Chess?

Draven shook his head at her as he nibbled on a pancake.

"No. I am rather amused by the frustrated look on your face. You look quite pretty when you are annoyed."

Avelina's face slowly turned a shade of pink, and she lowered her head, secretly smiling at the compliment.

"Thank you…" She peeked at him and grabbed a fork.

They peacefully enjoyed their breakfast until Avelina saw Draven begin to take a sip of a red-colored drink similar to wine.

"From the expression on your face, that looks like it tastes nice." She grinned at him.

Draven raised his brow at her. "Do you want to have a sip?"

"I don't think it is something that you would like to drink though."

"True, but I would like to have a tang of your type of wine." Avelina received the glass of red drink and took a sip of it to savor it.

At the taste of it, her body went into dormant mode, and she slowly looked at Draven.

"What…is this?" she asked with panic in her eyes.

Draven was frank.

"Blood! You didn't give me a chance to tell you what it was, so it's not my fault."

"B-b-blood?" Avelina painfully flickered her lashes with a disgusted look on her face.

She slowly stood up from the chair as she began to feel all that she had eaten rush to her throat. As quickly as she could, she dashed out of the pavilion, towards the lush bushes.

She started to throw up uncontrollably with her hand clutching onto her chest.

Draven appeared next to her in the blink of an eye and gently began to tap her on the back in deep concern.

"Are you…okay?"

Avelina's eyes twitched, and her expression became serious. "Okay? Of course, I am not okay!"

She straightened up and turned around to look at him.

Draven said objectively, "Well, I am giving you my deepest apologies, although it is not really my fault. You gave me no chance to let you in on what I was actually drinking. Also, I expected you to know it was blood. I am a vampire, sipping something quite thick and reddish. I think it's pretty obvious."

Avelina's eye twitched even more furiously, and the urge to strangle the man right before her overwhelmed her. But…she still had to agree that a part of it was her fault.

"It tastes…awful," she said with a sour expression.

Draven gave a bitter smile as he handed his handkerchief and a bottle of water to her. "It tastes terrible to humans, but to vampires, it tastes just like wine. Even better."

"Unfortunately, this isn't the best you could purchase at the blood bank. They have better ones, but they are currently out until next week, so I have to make do with this mediocre one."

They even have better ones… Avelina shook her head in disbelief.

"Eh, why are you out in the sun, though? Doesn't it burn?"

She changed the subject.

"No. The sun does not affect royal pure-blooded vampires. It only affects common vampires," Draven responded.

"That is why the maids are heavily covered to prevent burns. If you step out into the street, you won't see anyone. It's only a busy street at dawn," he briefly explained.

"Ah..." Avelina nodded in understanding.

"Say, do you mind playing chess with me?" Draven suddenly asked.

Avelina batted her lashes at such an invitation and furrowed her brows.

"Chess?"

"Yes." Draven nodded.

"You play chess?" Avelina asked with interest. "I thought you meant that as an idiom when you talked about a game of chess."

Draven smiled at her.

"No, I actually do play chess. It is my favorite and the only game I enjoy."

Avelina was at a loss for words. This is quite interesting.

"Alright. I heard it's a riveting game to keep yourself busy, so let's try," she agreed.

"Let's go." Draven walked her back to the pavilion.

The moment they stepped inside, Avelina halted, her eyes dilating in shock.

"Where... is the rest of the breakfast? Why is there a chessboard on the table?" she asked with confusion.

Draven looked at her.

"Cleared away. It's nine o'clock. I will be going to sleep around ten, so I want us to play a little bit before I do. Besides, I don't think you will be able to eat after vomiting all that," he clarified.

"Oh…" Avelina did not show any joy. She wouldn't say that she had had her fill yet. What a waste of food! Although he does have a point.

She settled down on the cushion opposite Draven and shot him a look.

"Who do you play chess with? I mean, it definitely can't be your workers or your brothers, right?" She couldn't help but wonder.

"Valentine," Draven replied.

"Huh?" Avelina was puzzled.

If she recalls correctly, Valentine was the youngest son, the one who seemed a bit nice, unlike the rest of the brothers, who appeared pretty…resentful.

"Does that mean that you are on good terms with him?" she asked.