Forced Bride Of The Vampire Lord

"That it takes to be a ruler!" The words were like stinging bees stinging them where it hurt most.

They stared at the members of the council and then at Rafael who was sitting leisurely with a glass in his hands.

His languid body and nonchalant movement were like whips that were hurting their soul.

"But.. that.. She did not have any political knowledge. What if she is just a puppet in the hands of others?" asked the duke as he stared back at Rafael who had a small smirk on his face.

He looked amused by their thinking process that only angered the duke and his members further.

"You seem to think you have the power, duke Starenfire, but you forget that the decision to choose the new ruler had always been in the hands of the council." said Hazel with a small chuckle.

"And as far as i know you have already staked your position and lost it in the hunting. Yet I am standing here and listening to you but instead of being honored, you are being quite arrogant about it."

The voice was filled with mockery that the man grinded his teeth.

"And as far as it is about political wisdom, I have read your recent report on the economic condition of the empire, it was trash." said Rafael as he placed one of his hands on the shoulder of Hazel.

"We have checked all the details and you have tried to manipulate the numbers a lot. Only this shows how you are trying to eat the wealth that belongs to the public." the council took out the report and threw it in front of him.

"And this is the list of properties that were assigned to the public but surprisingly, your son in law is their owner." The report was taken out by Hazel. "I was not going to inform you this soon but now that you want to fight for it, let's settle the scores."

The face of the main was drained of all colors and looked white in a second.

He stared around as if he was trying to find support.

"What nonsense are you talking about? His majesty had personally bestowed me with all those properties. And I have brought a few of them from him. Accusing me is equal to accusing him!" he shouted with a fierce look in his eyes as he stared at her but she just snickered.

"Even my step mother," she looked at the empress who looked uneasy by her gaze, "there were a few properties that father wanted on your name, but duke took the benefit of her current condition and forced him to give those properties to him instead of you.'' Hazel took out some papers from her bag and passed them to her.

She looked at the duke with a shocked look and then snatched the papers from the hands of Hazel. She flipped the papers with her widened eyes and soon anger started to register on her face as she continued to check them.

"You.. What does all this mean? I thought you were supporting me." she spat with anger as the parchments in her hands tightened.

She looked at the duke as if she would kill her then and there.

"That is not the only thing. He had asked his son to court your daughter when she was still the first princess of the empire. Now ask her if he is still courting her or has forgotten about her completely?" There was an amused look on the face of Hazel that burned and embarrassed mother and daughter.

"Do not tell me that he had promised to be with you on the premise that you would help his father here for today?" Just as the question left her mouth, the face of the princess changed color and she looked away.

"Aww! Such a sweet couple, but then why is he not here yet and can his father promise you the wedding you are drawing?" she mocked as she looked at the man and then at the princess who looked pale.

Blood was draining her face and her nails were dug deeper into her skin making her feel numb. She could not believe that Hazel embarrassed her in front of everyone.

"What do you think of yourself? Do you think you are so great that you know everything? Who said that i was in love with his son. Huh? I never had such thoughts." she screamed aloud but everyone was already staring at her with eyes full of pity.

Just in a few minutes, she had lost her leftover image too.

But in reality, she was shivering with anger because Hazel had touched her weak point.

"That is enough! We are not here to discuss personal matters. This is a formal meeting where we are gathered to discuss the future of the empire." the empress said in a cold voice as she shut the mouth of everyone.

Those who were pointing at her daughter and whispering into the ears of each other stopped immediately too,

They bowed their heads when their eyes met her. She looked like a wounded tigress who would attack anyone if it was about her cubs.

They flinched at her cold look but Hazel just laughed.

"Now that it is about you, the personal and family life did not matter. But I am disqualified because my husband is strong! Ha! What a partial way to deal with the matter!" she said in a dramatic face as she took an audible sigh and looked vulnerable but no one dared to think low of her.

She was a domineering woman who let them in cold sweats. They have already felt her power when they met her in the hunting god and when she came back alive.

They tried to contact the hunters there but they were not able to. It was simple to conclude what had happened especially when she smirked by looking at them later.

"This is going nowhere. Let us just end the matter by taking a meeting of all the nobles and see how many are supporting both of you."