A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 37: She Is The Problem

Chapter 37: She Is The Problem

Santino gave her an assuring smile.

"Be calm, my lady. I know my master very well, and I guarantee you that this little wound will not harm him. He has faced much worse." He stepped out of the room at his last sentence.

Avelina jolted as the door slammed shut. She began to panic, unable to trust the butler’s words.

Draven may be a vampire, but he was still losing a lot of blood. How in the world would he survive this for that long? She fidgeted with her fingers, inwardly blaming herself for what happened.

It was not just Draven’s life that was at stake—hers was at stake as well. If Draven dies, that will be the end of her. Even with him alive, she is still very much in danger. How much more when he dies?

Avelina shook her head, unwilling to think about it anymore. She began to pace back and forth and abruptly halted to look at Draven.

Her heart tightened at the sight of the clothing she wrapped around his belly. It was already drenched in his blood.

She had hoped that the alcohol would stop the bleeding—which it did for a little while, but then it suddenly became rapid again and she could not understand why.

A deep breath fled her nose, and she walked into the bathroom. She fetched a bowl of water and grabbed a towel, then returned to the bedroom and knelt beside the bed.

Avelina dipped the towel into the bowl and squeezed it properly to rinse off the water. She used the towel and began to wipe off the sweat on Draven’s forehead.

Draven, whose eyes were shut due to exhaustion, opened his eyes to look at her.

Avelina instinctively ceased what she was doing and stared at him.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Terrible," Draven frankly answered in a low tone.

Avelina’s grip on the towel tightened, and she lowered her head, not wanting to meet his gaze any longer.

"Please don’t die," she pleaded in a soft, trembling voice.

Draven was a little bit flabbergasted by those sudden words.

"Because if I die, you will die as well, right?" he inquired.

Avelina quickly lifted her head to glance at him. "No, no, no! That is not it!"

"Then what is it?" Draven pressed, his brows furrowing.

"I..." Avelina let out a soft sigh. "Okay, that is part of the reason, but the other part is also genuine. You are a good person regardless of what you are, so I do not wish to see you die," she explained.

Draven gazed at her and let out a subtle breath.

"I am not a good person, Avelina," he said.

Avelina half-smiled at him. "Well, you are good to me, so—"

Draven interrupted her before her sentence could be completed. "I am good to you because I’m gaining something with your help. If I had no need for you, I wouldn’t care if you existed, died, or not."

Avelina, who had not expected such harshness, blinked her eyes.

His words were true. I mean, she is just a measly human after all. Of course, a royal vampire prince wouldn’t care, however, the way he delivered it was so...direct and sort of harsh.

She smiled and slowly nodded her head. "Of course, of course. My apologies for thinking too far."

She turned her head at the sound of a sudden knock on the door, thinking it was Santino, but it turned out to be someone else.

There at the opened door, Valentine stood with a smile on his lips.

"May I come in?" he directly asked Draven, whose eyes diverted to him.

Draven permitted him after a few seconds of silence. "Come in."

Valentine took off his shoes and sauntered into the dimly lit room. He grabbed one of the wooden chairs at the table and sat close to the bed.

He glanced at Avelina. "Do you mind leaving us for a few moments, sister-in-law?"

Avelina frowned at him. She looked at Draven as though seeking his consent.

Draven let out a soft breath and nodded at her.

Although reluctant to leave, she bit her lower lip and exited the room. The moment she shut the door, Valentine fixated his attention on Draven and shifted closer to the bed. He crossed his legs and folded his arms.

Discomfited by the awkward silence, Draven stared at him, patiently waiting to hear what he had to say.

"You are confused, aren’t you, Frère?" Valentine queried.

Draven barely nodded. "I am. May I ask what your reason for coming is?"

Valentine chuckled a bit. "Nothing really. I just thought you might need my help."

"On what?" Draven crinckled his brow, his expression serious.

Valentine shrugged. "Well, it’s obvious that you do not know what is going on with you, and I think I do have a slight bit of an idea of what the problem is." He smiled.

Draven’s serious expression deepened, and he carefully sat up on the bed.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Look at your stomach," Valentine said, pointing at his belly.

Draven lowered his head with furrowed brows. At the immediate sight of his wound, shock washed all over his face. His expression was a mixture of confusion and skepticism.

He lifted his head and glanced at Valentine. "What is going on?" he questioned.

Valentine smiled charmingly and turned his head to look at the door.

"She is the problem," he stated.

Draven was bewildered. He peered at the door and returned his attention to Valentine.

"Are you implying that she was the reason why I couldn’t heal?" he asked.

"Bingo!" Valentine snapped his fingers. "Why did you think I asked her to leave us for a few moments? Of Course, it’s to prove my analysis."

"I figured this out after your injury. We, royal bloods take about ten to fifteen seconds to heal for such minor injuries and about one minute plus for heavy wounds."

"First of all, I wasn’t sure, but while you were being moved out of the hall, I noticed a slight bit of healing in your wound. Your wife was twenty feet away from you then. But! The moment she came closer behind your butler, you began to bleed profusely again."

He sniffed the air around the room and looked at Draven with a grin on his lips. "I smell alcohol, and if I am not wrong, she used it on your wound to stop the bleeding, did she not?"

Draven blinked his eyes with a frown on his face. "She did."

"And did the bleeding stop?" Valentine queried.