A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 55: Is There A Problem?

Chapter 55: Is There A Problem?

Avelina buttoned up her pyjamas.

She grabbed the hair brush from the table and walked over to Draven who was seated on the couch.

Draven raised his head to look at her. "Is there a problem? Why do you look annoyed?"

"Do we really have to eat with them?" Avelina inquired, her expression not so enthusiastic.

Draven nodded. He stood up from the couch and stepped closer to her.

"Unfortunately, yes. Every dinner is a family one." He adjusted the collar of her pyjamas and began to brush her hair.

Avelina sighed cynically. "They really stress me out. I always feel really uncomfortable and suffocate around them," she complained.

"You don’t have to. I will be there with you, so there is nothing to feel scared or uncomfortable about. Just relax," Draven assured her, taking a step back to look at her. "You look adorable in pyjamas compared to night dresses. Is that why you wanted them?"

"Of course not!" Avelina puckered her face. "Pyjamas are much more comfortable."

"Ah...I see." Draven grabbed her hand, and they proceeded to leave the room, but Avelina halted before they could reach the door.

"You forgot your glasses," she said and hurried to the bedside table to grab them for him.

Draven, on the other hand, was stunned. How could he have forgotten his glasses? Recently, he had noticed that he often got distracted, but he couldn’t tell why.

He pinched between his brows and received the glasses from Avelina. They exited the room and made their way to the dining hall.

The two guards who stood at the double, huge door, slightly bowed before opening the door.

Draven looked at Avelina and, able to glimpse the unsettledness written all over her face, he gently grabbed her hand.

Avelina glanced at him, a bit surprised, and they stepped into the dining hall. Draven greeted Old Master Lenort with his hand to his chest, "Good evening, father."

Avelina did the same as well, successfully avoiding the mistake she made the first day she arrived at the royal mansion.

They settled down, and Draven got startled in the next moment when Valentine rushed over to take a seat beside him.

"Let me sit beside you today, Frère," he implored.

Draven frowned at him but did not say a word.

Lestat, who was meant to sit there, tapped Valentine on the shoulder. "Get up."

Valentine lifted his head and looked at him. "Just let me sit here for today. It’s not a big deal."

Lestat let out a soft breath to calm himself. "Valentine, I will not repeat my—"

"Just sit the fuck down, Lestat!! This is a simple dinner! Do not create an unnecessary fuss," Old Master Lenort snapped at him, annoyed.

Lestat, who had not expected such a sudden lash, wrinkled his face, dissatisfied. Knowing that he could not refute his father’s words, he balled his hands into a tight fist and sat down in Valentine’s seat.

The dinner began!

—

With two careful looks to her left and right, Laila stepped out from behind a pillar. She glanced at the royal jewelry in her hand and mustered up the courage to do what she had in mind.

"It’s now or never," she muttered to herself.

With careful swiftness, she hurriedly mixed herself with the maids who were heading towards Draven’s quarter to clean.

She followed the four maids who were in charge of cleaning the main room and entered.

"Let’s be quick with this. The royal dinner will be over soon, and the third prince and the lady will be returning," the chief maid instructed.

The other two maids, including Laila, nodded and began cleaning the room. Laila peeked at them, waiting for a chance and an opening that she could use to carry out her task.

Following the three maids was the best decision she could have made because as intelligent and smart as the third prince was, he would most definitely figure out if she chose her other alternative. Not only that, but it was the best timing as well.

To be precise, her other option, which she could have used, was to do this another time when the maids weren’t available, but that would have been the worst decision because it would have been riskier.

Now, through this current choice, she would be able to hide the jewelry, and no one would know, not even the third prince.

Laila impishly smiled at herself.

With the slight opportunity she had, she slipped the jewelry into the drawer and composed herself.

The cleaning continued.

—

[Back In The Dining Hall]

Valentine, who sat beside Draven, beamed so widely that his eyes narrowed into thin lines.

He nudged Draven, successfully drawing his attention.

"You are going to act, right? What are you waiting for?" he asked in a very hushed tone, so only Draven could hear him.

But Draven did not give him a response. However, Valentine was not done. He continued to pester him and fed up with him, Draven pushed his head away with a deep scowl apparent on his face.

He proceeded to snap at him, but he halted at the sight of a maid who suddenly rushed into the dining hall. This maid was none other than Laila.

Laila hurried to Natasha, leaned in, and began to whisper something to her. The rest of the family watched them in confusion, not sure what was going on.

Draven, whose eyes were scrunched, did not fail to notice that Natasha’s sudden infuriated eyes were fixed on Avelina.

What was going on? He immediately began to calculate while trying to read the maid’s lips.

Avelina, on the other hand, had yet to realize that something was about to go wrong.

"Do you notice it, Frère?" Valentine couldn’t hide his excitement.

The show he was waiting for was finally starting to play. It was finally beginning to bear fruit.

Draven, whose eyes were monitoring Natasha, was about to speak when Natasha stood up abruptly from her seat. Her shoulders were rising and falling in fury.

"Is there a problem?" Old Master Lenort probed. He had a slight frown perching on his forehead.