A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 305: Why Edward?

Chapter 305: Why Edward?

Avelina tucked her hair behind her ear, her attention still very well fixed on her book.

She inquired, "If you do not mind me asking, why...are you in the royal mansion?"

She spared him a glance.

"Hm?" Edward looked at her. He responded, "Nothing much. I’m one of the county coroners, so I am simply here to perform an autopsy on Lady Natasha with the rest of the doctors. We are trying to determine the cause of her death, but so far, we’ve got nothing."

"Oh?" Avelina’s eyes narrowed vehemently. "I wish you luck then, I suppose."

Edward thoughtfully glanced at her, seeming worried.

"Are you...alright?"

"Why do you ask?" Avelina flipped to the next page of her book.

Edward replied, "Your expression and your demeanor, you sound quite...cold. So I am wondering if everything is alright. Did someone piss you off?" He raised both eyebrows at her, appearing silly.

Avelina looked over at him, and at the sight of his face, she could not help but almost burst into laughter.

"I don’t think you should leave your face like that. You look very silly." She cackled, amused.

Edward widely beamed, suddenly appearing elated. "That’s much better."

"It’s alright. I use this trick on my sister quite often. I assumed it would work on you, and it did. I don’t mind at all, so long as it makes you smile."

Avelina blinked her pupils, her smile slowly fading. She cleared her throat, averting her gaze to the book in her hand.

Edward peeked at the book. Out of curiosity, he could not help but inquire, "What are you reading?"

"Hm?" Avelina lifted her head. "This?" She pointed at the book.

Edward gave a nod. "Yes, that."

"Well, this is, um, a novel," Avelina replied.

"What is the name?" Edward further probed.

Avelina responded quickly, "Endless desire. It’s one of my favorites—"

"I have read that." Edward began to laugh. "I took it from my sister. It appears she has the same taste as you do, and perhaps I do too."

Avelina’s eyes twinkled. "You have really read this?"

"Of course." Edward nodded. "Brace yourself, though, as it appears you’ve not read till the end. It’s quite...tragic."

Avelina’s jaw fell, and she quickly began to flip through the pages of the book. "Wh..."

Edward smiled apologetically at her. "I didn’t mean to spoil it for you, haha."

Avelina glared at him and scoffed, looking away to the book.

...

At the pavilion, Draven sat, gazing at the delicacies on the table. It was quite obvious that he was waiting for Avelina, but it had been over an hour now and there was no sign of her. He could tell that she was not coming.

A deep breath exited his nose, and he took the last sip of his coffee. He stood up from the chair and left the garden to proceed to the room and see her, but upon arrival, he came to find out that she was not there.

This caused him to frown. "Where is she?" he asked.

Santino responded, "Young master, she is outside by the fountain." He could sense that things were getting worse and worse with each passing day. Of course, he did not fail to hear the fight between them last night.

Draven turned around and left for the fountain. He arrived at the passage that led to the fountain and came to an immediate stop.

On the bench, Avelina sat with Edward, who was seated quite awfully close to her in a way that did not sit well with him. He did not like it one bit!

Not only that, but Avelina was smiling and laughing to her heart’s content. The same was true with Edward. They were having conversations as though they’d known each other for quite some time.

A nasty glint flickered in Draven’s red eyes, and he shifted his gaze to the book in Avelina’s hand.

Why? was the first thought that clicked in his mind. She only loved to talk about her books with him. Only...him...

So, why Edward?

He balled his hands into tight fists, his knuckles cracking in the process. Yes, he was provoked, but even he could not tell why at that moment. All he knew was that he was not happy with what he saw.

He turned around, and without saying a word, he left, walking back to the room.

...

With a refreshing smile still plastered on her face, Avelina stood up from the bench.

"Thank you," she said to Edward.

Edward looked up at her and stood up as well. "You’re welcome."

"I’ll be taking my leave now. Have a good day." Avelina turned around to leave, but Edward grabbed her wrist, stopping her. She glanced at him, perplexed.

"Is...something wrong?"

Edward shook his head. "No, nothing is wrong. I just want to let you know that it was nice speaking to you."

"Oh..." Avelina flickered her eyes. "It was great speaking to you too. Thank you again." She snatched her wrist from him and left the fountain to return to her room.

She arrived at the door and halted the second she glimpsed the worried expression on Santino’s face.

"Santino?" She tilted her head, bewildered.

Santino looked at her. "Yes, my lady."

"Are you okay?" Avelina asked.

Santino awkwardly smiled at her. "But of course, my lady. You needn’t worry. I am well, alright."

Avelina half-smiled at him and turned the knob. She stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.

She turned around but stopped at the view of Draven, who was seated on the chair at the table, his attention fixed on whatever it was that he was writing down in a book.

She darted her gazes around, unable to keep herself from wondering why he was in the room.

Oh, this is his room as well. What the heck am I even thinking? Avelina shook her head and walked over to the couch. She sat down, crossing her legs and exhaling.

"You...didn’t eat..." Draven abruptly spoke, unwilling to spare her a glance.

Avelina shrugged. "I had no appetite."

"Oh...? Is that so? I see." Draven nodded. "Did you...have a good time with Edward?"