Betrayed By The Hero, Loved By The Lord-Chapter 273: Candidate for king (2)

"Don’t be offended by what I say," Natalie said, touching Juliana’s hand. "It is good for both of us that I am thinking ahead. Vivienne is both our enemy, so I have taken account of the things you said."

Juliana moved her hand away from Natalie’s touch. She didn’t believe what Natalie was spewing to her now.

Natalie and Vivienne always viewed her as the foolish friend, and nothing had changed now. She looked forward to proving the pair wrong.

Juliana smiled, revealing her fangs. "I wasn’t offended by it. I should have thought of bringing a stone into the palace. Luckily, I didn’t speak of anything important around my maids, so there was nothing to report to Vivienne."

"Then you must have been so happy when you first came here that you had nothing bad to say about her. You should have been suspicious from the moment Vivienne invited you here. She stabbed you in the back more than she did to me," Natalie said, trying to manipulate Juliana.

"She banned me from the palace, but she invited you here only to make you lose the title of the king’s mistress. It is time that you get revenge along with me," said Natalie.

"Fine," Juliana agreed, standing up. "I will keep an eye on her and the others. Stop trying to act like you care for me."

"I do care for you," Natalie replied.

"No," Juliana shook her head. "You care about using me."

"I wouldn’t keep you in the palace if I didn’t care for you. Do not forget that it is my word which keeps you in the palace. Darius was quite ready to kick you out. Do not let me keep you from your task," Natalie said, reaching for her glass of blood.

Juliana wished it wasn’t true that Natalie was keeping her in the palace so she could harm Natalie in some way.

Juliana exited the room with the plan to not do as Natalie said. If Vivenne was going to be so foolish as to try to kill Darius, then Juliana didn’t want to be following anyone who could get their hands on a holy weapon.

Instead, Juliana wanted to find one of the men who wanted to be king. She had shared a bed with Darius, but that shouldn’t concern the next king.

Juliana had secrets she knew others would want to get out of her.

After a long and draining walk around the palace, Juliana found her new target.

"Michael!" Juliana called, wearing her best smile as she approached the man she had not seen in years.

Michael Valefort was from the five families. He had no family ties to Vivienne, Darius, and Xavier, which meant he wouldn’t be rooting for any of them to rule the kingdom. Michael was here for himself.

"Well, if it isn’t the king’s lover," Michael teased.

"I no longer hold that title, so your teasing won’t work. Had I known you were in the palace already, I would have prepared a wonderful welcoming gift. Forgive me for my bad manners," Juliana playfully apologised with a curtsy.

Juliana admired the blond man standing before her. She had forgotten how handsome he was.

"You are forgiven. I was not expecting a warm welcome from anyone. The king seems to be a bit moody," Michael said, pretending he didn’t know the reason.

"You and a few others are here to vote on his seat. Of course, he would be moody. I never saw you as someone who would care to be king. You have been travelling all over the kingdom," said Juliana. fгeewebnovёl.com

Michael shook his head. "No. You mistake me for another. I have been asleep, woken by my family because of the attacks and the state of the palace. In the past, I would have preferred to sleep, but being king sounds nice. I don’t have anything else to do."

"You want to be king because you are bored? That’s a first," Juliana said, surprised by his answer. "Others want to be king because of the power that comes with it."

"I am not others," Michael corrected Juliana.

Michael was close to leaving the palace to visit the Blackthorns, but now he was intrigued by what Juliana wanted from him.

Juliana gave away too easily that she needed something.

Michael had a good guess of what it was, and while he would not take Juliana by his side, he would entertain her to use her.

"You are right. You are far easier to approach than others, which is why I think you would be a good king. Well, if you were given the chance. Darius is also a good king," Juliana said, looking around for any spies.

Until Darius was no longer king, Juliana had to be careful not to speak ill of him. Natalie’s pleas would not save her if Darius caught wind of this.

"You may speak freely here," said Michael.

Juliana relaxed, thinking Michael had a stone. "He is a good king for us purebloods. I would never deny that."

"This kingdom needs a king or queen who will be good for all creatures who live here. I have heard of his plans to let vampires run free, taking blood as they like and herding humans like animals," Michael said, annoyed just from repeating it.

"I do get excited at the thought of taking blood from a human’s flesh when I want without asking," Juliana replied.

"There are humans who will let you pay to drink from them. We must control the blood we take before we lose our food. I don’t want to take blood from animals since it is not tasty. Would you want to do that?" Michael asked.

"No, I wouldn’t. Still, if he gathers them in one place, then he must have plans to breed-"

"Them like cattle so we are not short of humans? I’m sure their blood would not be of any use to us as they become sick. I understand why you are one of his mistresses. Oh, my mistake," Michael apologised. "You were a mistress."

"Now your teasing is even more annoying. I am here to be of help to you. In return, I only ask that you allow me to stay in the palace. Since you were asleep, there might not have been anyone at your side, so take me," Juliana made the offer.

If she could get Michael on her side and help push him to be king, Juliana wouldn’t be under Natalie’s thumb for much longer.

"You were wrong to assume I don’t have anyone. There’s a woman who might cut me if I speak of mistresses. Let us hope no one heard you," Michael said, walking around Juliana.

Juliana frowned. "How could anyone hear us if you have a stone?"

"Stone? When did I say that?" Michael questioned, enjoying the good laugh Juliana gave him.