A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 33: Are You Both Ready?

Chapter 33: Are You Both Ready?

But Draven did not answer him. His expression was impassive as always, unwavering.

Old Master Lenort chuckled. He slanted his face close to his ears and whispered, "Do yourself some good and learn when to give up on certain things."

"I am not dumb, Père," Draven finally responded in a barely audible tone.

"Since the entertainment is over." Old Master Lenort abruptly pulled back and turned to face the crowd. "We will move on to the main reason for this ceremony."

"The duel will be taking place in the Arena," he announced. "So follow me."

He turned around and began to exit the hall toward the arena next door.

The guests got up from their seats with their faces brimming with excitement. Their smiles were broadened, leading to their eyes narrowing and their cheeks rising.

Some of them chuckled in anticipation and followed behind the royal family with rapid movements. The moment they stepped into the arena, the first thing they glimpsed was the circular ring situated at the center of the vast hall.

Draven, who had walked to stand beside Avelina, couldn’t help but notice her trembling hands which had accidentally touched him. He looked at her face filled with nervousness and blinked his eyes.

He slowly shifted his hand closer to hers and moved his fingers, unsure if he should do what he had in mind. He took a soft breath and quickly grabbed her hand, hoping to calm her down.

"It will be okay. I won’t let you die," he assured in a hushed tone.

Avelina glanced at him with deep surprise and looked at his hand.

She had not expected him to grab her hand...

"Have your seats!" Old Master Lenort ordered as he sat down on the head chair.

Draven let go of Avelina’s hand and walked over to his chair to sit down. The rest of the royal family and the guests sat down as well, except Avelina and Natasha.

They were standing beside each other and Natasha’s face held no expression.

"Get ready to die! I won’t be going easy on you," Natasha abruptly spoke in a low tone. "I would have considered showing you mercy if you were a vampire, but you are a human and I despise your kind. You are a speck of unwanted dirt that is awfully tainting our kind."

Her expression was a mixture of disgust and disdain.

Avelina did not say a word. She felt scared but she tried to stay as calm as possible. She mustn’t show any form of fear or else, she would be taken advantage of.

She touched the knives through the fabric of her dress and secretly let out a soft breath.

There is nothing to be scared of. All I need to do is to trust Draven and help myself... She heaved a deep sigh.

The entire hall went silent, and the sound of the heavy drum reverberated.

Avelina’s heart skipped a beat and she swiveled her head to glance at Draven, however, a sudden movement from Natasha had her halt.

In the flicker of a moment, Natasha had arrived in the ring at the center of the arena. Her movements were so quick as a drop of water that she didn’t even see it. All she felt was the cool breeze that slapped against her body when Natasha dashed off.

Avelina fluttered her lashes, in the realization that she may not even last five minutes.

During her one-year stay in the vampire slave house, her survival was only possible due to the fact that she picked up on a few battling moves.

There were up to sixteen slaves, but only she and the five other slaves were able to survive till the day the auction was held.

Despite these little skills, she can only hope they would come in handy now...even if it were to be just for five minutes.

Avelina peeked at Draven, whose attention was fixed on her, and deeply exhaled. She grabbed hold of her dress and made her way to the center of the arena. She walked up a few steps and stepped into the ring.

From their seats, Olive, Loui, and Lucien gazed at her, wanting to see just how worthy she was. Was she a strong-willed human or the timid kind?

Draven, on the other hand, gently tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair. His expression was calm, and his eyes were fixated on Avelina.

Avelina stood opposite Natasha. She shut her eyes, drawing a long, deep breath and exhaling with her eyes open.

She calmed her nervous state and abruptly grabbed an armful of her dress, lifting it.

In confusion, everyone except Draven drew their heads back. He was perplexed by her sudden action, but he wasn’t reacting to it.

What is she doing? He tilted his head to one side, trying to fathom the intent behind her sudden action.

Natasha, who stood opposite Avelina, frowned deeply and watched her intently to figure out what she was trying to do.

With an unconcerned expression, Avelina pulled out the knives strapped to her undergarments. She began to cut her gown in a circular motion, all the way to her thighs.

Lucien who was watching with narrowed eyes suddenly smirked in suprise. "Oh, I get what she is doing now,"

Olive and Loui looked at her, perplexed. "What is she doing?" Loui asked.

"The gown is too big, so it will make movements quite difficult for her. She is cutting off those huge chunks of the dress in order to give herself full freedom of movement," Lucien explained.

"Oh..." Olive and Loui nodded in understanding.

The crowds, who finally understood the course of her action, nodded their heads and folded their arms.

"Immoral!" Lilith scorned. She folded her arms as she narrowed her eyes and crossed her legs.

Avelina disposed of the materials outside the ring. She straightened up and looked at Natasha.

"Are you both ready?" the announcer who held a microphone, questioned.

Avelina gave a nod while Natasha simply shrugged, looking very unbothered. To her, Avelina was an easy target.

Five minutes would be too much to take her down—so she believed.

"Alright then. Five!...Four!...Three!...Two!...and...One! BEGIN!!!" the announcer declared with a wave of his hand.