A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 379: That’s How Important It Is To Me!

Chapter 379: That’s How Important It Is To Me!

Draven ruffled Avelina’s hair to balance it properly. He tapped her shoulder with a full smile on his face and pulled her into a gentle hug.

"Draven, is Natasha’s funeral really tomorrow?"

Draven pulled back to look at her. He nodded, confirming it. "Indeed, it is. Do you feel sorry for her?’

Avelina’s face contorted, and she scoffed. "Sorry? For that b*tch? Why would I?"

Draven chuckled and delivered a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. "That’s what I thought." He grabbed her hand, and they left the room, making their way to the garage where his cars were packed.

He helped her in, took his seat in their driver’s spot, and drove off onto the road. Their destination was his estate, where Olive lived with the others. It took about twenty to twenty-five minutes before they arrived.

Draven parked the car and got down. Avelina followed suit and shut the door. They proceeded into the house and walked straight to the living room.

The first person they met with was Ava, who sat at the meeting table with a book in her grip. Smelling a new scent, Ava averted her gaze from the book to glance at Draven and Avelina, who stood with a soft smile evident on their faces.

"Hi," she said.

Ava fluttered her lashes and quickly stood up from her chair. "M-my lady." She shifted her attention to Draven. "Don."

"How have you been, Ava?" Draven asked.

Ava beamed, shutting the book.

"I’ve been well. Ah, let me call them." She walked out from behind the table and proceeded to the stairs that led up to the second floor.

"Lucien, prince, Loui, Pierre! Don is here!" she shouted.

A few seconds passed, and Draven and Avelina could hear the sudden sound of hurried footsteps. In less than five seconds, they were all downstairs, a light smile evident on their faces.

"Bonjour, Don!" They greeted each other in unison.

Draven responded, "Bonjour. How have you all been?"

"We’ve been well," Loui replied, and he walked over to sit down. The others did as well.

He smiled at Avelina, who met his gaze. "It’s good to see you again, my lady."

"Thank you." Avelina offered a charming smile.

Draven glanced at each of them, and a slight frown emerged on his face. He asked, "Where is Olive?"

"He is at his home today," Pierre replied.

"Oh?" Draven nodded. Come to think of it, Valentine had left the royal mansion; could he possibly be with Olive? He took a deep breath and proceeded to get familiar with them again.

They had lots of conversation, but he didn’t let them know about the fact that he’d turned Avelina. So far, only Valentine and Olive are aware. It won’t do any good to make any more people aware of it.

"Tomorrow?" Lucien held a surprised look.

Draven nodded. Mhm, she will be buried tomorrow."

"I bet they couldn’t find anything," Lucien smirked, cackling.

"They couldn’t. You did a good job." Draven offered her a praising smile, which had Lucien coming to an instant halt.

Draven was...smiling? At least to them?

But that was not possible. Never in his life had he ever done that. In fact, they’d never seen him smile before except when he was with Lady Avelina. Was something wrong?

She couldn’t really explain it, but she felt as though something about Draven had changed—something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. It appeared to be a bit more expressive, but only through his expressions. He was still, in fact, a man of a few words. That part of him will probably never change, not for anyone who is not Avelina.

"The selection is coming close." Draven spared a glance at each and every one of them.

Loui furrowed his brows in confusion. "Selection?"

"Yes, for the inheritance and the throne," Draven confirmed.

Loui chuckled. "So that’s what they call it now?"

"You are right." Draven gave a nod. "We will need another plan. I know very well that my father will not allow things to go smoothly, at least not for me," he said.

"You have a point." Pierre agreed. ’So what do we do?"

Draven was thoughtfully quiet for a few moments.

"People will be invited as usual, be it family or not, so long as they are nobles. Commoners are not allowed, not for this sort of important occasion." Draven shook his head.

"Doesn’t that mean they can’t come?" Avelina asked.

Lucien agreed with her. n "Yeah. Since commoners cannot be invited, that means we do not have a chance of attending."

"Are you commoners?" Draven questioned, tilting his head.

"Huh?" They all glanced at each other at the same time, crinkling their brows in confusion. "aren’t...we?" Loui inquired.

Draven folded his arm and supported his tipped head with his balled fist. He asked, "How are you, lots of commoners? What makes you guys one?"

They stared at him, quite confused. Loui flickered his eyes, not sure what to say as a response. "Well...we um—"

"You’re all under me, are you not?" Draven questioned.

They nodded their heads, replying, "We are!"

"And am I a commoner?" Draven further asked.

They shook their heads. "No."

"There, you have your answer." Draven adjusted his sitting position on his chair and folded his arms. "It’s fine, though. We are allowed to invite even if they are commoners, so you guys do not have a problem coming."

Pierre exhaled in relief, his face relaxing. "That’s great to hear."

"So, what will we do?"

"To be honest, we don’t have to do much, but just be watchful for whatever my father may pull. He hasn’t made any unusual movements for now, so I can’t really make plans." Draven shook his head. "We will just have to wait and see. I’ll keep my eyes on him, including Ryan."

"The selection will go well. That inheritance has to be mine, even if I have to fight everyone," he declared, sitting back to rest against his chair. "That’s how important it is to me!"