A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 201: Sit Down, Ryan!

"You never cease to amaze me, hahaha." She shook her head, wiping off the happy tears that had built up in her eyes.

Draven smiled, quite proud of himself.

"Come, let’s go and eat."

"With everyone?" Avelina inquired. The expression on her face was enough to say she did not want to go at all.

Draven nodded. "Yes."

"My father gave an order. We must all be there."

"Do you think something is wrong?" Avelina probed. "Family dinner only happens once every week, right?"

"You are correct," Draven affirmed. "I believe something must be wrong as well." He stood up from the swing and grabbed Avelina’s hand. They exited the garden and made their way to the general pavilion.

He walked over to his seat and sat down, leaving Avelina to sit beside Aurora. Unlike normal days, the seating had suddenly been changed. The husbands were meant to sit on the right while the wives sat on the left.

Avelina was quite baffled by this, and she could not help but stare at Draven with furrowed brows.

"What’s going on?" She lip-synched to him.

Draven, who caught on to it, shook his head, shrugging. He was clueless as well.

Everyone was settled down, except Valentine. He was nowhere to be seen.

"This boy..." Old Master Lenort balled his hands, infuriated. Valentine had always tended to be late at everything, as though it were none of his business.

Old Master Lenort glanced at the butler who stood beside him. "Go and get the youngest—"

"Je suis dèsolé." None other than Valentine’s voice sounded. He was approaching the table while scratching the back of his neck. "I didn’t mean to be late. I just had something important to do." He smiled at Old Master Lenort and proceeded to sit down.

However, at the sight of how everyone was sitting, he blinked his eyes in perplexity.

"Heh? What happened? Why are we sitting in this formation? Is someone about to be killed?" he queried, his gaze moving from one person to another.

Old Master Lenort, who was peering at him, tightened his hold on the knife in his hand. He could not stand this boy and his obnoxious behavior. He was behaving as though he could not see him.

Angered, he threw the knife with the intention of injuring Valentine, but Valentine luckily dodged it.

"Oh my goodness, father! Do you want to kill me?" Valentine questioned, his eyes filled with terror or, if more fitting, a look of mockery.

Old Master Lenort’s right eye twitched in anger, and he slammed his hand on the table. "Sit!"

Valentine nodded, smiling. "Yes, yes, I will sit." He sat beside Lestat and crossed his legs.

Old Master Lenort took a deep breath and glanced at Natasha.

"What is going on in this mansion?" he abruptly questioned

This left both Ryan and Natasha startled. Was he still on this topic? Why? She thought he had at least forgotten about it after Ryan’s punishment.

Ryan nervously smiled. "What do you mean, father?"

Old Master Lenort shifted his attention to him.

"Something is wrong, and I know it. Each and every one of you has been behaving oddly. Especially you and your wife." He pointed at Ryan. "What is the reason?"

Natasha fidgeted in her seat. She anxiously bit her lower lip and forced herself to smile.

"O-oddly, father?"

"Yes." Old Master Lenort nodded.

"I know something is wrong. I can sense it as well, but I do not know what it is. I have also asked this question before, and I am asking again, however, this time around, I will not force anyone to speak. But..." He half smiled in a deadly manner. "... If I do find out what is going on by myself, none of you will be able to escape my anger."

He chuckled. "Bon-appetit."

Ryan took continuous, deep breaths. He was pondering whether to tell his father the truth on his own rather than let him find out. But would it be worth it?

There was a possibility that his father may never find out about the incident, and that would really save a lot for them, but what if he does indeed find out? That would cost them a lot as well.

The decision was tough, thus, Ryan began to pick on his food, deep in thought. No matter which decision he makes, it was quite risky. Telling Old Master Lenort would put his wife’s life in danger, and not telling would still put them in quite the danger.

He knew his father very well, and there was a high possibility of him figuring out what was going on.

A deep breath fled his nose, and he stood up from his chair. "Father, I would like to take my leave. There is some paperwork that I must do."

Without looking at him, Old Master Lenort said in response, "The paper work can wait. Sit down and eat. No one leaves the table until I am done."

"But father, I—"

"Sit down, Ryan!" Old Master Lenort finally looked at him. "Eat your food, and when I dismiss you all, you can leave!" His tone was threatening.

Ryan frantically blinked his eyes and slowly sat back down on the chair. "Y-yes, father."

He took his seat and began to eat. Every now and then, he would glimpse his wife, signaling her to be calm and keep her composure. He knew that if anything went wrong, it would be over for them.

The tension was intense, and the one who felt the most uncomfortable was Avelina. She could not explain this sort of eerie feeling she was sensing crawling against her skin, but she could tell that it had something to do with the fact that she was the only human sitting among them.

Draven was able to tell that she was uneasy. But the problem was that there was nothing he could do. They weren’t seated close to each other like they normally would, but they were rather separated today.