A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 244: My...Help?

Chapter 244: My...Help?

A soft breath fled from Draven, and he half smiled at her.

"I like eating with you, and I do enjoy you being with me, it makes me...happy. But... all that has suddenly changed. I feel uncomfortable with the way you make me feel currently. I cannot explain it, but it is a sort of feeling that makes me feel like I have committed something heavily wrong. I have apologized, and I no longer know what else to do."

"You do not have an appetite because I’m here with you, right? You cannot seem to relax, either. It is a too-familiar behavior because nearly everyone I know feels that way around me. I feel cynical because I made a mistake, and now you are this way too. It feels like I lost something that I failed to hold, and I am sorry. I didn’t mean to."

He glanced at the bright sky before grabbing the cup of coffee. "We should have separate breakfasts from now on. The pavilion is all yours—I know you do not like being inside a lot. This way, you will feel much more comfortable, and hopefully, you can go back to being yourself once again. I do not want you to be different because of a mistake I made. Do not allow me to make you unhappy. I like it when you are happy and when you smile. I really do."

He pessimistically beamed at her before turning around. "I’ll see you later. Please eat something, you are starting to lose weight again which is not good, okay?." He walked off, exiting the pavilion.

Avelina panicked, immediately getting up from the chair. She hurried after him, grabbing his arm before he could leave the gate.

"Draven, wait, please." She let go of her dress and breathed heavily to calm her racing heart.

Draven glanced at her. "What is it?"

"Listen, you’ve got everything wrong. It’s really not what you think, I promise you. P-please don’t say that. I beg you." Her eyes were pleading.

Draven reached over his hand, gently patting her head.

"You don’t want me to feel sad, right?"

Avelina raised her large eyes to look into his eyes behind the glasses he wore. She nodded. "Yes."

But Draven understood her response differently. He playfully ruffled her hair. "It’s okay. I am not sad for myself but for you. I feel guilty that I made you become like this in just a matter of a day with one little mistake." He sighed and slowly snatched his arm from her grip. "You shouldn’t be close to me, okay?"

"But Draven!" Avelina frowned at him. She was panicking. "You are getting the wrong idea. You’ve done nothing—"

Draven patted her head. He pulled on her cheek and gently tucked the strands of her hair behind her ear. "It’s okay, Avelina. You should go and eat now, they are getting cold." He turned around and left.

But you are not the problem... Avelina’s eyes flickered. "You are not the problem. Draven..."

She could only stand there, staring in confusion and shock. What had just happened? He didn’t even let her explain. Why wouldn’t he even allow her to speak and hear her out? Just why won’t he listen and believe her?

Avelina slowly turned around and began to walk back to the pavilion. She sat down on the chair and grabbed the fork on the table. The glint in her eyes was distant, and it looked as though she were in deep thought.

Should I just not go back? Should I stay here? Her hands trembled, and she quickly supported her suddenly aching head with her palm.

"If I do not kill these feelings and go back, they will kill me... They would....they would never allow me to live!" She began to sob. "I could stay here, but...this is not my home, and I don’t belong here. I will eventually die if I stay here without ever seeing my grandpa. What do I do? What to do, Avelina? What to do?!!?

She screamed, lost and nervous. She abruptly pushed the plates on the table to the floor in anger, thus startling the maids in waiting. They gazed at her in confusion.

What was wrong with her? Why was she so agitated and infuriated? They hadn’t heard exactly what her conversation with their young master was, but it seemed as though they had a disagreement or something. Could that be the reason she was mad? They wondered.

——

Valentine sat in his room, legs crossed, while painting his nails completely black. His loosened hair was tousled and fell over his face, but he didn’t seem to care.

Done, he examined his work and blew on his fingers, satisfied. "Not bad, they do not look too messy."

He climbed down from the bed to grab his shirt that was tossed on the couch, but the sudden voice of his butler, Adam, had him halt. He whipped his head, immediately looking at the door.

"Adam?"

"Someone is here to see you, young master," Adam reported.

Valentine wrinkled his brows, surprised. To see him? Who could it be? No one visits his quarter? The only person who had done that was Lumian, but he did leave without saying a word. If not because they were siblings, he would have considered him a creep.

He asked, "Who is it?"

"The third prince," Adam replied.

Valentine blinked his eyes. "The third prince..." His pupils dilated, and he frowned, baffled.

What could Draven possibly be doing at his quarter? Was something wrong? He had never visited him before, so what could the issue be?

Valentine quickly grabbed his shirt and slipped into it. As he buttoned it up, he approached the door and opened it.

He lifted his eyes, and his gaze met those of Draven, which seemed emotionless as always.

Valentine tilted his head. Wait, something was off—he could tell.

"This is surprising. Why are you—"

"I need your help with something." Draven went straight to the point.

Valentine batted his lashes, caught off guard. He glanced to his left and right and returned his perplexed attention to Draven.

"My...help?"