A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 88: A Deal?

Chapter 88: A Deal?

Draven glanced at her. "Hm?"

"Have you ever played card games?" Avelina inquired.

Draven drew his head back, a bit bemused by the question. "No... why?"

"I am very good at it, so why don’t we play? I bet you I can beat you in it." Avelina’s eyes held a deep confidence that he had never glimpsed before.

Draven folded his arm and raised his brows at her. "What makes you think you can?"

"I just know I can. You should not underestimate me in every area, tsk." Avelina rolled her eyes at him. "Let’s make a deal."

"Oh, what deal?" This piqued Draven’s interest.

"If you win, I will grant you one wish, and if I win, you will grant me one wish," Avelina explained.

Draven pondered it seriously before shrugging. "I am not sure what you can give me, but maybe I can give you something, anything you want. Although setting you free is out of the question. We already have a deal on that."

"I know that." Avelina shifted on the bed. "So deal?"

"Deal." Draven agreed. "Hmm. I don’t have those card games you want, but I will get them for you tomorrow, okay?"

Avelina nodded. She lay down on the bed and let out a soft breath.

"I don’t feel sleepy anymore. Will you read to me?" She turned her head to glance at Draven.

"Huh?" Draven was a bit stunned. "You want me to read to you?"

Avelina nodded. "Yes. Is something wrong? It’s just that when someone reads to me, it leaves me very sleepy."

"Oh... okay." Draven agreed. He grabbed a book from her and flipped it open. "I have never read to anyone before."

"That’s fine." Avelina adjusted to lie on her side.

Draven cleared his throat, and slowly he began to read the content of the books to her.

Avelina listened with her eyes closed, and for the first time, she realized just how calming this man’s voice was. It was deep, yet soft to the ear. The way he read, she loved it.

This went on for about fifteen to twenty minutes before Draven finally stopped reading. He looked over at the bed to see that Avelina was fast asleep.

"She wasn’t lying," he muttered to himself, surprised that she slept off hearing him read.

Draven shut the book and dropped it on the bedside table. He stood up to his feet and walked over to the bed. He properly pulled the duvet over her and let out a soft breath.

He changed into a new outfit and wore his glasses. He shoved his gloved hands into the pocket of his coat and exited the room.

Draven looked at Santino, who was standing guard by the door. "I will be back in a while. Let me get something."

Santino nodded and watched as he left.

——

Early the next morning.

Avelina could hear the voices calling, "My lady, my lady, wake up."

Avelina fluttered her eyes open. She gradually sat up on the bed but was instantly startled when she saw Camilla and Thalia standing by the bed.

"What are you guys doing here?" She hasn’t seen these two for weeks now.

Camilla smiled at her. "My apologies, my lady, but we have been sent on an errand outside the royal house, that is why you have not seen us lately."

"But we are back now," Thalia added.

Avelina awkwardly nodded her head at them. "I see."

"Please step down. We have to give you a bath and dress you up. It is quite late, and we have not slept," Camilla explained.

Avelina offered a clumsy smile and climbed down from the bed. She followed them into the bathroom and had her bath.

She was later dressed in a floral pink dress with single arms.

"The weather is quite warm today, this should be good for you. Do you not like it?" Thalia asked.

Avelina shook her head with a smile. "No, it’s fine.

Thalia gave a nod. Done with all that was needed to be done, Camilla and Thalia gave a hurried bow before they left the room.

The second the door was closed, Avelina took a soft breath. She looked around the room and walked over to the table.

She picked up the book that Draven had read to her and flipped it open. A piece of note fell out onto the floor.

Avelina squatted down and picked it up. She looked at the content.

[I don’t know for how long you will sleep, but if you wake up without me there, do not worry. I am just out to get something]

Avelina dropped the note back into the book and kept the book on the table. She slipped her feet into her slippers, and while holding onto her dress, she exited the room.

"My lady," Santino, who was beside the door, called to stop her.

Avelina halted and turned around to look at him. "Yes."

"May I ask where you are heading to?" Santino’s face held a subtle smile.

"Oh..." Avelina blinked her eyes. "Nowhere specifically. I just want to walk around, that is all."

"I see. Do you want me to come with you?" Santino inquired.

Avelina waved her hands at him. "Oh, no, no, it’s alright. I will be fine on my own."

"Alright." Santino nodded and watched as she left.

The whole mansion was silent, as everyone was asleep. The only thing that could be heard was the low footsteps of the maids, who were heading to their quarters for sleep.

A soft sigh exited Avelina’s mouth, and she strolled off further and further. She was heavily bored and did not know what to do. She had recently realized that she only ever felt such a way whenever Draven was not around.

"Maybe I should just read some books while I wait for him," she said to herself and turned around to leave, however, at the sound of something suddenly breaking, she came to a halt.

Avelina whipped her head around. From a secluded room a bit far from where she stood, noises were sounding. This left her instantly overwhelmed with curiosity.

With a quick glance from her left to her right, Avelina began to approach the double door of the room. Now very close to the door, she clearly listened in and widened her eyes at the sound of two voices.

One was very familiar. It belonged to Old Master Lenort. But the other voice, she had never heard before.