Conquering His Cold Heart

375 Permission

Caspian suddenly grumbled after hearing what Tilla had to say, “Beth deserved to die! Had I not made a fuss about the cup that was served to the Queen, she would have been poisoned to death!”

Tilla gave a nod and said, “Yes. But the other vampires won’t understand your sentiment. There are still a lot of those who believe that we humans are no more than some cattle that produce blood for their consumption.”

Caspian was quiet since he was very well aware of that.

Vincent was the one to ask Tilla why she was bringing this matter up at the moment. “What are you implying by this?”

Tilla glanced at Vincent and replied, “Since both the Queen and I are humans, I think vampires of the castle are also bound to empathize with Beatrice if she receives a death penalty when she didn’t even do much to harm me.”

“Do you think the others will revolt?” Caspian asked.

Tilla nodded her head and added, “But if Beatrice is let loose after she receives some minor punishment then she might actually try to cause greater harm to us… or to other humans outside the castle just out of spite. So…” ????n????????eа????. ????o????

She cleared her throat and completed what she was saying, “Why don’t we send her to the Isolation Center instead?”

Both Caspian and Vincent exchanged glances with each other. They both found her answer more sensible. And they were both surprised to see how clever Tilla was.

.....

‘No wonder she is the handmaid of the Queen,’ Vincent proudly thought to himself. ‘She isn’t just a compassionate and competent woman, but she is also quick-witted.’

Caspian was also impressed by Tilla’s foresight. “I think that makes more sense. She will be punished for her crimes, and the others won’t have a motive to protest because she isn’t actually dead. At the same time, they will get the message that hunting humans will have severe consequences.”

He didn’t thank Tilla for showing him another option that he had never thought of. However, he gave a grateful nod to her.

Caspian then turned to look at Vincent and then asked, “Shall we head out together or will you go separately?”

Vincent took a glance at Tilla and said, “Think about my proposal earlier. I will talk with the Queen.” He then looked back at Caspian and said, “I will go with you.”

He thought of getting Caspian’s permission to take Tilla to his mansion before he asked the same of the Queen too. Tilla was hesitating to go with him, but he was determined to take Tilla with him. He was serious about taking care of her in his own place.

“Talk about what?” Caspian asked curiously once they started to run towards the central wing.

Vincent took the chance to clarify his intention to Caspian. “I don’t know if you heard, but Tilla needs to rest for about a month to recover properly.”

“What? She broke her bones?” Caspian asked while showing subtle hints of worry.

“No. But she badly hurt her back.” Vincent glanced at the King’s face and then looked back on the path ahead while saying, “And since Holly will have to take care of Tilla instead of fully helping out Martha in taking care of the Queen, I was thinking of taking Tilla to my mansion.”

Caspian suddenly slowed down on his track, wondering if Vincent was being serious or not. Vincent obviously looked serious about what he just said.

So, he asked a bit hesitantly, “Is it necessary to take Tilla to your mansion? I am sure Holly won’t mind working a little bit harder than before. Tilla can recuperate here.”

“Yes, she can. But still…” Vincent gave a pleading glance to Caspian and said, “I think it will be better for everyone if she comes along with me. I am not saying that I don’t intend on sending her back even after she heals. I just… want to make sure that she is well taken care of.”

“You like her that much?”

Vincent glanced at Caspian at that unexpected question. But he replied without hesitation, “Yes. I do.”

Caspian had no problem with Tilla receiving proper care in Vincent’s mansion. However, he was worried that Anastasia would feel lonely if her only friend was taken away from her.

Both of them came to a halt when they reached in front of the central courtyard. Caspian wasn’t sure how to respond to his friend. So, he shifted the decision to Anastasia, although he was sure that she wouldn’t say no to Vincent even if she didn’t like the idea of being apart from Tilla.

“I think you should ask Anastasia since Tilla is her handmaid, not mine. If she doesn’t have a problem, then I am fine with it.”

Vincent was happy to hear that from Caspian. ‘Now all I need to do is appeal to the Queen,’ he thought to himself.

Caspian patted Vincent on the shoulder and said while pointing his brows in the direction of the punishment room, “I will sort out the issue here and come to the Queen’s chamber. If I don’t arrive soon, you can leave with Tilla if the Queen permits you.”

“Thank you!” Vincent said with a smile on his face.

Caspian smiled back and mumbled, “I should be the one to thank you. You’ve done so much for me.” He then immediately took off towards the punishment room again.

Vincent, on the other hand, headed upstairs to find the Queen in her chamber.

When he reached the Queen’s chamber, Anastasia was sitting down on her bed while having her breakfast. He also noticed that several scented candles were placed around the corners of the room even though it was already very bright.

“Lord Vincent, come in,” Anastasia invited Vincent with a smile on her face.

Vincent gave a low bow to the Queen and greeted her, “Good morning, Your Majesty. I hope I am not disturbing your breakfast with my presence.”

“Oh, it’s alright. Take a seat,” she asked while pointing at the chair that was kept at the other end of the room.

And as soon as he took the seat, Anastasia set down her cutleries on the table and expressed her gratitude, “Lord Vincent, I am really thankful towards you for saving my life and even going out of your way to fetch a doctor for me and Tilla.”

“You don’t need to thank me for doing what was necessary,” Vincent replied modestly.

After the two of them exchanged a few words about the incident and about Tilla’s health, Vincent brought up the topic that he originally came there for.

“Your Majesty, please excuse me if you think I am overstepping but I was hoping that you would allow me to take Tilla to my mansion for better care. I am not saying that she isn’t getting proper care here. But I think it will be easier on everyone if I took her with me.”