Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

Another part of the Dawson mansion, the room given to the fake couple, was silent, and any little noise seemed to echo loudly. The silence was deafening without the presence of the baby, who always spared Evenly from the awkwardness between her and Rav.

She now sat at the edge of the bed after taking her bath. He had left the room for her to do so when the hot water was brought, leaving without her even asking. Shortly after she had worn her nightdress and robe, he returned and stood at the window, his back to her as he stared into the night sky of Aragonia.

Now, Evenly ate silently on the bed. It was the food Rohan had brought for them when he came to carry his son. She had been starving and tired. Though she was now a vampire who could drink blood and not rely solely on human food, she was not a pureblood but a turned one, and she needed nourishment from both blood and food. So did the man who was standing away from her.

As much as she disliked him, his attentiveness to her earlier in the dining hall had made that dislike subside somewhat. He had given up his cup of blood for her, and when she had swayed from weakness on their way back, he had silently put his hand at the small of her back to support her. She had wanted to pull away immediately, but knowing she would lose her balance with her legs feeling like jelly, she had allowed him to steady her.

Now, having finished eating her food, she glanced at his untouched parcel of food still sitting on the bed. Then her eyes lifted to his back where he stood like a statue at the window. Did he plan to stand there all night?

"Your food is getting cold," Evenly brought herself to say blankly. She watched him turn his head slightly and then say,

"I don't mind a cold meal, my lady. I will eat it later," he told her, before looking back at the stars with unblinking eyes. He had never minded any meal, as long as it filled his stomach. Being born poor had taught him not to be picky with what he ate since childhood. Furthermore, he was waiting until she fell asleep before eating, so that he would be comfortable, not with someone listening to his chewing and swallowing in the room.

He would have actually preferred sleeping somewhere outside, but Rohan had given him a clear order to stay in the room with his son and the lady, in case the humans tried something funny. Now, the only way he knew to make things less awkward was to stand there until Rohan returned with the baby and the lady went to sleep.

Evenly's brows drew together at his words. "A cold meal upsets the stomach. You can sit on the couch and eat if you are bothered by my presence." She spoke plainly, knowing it was because of her that he wasn't eating now. She had seen how he looked at the food when he took the bag from Rohan earlier. He had not eaten anything at all during their journey.

Evenly did not truly care whether he ate or not, but she felt obligated to return the favor of him giving up his cup of blood for her when he had taken nothing himself. She hated feeling indebted to anyone.

"You shouldn't worry about me, my lady, I will—" Rav began, but Evenly's quick words cut him off.

"Who said I was worried about you? I don't care whether you eat or not. I just don't like the scent of food lingering in the air when I want to sleep. Eat now, so when Angel is brought back, I can sleep without it bothering my nose." She put a commanding tone into her words, the kind a lady used toward her servants. It seemed this man only did what was required when spoken to in such a tone. "Come here, take the food and eat."

Though Evenly hated commanding people, this man always seemed to bring out the worst in her whenever they were together.

Rav's jaw tightened, but he said nothing as he obeyed. He turned from the window and walked with an indifferent expression to the bed where his food lay. He bent and picked it up, then walked to the couch, sat down, and began to open his meal with automatic, practiced movements without a word.

Evenly sighed softly when she noticed from the corner of her eyes that he had finally begun to eat. Now she would not feel the need to pay him back for giving away his meal. She busied herself by straightening the sheets and pillows.

However, feeling the need to fill the silence this time, as she noticed how uncomfortable the man on the couch was while eating and chewing, she said, "Did you notice how Lady Louisiana treated Belle? Is that something normal in the human land, or am I the only one reading too much into things?" She frowned as she remembered Belle being made to sit on the floor and given custard.

Though she had been a human, she hadn't grown up in the land to know their ways or how their nobles were treated, but something told her that it wasn't normal.

Rav chewed the steak in his mouth slowly and raised his eyes to her, finding her waiting for his reply. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "I don't believe it's a normal treatment for a lady." He had always noticed how her ladyship acted nothing like someone with noble blood, and seeing what had happened at supper, he now understood why. She was not treated as a noble in her own family's house.

Not wanting to meddle in matters beyond his duty, Rav decided not to speak more about the strangeness of the family. But the lady was not finished talking.

"I knew it. These people are nothing but cruel. Could it be because she married into the vampire land? I can see how much they dislike the night creatures. For the first time, I don't feel bad for a human being forced to give blood, and I certainly didn't feel bad drinking it. Did you see her sister wearing Belle's dress? I doubt Belle gave it to her. She showed it to me while we were packing, saying Lord Dagon had gotten it for her. She liked it…"

Evenly went on talking about what she had noticed and disliked, not because she wanted a reply from Rav, but because she wanted to ease the silence. She did not realize that the more she talked, the more awkward he felt, as he believed replies were required of him but he had no words to offer.

Rav finished his meal, racking his head for one or two words in response, before he was thankfully saved by a knock on the door. Evenly turned quickly and went to open it.

Opening the door, she found Rohan standing outside with his son in his arms, the little boy sleeping peacefully with his head resting against his father's shoulder. She offered him a curt bow, and he returned it with a nod.

"I am sorry about the way he took your blood," Rohan said, offering a small, apologetic smile, just as Belle had told him to when bringing the baby back. She had advised him to give words of apology, and though he understood it was courtesy, Rohan was not used to saying such things to people. "He's still a baby and doesn't know how to control himself. I'll make sure to bring him his blood first thing in the morning before it happens again."

Evenly was surprised that a man like him could actually apologize for something his son had done, something she hadn't even found offensive. But she quickly recovered from her surprise and replied, "It's nothing, my Lord. Angel is very smart, and I believe he didn't intend to do anything bad."

Rav, who had been listening, heard their short exchange before she gently took the sleeping baby from his father and closed the door after wishing him a good night. She walked back toward the bed, then paused, turning to Rav with a small frown as she asked,

"How are we going to sleep?"

Rav quickly got up from his seat and said, "I don't mind sleeping on the floor, my lady." It was something he was used to anyway, and even though he had the luxury of a bed in the castle, he had never used it, not even once. He always made himself a place on the floor every time.

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A/N

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