn't spent a lot of time thinking about her half-brother until now. Something inside her was almost... disappointed. She had never imagined a tearful reunion where they'd instantly feel some sibling connection, but she certainly had never expected that much of a cold shoulder. She let out a sigh, leaning her head back on the couch. That had been a strange day, all in all. She wished the King had been healthy and able to be seen instead of being forced to meet all three boys in a row.

Gregorio was fine, and she actually quite liked him. But her half-brother and Breorion... She was disappointed in the first and angry with the latter. She couldn't even pinpoint why she was this mad at Breorion. Deep down, she knew him hiding his identity had made sense. Yet somehow, she couldn't get past it. A part of her felt disappointed that the connection she had felt might have been one-sided. She just couldn't get over the contrast between Orion, the kind stable hand she'd met, and Breorion, the young Duke De Boreal, genius entrepreneur and one of the richest men in the Kingdom.

"...Do you think I can quit my mission half-way?" Theora groaned.

"You could. I mean, you're wealthy enough to stop working today and live the rest of your life completely peacefully."

"Aren't you supposed to persuade me to finish the Academy?" she squinted her eyes at her cousin.

Cylea rolled her eyes.

"I just listened to you whine for over an hour about the boy you've been meeting clandestinely turning out to be very wealthy, high-ranked, and working at the most exquisite house you've seen, by your own admission. I am not the unreasonable one here, Theora."

"I hate when you're right... And this isn't about him being rich."

"It is so about him being rich," Cylea scoffed. "You're intimidated by money, Theora; I'm sure we've already established that. Except for the fact that he didn't disclose he was one of the wealthiest men in the Kingdom rather than some anonymous stable hand, what else do you have against him? I mean, now you know why he never answered your letters, so you can hardly hold it against him."

"He has my bird!"

"That he bought fairly from the man you sold it to."

"It is still my bird," Theora pouted, crossing her arms.

Cylea replied with a snort, staring at her cousin while Theora tried to ignore her. She knew it was unreasonable to hold that against Orion, or Breorion. Something inside her just wouldn't move on, however, and she couldn't pinpoint why. She just felt betrayed that she had been so blindsided for months about his real identity. She had sent letters to Orion feeling like she could talk comfortably to him, like he was this kind stranger she could just talk casually to. There was no way she could speak comfortably to a duke.

"When are Mymesia and her boyfriend coming back?"

"It's her fiance, and you are not going to take your feelings out on him."

"I wasn't-"

"Don't think about it, Theora. Aren't you supposed to go back to the Military Hall for a report?"

Theora let out another groan. The only good thing was that she only had four more days on the mission until she had to go back to the Academy. She wasn't sure she could avoid Breorion for so long, but she certainly was going to try, at least until she could manage not to embarrass herself or lose her temper in his presence. She could do that. Theora was trying to remember, but she was fairly certain she hadn't told him she was on a mission at his estate. She had only mentioned she was on a mission in the Capital, but that was it. He wouldn't make the connection, would he? There were probably plenty of trainees on missions around the Capital, and the young Duke probably didn't closely watch the temporary knights that were going in and out of his residence... She already hadn't seen him for the first half of her mission, even if now, she realized she almost had that morning when he'd come back very late. He hadn't approached his half-sister's quarters, however, and if the previous days were anything to go by, he had very rare, if any, interactions with Venilla. Theora let out a faint sigh.

"...I should go," she groaned. "I have to hand in my report and grab lunch at the Military Hall."

"Will they be serving food this late?"

"The canteen is open all day, I think."

"If not, you know the bakery Mymesia gets her favorite sandwiches from. Oh, and the day before your last shift, please try to get off soon! We really want to have dinner with you on your last day before you take the evening train, and Mymesia really wants us to go to the fairs together. I looked up the schedule, and it will be the last day of the engineers' fair."

Theora nodded. She certainly wasn't going to spend a minute more than she needed to at the De Boreal estate now, and she was eager to spend some time with her younger cousin; moreover, the prospect of an engineer's fair was exciting. She stood up and got ready to leave, but stopped by her aunt's office to say goodbye.

"Theora, can you confirm you'll be available for dinner the evening before your departure?"

"I promised Cylea I'd try to finish my afternoon work as early as I could. I won't be able to stay late though, Auntie, the Military Hall closes its gates at eleven."

"That will be fine, we just want you over for dinner," her aunt nodded. "I hope your mission is going well?"

"...It is," Theora tried to sound convincing.

"Good. I hope we'll see you soon, then, Theora."

"Bye Auntie."

This time, Cylea walked her back, the two of them sharing the stroll to the Military Hall, and making a stop at the bakery, as Theora's stomach wouldn't last until she got there. Since they couldn't chat in the open about any risky business, they spent this time with Cylea catching Theora up to date on her own life, like her many correspondences with other women, her latest readings, and her own opinion of the few fairs they'd visited without her.

"When are you going to tell your dad you'd like to take over his business?" Theora asked.

Cylea stopped in the middle of the street, giving her an accusatory glare.

"Oh, come on, Cyl. You read business books, you worship any successful businesswoman, you're always criticizing your cousin's actions and keeping close tabs on your dad's business. I might be daft when it comes to my own relationships, but I do know my cousin quite enough to tell you're itching to help your dad and take over."

"It's not... That's..."

Theora raised an eyebrow, and this time, Cylea was the one to roll her eyes. They resumed walking, and Theora ate her sandwich quietly, giving her cousin space.

"...You know how my mom is," she finally sighed. "I mean, she disapproved of you being a knight so much, and you're just our cousin. She thinks young women should find a stable partner, get married and have kids right away."

"Didn't Aunt Genevia work in the city first when she came here?"

"Because she had to, and I think she had to do something to afford living in the city, but she dropped her job the minute she could when she married our dad. I think she just doesn't want that for us."

"Just talk to her," Theora shrugged. "You never know, she might be more... inclined to concessions than you think! It's not like you don't want to get married at all, do you?"

"No, of course not. I'm just worried that once I do, all the other doors will close for me. I don't know many men of our acquaintance that would be open to their wives working in business. You should hear the stuff some of my peers say at tea parties. How their mothers did this and that, but then they got married, and they just dropped it all to get pregnant and take care of the house."

Cylea physically shivered at the idea, making Theora smile.

"Danell would be fine with you working."

"Drop it with Danell," her cousin hissed. "I will not move to live in the countryside and he will not come to the Capital. Although we have become good penpals, we both know we have fundamentally irreconcilable values."

"Fine. But I refuse to believe there are no married women who work with their husbands. Doesn't the Queen herself work quite a lot? And the Duchess De Nova is in charge of the family, isn't she?"

"Things are different for nobles... Especially vampire nobles. Anyhow, I promise I'll... Try to think about bringing it up to my mom. What about you? Ever thought about settling down after you get your knighthood?"

Theora tried to think about it for a moment, and Reylan popped into her mind. She hadn't thought about ever getting married, but then again, she had never thought about getting a boyfriend ever when she'd gotten into the Academy. ...Was Reylan still her boyfriend? Things had been so hot and cold with him, she hardly knew what to make of their relationship. Some things she liked, and some things were complicated... She thought about those 'fundamentally irreconcilable values' Cylea had brought up. Was Reylan's hatred of nobles and vampires a deal-breaker to her? She wondered what Orion thought of vampires... And then she shook her head. Why the hell did she care what he thought about vampires at all?

"Not really," she finally answered her cousin. "To be honest, I've always been kind of... independent? I can't really see myself attached to someone in such a final way. I'd have to find a guy who'd endure me every day, you know."

Her cousin let out a giggle.

"You make it sound like such an impossible task. You think I can find a husband who will let me work, but you can't find a husband who will be able to live with you?"

"You know what I mean," Theora rolled her eyes. "If I become a knight, I might be attached to a noble family. If I become an engineer, I'll have to work for the royal family and be a... well, businesswoman, I guess."

"Oh, so now it sounds hard?" Cylea scoffed.

"Alright, I do get the irony. But I'm not as... womanly as you, Cyl. Most guys see me as just a friend."

"What about the ones that don't?"

Theora grimaced. For some reason, her brain refused to envision being married to Reylan. He didn't seem like a commitment guy at all... He certainly had too many secrets going on. She felt it much more likely for a guy like Seaphen, but she also couldn't see herself tied down to him; Seaphen was too... caring. She shook her head before her thoughts wandered toward a dangerous pair of green eyes. At least, they'd reached the Military Hall. Theora sighed.

"Alright, see you soon. Thanks for listening to my... complaints."

"It keeps me entertained," Cylea shrugged. "It's better than some of Mymesia's romance DaisyNovel, actually."

"I bet she'd love it," Theora grimaced.

The cousins parted ways, and Theora walked inside the Military Hall, ready to hide in her bedroom until her next shift. She had little desire to show herself at the De Boreal residence more than necessary now, that was for sure.