Her Devious King

Who was He?

It was precisely why the task given to her was so impossible. Adeline lowered her head. Her Uncle was going to be furious. It was a single request, kill the Vampire King. One way or another, she had to do it.

A suicide mission.

That was exactly what her Uncle assigned to her—a girl who despised violence. He was sentencing her to death. The reason was clear. "A life for a life," Adeline whispered to herself.

It was the King's life for hers. Her Uncle had promised he would set her free from her relatives. Once she regained freedom, he would no longer contact her. He would do everything in his power to ensure no one discovered her location, either.

"Now, what am I supposed to do?" Adeline groaned. She slumped her head on the leather seat and squeezed her eyes shut.

"His Majesty didn't even show up to his own party." Adeline ran a frustrated hand through her hair. Things never went her way.

Out of everywhere in the world, she just had to run into the man from the bar. It was a miscalculated judgement of hers. Back then, she was drunk with a beloved friend, and before anyone knew it, Adeline was whisked into the night.

Her virtue remained. She ensured it.

"Aunt Eleanor would blow the world up if she knew what happened," Adeline considered out loud.She heaved a burdened sigh. Her shoulders seemed heavy, much like her guilty conscience.

Who exactly was that man? She had spent a night with him on a warm bed, and he held her as if she were a lover. Nevertheless, their bodies did not tangle together, and neither did he kiss her.

"I should stay away from him the next time I see him." Adeline concluded her verdict. He was dangerous. She didn't even remember his name. She recalled nothing of him, except his unforgettable face.

"Goodness, His Majesty is quite rude, but that's expected of those disgusting creatures," Aunt Eleanor squabbled. Her voice raised an octave, like her eyebrows. Her leathered lips were stretched into a firm resolve .

"He doesn't show up to the ballroom, nor make a commencement speech. What a disappointment," Aunt Eleanor fumed. She lifted her dress,and with the help of Asher, clambered into the car.

"I should've believed the rumors. Supposedly, this is a normal occurrence," Aunt Eleanor added on. Her actions were jerky, her shoulders tensed. She was far more than upset.

Today, Aunt Eleanor had spent quite a fortune to buy Adeline her lovely emerald dress. The color suited the Princess's eyes; a hideous shade of envy green. All the money in the world could not bring Adeline a good suitor. She was simply too shy and too embarrassing.

"And you," Aunt Eleanor sharply whirled to her niece. "Where were you half the night? I look away and all of a sudden, you're gone!"

There it was again. That strange conversation. Adeline was baffled. "I was in the balcony, then I—"

"Security is cleared," Asher interrupted. He shot Adeline a warning stare, urging her to be quiet. He ignored her exasperated expression.

"We can head back to the estate," Asher added on.

Asher gave the sliding black door a solid tug. Automatically, the door slid into place. Asher sat in the passenger seat after having just finished retrieving his confiscated weapons. Guns, knives, and all sorts of other things were not permitted inside of the castle. They had been collected and sorted by family name.

Through the rear view mirror, he saw Adeline's pleading reflection. She was a child brimming with curiosity. None of which he would divulge with. He had figured out what happened earlier. And nothing about it was pleasant.

No one in the world deserved Adeline. Especially not a filthy Vampire.

Adeline had barely changed out of her dress when a servant came running to her room. Two maids were helping her out of the emerald green gown, when a curt knock was heard at the door. She placed a hand upon her chest. It had just been unzipped in the back, and the dress would have fallen if it wasn't for her aid.

"My lady," a voice frantically requested.

Adeline sighed. "Zip the dress back up," she instructed.

The maids turned their snobby nose to her. They did not like to serve this freeloader. No one knew of her true identity, except that she was the childless Viscountess Eleanor's niece.

The maids had no choice. This was their job. No matter how much they despised the freeloader sucking up their Viscountess' money, the maids rezipped the dress.

Adeline took a step forward. "You may come in now," she managed to say.

Now that Adeline was home, she was no longer as nervous. At the ball, her stuttering had worsened.

There were too many people present. The incessant chattering and faux laughter bothered her too much. It had been difficult to focus on her speech.

Aunt Eleanor's constant badgering was of no help, either. It was a brutish attempt. Her intentions meant well, but her heart was in the wrong place.

"My lady," the servant outside the door said with a hesitant stare.

Her fingers wrung before her light grey attire. All of the maids in the house wore this uniform. Back in the day when the Marden Family was considerably wealthy, maids were forced into prim and proper skirts, whilst doing the most extensive house chores.

However, it was modern times now. Sleek cars ran on the highway, planes whirled through the skies, and buildings climbed towards the Heavens.

Times have changed. Now, servants wore grey slacks and white blouses. The clothes were more manageable and easier to walk in.

"What is it?" Adeline inquired. It seemed the maid was in a rush. She was catching her breath, as if having sprinted a marathon.

"Viscount Marden would like to see you, my lady."

Adeline's throat constricted. Viscount Sebastian Marden was not a kind man. In contrast to his babbling wife, he was a strict man of little words. When he did speak, it was always with a frown. He behaved as if the world had wronged him. Nothing made him happy. Nothing made him smile.

"Alright then," Adeline reluctantly said. She folded her hands together. Her fingers tightly gripped each other for support. If not, they would be shaking, like her nerves.

Adeline's fate was sealed. She was never going to leave this house alive. She would have to relinquish her inheritance to the Marden family. She couldn't fathom why her chatterbox Aunt Eleanor married Viscount Sebastian.

Aunt Eleanor was the older sister of Adeline's late mother. They came from humble beginnings, with a status lower than that of a Viscount, which was already considerably low on the hierarchy. It was a miracle that Adeline's mother had married a Prince.