The Vampire's King Pet-Chapter 32: She can stay.

Alexander, Arthur, and Derick stood in the long hallway, far enough from the dining room door that the witch wouldn’t overhear them. The castle was unusually quiet, the walls holding onto an air of tension that none of them dared address aloud. The faint echo of Faith’s footsteps had only just faded down the corridor when Derick finally exhaled.

"What do we do now, Your Majesty?" Derick asked carefully. "Are you really considering letting her stay here?"

There was a brief, heavy silence. Alexander’s expression remained unreadable, eyes focused straight ahead as though he were listening to something far away.

"Let her stay for a while," he finally answered. "If the attacker is truly a witch, then finding this person will be easier with a witch on our side. And now we have one—though her intentions... are questionable at best."

Arthur nodded. "True. She’ll stay and help us, and meanwhile we monitor her movements. She’s meticulous—too observant, if I may add. Keeping tabs on her will be harder than monitoring a normal guest."

"We’ll go with that," Alexander said. "Derick, prepare the witch to settle in. You know what to do."

Derick nodded sharply. "Yes, Your Majesty." Though he wasn’t too keen of the idea of letting the witch stay here but looking on the other side she could be of much help to them and now he had to spend his time catering to an annoying and uncultured witch.

"Good." Before Arthur or Derick could ask where he planned to go next, Alexander vanished—air thinning where he once stood, leaving only a fading whisper of his vampire speed.

Arthur didn’t even blink. "He does that whenever he doesn’t want questions."

Derick sighed. "He does it all the time."

"I’ll leave you to the girl," Arthur added, patting Derick’s shoulder sympathetically. "She’s cranky, so try not to punch her."

"Where are you going?" Derick asked suspiciously as Arthur began walking off.

"To see someone," Arthur replied with a tone that closed the conversation. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

And just like that, Derick was alone.

He turned around to head toward the dining room—and nearly collided with Faith, who was standing directly behind him, staring at him with those brilliant red eyes that could scare away child.

He flinched. "Why are you like this?"

She shrugged casually. "I walk fast."

"You’re done eating?" Derick asked.

"Mm. Although I still have space for more. Do you think I should ask for another plate? Or three?" She rubbed her stomach lightly.

Derick raised a brow. "You just ate enough food for two guards."

Faith rolled her eyes. "And? Using magic is exhausting. What do you think—I wave my hands and flowers fall from the sky? It drains energy. I need food, after all those studying don’t you know one of two things about a witch."

Derick ignored her attitude. "Follow me. I’ll get you settled in."

Faith walked ahead of him, and he kept a close eye on her—because he didn’t trust her for a second. As they climbed the curved staircase and stepped into the upper hallway, Faith stared at everything with the fascination of a child visiting a museum.

"The palace is huge," she whispered to no one. "Big, elegant, intimidating... and boring. Just like your king, it feels very lonely."

Derick pretended he didn’t hear her.

As they walked, something caught his attention—Faith’s leg. Just above her ankle, a long cut ran across the skin. It had stopped bleeding, but dried blood marked the area and the edges had begun to darken. How was she walking normally with a wound like that?

He opened the guest room door for her. The room was spacious—grey walls, polished white tiles, a comfortable bed with a neatly laid duvet, a dresser, and a passage leading to the bathroom.

Faith stepped inside, her eyes widening with delight. "Pretty decent," she said, strolling to the center like she already owned it.

Derick stayed by the door. "A maid will deliver essential items and new clothes shortly. Ask her if you need anything."

Faith nodded.

"After you freshen up, come find me in the garden. I’ll clean that wound on your leg."

She looked down as though only now realizing she had an injury. "Huh. I didn’t even notice that."

Derick narrowed his eyes. "You really didn’t?"

She waved him off. "I heal fast. Usually."

"Still," Derick insisted, "meet me in the garden."

He turned to leave, then paused. "One more thing. Earlier—you said the woman was a mermaid. How did you know?"

Faith looked up. "I could see it. Her aura, I’m a witch with crimson eyes, there a lot these eyes are that normal people can’t see."

Derick nodded slowly. "Right. Well—call if you need anything."

He left and shut the door behind him.

Faith collapsed onto the bed with a groan. "What is wrong with everyone here? Do they ever smile?" she muttered. "No wonder their king looks like he was carved from a glacier, a very handsome glacier, all three of them are really handsome, wow this palace may be boring and lonely but they have handsome men, I can keep up with that." she grinned.

She stood up again with a huff. "Whatever. At least the room is clean."

She removed her old dress, tossing it into a corner, and headed to the bathroom. She didn’t wait for the maid to heat water; she was used to cold baths and honestly preferred them. The maid eventually arrived with clothes and essentials, but Faith ignored her embarrassment at finding Faith half-naked in the bathroom doorway and simply thanked her before shutting the door again.

After her bath, Faith slipped into the new grey dress. It was loose, simple, and far too plain for her taste—but comfortable. She brushed out her wild hair, tamed it into something slightly presentable, and nodded at her reflection. "Good enough."

She stepped into the hallway, humming softly to herself, and descended the stairs before heading into the palace garden. She had already mastered the way just by looking at them.

The sunlight greeted her warmly. The garden stretched widely, filled with lush greenery, fragrant flowers, and trimmed hedges. Birds chirped from the treetops, and the soft wind brushed gently against her skin.

"Okay... this part of the palace isn’t boring," she admitted under her breath.

She spotted Derick sitting on a stone bench with a first-aid box beside him. A mischievous smile crept onto her lips. She tip-toed toward him and leaned close.

"Hey," she whispered in his ear.

Derick didn’t flinch. "Sit down," he said dryly.

Faith frowned, disappointed by his reaction, but sat beside him with her arms crossed. She waited for him to at least glance at her, maybe compliment her appearance—but he didn’t even bother. His eyes swept over her outfit once, then dropped to the first-aid kit.

She pouted.

Derick opened the box and brought out gauze and ointment. Faith lifted her leg automatically but froze when he suddenly crouched before her.

"You... don’t have to kneel," she murmured, blinking down at him, she was very shocked by his gesture, she has never received that kind of treatment before, it was new and she kind off liked it.

"I need to see the wound," he replied simply.

He cleaned the cut carefully, applied ointment, and wrapped fresh bandages around it. Faith observed him quietly, surprised by how gentle he was despite the permanent frown on his face.

When he finished, Derick stood and packed the supplies back into the box. "Done. Let’s go."

She followed him.

"Where are we going now?" she asked.

"To meet the king."

She groaned. "Already? I just got here. Vampires are so impatient."

Derick’s jaw twitched, but he said nothing.

---

Meanwhile, Marcus returned from his outing and paused near the courtyard door. He spotted Derick walking into the palace with a girl he didn’t recognize. He caught a glimpse of her dark hair, the grey dress, and the unusual confident way she moved.

’Who is that?’ Marcus wondered. ’Another human? No... her aura isn’t human.’

A frown spread across his face. He didn’t like strangers in the palace—especially women who appeared out of nowhere. It seemed he needed to report to the king sooner than he planned.

Something had definitely happened during his absence.

And Marcus intended to uncover every piece of it. He wondered what Alexander and his men were doing, after the last meeting with Alexander, Derick and Arthur about the rogues, he hasn’t met face to face with the king and it had been two days, he had one more day to spend in the king’s palace.

Marcus had to find out who the girl was so he could report about her, wether she was going to be a threat to their plan or not. And to undercover this he had to visit Alexander, he hated the thoughts of it but he had to. He heard Serena was sick and the princess was almost killed, he could use this to visit the king.