My Most Precious Human

We entered a hall that resembled a stage of a round parliament. There were audience seats rising high all around us, with a special lodge right in the middle. There were about a hundred seats and no empty ones. Those in the audience wore black togas, with the exception of those in the lodge, who wore togas in a bloody-red color. There were five dressed in red, and they seemed to be some kind of special group of judges, while the rest must have been the court representatives.

No one in the audience was staring at me as intently as the one judge seated in the lodge's main seat. It was a woman, a beautiful woman with blonde, almost white hair and crystal cold eyes. She seemed extremely fierce. Her intimidating gaze made me flinch the second our eyes met. Strangely, at the same time, I didn't feel hostility coming from her. What I saw in her eyes could be described as a peculiar kind of curiosity. At one moment, she smirked at me. I gasped, feeling slightly awkward, then I looked away from her, turning my eyes to Sariel. He glared at the female judge, then he pulled my hand, leading me to the table on the right side of the courtroom.

Only then did I feel the ominous stares stabbing the back of my head like sharp knives coming from the left side of the room. I turned my head towards where the source of the emitted hatred was and saw a group of seven distinguished vampires sitting at the table opposite to the one Sariel sat. Judging from their attitude, it was my presence that was an eyesore for them. I could imagine them standing up from their seats and spitting my way to demonstrate the level of their disdain.

"Sit down," Sariel commanded, pulling my hand towards a seat on the left side of him.

I obeyed him silently. I hoped not to piss anyone off while being in the room full of vampires.

Mr. Gotha sat at Sariel's right side and handed him a folder with some documents. Sariel flipped through the files, then put them away, and sighed. Only when I clearly heard his heavy breath filling the room di I realize the whole audience remained silent. I gazed nervously at Sariel and saw a slight smirk on his face. He then slowly turned his head towards the female judge and nodded, and she replied by nodding back at him. Seeing it happen, I understood that the whole room solely waited for the Duke's permission to begin.

"The Great Council is now opening the session," the female judge announced in a strict tone of her voice.

With her words, the soft murmurs spread throughout the room. Those sitting at the opposite table kept staring at me, contempt embroidered on their faces. Their stares were becoming more overwhelming by the second.

"The House of Adragna has been accused of organizing illegal auctions, human trafficking, and selling illegal goods. Marquess Henri Adragna, with sons: Georges Adragna, Pierre Adragna, Arthur Adragna, Claude Adragna, and Julien Adragna, how do you plead?" the judge asked.

The seventh person sitting at their table turned out to be their defense attorney, but he looked as hateful as those whom he defended. He stood up.

"Not guilty, Your Honor," he called out loud.

His words caused a commotion. I saw most of the representatives sitting in the audience seats nodding their heads, clearly expressing their support for the defendants. I angrily clenched my fists, feeling how my blood was beginning to boil.

Sariel abruptly grabbed my fist and shoved it under the table, "Don't be so obvious with your emotions. Cold calculation is the key if you want them to pay," he whispered.

I nodded my head nervously.

"Relax." He smirked, "Don't open your mouth until I say so, and enjoy the show."

I responded with a faint smile. There was nothing enjoyable about the way most of those vampires stared at me. Other than aversion, some of them disgustfully licked their lips while ogling me. Chills ran down my spine as I realized they thought of me as a snack. As if it couldn't get any worse, my heart started to throb frantically, releasing my scent throughout every corner of the room. I tried to calm myself down by deepening my breathing, but before it managed to remain composed, I already heard that the commotion had become stronger, filled with soft chuckling and agitated gasps. I stubbornly stared at the tabletop only to prevent myself from meeting any vampire's eye.

"Calm down, Lilith," Sariel whispered, gently stroking the top of my palm under the table.

I knew he meant well, but his actions weren't exactly making my heart slow down. His slightest touch sent a tickling wave through my entire body. I forced myself to smile at him, but regaining composure was something entirely different.

"No one can hurt you here. The most powerful vampire sits by your side, and no one dares to go against me," he stated softly, still touching my palm.

I gazed into his eyes. I knew he meant every word he said. The second I locked my eyes on him, my anxieties started to disappear. The pressure that my heart pumped my blood decreased, and my muscles became less tense. He smirked and took his hand away. Fear left my body, but arousal immediately came into its place. Projecting that my heart would rush once more, I pinched myself hard, forcing myself to focus.

"The Duke of Calvet, acting as a prosecutor, will now give his speech." The judge gestured at Sariel.

"Thank you, Your Honor." His lips stretched into a form of a smile, but his eyes remained cold.

He stood up and slowly walked towards the defendants. His steps were confident, and his expression was full of superiority. He looked at the Adragnas as if he was looking at bugs that needed to be squashed. "Your Honor, auxiliary judges, members of the Great Council, I stand before you to inform you of the crimes that the Adragna family has committed. They deliberately and mercilessly shed human blood, killing endless numbers of innocent lives for more than a decade. They used all sorts of methods to cover their criminal practice, but as the New Argent Town's protector, I spared no sources to find clear evidence against them," he started his speech.

When he told everyone about the night of the auction, his words were like emotionless statements. Hearing them, I thought he was telling some unfamiliar story. At human courts, the prosecutor brings up the victim to gain the judges' sympathy, but those creatures looking down at me from their seats couldn't possibly be moved by the deaths of something they called "food". I began to wonder if my testimony would make any sense at all. Nonetheless, I tried to remain as positive as possible and kept listening to Sariel's speech.

Later, Sariel started describing the previous outcomes of their auctions in detail. Suddenly, I started to understand what he was really aiming at in his speech. He was describing human tragedy, even though he knew none of those vamps cared about it, but there was something that he kept mentioning while talking about it... It was money. Each time he introduced another night of the crime, he kept the listeners' focus on how much money the Adragna family had gained from their auctions, and his words were quite effective. The outraged murmurs spread through the room. The anger rose with every second, as the Adragnas' supporters must have felt deceived and betrayed. I smiled bitterly. At the end of the day, human lives turned out to be far less valuable than mere sums of money, but I was willing to swallow that bitter pill for the sake of those spiteful vampires receiving their punishment.

I could see the whole Adragna family fuming inside. The Marquess barely managed to keep his sons in their seats with a strict glare. For a brief moment, I felt slightly relieved because the Adragnas' eyes were directed at Sariel, shifting all their hatred towards him. Unlike me, I think he even enjoyed their enraged gazes. He was even willing to fuel them. The Duke moved around his stage gracefully while talking, and each time he was near the defendants' table, he turned around away from his audience and sent a wicked smile to the Adragnas. He looked as if he was teasing a mad caged dog with a stick. By the time he finished, all six of the defendants were foaming at the mouth.

"Now, Your Honor, I would like to call a witness, the only living witness of the tragical auction at the casino." Sariel pointed at me.

Instantly, everyone's eyes looked my way. I looked around. The members of the Great Council gazed at me in anticipation, as if they were looking forward to another part of the show. Then I glanced at the opposite table and gulped. Those mad dogs, with their blood boiling and their rage ready to explode from their nostrils, were now all focused on me!

My subconscious burst out in hysteric laughter.