My Most Precious Human novel Chapter 19

I turned on my laptop and went through over fifty emails I had received in the last two days. I had rejected new assignments before since I wanted to take a couple of days off. Ironically, I was now spending those days off on my mental recovery. Of course, the fact that I announced that I wouldn't be taking any new work for a week didn't make my clients stop sending me their requests. For once, I regretted that I was so good at my job. I wished they would just leave me alone for a short while.

I spent half an hour answering emails, or rather copying and pasting the same message, saying that due to private matters, I wouldn't be able to fulfill their requests. It certainly was one of those times when I wished I could have a stable job, working for one company instead of taking care of numerous demanding clients, but there was nothing I could do about it. Those who offered me positions were absolutely unable to protect me or stand against my powerful father.

Suddenly, I started to wonder just how much power Sariel held. I kept thinking about what it meant to be the Duke in the vampire world. Was he someone influential, someone like a member of the royal family in the human world? This was one of many things I knew nothing about. I barely knew about the politics among the werewolves' packs. I knew that my father ruled over the southern states, and there were certain places where whole towns belonged to wolves. I grew up in one of them, Greystoneville. Despite the fact that humans were still the majority of the population, all the companies, schools, administration, legal offices, and the entire town hall could have only been run by werewolves appointed by my father. Was Sariel's position in New Argent City similar to the one my father had over the place I grew up? If he genuinely was someone powerful, I hoped that I could somehow use this power to protect myself…

As soon as I finished replying to emails, I heard someone knocking on the door. It was Martha who came to give me a tour around the castle, just as Mr. Gotha claimed before. I sighed. I decided to use this opportunity to ask her about the Duke, his position, and other vampires in general.

We went out of the room and walked along a long castle corridor, with floors made of white marble, and golden ornaments, and centuries-old paintings hanging on the walls. I kept staring at Martha suspiciously. Her cheeks were slightly blushing, and her skin wasn't as pale as Sariel's or Mr. Gotha's.

"I'm not a vampire if this is what Miss was thinking about," she said after she noticed my persistent gaze.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to... That was rude of me," I explained myself nervously.

"My father was a vampire, so you can say that I'm a half-vampire, but I'm actually a human… kind of. I sometimes feel an urge to drink human blood, but I don't need it to survive…" she claimed in an awkward but adorable way.

I chuckled but instantly processed her words.

"Wait…" I grabbed her hand while trying to comprehend it all. "You are saying that you are a vampire's child?!" I burst out.

"My human mother was raped by a noble vampire, and she got pregnant. It's an old story," she stated, shrugging her shoulders.

My jaw literally dropped. She saw how shocked I was and started laughing.

"How is it even possible? Can vampires really have children?" I asked, flustered.

She laughed even harder. She led me outside to the beautiful patio to sit on a bench.

“How much does Miss know about vampires?" Martha questioned, smirking.

"Well… I know they are strong, they drink blood and don't like sunlight. They are kind of living-dead," I said.

"Oh my… you really don't know much," she sighed, feeling sorry for me.

"I learned about vampires' existence only yesterday, so it is kind of obvious that I do not know much…" I tried to find an excuse for myself.

She smiled, gazing at me with eyes full of fire.

"First of all, there are three types of vampires. We call them the nobles, commoners, and degenerates. Nobles are the kinds of vampires who were born this way. They grow up in a way similar to humans, but once they reach adulthood, they age slowly. They can not live forever, but they can live for centuries. They can have children, but pregnancies among vampires are really rare. That is why there are now only five noble families living in the world. The Duke of Calvet is the head of one of those families. His power is next to that of the vampire king, Mael Grimoard. It is most likely that our Duke will become the king once the current king dies," she said passionately.

"That explains a lot…" I gasped and asked, completely drawn to her words, "Then what about those other types of vampires?"

"The commoners is the name vampires call those who were born as humans and were turned. This is something only nobles can do. It happens during a ritual of exchanging blood. The noble drinks your blood, leaving you on the verge of death, and then feeds you with his blood. The commoners don't age, they cannot have children, and they are much more allergic to the sun than the nobles. They literally spend most of their immortal lives in darkness," Martha continued her lecture.

"What about those degenerates?" I inquired.

"As I said, only the nobles can turn humans into vampires. Once the commoner tries to do that, they have a 95% chance of failing. Those who are turned by a commoner suffer from an uncontrollable lust for blood. Their instincts drive them insane, turning them into wild and vicious beasts. Sometimes they manage to save their minds if they feed frequently enough, but I have never seen a vampire turned by a commoner live longer than a year," she explained.

I thought that I had learned a lot from her, but there was one more dumb question I wanted to ask her.

"There is one more thing I'm curious about… about vampires being dead..."

"They are alive," she cut me off, "It's a common mistake. Their hearts beat slowly. Their heartbeat is so slow that they used to be considered dead. That is one of the reasons they stay young for ages."

"Then, what about other myths? Are they allergic to garlic or do they burn from looking at the holy cross?"

Martha burst out laughing again, but then her expression became serious.

"There is one thing from the books that is actually true… Vampires are allergic to silver. They won't die from merely touching it, but if it can be used to poison them…" She paused, becoming pensive.

"Poison? Like if someone puts silver in their food?" I enquired, hoping for a more specific description.

"Yes, the common method assassins use is powdered silver. It can be easily mixed with blood or added to food. Silver is quite hard to detect since it has no scent. The most vicious way is to inject the liquid silver into the vampire's veins. It's like a death sentence. It's how my father was murdered," Martha stated indifferently.

I could somehow understand her emotionless tone. If I were to guess, I doubt that she ever had a good relationship with her father when he was alive. I also doubt if she mourned his death. I knew that I would never feel sorry if my father died. I smiled bitterly, pondering over it…

"I can recognize this look in Miss's eyes. I can only guess that Miss didn't have an easy life either…" Martha sighed, but then abruptly stood up from the bench and added nervously, "Of course, I don't mean to dwell on it! Please forgive me!"

"Calm down, Martha," I said and grabbed her hand, "First, don't call me "Miss", because it sounds weird. Call me Lilith. As for the second, for my so-called father, I am an item he can sell. I know what it means to hate your own parent…"

"Thank you… Miss Lilith… I mean… Lilith," she muttered hesitantly, "and… if you would like to talk, please know that I will gladly listen," she claimed, painting a bright smile on her face.

"I'll remember that," I responded, still feeling uncertain about telling anyone where I came from.

Afterwards, we continued our tour around the castle. Martha led me to a grand terrace on the highest castle floor. It was the only place where I could see the whole residence. I learned that my chamber was in the west wing, where most of the rooms stayed empty, waiting for special guests. The most luxurious wing was the north one, occupied by the Duke, other members of his family if they decided to stay at the castle, and Sariel's closest employees. The south wing was the part where the lesser employees lived, including maids like Martha, while the east wing was a place for "blood bags", the contractual blood donors.

"Only a few people can enter the east wing. The Duke doesn't want anyone to disturb those ladies. That is why I won't be able to show you this part of the castle," Martha explained.

"I see… It doesn't look like a prison," I mumbled, looking at their wing, no different from the one where my chamber was.

"It's actually more like a monastery…" Martha chuckled. "Those "blood bags" cannot drink alcohol, smoke, or take drugs. Their health is examined every second day. They are also unable to engage in casual sexual relationships. They receive a lot of money for their needs. They can shop every day in the most expensive boutiques, go to spas or hairdressers, but every aspect of their lives is strictly monitored."

"That kind of… sucks," I commented.

"That is why they do not stay here for long. They tend to quit as soon as they realize that the Duke will never mark them as their own. They usually give up after a year," she stated.

"And what happens after they quit?" I asked suspiciously.

"Nothing much, except that their family loses the financial support from the Duke. Sometimes those girls have to have their memories wiped out, but that's it," she replied.

The more I thought about it, the more Sariel seemed to be like an untouchable Prince Charming. I couldn't blame those girls for wanting to be something more than just his blood donners. I didn't know if it was just him or if it was a vampire thing in general, but everything about Sariel was alluring. Even though I never cared about sexuality and my hormones had been in a coma for a long time, I felt completely different around him. It was yet another aspect that was making him dangerous. My conclusion was simple. If I wanted to protect my sanity and dignity, it would have been better to testify and make sure that those guilty of Carla's and others' deaths would be punished, and then leave this place forever…