Married To The Mad Vampire Lord
Chapter 245: Investigation_Part 2

Chapter 245: Investigation_Part 2

"I can see that, my lady. Unless you fear that your baby is a vampire, you will take the pill. But seeing how you are still healthy and on your two feet, I doubt the child belongs to a bloodsucker or you wouldn’t be able to stand with that stomach. Take the pill," he said politely, but there was a command in his tone.

What did he mean—that unless her baby was a vampire? Did it mean it would harm a vampire? Belle thought anxiously, knowing her baby was not human and had vampire blood in him. She couldn’t possibly take something that would harm her child, and if she refused to take it, she would give herself away and end up digging her own grave.

She hated situations where she felt like she was walking on a thin thread, and this was exactly one of those moments. Even though her child was still in her womb, she had already grown so attached to him that her motherly protective instincts had sharpened. She knew, without a doubt, that she would never take anything that could harm the child she carried, not in this lifetime, and probably never in any other.

Clutching a hand to her stomach where the baby tapped at her, she stared at the pill like it was poison, refusing to take it. When she didn’t move to take it, the Councilman arched a brow.

"Are we to think that you carry a vampire, my lady, since you are refusing to accept the pill?" the man asked, a look of interest on his face as he looked down at her stomach. He had never seen a human who carried the child of a bloodsucker and lived through it. Though he’d heard of it, he had not seen it, as any vampire he ever set eyes on was killed before he could feed his curiosity.

They had no reason to suspect this woman, as it seemed many who lived here were under compelling. And from what he had been told by Katie, the lady was nice and had never seemed to know about the vampires taking their blood. But if she was hesitating now, it could mean that they were wrong, and she was an accomplice with the bloodsuckers.

The Councilman was about to order his men to force the pill down her throat when she raised her hand and began to reach for it herself.

Belle would never have thought of taking it if the baby wasn’t tapping at her in a way she knew meant yes. Yes to what—she believed he was encouraging her to take the pill. She had long recognized what his taps meant, and what his no was from a yes when she asked a question. Her son was smart even before coming out into the world.

And she recalled once when Rohan had told her that the reason many had failed to kill him was because they did not know he was part demon and kept using vampire weapons to try to get rid of him. Witches attacked him with vampire weapons, he was tortured in the asylum with vampire weapons, and his demon blood would heal it faster than the vampire side.

Since it was his blood she carried in her womb, she believed her baby would have the blood of his father and not get hurt by this.

Hence, she reached for the pill, and without hesitation, she put it into her mouth and swallowed it. And just like she thought, the Councilman demanded she open her mouth to show him she had swallowed it and to raise the back of her tongue for inspection.

Belle hated how they were treating her, but she had no choice but to comply. When the man saw that she had swallowed it, he moved back with a satisfied look and then waited for the reaction.

Belle didn’t feel anything after taking it, but when she noticed how everyone else who took it were grabbing their heads and moaning in pain, she decided to follow along with the act.

She had learned how to pretend back in Nightbrook, when the compelling hadn’t worked on her. This wouldn’t be any different. So, she grabbed her head and swayed slightly, mimicking their reactions.

But before she could even sway to the side, the men behind her quickly reached out and caught her.

"Are blurry memories coming back to you, my lady?" the Councilman asked, watching her closely as she wrinkled her brows in pain.

Unknown to him, she was only pretending.

"Yes," Belle said through a fake groan. "I think I remember something... Oh Lord, I am remembering!" she cried out, forcing tears to her eyes, which wasn’t hard, as she was already emotionally raw after parting with her love.

"What can you remember?" the Councilman asked, almost eagerly now.

Belle was tempted to say, nothing, to tell him to get the hell out of her house with his men. But she knew exactly where that would land her.

So instead, she began to tell him what she believed would sound believable.

"My husband and I were on our way to Bimmerville when we were attacked by vampires." She clasped her trembling hands to her mouth as if she were too broken to recount the scene.

"They... they killed him! They killed my husband! And then the leader of the vampires looked into my eyes and told me to forget what happened, that from now on, he was my husband."

"I remember, he was frightening. And I... after that, I don’t recall the happenings of this house or how I ended up in the place my husband had planned to bring me."

Her voice cracked. "He was so happy that we were expecting a baby, and he wanted the baby to be born in a rich land like Bimmerville..."

Belle went on, earning the pity of everyone in the room with her act and her tears. They all looked down at her where she sat on the floor, crying, looking so fragile they couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

One of the servants even came to her side, hugged her gently, and told the Councilman it would be best to hurry with the investigation and let the pregnant woman rest and grieve her loss.

Belle had no idea how she had managed to make her act so believable, believable enough that even the Councilman agreed to leave her be, but somehow, she did.

And soon enough, when they realized the vampires had escaped, the Councilman sent men and a message to the king, requesting reinforcements for a search party to find the vampires before they could leave the land.

Belle watched the Councilman give orders and apologize to her. With a bow of his head, he said, "I will return when you are in a better condition and the rest of the memories are back to you. We will need information on every little detail about these vampires who have invaded our lands and killed five of our citizens."

Belle was taken aback and was tempted to ask who they had killed, but she knew she had to keep up the act of being too emotional and broken to speak. She could only manage a nod of her head and watched the man leave through the front door.

Once Everett stepped outside onto the porch, he stopped and then turned to order the two men beside him. "You two should stay behind and keep an eye on the lady of the house," he ordered.

One of the men frowned as he asked, "The lady of the house? Did you sense something about her, Sire?"

Among all the council members, everyone knew Everett was the smartest of them all. That was why the king had granted him authority to extend his influence across the land. He wasn’t just in charge of the council, he also oversaw law and order.

Everett had earned his positions years ago by lending a hand in developing powerful weapons and leading deadly campaigns against vampires and other invading creatures. Though Bimmerville had never fought in any vampire or human war, they were strict in protecting their lands and would kill anyone who posed a threat.

So whenever the Councilman wore that look of deep concentration, his men understood, he was sensing something.

Everett turned his head to look back at the door of the house as he replied to the man,

"There is something about her that makes me believe she’s not a victim but an accomplice. A victim would rage in grief and want their husband’s killer to be found. The lady did not question anything about the vampires or say anything that showed she wanted them caught and killed. Instead... she looked relieved when the others said they couldn’t find a trace of the vampires or any evidence of where they might have run to."

"Do you believe she’s lying about the story of her husband?" asked the other man at the side, who was looking at the Councilman with curiosity, as the man was never wrong with his analysis. The guard then added, "She took the pill. If you think she’s carrying a vampire, vampires can’t stand Nullshade, it burns their organs."

Everett turned to the guard who had spoken and said, "That’s my point exactly. The people we’re looking for might be more than bloodsuckers. Ben mentioned to me in one of his reports that the man has unusual black eyes and blue hair, and his skin looks tanned almost the color of honey. No vampire’s appearance matches that. Vampires are walking corpses with no heart. They are known to be pale."

The men behind the Councilman exchanged looks with each other before one of them leaned forward to question, "Then you think she’s carrying the child of the monster we’re looking for, and that he’s not a vampire?"

The Councilman’s lips pulled up at the side as he turned to pat the shoulder of the man beside him, who had pointed out his exact thoughts and suspicions. "You’re catching on quickly, Harry. She might be carrying just another monster. But until we are certain that she’s innocent, stay in the house as guards."

The Councilman walked down the steps of the porch to the crowded street, where curious bystanders were trying to peek at what was going on and why the authorities were crowding their street. Everett walked to his carriage, but before he could get in, he gave another order to one of his enforcers by the vehicle.

"The report of the house shows that the people who lived in it are from Aragonia. Send men to the land and ask around if anyone knows the Cutter couple and the supposed dead husband of the lady. Find out about them and their family. Mail the report to me once you find it out."

"Yes, Sire!" The man bowed and then turned to carry out his orders.

Everett got into his carriage and then pulled out his gold pocket watch to check the time. "If it turns out the woman is his wife, the monster will be back. He will be back to take her. Only he will be taking her dead body, and his will be next."

The Councilman muttered to himself, hoping the woman would turn out to be a fraud so they could use her to get to this monster. He had never failed in any of his missions or cases, and he wasn’t about to fail now.