Chapter 6 Hybrid Creatures

My parents and these officials right here who gathered to discuss the issue were arguing about who had caused the disappearance of these women, and in particular, why these criminals only wanted to take away a woman and not a man. This heated up the conversation between my parents and these officials, who were right here to discuss the issue. I did nothing except stand right next to my father's throne and listen to them debate and discuss their respective views.

"Phritz Godman, do you know whether that female marine scientist also has a colleague who works in the same department?" My father asked this after the chairman of the Ministry of Aquatic Treasures had pointed out about the marine scientist's disappearance and where she went before she disappeared. "I mean, certainly she had one, but I am talking about that particular friend whom she trusted the most that she even considers her a sister."

The chairman heaved a sigh as he looked down to avoid being reprimanded as a disrespecting act in front of the king. He shook his head and replied, "She doesn't have many friends since she is too serious and determined in work that she only considers everyone in the workplace as workers who are paid for doing their job. But, she's not arrogant or something, it's just that she is strict and not easy to be friends with."

My father scratched his chin affectionately as he gave the chairman a gentle nod in return. After sitting for a while, my mother stood up to straighten her back and brought her legs in closer together. She glanced up at the chairman after examining some documents with her beside the messenger and asked, "Does he have friends outside of the workplace?"

My father intervened and said, "We are able to determine that the person who was responsible for her abduction was only one of her coworkers in that instance. This is what I gathered from the chairman's description of that lady, and it's based on what I understood." While that was happening, the waitress who worked in the castle gave him some wine. As she brought the drink to my father, she lowered her head respectfully as she did so. My grandfather scooped it up and began sipping on it in silence while making no other sounds. The waiter left him after he had consumed almost exactly half of the wine in the glass.

The chairman's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, suggesting that he was likely considering and thinking about which one he should be responding to first. His lips were slightly parted, but he was beginning to turn away with his gaze. This was brought to my mother's attention, and she promptly requested that the chairman address her question first. "You are welcome to answer my question initially."

My father gave me a sideways look before murmuring, "Your mum is pretty cool, isn't she?" He laughed and shrugged his shoulders in response. After I had let out a little chuckle, I chastised him by stating that he should be serious about this situation and avoid making jokes at a time being. However, my father just swayed away my words and made me flatter by saying that I actually sounded like the future king.

The chairman acknowledged her presence with a polite gesture before my mother took a seat. "She does have one friend, or let me just say a family friend whom she was particularly close to." He said while looking at the paperwork and photographs in front of him. "She had even requested me for some employment opportunities for this acquaintance of hers to be recommended," he added.

My mother's lips gently hummed a word as she came to an understanding. "And where is that family friend of hers right now?" She asked while her eyes began to suspect.

I knew the chairman had a difficult time balancing himself and keeping that sort of posture, which would cause numbness to him for a longer amount of time if he stayed in that position for an extended period, but he managed to keep his posture straight throughout the meeting. He did it in private, without looking at my mother, probably hoping that these royals would not see him executing such an act of stretching his neck from side to side.

Unexpectedly, my father saw that he was uneasy around us and confronted him about it. "Mr. Chairman, if you could just release the weight you've been carrying in your shoulders, it would make this spacious chamber much more pleasant for all of us here."

A quick response made the chairman startled but he did so in a professional way that if you would not observe him closely, you would not notice that he felt panicking at all. He fixed his outfit and cleared his throat in private just enough for him to hear himself. He also had stretched his shoulders and elbows a little bit. He wiped some dirt from his collar and had folded the edge of his blazer outfit. He then expressed his gratitude to my parents by standing up and bowing half-way.

The conversation picked back up at that point.

"In order to respond to your question, Queen Prizila, the lady friend of Miss Faith Leager, resides in their neighboring community at the Heart Stella." The chairman responded while emphasizing each word he said as if he were trying to recall his memory while attempting not to cut off his words in between. "From what I know, she rarely gets out of her house and she spends her entire life living in the rural areas and doing farm related activities," the chairman added. He was carrying a ballpoint with him at the time, and he was doing gestures with the hand that was holding it as he was speaking.

"I was wondering if we might talk to that friend so that we could have a better picture of what had been going on with the marine scientist. In my opinion, this will be the first move that we take in investigating the issue." My mother pondered this question as she placed her index finger on her chin in the center of the crease.

After my mother had finished speaking to her side, the head messenger, Lancelot Graham, suddenly cut her off at the near end of her sentence. As he sat down, all of a sudden, he emphasized the movement that he was doing. And this had piqued our interest, and we found ourselves looking in his approximate way as a result. While he was adjusting his posture and getting ready to speak, he made an effort to show courtesy to the king and queen by politely bowing his head to acknowledge them.

"However, Your Majesty, do you think we need to place greater emphasis on these photographs?" The mood was noticeably more solemn than it had been only a short time before as a direct outcome of the question that Lancelot had posed.

"Would it be possible for you to highlight that point for us?" This question was posed by my father.

As he coughed, Lancelot pulled a couple pictures from the center table and displayed them for the others. "I mean take a look at this problem with the blood stain left by the vampires, which vanishes when it is exposed to sunlight. And these photographs of the same vampire blood gradient trail were taken from regions that cannot be seen by the sunlight directly, and the inhabitants of the town had taken some of them before the sun had risen," he explained further.

"So you feel that focusing on the photographs supplied by those average citizens are more significant than this missing lady who had been working and contributing to the well-being of marine life and the economy? Is that the point you are attempting to make here?" While pointing to the publication that referred to the missing scientist, my mother questioned his priorities while making the comment.

As he sat back in the chair and looked down, Lancelot let out a long sigh and blinked his eyes a few times before continuing to gaze at the ground. I was speechless as I stood there in my spot as the tension that had been building up from the conversation began to creep up my skin. "Uh, no, Queen, I guess you got the wrong idea from what I was trying to say-"

"And now you are questioning my assumption, our dear head messenger, Lancelot Graham?" My mother pointed at herself and pointed a finger at him afterwards when he emphasized his name.

After ensuring that he was seated correctly and facing the queen in the appropriate manner, Lancelot collected his confidence by glancing around the table before returning his gaze to the monarch. On the other hand, the chairman kept his eyes fixed on the news of the missing scientist and seemed to be covering his face so as not to be tempted into staring at both of them at the same time. My father had a knitted brow and his eyes were darting back and forth between his wife and the head messenger. He was most likely attempting to figure out what had been going on and gleaning information from the head messenger's statements.

Although my mother's eyes were somewhat squinted when she looked at the head messenger, her beauty and elegance did not suffer in any way. The chief messenger opened his mouth to speak, but his comments were cut short abruptly because he denied being able to continue speaking and explaining things for himself. "I apologize if I have caused you any offense, your honor."

The queen heaved a sigh and asked the chairman to hand her over the report once again. Her lips tightened as she silently rolled her eyes when nobody was looking at her except me and my father.

"Come on, Prizila! I believe Lancelot has some valid points there." My mother was in an anxious state when my father tried to calm the situation by taking a jab at her attitude. "You don't need to be arrogant this way," he remarked.

I whispered to my father while simultaneously glancing back and forth from my mother in case she caught me gossiping. I leaned to the side towards him. "But mother's point is way more beneficial and caused us to solve the task much easier than relying on photographs, don't you think?" I expressed my viewpoint too. My father made a conscious effort to get closer to me.

He replied in a hushed voice, "I know, but the images by themselves can't be the only form of proof we should be relying on."

I gave a short nod and looked down at my feet while taking a few steps backwards before returning to my previous spot. Before returning his attention to the situation in front of us, my father gave me a mischievous grin and then giggled to himself.

"Right, I know that I have gotten too far. Please allow me to clarify that in addition to relying just on images, we need to take into account the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the scientist." My mother stated in an attempt to calm herself down from the strain that she was feeling. "Because this woman is a well-known expert in this area, undoubtedly a lot of citizens and corporate sectors would work on this problem." Lancelot blew air from the side and closed his eyes to express his relief.

"So, what is our preliminary plan of action at this point?" My mother questioned while lifting one of her elbows to the side.

My father got down from his throne and began talking to them as he was approaching them. "The photographs and the remarks made by the witnesses make it abundantly evident that the vampires are the most likely culprits in the disappearances of the ladies. Now all we have to do is confirm their assertions by carrying out an investigation about the scientist who went missing and holding an interview with her acquaintance who lives in Heart Stella."

"But, the vampires went extinct a long time ago since the Yakov Era had started and reigned down to Valentin. Because of the few that have survived until this generation, I do not believe that they are the major cause of this." I argued back only to ensure that I would be able to take part in this argument and that I would not be rendered irrelevant.

The chairman turned his attention to me before responding to my statement. "We do not have any idea. It's possible that vampires are now cloaking themselves in a new identity or hiding out in one place for the sake of their survival. Additionally, they may be avoiding interacting with other beings so that they won't be discovered. I had also recalled a speculation and report that some of them had married non-vampires in order to hide the fact that they were descended from vampires and generate hybrid offspring that would be passed down from generation to generation."

"In today's world, hybrid creatures are difficult to prove."

"You got it right, some of them would prefer to live the identity of a fairy, mermaid, or a werewolf while living with some vampire blood with them," confirmed by the chairman. We all stepped forward and engaged in a more in-depth discussion of the issue while simultaneously engaging in problem solving to identify a variety of potential solutions.