Villain: The Play of Destiny

Her sterling-grey eyes squinted and opened a little, but she closed them again and tightly hugged her pillow. After her mind finally worked things out from last night, she shot up on the bed and frantically looked around the room, sighing in relief when she found Yingying sitting on the couch, drinking a cup of tea.

"Good morning, Yingying!" She happily said.

"Good morning, lady Celine." The Chinese girl stood up and politely bowed to her. "Master is in the shower."

"Okay." Celine nodded to her and then glanced at the door and back at the black-haired Shadow of Keith.

"Do you want me to accompany you to your room?" Yingying understandably asked.

"Yes, please." She nodded her head before climbing out of her bed.

Yingying accompanied her to the next room, where she immediately rushed into the bathroom and returned half an hour later, dressed for the day.

"How long does Keith plan on staying here?" She asked.

"A day or two. Master plans on visiting all the properties he has in Florence and Siena, but we will check Corsica out on his next visit."

"Okay." She relaxed after learning that they won't be staying here for long. "Let's go."

The two ladies returned to Keith's room and found him on a call as he stared out the window overlooking the estate.

Celine did not go forward as she did not want to pry into his call and patiently waited for him to finish.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. Let's go. Breakfast is ready."

"Keith..." Celine grabbed his arm and worriedly looked at him. "Romeo is really a Vampire?"

He chuckled at her words and nodded.

"Yes." He nodded his head and before she could fret over it, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her with him. "And as I have told you, he is not going to harm us. In fact, Vampires are not as scary as those tales make them out to be."

"But they are scary!"

"Yes." He nodded to her and amusedly smiled at her anxious expressions. "They are very fast, heal faster, live for centuries, and have heightened senses."

"They can't change into bats?"

"No." He shook his head. "But some can communicate with bats."

"Do they..."

"Drink blood? Yes."

"Human blood?"

"Yes." He nodded and laughed when her body trembled in fright.

"Don't worry. Romeo is fine, and seeing how sharp he looked last night, he must have had blood yesterday or the day before yesterday. He will be good for a couple of weeks."

"He killed someone..."

"Not necessarily." He shook his head. "They don't have to directly feed off of humans. Though some might be addicted to piercing their fangs into the jugular vein of their terrified prey..." He darkly said, and the grey-eyed girl was on verge of tears. "But why are you so scared of him?" He curiously asked.

"Should not I be scared of a creature that looks at me like I am its prey?"

"Well, if you put it that way, I can't deny it. But you have me by your side, so, don't be scared. Besides, Romeo is a very gentle person."

"Good Morning, Master Keith." A sudden voice sounded out, and Celine jumped into Keith's arms, burying her face there, her heart thumping hard against her chest.

"Good morning, Romeo. Would you be accompanying us on our tour today?"

"If you would like it, I would be more than happy to accompany you."

"Thanks." He said and then lowered his head to look at Celine.

The grey-eyed lady was curiously looking at Romeo, and then her burrows furrowed.

"Does sunlight not harm you?" She innocently asked, which made Romeo smile.

"No, Madame." He shook his head. "It is irritating to the eyes of the new Vampires, but I am old enough now. Also, garlic does not hurt too. I quite like it."

"You can eat food?" She surprisedly asked.

"Yes, Madame. Lamb Shanks are my favourites too." He fondly said, which made the grey-eyed lady giggle.

"Good!" She separated from Keith but then hugged his arm. "You will eat with us at the table!"

"As you say, Madame." Romeo acknowledged her words and then led them to the dining room.

The Castle looked a lot different in the daytime, and it was even more fun to look around and appreciate the artworks that were all over the place.

Celine was surprised when she learned that before the war that resulted in the end of the Demiliore Family of Florence, there lived nearly a hundred members of the Demiliore Family in this Castle.

Romeo had not seen it with his eyes, but he had heard his father tell him these stories.

"Where's your father now?" She curiously asked.

"He serves as the Royal Guard of the Crown," Romeo informed her.

"And your mother?"

"She died during the war between the Ancient Families of Florence. My mother's family served the Demiliore Family." He did not say anything more and Celine felt a little guilty about raising such a question.

During breakfast, Celine kept throwing Romeo curious glances as she watched him happily eat the food. And only then did she believe Romeo's words that he could eat food.

As soon as she had calmed down, she engaged the Vampire in a happy chat, where she asked him to tell her stories from his long life, and Romeo had quite a lot of them to share.

He told her about his escapades during the World War, where he was responsible for guarding the Royal Princes of that time, and how he thwarted all the assassination attempts that were made on their lives.

After breakfast and listening to Romeo's stories, they went out to take a tour around the estate. They did not check out every place as the Estate was too vast, but they visited every landmark and the Ranch, where farmers lived.

At noon, they departed for Siena, and Romeo drove them there to check out the Manor they owned in the city, as well as the Farmhouse and the farmlands that were away from the City.

Celine quite enjoyed her time watching the beautiful scenery and insisted on walking down the streets of the city with Keith. This was a city that was rich in heritage, and it was a place that she had always wanted to visit.

Of course, she did not forget to take pictures and even took pictures with Romeo before sending them to the girls.

On their way back to the Castle in the evening, she happily showed Keith the envious replies of the girls, especially her daughter, who wanted to come with them too but could not take some time from her busy schedule.

"Do we have to leave tomorrow?" She pouted when they entered Keith's room after their dinner.

"Yes." He nodded to her. "I will bring you again here some other time."

"Promise?"

"Promise." He smiled and nodded to her and then carefully analysed the vials that Romeo had given to him at the dinner.

"What are these?" She curiously asked as she looked at the transparent and viscous liquid in the vials.

"Vampire's Venom." He told her.

His answer shocked her and she apprehensively looked at the liquid in thise small bottles.

"What does it do?"

"It's a deadly poison that can kill people, but it can also be used in some cures. I need it for research purposes." He told her.

"Oh..." She understandably nodded her head. "If someone takes it, would they become a Vampire too?"

"Why? Do you want to become a Vampire?" He smiled at her and asked.

"No!" She immediately shook her head. "I am just curious."

"No, they won't. As I said, it's a deadly poison, and anyone who ingests it would die." He seriously said. "And only very special Vampires can sire new Vampires out of Humans. Romeo could try too, but the chances of success are less than 10%." He told her and then approached her, looking right into her eyes.

Celine smiled back at him, and then they both laughed after staring into each other's eyes for a few seconds.

"Do you want to Cultivate?"

His sudden question took her off-guard and her smile ceased.

"Yes." She nodded her head very seriously.

"Why?" He playfully asked.

"Don't you want your Aunty to age slower and be there to watch your kids grow up and have their own kids one day?" She folded her arms on her chest and narrowed her eyes at him, but then she helplessly smiled. "But I know it might not be easy for me. Not everyone can cultivate, and I may be too old to make any considerable progress."

"You don't have to worry about such things. In fact, you can indeed cultivate. I checked your body and all the Aura Nodes are present. Also, your talent should be fairly high."

"How?" His last words caught her attention and she expectantly asked.

"You gave birth to a daughter with a very special physique. And mothers like you, benefit a lot from it as well. Trust me, your talent would easily be above average even if it is not very high."

"Really?!"

"Yes." He smiled at her and nodded his head.

"Help me!" She excused said.

"I intend to." He said and then picked up a large cushion from the couch before putting it on the rug.

Celine knew what she had to do and immediately rushed out of the room, returning in a few minutes, all dressed in her pyjamas.

She quickly sat cross-legged on top of the cushion and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths.

Amelia had taught her how to meditate, and it did not take long for her to clear her mind from all the distracting thoughts.

Keith calmly sat behind her and then helped her find her first Aura Node from the ones hidden inside her heart.

It took nearly four hours for her to finally sense it and make a connection with it, and then Keith took his hand off her back, leaving her lost in the world of new sensations.

Even though it had taken way too long to help her than it did when he helped Qingyue, he was not tired this time as he was way stronger than before.

Instead of going to bed tonight, Keith decided to meditate and keep the grey-eyed lady company.