The Vampire's King Pet-Chapter 37: A brewing storm

Derick walked into the king’s study with a letter in his hands, his whole body tense and rigid. His steps were quick, controlled, but the urgency in them could not be hidden. The usually calm atmosphere of the king’s study shifted immediately; even the air seemed to tighten.

"Your Majesty, this letter came in just now. It needs your immediate attention." Derick said, his voice low but firm.

Alexander lifted his gaze slowly from the documents he was working on. One look at Derick’s expression made the king’s face darken. He took the letter without a word and tore it open, his eyes scanning the contents sharply. With every passing second, the muscles in his jaw tightened.

Arthur, who had been noting down reports at a nearby desk, watched the king’s reaction and felt a cold shiver crawl down his spine. Something was wrong—terribly wrong.

Derick exhaled and finally spoke, breaking the suffocating silence. "The bailiff of Brimshire seeks your presence urgently... A small town was attacked last night by rogues. They were brutally killed."

Arthur froze. For a moment, he wondered if he had heard wrong. "What?" he breathed out. "Brimshire?"

Both men turned to the king. Alexander’s expression did not crack. He simply lowered the letter and dropped it onto the table in front of him.

"How many dead?" Alexander asked calmly—too calmly.

"What are the numbers?" Arthur followed immediately, already bracing himself.

Derick swallowed hard. "Nine. Four men, two women, and three children. It happened during a festival. Even though the attack was sudden, they managed to hold the rogues off long enough to capture two alive."

Alexander scoffed bitterly. "Ever since this experiment started... I can’t afford to have a fucking break." He leaned back and let out a slow, frustrated sigh.

Arthur exchanged a glance with Derick. They all knew exactly what he meant. The unnatural transformation of people into rogues had been escalating, spreading like a plague—and someone was behind it.

"Make arrangements," Alexander said, his voice regaining its firm edge. "I’ll set off tomorrow morning. Have you gotten any news about the rogues?"

Derick shook his head. "Nothing of importance, Your Majesty. But... I did notice something strange. When searching for the purple bloom, the same poisonous flower we assumed only grew on the Eastern Ridge—I found it growing in another location. But..." he paused.

"But what?" Arthur pressed.

"The flower can’t be uprooted or it dies. For someone to extract the poison, they would have to return repeatedly. Which means whoever is behind this... they’ll be back." Derick concluded.

A dangerous glint lit up Alexander’s eyes.

"Good. At least we have something to work with," he said. "Arthur, prepare gifts for the families of the deceased. Their finances will be taken care of since I can’t bring their dead back, it’s the least I can do. And I need to speak with the bailiff."

Arthur nodded immediately. "Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll accompany you as well to ensure the captured rogues are taken to the dungeon safely."

Alexander gave a short nod of approval, then asked, "And the witch?"

Derick straightened. "After breakfast, she stayed in the garden and meditated for two hours before returning to her room."

"That’s all?" Arthur asked, brows raised.

Derick nodded again.

"Your Majesty," Derick added hesitantly, "are we sure she can catch the person behind this? She doesn’t seem to take the situation seriously."

"Let her do her thing," Alexander said dismissively. "A witch is never straightforward."

Arthur sighed. "Thankfully they were able to catch two rogues. Hopefully, we’ll get useful information from them."

"Same." Alexander’s voice darkened. "We need to put an end to this freak show."

Derick cleared his throat. "Oh, and Your Majesty... you were given an invitation to a party in the fae kingdom."

Silence fell.

Alexander leaned back in his seat, and a sigh escaped him—deep, tired, and laced with annoyance. He hated parties, balls, gatherings... anything involving too many people, too much noise, and too much forced politeness.

"Is it necessary?" he asked flatly.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Derick replied. "King Thallan specifically requested your presence. Since you didn’t attend the last ball, he expects you at his wife’s upcoming birthday celebration."

Alexander almost rolled his eyes. Arthur didn’t miss it.

"You shouldn’t skip this one, Alexander," Arthur said. "I’m sure the fae king is trying to make amends for what happened years ago. Don’t let his effort go to waste, it could also benefit Noct."

Alexander’s expression hardened at the mention of the past. "I have no ill intentions toward him. At least not yet," he muttered.

"He won’t know that unless you attend the party," Arthur pointed out gently.

Derick looked between them, confused. "I feel left out... Is there something I don’t know?"

He genuinely had no idea about the long-standing tension between the king of Noct and the fae king.

"It’s nothing important," Alexander said firmly. "There’s no need to bring up the past. Send my reply—I’ll be there."

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, finally allowing his exhaustion to show.

"I do have a question tho." Arthur paused gaining both the attention of the king and Derick. "Something feels off, the flower turns humans into rogues and some vampires but what about the new rouges that lord Marcus talked about last time, is it the same flower that was used to boost their strength?" Arthur asked.

"I thought so too, one flower can not do so much, i highly doubt Lord Marcus would give us a hidden clue to all of this." Derick said.

Alexander opened his eyes, he reasoned what they said, even when he read the book and examined the rogues body, everthing was the same execpt the eye color, it says something.

"Let’s inspect the rogues from brimshire then we’ll figure out wether it is the flower or there’s something else or someone turning then rogue." Alexander said.

"Yes your majesty." Derick replied. He excused himself and left the study leaving Arthur and Alexander.

"Did you offend someone?" Arthur asked in a playful tone. Alexander let out a chuckle. "I don’t keep count."

-- 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Elsewhere.....

Marcus stepped into the dimly lit hall, heading straight toward the throne. His footsteps echoed through the vast chamber, bouncing off stone walls lined with ancient tapestries and flickering torchlight.

At the far end, seated on a massive throne carved from black iron, was his master.

The man’s eyes gleamed with an eerie calm the moment he saw Marcus. A sinister smile slowly stretched across his face—too wide, too pleased.

"Any good news?" his master asked, voice smooth yet dripping with malice.

Marcus hesitated only for a moment. His eyes flicked to the side where a young woman leaned against the wall, arms folded across her chest. She didn’t speak, but her expression was sharp, observant. Their eyes met, and an unspoken tension passed between them—one laced with warning... or perhaps understanding.

Finally, Marcus spoke.

"Nothing much, my lord. Alexander still doesn’t have a lead on what’s turning people into rogues."

His master laughed, deep and chilling. "Just as I predicted. He’s quite slow, that’s not like Alexander at all. This will be his downfall... and I will enjoy watching him fall and take back everything he ever owned."

Marcus’ jaw clenched. His master’s hunger for destruction had only grown with time.

"There’s more," Marcus added. "The king brought a girl into the palace. I couldn’t see her face clearly, but when I tried to trace her presence... it vanished. Completely. As if she never entered the palace."

The room went silent for a long moment.

Then his master scoffed. "Forget about the mysterious girl. She is of no threat to us. Nothing Alexander does will hinder our plans, we are always a step ahead."

His voice echoed across the hall like a dark prophecy.

Marcus lowered his gaze, though unease settled in his chest.

If Alexander was unaware...

If the kingdom was unprepared...

If the rogues continued to grow...

Then the coming storm would swallow them all.

And somewhere deep inside, Marcus wondered if this time... they had stepped too close to something far more dangerous than even his master realized.

Marcus took a short bow. "Then I’ll be on my way." he said before leaving the place.

The mysterious man clicked his tongue, he turned to the girl leaning close to the wall. "Keep an eye on our dear Marcus, he’s far too lenient than I want him to be." He paused.

She moved foward to where he was seated, her hips swaying as she walked. "Is that all?" she asked, her voice as menacing as she looked.

"Hmm." He hummed. "About the girl that he talked about, I would hate to know if Alexander has something that would ruin my master plan, find her and see what the fuss is about." He said.

"As you wish master." She said, she turned around and walked away, her eyes shiny red, the way she walked screamed danger and fear.