Chapter 88: The One You Don’t Fool

Chapter 88: The One You Don’t Fool
Vlad had had a bad feeling about the servant since the day Aurelia was accused of theft.

His girl was a princess. She didn't steal. Vlad had known instantly that someone wanted to cause her harm.

When they’d run into them in the hallway that night and he’d seen how belligerent Betty was being, he’d instantly known she’d had something to do with it. It was his fault for neglecting the matter, but he’d thought that finding out who’d tried to get her killed by switching her horse was more important.

Oh, to think that the servant was bold enough to be behind that, too. Vlad hadn’t expected it.
For fellow servants to attack each other in such ways was common, but Vlad still had a hard time classifying Aurelia as a servant, even though he'd lied to her that he did.

Even when she wore her housekeeping uniform, she walked gracefully about with the smile, grace, and posture of a monarch, so how could he equate her to the likes of Betty?
The subject of his bitter thoughts suddenly let out a dry laugh and shook her head at Aurelia.

“I’m sorry, Aurelia,” Betty said. “I guess it was something you wanted to keep a secret?”

“I only want to know how you knew. I’m finding out on my own, Betty. I’m not telling the Queen about it. And I could tell the Queen about it.”

Betty went still, her lips tightening. Her lashes fluttered nervously, and she lowered her gaze, jutting out her shoulder in a sharp shrug. “Bronan told me.”

Aurelia frowned. “Bronan?”

“Yes. You don’t know, but he and I are lovers. Those haystacks you’ve walked by so often in the stables have held our bodies on many nights of full moon.”

Aurelia couldn’t stop the distressed sound of disgust that left her mouth.
She covered her mouth, eyes widening a little as she glanced at Vlad. Showing such reactions, even if the things someone was saying were awful, was the opposite of what Aurelia had been taught growing up.

Ignoring Betty’s smirk, she cleared her throat. “Okay. So, Bronan told you that it was a stallion that threw me. Alright, Betty, I’ll accept that. For now.”

“It’s true. He said—”
“I’ll ask him.”

Betty’s words dried up, her lips parted, and her eyes stared at Aurelia like she was looking for something more to say.

“So, don’t worry about that,” Aurelia said. “I’m sure Bronan will clear it up nicely for me. Other than that, I was wondering what you were doing on that day? The day I was getting shown about the Legion Camp, only to get thrown by that horse.”

Betty blinked, trying to moisten her eyes that suddenly felt dry. “I was making cheese out back with the other girls.”

“You made fresh cheese that day?”

“Yes.”

“That’s odd. When I was working in the pantries, the cheese supply didn’t seem to have recently been refilled. It was nearly finished, from what I recall.”

“Cook used up most of the cheese for a new recipe! You can ask the girls I was working with, if you don’t believe me.”

Aurelia’s arms were crossed, her eyes sharp and assessive. A faint smirk curved her lips.

Vlad stared at her, feeling his body stir at the authority in her eyes. So different from the weak and pleading Aurelia, he’d first met.
 God, she was sexy.

He blinked, catching himself. Quickly, he turned back to stare coldly at Betty, trying to focus. Where on earth had that frightening thought come from?
He really needed to figure out how to break his soul tie to her.

“Okay, Betty,” Aurelia said gently, although her eyes were anything but. “Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll definitely be following up on all the information you gave me here today. I’ll speak to Bronan, to Cook, and to the girls, so I bring it all to a tidy conclusion.”

The hands on Betty’s lap slowly curled into fists, the whites of her knuckles showing as she nervously scratched her thumbnails in the frayed fabric of her skirt.
Aurelia smiled, brows rising as though to ask Betty what she was still doing there.
It was dismissive, but Betty couldn’t allow herself to get dismissed right now.

She’d done a good job of playing innocent until now, but who knew if she’d wake up to chains and the dungeon tomorrow morning?
Aurelia had the Queen in her corner. Maybe Betty also had to make use of someone powerful.

Swallowing hard, she straightened. “You… you suspect me, don’t you? You think I’ve been trying to kill you or frame you.”

Aurelia looked at Vlad with a clueless blink. “Me? No, dearest Betty.”

“Of course you do!” Betty said. “I can see it in your eyes. Just like when I was little, and worked for that cream shop near the cow farm. Mr. Froiden was kind for giving me work, but whenever some cream went missing, I saw the way he looked at me. It’s the same look in your eyes right now.”

Aurelia stilled, her expression melting into one of mild pity.

Betty sniffled, lowering her head. “I’m used to it, you know? Being the culprit.”

Aurelia stared silently at her, seeing a vulnerable side of Betty for the first time.

Vlad stared flatly at her, shaking his head at the pitiful look on Aurelia’s face. Look at her. Getting sucked in by a con artist with minimal effort.
The girl was hopeless.

“I’m sure I can help you find the culprit,” Betty continued, voice shaking with sadness. “But, if you’ve already decided that it’s me you want to condemn, then… I can’t stop it, can I?”
Silently clutching her skirts, Aurelia looked visibly guilty.

Vlad scoffed.

The sound was like an injection of reality, and Betty jolted mildly, glancing anxiously back at him. Blast it all, she’d forgotten he was there. It wasn’t just Aurelia she needed to convince.
Preparing herself to draw every ounce of pity out of the cold Vampire’s heart, she slowly turned to face Vlad.
He had his arms crossed over his chest and stood so still, he looked like a picture. She tried not to feel intimidated by his bulging muscles.

With a wobbly smile and tear-filled eyes, she nodded at him. “When I’m convicted of the crime I didn’t commit, Sir… you probably won’t see me again. The gallows will receive my miserable soul, and I’ll—”

“Oh, shut up.”

His ice-cold words cracked the tension in two, and Aurelia’s eyes widened. She was stunned. How could he be so mean, even if the girl was suspicious?

Blinking nervously, Betty tried to gather her wits. “I’m s-sorry, I must’ve been chattering on—”

“Look here, brat,” Vlad murmured, staring down at her. “I’m not Aurelia. I’m not Fiona. I’m not anyone you can fool. You have two minutes to spew the truth out from between your lying lips. Or my floor tastes your blood.”

Betty was frozen, eyes round in her white face.

Vlad’s head leaned down menacingly. “Your time starts now.”