A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 271: Why Do You Care, Father?

Olive, who was seated quite far away, took a deep breath and averted his gaze.

"You haven’t apologized to him, have you?" Lucien, who sat beside him with her legs crossed, asked.

Olive shrugged. "No. I never got the chance to."

Lucien could not help but cackle.

"Do you want to dance?"

"Absolutely not with you!" Olive responded harshly with a straight face.

Lucien’s eyes twitched in deep annoyance. She got up from her seat and stood right in front of him.

"Dance with me!" she demanded.

"And for what?" Olive looked at her with crumpled brows. "I don’t want to! Leave me—"

Lucien gripped his arms, forcefully pulling him out onto the dance floor. "Let’s. Dance!" she emphasized, smiling at her as though she could possibly kill him if he didn’t.

Olive stared and glared at her for a few seconds before finally giving in. He took a deep breath and extended his hand to her.

"May I have this dance?"

"Absolutely." Lucien smiled, dipping in curtsy. She was dressed in a fine body hug green dress that stopped just at her knees, showing off her curves. Her hair, unlike usual, was packed into a high bun, letting a few strands fall in curly waves. Little bits of golden jewelry were used to give her hair a finishing touch.

Olive rested his hand at her waist, and they joined in, dancing with the other couples.

Valentine, who was smiling at the guest who came to greet him, averted his gaze to the dance floor. His eyes, with no doubt, halted right on Olive and Lucien, who were waltzing on the checkered floor with the other couples.

His eyes flickered slowly, and his lips softly parted. He took a deep breath and looked away, abruptly beaming at himself.

He suddenly stood up, turned to his father, and slightly bowed.

"I shall be going to the guest room now, Father."

"Why?" The old master glanced at him.

Valentine responded, "I don’t know. I just don’t feel well all of a sudden." He half-smiled.

Old Master Lenort gazed intently at him. He could sense that something was off as this was the opposite of the Valentine he knew.

So he asked, "What’s wrong? Did something happen?"

Valentine lifted his head, glancing at him in deep surprise. Was his father actually asking after him? Like wanting to know what’s wrong? But...why? This man does not care for him, so why was he suddenly sounding like he does care?

He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, thus causing him to frown. He straightened up and smiled at Old Master Lenort.

"Why do you care, father?" he inquired.

Old Master Lenort raised his brow at him. "Meaning?"

He laughed. "Boy, I don’t care. I was wondering if perhaps you are not entertained enough."

"Is that so?" Valentine asked. He said, "Well, you don’t have to worry. I was quite well entertained. I just would love to be alone for a little while." He shoved his hands into the pocket of his pants and began to descend the stairs, his loose hair bouncing right off his shoulder.

He proceeded to the dance floor to leave, and unfortunately for him, he ended up having to walk past Olive and Lucien, who spared him a glance at the same time he did.

He stormed off, leaving for the guest room, not looking back even once.

The dance came to a stop, and the females stood to the right while the males stood to the left. The ladies bobbed in curtsy while the men bowed slightly with their hands placed on their chests.

Avelina beamed at Draven, and they turned around to leave, but someone suddenly grabbed hold of Draven’s arm, stopping him.

Draven turned, his gaze falling on a familiar figure. This woman—he had met her before!

"Hello, good to see you again." The woman, who was none other than Tatiana, smiled charmingly.

Draven scrunched his brows, seeming to have remembered her. This was the woman who had asked him for a one-night stand the night he went to the bar. What could she possibly be doing at his father’s ceremony? Could she be from a noble family? If yes, why was she so unruly?

"Don’t look at me like that." Tatiana chuckled. "I can tell what you are thinking."

Draven raised a brow. "You can?"

"Indeed. I can read people’s minds through their eyes. It is my ability, your highness," Tatiana responded.

"I see." Draven nodded, turning around to leave with Avelina.

But Tatiana gripped his arm, stopping him. "If you do not mind, your Highness, please spare me one dance."

Draven frowned, snatching his arm from her. He took a deep breath, saying, "I do not appreciate you touching me however you like. It makes me uncomfortable."

"My apologies." Tatiana apologized, bobbing in curtsy. "But can you still spare me a dance? I came because of you tonight. It wouldn’t hurt to dance with me, your highness, would it?" She lifted her eyes, meeting his gaze, completely disregarding Avelina, who stood by the side. "I know it is because of your wife, but I do not think she would have a problem with it. She did already have her first two dances, didn’t she?" She peeked at Avelina.

Avelina glanced at Draven, frowning. There was no way Draven would agree, right? He cannot possibly say yes to—

"Okay," Draven replied.

This caused Avelina’s thoughts to come to a halt. She quickly looked at Draven, confused. "Draven—"

Draven smiled at her, gently patting her head. "Are you okay with it? I’ll be back to you soon."

Avelina stared at him, unable to say no. She reluctantly averted her gaze, secretly balling her fists in anger.

"Y-yes, I am totally okay with it." She chuckled awkwardly, forcing a smile on her face.