Eris grimaced in her room. A stack of papers was in front of her, filled with information gathered by her torturers. She had looked through every single bit of it in incredible detail. And now, the girl was perplexed.

"The prisoners all told the same story," Eris noted. "Robespierre does not work alone. He is part of a council, and this council intends to have the nobles who treat commoners well join their government after they overthrow the king. According to them, Robespierre and the council have the same opinions on everything."

She then slammed a hand on the table in front of her. Rage flickered in Eris' eyes.

"But I know that's a lie! Robespierre was quite clear that he wanted Armand dead the last time around. And I never even heard of this council. Maybe some other nobles did, but I didn't talk to them?"

The girl shook her head. She took a deep breath before continuing her monolog.

"There are a few possibilities. The least likely is that these subhumans stuck to their lie and didn't crack under torture. It cannot be dismissed, but it should be discounted."

Eris contemplated things a moment.

"Another is that the council and Robespierre are lying to their subordinates about their plans. Convincing a bunch of commoners to rebel against particularly cruel masters is easy. Persuading them to slaughter all of their betters, when there are plenty of subhumans who realize that they are better off ruled by us, is another. As stupid as they are, the commons are capable of telling when their leader is competent."

The girl scratched her chin.

"It is also possible that Robespierre and the council are telling the truth. But they'll change their minds in the future. If I consider that Robespierre and the council are likely more intelligent than most subhumans, it's possible that they disagree on this matter but are pretending to have a united front for their subordinates' sake. Or at least to hide their weakness."

A wide grin crossed Eris' face.

"This is the best-case scenario. I can use the council's division against it. And then, let them crush each other before I finish them off. Still, this doesn't help me that much. I still don't know where they're at."

Then, an idea flowed into the girl's mind. Her smile became slight, and her brain started turning.

"At the moment, Robespierre and the council are at least pretending to not want to kill even nobles who should be on their side. I could use this against them. Armand is more well-known for that book he wrote than his opposition to serfdom, but he's still known for the latter. As his fiance, and someone who has freed all the serfs on my land as support for his goal, I could use this to my advantage."

Eris pulled out some empty pieces of paper and started writing on them. These were orders for her mercenaries, very different from her last commands. They included instructions to burn the commands when they had memorized them.

"I can join this movement of rebellious commoners, or at least pretend to, and destroy them from the inside. Or I could just lure them into a trap and kill them all in one fatal stroke. It really depends on what I have the opportunity for. I'll also make sure to keep private copies of these orders locked up somewhere safe. That way, if I'm ever captured by a right-minded noble, I will have proof that I was an infiltrator and not genuinely joining these foolish commoners."

When the girl had fully gathered the orders together, she rolled them up and left her room. Outside, one of Eris' hussars was waiting for her. He bowed before the noblewoman.

"My lady," his eyes gazed at the papers in her hands. "Do you have orders?"

"Yes," Eris said.

She handed him them.

"Read them somewhere secure. Reveal them only to those who need to know. And destroy them when you're done," the noble commanded.

"Of course," the hussar replied.

Then, he left to carry out Eris' orders. His boss returned to her study and leaned back on her chair.

"I should contact Armand to tell him about my plans," Eris thought. "But not through a letter. That's too easily intercepted. I'll tell him at my next opportunity."

She then let out a deep sigh.

"If I can get other lords to cooperate with me, that could be helpful. Or it could result in one of them betraying me. The only one I can trust is Armand. I wish he was here now."

Eris shook her head.

"But he isn't. I will always have periods of separation from Armand, where we'll both have different business, even after we get married. I wonder if those will get better or worse? This longing makes my heart ache, but maybe it'll make meeting Armand again feel even better?"

Stolen novel; please report.

The girl stood up, grabbing the copies of the orders she wrote. Eris started making her way to her bed chamber.

"There's no point in speculating now. Armand is in his own lands, far from here. It will be some time before I meet him again. Right now, I need to focus on my own affairs."

As she exited that room, a shiver went down Eris' spine.

"I just hope that Armand is safe. I doubt anyone other than me could kill him or get him killed, but the world is filled with dangers. If Armand dies before we can get married, I will hunt him down in the afterlife."

Eris shook her head harder.

"Don't worry about that, Eris. Armand will be fine. Just take it easy and get some rest."

And with that, Eris fully made her way to the bedroom. She placed her copy of her orders inside a hidden chamber before going to sleep.

Deep underground, well below Armand's fortress, was the practical bunker he crafted. Its walls were made of solid stone, it was divided into several rooms with only one way in, and the place was rigged to collapse should something go wrong.

Armand stood in one room, seeing another through a small slit that had a one-way window in it. Next to him was Master Werner of the Order of Hermes along with several mercenaries. These hirelings carried greatswords. Concern filled the boy as he saw an ornate coffin get placed on a dissecting table in the place he was gazing at.

"I hope these walls will be enough," Armand thought.

"Nervous, are you?" Master Werner asked.

"Only a fool wouldn't be," the lord answered. "Strigoi are powerful and dangerous. If you have one of them staked, and it gets free, we could all be doomed."

The Order of Hermes member gave him a nod that was supposed to be reassuring. However, it did not make Armand feel any better about the situation.

"Rest assured, Lord Armand, that your worries are for nothing. We of the Order of Hermes are experienced in matters like these. If this strigoi escapes, we will handle it," he said.

"I suppose you did stake it in the first place," Armand replied.

Master Werner nodded.

"In its sleep, yes, but we still did."

A grimace crossed Armand's face.

"I'm starting to see how the Order of Hermes was wiped out the last time around," he thought.

"If anything goes wrong, run as fast as you can. Make for the stairs, and keep running. I am more experienced in battle than you. I will handle anything down here with my mercenaries," Armand ordered.

Master Werner grimaced.

"I dislike taking commanders from someone outside of the Order of Hermes...however, you have a point, Lord Armand," he said. "Therefore, I will follow your instructions."

Armand breathed a sigh of relief internally. However, he kept a stoic expression on his exterior.

"Some guards will be in the chamber with you during the dissection. If anything goes wrong and you cannot hear me, listen to them," the lord commanded.

"Yes, yes, I will," Master Werner assured him. "I am no fool, Lord Armand. I know full well that this is dangerous."

A flicker of annoyance passed through his voice as he spoke. Armand felt a pang of sympathy.

"The Order of Hermes rarely deals with outsiders. He must think that I'm being pushy. I can empathize with that, even if my attitude is necessary," he thought before speaking in a softer tone. "And please be careful. I would not want to deprive the Order of Hermes of a mind such as yours."

Master Werner hesitated for a moment before giving Armand a slight nod.

"I understand your hesitation, Lord Armand. But do not worry. I have taken precautions. I am wearing armor under my robes, for one thing," he said.

"That brings me some ease," Armand replied.

Master Werner gave him a slight smile.

"Now, I must get to the dissection. If I may be excused, Lord Armand."

He took a bow before walking to the door. Apprehension filled the noble as Master Werner entered the next room. Armand kept a close eye on him, his assistants, and the mercenaries inside through the window-like slits.

The coffin was opened, and two of the assistants pulled a man out of it. A wooden stake was sticking out of his heart. For a moment, those in the room seemed surprised that this corpse hadn't decayed. But that shock passed with swiftness.

They placed the coffin on the floor but put the man on the table. Ropes were used to tie the staked body down; however, Armand doubted they would be enough. The noble felt a shiver go down his spine as Master Werner walked over to the test subject's mouth and pulled it open slightly, revealing a pair of fangs.

"It's definitely a strigoi, or at least some type of vampire," Armand thought. "Not a nosfer. It would look uglier if it was."

Master Werner pulled out a knife. He ran it across the vampire's belly, slitting it open. The Order of Hermes member pulled the skin apart. He gazed at the creature's insides.

"Not as much bleeding as I expected. In fact, hardly any," Master Werner noted.

He placed his hands on the vampire's intestines, feeling them. Then, Master Werner felt the creature's stomach. He wore gloves during this time. However, they had not been washed in weeks, something doctors of later eras would know is unsanitary. Unfortunately, Master Werner did not.

"No sign of solids in the intestines or the stomach. This could confirm that strigoi have a purely liquid diet, and the only thing they consume is human blood. Or perhaps human blood combined with the blood of animals?"

Armand clenched his fists, nervousness flashing through him.

"If only I could tell him that strigoi can't survive on animal blood, only moroi can. He's risking his life just to find out something so little. By the gods, he probably doesn't even know about moroi," the noble thought.

Master Werner slit open the vampire's stomach next. He looked inside of it with a perplexed expression. The Order of Hermes leader opened its gut further before seeming even more confused.

"There's no sign of blood here...it has been a while. Perhaps the creature already digested it?" he pondered.

An idea popping into his mind, Master Werner pulled off his glove. He forced the creature's mouth open and slightly slit his hand. Blood entered the vampire's mouth.

"That won't do anything," Armand thought. "Vampire fangs are hollow and directly connect to their bloodstream. They don't digest blood at all. They take it as their own."

As the red liquid poured down the vampire's throat, Master Werner observed it. His expression was more confused than ever before.

"How? There is no swallowing reflex or anything like that. Is the paralysis of the stake absolute?"

His question was answered when the vampire's chest convulsed, popping the wooden stake out of it. Armand's eyes widened in sheer terror. A single thought entered his mind.

"How?"

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