Married To The Mad Vampire Lord-Chapter 34: The whores in the castle_Part 3

"This part of the castle is where cousin Rohan keeps his harems from the inside and also has a mini-theater where they entertain him every night," Cordelia said, her voice carrying a hint of amusement as she looked up at the towering castle. The grandeur of the dark stone walls loomed over them, casting long shadows across the courtyard as they walked.

Belle stopped in her tracks at those words, having not expected them. Her eyes blinked in confusion for just a moment at the towering castle before they returned to the vampiress, who had been playing tour master as they walked around the vast castle grounds.

"Pardon me?" she asked, her voice careful, her expression blank. She had no idea whether the woman was serious or joking about her husband having a harem in the very castle he had brought her to live in as his wife. Married men don’t keep other women under the same roof as their wife.

Cordelia turned to her, feigning innocence, though her lips curled in a knowing smirk. "Oh, I forgot. You are not from Nightbrook and wouldn’t know about this. Word has it that he took in exotic vampire whores and set them up in this part of the castle like a private harem. But rest assured, you won’t set eyes on them while you are here, not once have I seen them myself. It’s a vast castle with many back doors." She gave a delicate laugh, covering her mouth with her fingers as though sharing an inside joke.

Belle didn’t laugh. She barely breathed from the disbelief of those words. Rohan had other women apart from her in this castle, women he kept as his private harem?

Her stomach clenched involuntarily. She knew of married men keeping mistresses, that was an unspoken reality of the world she had grown up in. But whores? That was something else. Something disgraceful for a gentleman. But then, her husband was no gentleman. She had known that since the time he kissed her in that carriage and when he told her that he would teach her body to lust.

Yet the thought of them, hidden away in the castle’s depths, sent an unfamiliar, unwelcome sting through her chest. Why does it bother me? she thought, frustrated with herself for no absolute reason.

But then, why wouldn’t it bother her? She had every right to feel angry. He had told her not to love another man or even entertain the thought of one, had so casually thrown away the only thing she had left of the man she loved as if it were worthless, yet he kept a harem of whores in the castle.

How hypocritical of him! He had demanded that she erase her past, yet he surrounded himself with such women in secret. He had even made a mockery of their wedding night by using his fingers to take her innocence. The memory sent an unwanted warmth to her core, making her stomach twist as if his fingers were back where they had been last night.

Belle quickly muttered a silent prayer for forgiveness, willing the thought and the scene to disappear from her torturous mind. She wished she could cleanse her thoughts of sin or scold her body for reacting so foolishly. How could one not want something, yet still feel so stupidly drawn to it? And why was it that, even though it had happened last night, her lower half could not rid itself of the lingering sensation when she thought about it? It always made her want to clasp her legs together to stop the sensation...

Did he touch those women the way he had touched her? Did he do the same things to them? He had probably gone to them last night after leaving her. Perhaps that was why Rav had warned her not to go to his chamber unless she was sent for. Not that she wanted to live in the same room as him, but the thought of him putting his fingers inside those women made something bloom in her chest before she forcefully shoved it away.

Whatever he does, it’s none of my business. He was her husband in name only. What he did with his nights should not matter to her. And with such women in the castle, he would soon forget about his wife and his words to teach her body wicked things she did not want to think of right now.

Women were taught to look away and pretend they knew nothing when their husbands kept other women, and this husband of hers was only temporary. So she would act as if she had not heard the vampiress’s words, words that were no doubt meant to gauge her reaction. Otherwise, why bring it up at all when they weren’t even touring the inside?

So she willed her expression into perfect indifference, her voice steady as she said, "I see."

And then she walked forward.

Cordelia’s smirk faltered, her amusement dimming as Belle continued without a reaction. She had expected a bigger response, perhaps a sign of disgust or some indication that the human would not dare harbor any feelings for her Rohan while she was still alive in this marriage.

Cordelia was the one meant for him, and this human would only live a few decades with him before she died of natural causes. Humans have a fragile lifespan, and though no one had talked about her past engagement with Rohan since his release, she still hoped it hadn’t been cut off completely because of this marriage that was forced upon Rohan by the king.

The human did not give her the satisfying reaction she wanted, nor did she take the bait and ask more questions that would lead to gossip, where Cordelia could make her go running away to where she belonged in fear of what Rohan could do to her.

Annoyed, Cordelia followed behind her.

They moved through the castle grounds, exchanging small words. Or rather, Cordelia spoke, Belle nodded, and the vampiress occasionally turned to strike her slave for no apparent reason. Each time, she would smile at Belle as though nothing had happened. Belle had seen cruelty before, but there was something particularly unnerving about how effortless Cordelia made it look.

The castle loomed larger the deeper they walked. Its stone walls were old, but not in a way that evoked history. Rather, they felt abandoned, as if forgotten by time. It was said that the castle had been left to decay after the king and queen lost their lives, with no one daring to take care of it or live in it for fear that Rohan’s madness would rub off on them. That was until he was released from the asylum and chose to stay here instead of in the mansion the king had given him, Cordelia explained. freewebnσvel.cѳm

"Can I ask you something, Lady Cordelia?" Belle asked, and the vampiress was quick to nod. "Of course, you can."

She chose her words carefully, unable to suppress her curiosity but also knowing she could not ask Rohan himself. "Is it true that Lord Dagon killed his parents years ago?" She knew how false rumors spread, and one could never be certain which were true or false. For some reason, she had always found it hard to believe this particular rumor about a son killing his parents.

The people of Aragonia must have gotten it all wrong, or perhaps she was just trying to cling to a small hope that the man she married was not mad, and though he was twisted in some kind of way, he wouldn’t be a danger to her existence before her people would come for her after all this was over. One needed a small reassurance about things; she did not want to live in constant fear of him or the house that once held death caused by him. She would like to return to her land with her soul and life in one piece.

"Cousin Rohan has always been even-tempered and cared about his parents," Cordelia said with a sigh, making Belle look at her with curiosity, waiting for her to continue. "Nobody thought he could do what he did back then. His Majesty and Her Majesty were kind-hearted people. They always put him first and gave him everything he asked for."

Belle had heard that before, as everyone in Aragonia said the same. "What do you think happened that made him do that. Surely they must have been a reason for him to do that..." She trailed off, unwilling to say the words aloud. Such cruelty was difficult to comprehend.

"There is no reason for a madman to kill. Our late king and queen were the kindest vampires and would never give anyone a reason, not even their son to kill them cold-bloodedly. All we know is that he went mad all of a sudden. He had always been someone who liked to torture animals and kill them in the most brutal way possible," she laughed softly, as if it weren’t horrifying enough to torture animals, and continued, "But as you must have heard, his madness got out of hand and caused a massacre in the castle in the span of one night. I did not bring up the topic of the past to scare you, Lady Dagon. It is so you can be careful and not end up like our late queen and king."

She placed a reassuring hand on Belle’s shoulder, like a concerned friend, which only made Belle question her intentions for bringing up this topic in the first place, and getting her curiousity about that incident up.

Belle fell silent. She couldn’t help but doubt the vampire’s motives, but she also knew there was truth in her words. Whatever she did, she had to remember she wasn’t married to just any man. She had to be extra careful with him and around him. He smiled all the time, but those smiles never reached his soulless eyes. They were hollow and shallow, like those of a man who wouldn’t care if he lost everything, and those kinds were the type you should fear.