A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 193: Shall I Let Her In?

Draven shifted his eyes to look at her. "Are you okay?" he inquired, quite concerned with how intently she was staring at him.

"Uh...I am..." Avelina responded subconsciously. She lifted her hand and adjusted his glasses, which looked as though they were about to slip off the bridge of his nose. She grabbed the strands of his hair that fell over his face and tucked it behind his ear.

"Better," she said.

She could not tell if Draven was stunned or what, but he was not averting his gaze. He had also stopped what he was drawing and explaining to her the things he was talking about.

"You know..." Draven’s hush-like, deep voice sounded. "...I do not think that I would want you to leave even after our deal is settled."

Avelina was dazed. She rapidly flickered her eyes, not sure what to say. "Y-ye! W-why?"

"I don’t know." Draven shook his head. "Perhaps I will be quite sad when you leave." He deeply sighed with a cynical expression evident on his face.

He relaxed his head on her shoulder, and Avelina, who was unsure of what to do, reached out her hand to gently run her fingers through his hair.

I honestly do not think I would want to leave either... She sighed inwardly, her expression switching to a pessimistic one.

———

A sleek black car stopped at its usual stop.

The driver opened the door, and a woman stepped down. She was none other than Natasha. Unlike her usual elevated expression whenever she comes to that location, she was rather gloomy this time around.

With a deep breath exiting her nose, she grabbed her dress and began to proceed towards the house, with crows flying above it in circles.

Yes, she was there to meet with Ceicei.

Natasha entered the house and shut the door behind her. She looked around, and her gaze fell on Ceicei, who stood beside a desk with a book in her hand.

"You finally came." Ceicei’s voice sounded

Natasha let out a deep breath. She took a step forward to approach her, but Ceicei raised her hand, stopping her.

"Don’t take a step closer to me," she warned.

Natasha was confused. "Why?" she inquired, appearing quite baffled.

"You and I have no further business. Pay me my money." Ceicei’s tone was harsh.

Natasha frowned, balling her hands into fists.

"Why should I pay you? It didn’t even work out."

Ceicei’s expression immediately fell. She was still for a few moments before dropping the book in her hand.

In the blink of an eye, she arrived before Natasha, gripping her by the throat and lifting her into midair.

"Listen here, you moron! Are you just stupid or what?" she questioned.

Natasha could not answer. She was struggling to escape from her grip.

"You must be stupid!" Ceicei’s eyes were filled with disdain. "What does it have to do with me if it worked out or not? Were you deaf when I told you that it was up to you if it would work or not?"

"You stupid bitch! You are the one who messed up, not me. It is your fault that it didn’t work out, and it has absolutely nothing to do with me" She was fuming in anger.

Her grip tightened. "Listen here; if you do not want to die by my hands, you better pay me, or else you won’t walk out of here alive. Don’t you dare me!" she warned yet again before letting go.

Natasha plopped to the floor and began to frantically cough, gasping for air.

"I give you a day—just a day—to pay that money. If you do not, you will face harsh consequences. Do not dare me, you bitch! Get out of my house!" Ceicei glared at her as though she was going to eat her alive.

Without hesitation, Natasha stood up from the floor and rushed outside to her car. She pulled open the door and got in.

The chauffeur, who was obviously worried about her, wanted to ask what the problem was, but upon seeing the anger on her face, he refrained from doing so. He turned the engine on and drove off onto the road.

What do I do now? Natasha began to think. Ryan had frozen her account because he was not willing to give her a chance to do anything stupid again. How was she supposed to pay Ceicei now?

She fidgeted with her sweaty hands and rubbed her temple in deep stress. She would have to beg Ryan—she would have to make him understand that her life was being threatened. That was the only way. Even if he doesn’t unfreeze her account, at the very least he can do something, right? He would not let her die, right?

She took deep breaths to calm herself down.

...

The chauffeur parked the car. He stepped down, walked over, and opened the door for Natasha.

Natasha got down. She lifted her head and stared at the royal mansion that stood tall before her. She was at a loss for what to do. For the first time in her whole life, she felt lost, not knowing what step to take or what to do in order to protect and save herself.

With a deep breath fleeing her nose, she entered the royal mansion and proceeded straight for Ryan’s room. There is no other solution at the moment than to talk to him. That is the only way she can even take the first step toward saving herself.

Lancelot, who saw her approaching, slightly bowed at her. "My lady."

"I’d like to talk with my husband. Announce my presence," Natasha said. She held not even a tinge of emotion.

Lancelot could smell that something was wrong, but he was not willing to linger on the thought.

"Young master, my lady is here to see you," he announced. "Shall I let her in?"