The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 374. Meets Mill

Chapter 374: 374. Meets Mill

The servants pushed open the dining hall doors to let Louis in. His clothes changed to something more casual. He walked in without hesitation.

"Lord Louis!" Haney’s voice echoed in the hall as he rushed to his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Haney," Louis called back excitedly. "You’re here."

"Yes, I came to supervise the rebuilding of the castle fence, amongst other things."

"I should have known you had something to do with it," Louis said, stepping forward and stretching out his hand.

Haney repeated his actions, grabbing each other by the forearms, shaking slightly.

"I haven’t seen you in forever and didn’t hear anything. To be honest, I feared the worst."

"I don’t blame you," Louis said, pulling his hand away. "To many people, I might as well be as good as dead."

"Why didn’t you return sooner?" Haney asked.

Louis shrugged, "I figured seeing the world was better than being stuck here. Vampires never leave their comfort zone. The longer I stayed away, the harder it was to return."

"Are you leaving again?" Haney asked.

Louis shook his head and walked closer to a seat he had chosen at random. "I don’t think so; I’ve gotten it all out of my system." He smiled.

"Well then, it is so lovely to have you back."

Louis sat at the table, and the servants began to move, serving the meals. "I guess it’s best to say the Primus won’t be joining us."

"Unfortunately not," Danag replied. "He hasn’t joined us for a while now."

Louis raised his head, staring at the two figures sitting at the corner of the table.

"That’s Corbin, Lord Phelan’s son," Erick spoke up immediately, taking note of Louis’ gaze.

"Well, he is all grown now. Your old man must be proud."

Corbin frowned; he obviously did not appreciate how Louis spoke about his father.

"That’s Lord Otis Sage."

Louis frowned, "Seraphino, eh?"

Corbin squinted his eyes, "We seem to be the only ones who don’t know who you are. Wouldn’t you say it’s only proper to introduce yourself?"

"Oh, you’re the only one who doesn’t know who I am. Otis is very familiar with me."

He picked up his napkin and wiped his lips, "Familiar is a stretch, Lord Louis. I haven’t seen you in decades; that’s enough time to lose whatever familiarity we might have had."

Louis raised his right brow slightly, "I suppose you’re right. I am Louis Xanthus."

"Xanthus?" Corbin exclaimed. "I thought Lord Kieran was the Lord and heir of the Xanthus estate."

"That he is," Louis responded casually as he took another bite of his food.

"I didn’t think he had a brother, let alone an older one."

"The schematics do not matter. The point is I have introduced myself. I suppose you’re both here because of the squad."

Corbin nodded. He didn’t look like he was over their conversation, but at least he was willing to let it go.

"However, this is a little odd, Otis..."

The ginger head turned slightly to look at Louis, his somewhat chubby cheeks stuffed with food. "Odd?" He said in between chews.

"Yes, you and Seraphino are usually attached by the hip, but there is no sign of him."

Otis stared darkly at Louis, "I don’t know if you heard, but his father died."

"Oh, he’s Lord of the Estate now? I guess we both have more in common than I thought. Please accept my condolences."

"It was a long time ago. The only other death I can think of longer than that would be that of your parents, that’s if you didn’t include the twins’ mother."

"The twins!" Louis yelled excitedly. "What happened to them?" He turned away from Otis completely to Erick, who was the closest to him.

"They are still at the castle," he explained.

"You’re serious. Oh my, it’s been so long. I’m sure they are all grown. The last time I saw them, they were so tiny you could hold one in a palm."

"They are very much older, Lord Louis."

"I am sure."

"Would you like me to send them?" Danag asked. "They might be a bit tied up, but I’m sure they can spare a few minutes."

"What? There is no need for that. I am sure I’d run into them faster than expected. No need to go that far." Louis replied with a soft chuckle.

"As you wish," Danag replied.

The rest of the meal went on without much of a conversation, and soon enough, the last meal of the day was over, but there was still no sign of Jael.

"Come with me, Danag," Louis said as he wiped off whatever grease might have left on his lips.

He stood to his full height and briefly nodded at everyone at the table before rushing out the door with Danag at his heels.

"Is there any provision made for Jael?" He asked as the dining doors closed behind them.

"Yes, usually we..." the words were barely out of his mouth when Louis caught sight of someone coming from the direction the kitchen was located. They held a tray, and it was apparent who it belonged to.

"Danag," Mill called out when she caught sight of them. "What are you doing here, and who is that?" She asked with a soft frown as her eyes rested on Louis.

Louis stared. He didn’t say a word, just stared at her intensely. Mauve’s frown deepened, and she adjusted the tray in her hand.

"This is Lord Louis," he explained.

"Oh, okay," Mill said and walked past them. She never really cared for Lords. She doubted that would change now.

"Is that for Jael?" Louis asked.

Mill gasped a little; she had not expected him to get so close. "Yes," she replied, composing herself. "It is for the primus." She glared at him, surprised he was calling Jael by his first name.

"Mill, right?" He said with a bright smile.

Mill’s shocked expression froze on her face for a couple of seconds. "Yes," she responded, pulling away from him.

"Yes, I knew it immediately." He walked around her with glee. "You have grown so much."

Mill turned to Danag, her expression begging for an explanation. She had a task to do, and she was getting harassed by... she didn’t know how to describe him.

"Lord Louis and the Primus were the ones who rescued you from the hands of your father. Saved you from getting killed."

"Oh," Mill’s expression softened immediately.

"You didn’t have to tell her that," he replied, stopping in front of her.

"T-Thank you," she replied, even though she didn’t know the details.

"There is no need for that. All I did was accompany him. I will take this from you now," he said and grabbed the tray while staring directly into her eyes.

Mill didn’t like how intense the stare was, but there was no way she would give up the tray. This was for the primus, and she was going to make sure it got delivered to him.

"No, I am quite happy to do this."

"I will take it to him, myself," Louis said adamantly.

"Mill, please. I was hoping he could do something about the Primus’ situation."

Her grip softened on the tray at Danag’s response, and Louis used the opportunity to pull it out of her fingers, but Mill no longer had any reason to hold onto it.

"Oh, I didn’t know. I apologize for interrupting."

"You didn’t," Louis replied.

"Well then, let me know if you need anything."

"Sure thing," he smiled and nodded. She bowed briefly, and Louis watched her slip back in the direction she had just come from.

"Let me help you with that, Lord Louis," Danag asked, stretching out his hand to take the tray.

Louis pulled it away from his reach and said, "I thought Mother raised them like her own children. How come she’s running errands? Just because their father cast them out doesn’t make them less noble."

"That’s by choice."

"What?" He asked, finally turning his gaze from her retreating figure to Danag.

"Both of them do this to repay Jael for saving them."

"Huh? By doing menial tasks? By becoming a maid?" Louis looked bewildered.

"I suppose, she was in charge of Mauve’s upkeep."

"Now that’s interesting," Louis replied and turned towards the direction of the stairs. "Could you inform her I would like to have a word?"

"Of course, when?"

"Tomorrow night, I guess. Today has ended," he said as he climbed the stairs, and this would be my last attempt to save Jael for the day."

Danag nodded, and the two of them continued the rest of the journey in silence. Danag got to the front of the study and was about to knock, but Louis pushed the door open.

"He already knows we are here."

"That’s still not enough reason to barge into my study."

"I apologize, but since you wouldn’t join us for the last meal, I decided to bring it to you."