A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 42: BINGO!

Chapter 42: BINGO!

Avelina glanced at him.

"Because I couldn’t get a hold of more than one of your pawns. I feel like...you didn’t even put any effort into playing with me."

"Yes, I didn’t. You’re an amateur at this. It’s very obvious that I didn’t." Draven paused before saying, "My Father may have said that the first to make a move wins, but actually, the first to make the wrong move loses unless he or she is smart enough to turn the tides."

"Also, do not worry. You will be a really good player once you get the hang of it." He beamed.

Avelina let out a soft breath and folded her legs towards her chest. Her arms encircled her legs, forming a protective cocoon. The curve of her back and the expression she held couldn’t help but pique Draven’s interest.

"Do you have a question?" he asked.

Avelina looked at him and slowly nodded. "I do."

"Go on," Draven urged her.

Avelina rubbed her temples. "It must have been really lonely, right?"

"Huh?" Draven was perplexed. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I meant this place. It is a huge building, so being here all by yourself must have been lonely, no?" Avelina explained and inquired.

"Ah..." Draven went silent for a few moments. He cleared his throat and diverted his gaze from her. "Well...it was."

Avelina softly smiled at him.

"I felt lonely in the slave house too. I missed so many people," she said. "I had a family, so...I bet you must miss your wife and son a lot too."

Draven looked at her for a moment and asked, "What kind of people are your family?"

This question immediately caused Avelina’s demeanor to change. She frantically darted her eyes around and smiled awkwardly.

"Can I not...talk about it?"

"Oh?" Draven raised his brow. He wasn’t too curious, so he simply shrugged, not at all intending to pressure her into speaking. Since she wasn’t willing to talk, he had no reason to force her to.

A few seconds of silence passed, and, seeming to have thought of something, Avelina wrinkled her forehead.

"Draven," she abruptly called, breaking the silence.

"Hmm? What is it?" Draven glanced at her with a raised brow.

Avelina responded, "Something just came to my mind."

"Which is it?" Draven inquired as he tried to pull off the loose thread that came out of his shirt.

Avelina rapidly tapped her forehead before saying, "I am not sure, but I have a feeling that everything is not going to be fine."

She thoughtfully asked, "Your father was not able to get rid of me through the ceremony, that does not mean he won’t try another way, right?"

Draven gazed at her and shook his head. "You are right and wrong at the same time."

"What do you mean?" Avelina inquired, baffled.

"Well, for starters, you are very terrible at observing people but pretty good at catching onto things." Draven smiled as he finally pulled the thread off.

Avelina frowned at him. "I am still confused."

Draven thought seriously for a few moments before he proceeded to enlighten her, "If you observe my father, Avelina, you will understand that he is not a petty sort of person. He practically thinks that he is a moral kind of person."

"You passed the test fair and square, therefore, he will not pursue you any further. However, the petty ones are Ryan and his wife."

Avelina blinked her eyes and adjusted her chair. "Could you be more specific?"

"Of course." Draven nodded and interlocked his hands. "Ryan is not a man of his own. Like a pawn in the place of a bishop, he moves only with my father’s permission, so I guarantee you that right now, he is trying his best to keep calm regardless of the rage he feels."

"Natasha, on the other hand, is an egoistic and impulsive woman, very reckless to the point that it irritates the living hell out of me." He poured himself a cup of fresh, hot tea.

"Without a doubt, she is infuriated that you passed the test. This paints her as an incompetent pawn before the eyes of my father. If she were just a mere worker, my father would have gotten rid of her, but since she is not, he wouldn’t."

"However, how do you think that makes her feel?" Draven arched his brow. "Furious, inept, and useless. Not to talk of Aurora and Liliana, who would look down on her."

"If she disliked you a little before, it must be pouring out of her soul now. This is to say that her next course of action is to kill you, as that is how she handles situations such as this. Now, this is where Ryan steps in." He took a sip of his tea.

Avelina listened carefully and took a bite of an apple.

"Can you guess what happens next?" Draven eyes narrowed into thin lines.

Avelina blinked her lashes. She thought deeply about it and replied, "I am not very sure, but I believe Ryan will step in to handle it for her."

"What made you come to that conclusion?" Draven pressed further with his head tilted to one side.

Avelina took a deep breath and grabbed a knight and a pawn from the chessboard. "This is Ryan and his wife. He loves her—that is from what I have observed so far."

"The knight has more power than a weak pawn, so why let his wife risk it when he can do it himself and get away with it? And when I say risk, I mean you."

"He wouldn’t allow his wife to get into trouble with you, so as a man who loves his wife, he will shoulder it and do it himself. Also, unlike Natasha, he is likely not to get into trouble with your father," she explained with a proud look on her face.

Draven stared at her, his eyes holding a slight bit of shock. An impressed smile emerged on his face, and he snapped his fingers with a click of his tongue.

"BINGO!"

"However, there is something you missed," he added.

"What is it?" Avelina queried.

"An egoistic killer is never impatient, nor does he or she carry out the deed by themselves. Avelina, why would anyone stress when they can possibly have someone do it for them, be it work or any other thing?" Draven asked.

"Don’t you realize that that way, they can have a lot covered and avoid any future troubles?" He creased his brows at her.

Avelina scratched her head, seeming confused.

"Avelina, I am trying to tell you that whether it will be Natasha or Ryan, someone else will carry out the deed. It is the job of the pawns to sacrifice themselves," Draven clarified.

Avelina sat, gazing at him.

"How will you counterattack?" she queried. "Which piece will you move?"