Villain: The Play of Destiny

"You got her a Shadow?" Qingyue narrowed his eyes at him.

"No." He shook his head and took a bite of his steak, calmly eating it, not bothered by her stern eyes. "It was her choice. She chose Marianne."

"But you took her to an Auction where Shadows are sold." She frowned but turned her eyes away from him, focusing on her meal once again.

"Why, Miss Lin?" Rebecca mischievously smiled as she sipped on her wine. "Jealous that I have a Shadow and you don't?"

"I don't want one." The grey-eyed girl shook her head.

"Why?"

"Because I don't like the idea of Slavery, Miss Grayson." She sternly looked at Rebecca and then apologetically nodded to Marianne, who was sitting next to her Master. "I am sorry if it offends you, but that's my opinion."

Marianne simply nodded to her words without even looking at her and kept her focus on her meal.

"Gosh! You sound just like Mum!" Rebecca sighed. "She was so mad at me when I brought Marianne home. At first, I really wanted to play it out as if she was just my bodyguard, but Mum quickly figured it out and then Dad was dragged into the fray too."

"I hope she is not mad at me." Keith chuckled and sipped on some white wine.

"She is not." The blonde shook her head.

"And what was your father's take on the matter?" He curiously asked.

"He did take Mum's side, but the next day he arranged a test for Marianne to see if she was capable enough." She grinned and proudly continued, "It was so much fun watching Marianne beat his men to the ground, and I even won a hundred million from him!"

"Nice!" Keith and Amelia lightly laughed at his words, but Qingyue only snorted.

"Good for you." She said and then changed the subject. "Keith, where's Aunty?" She curiously asked.

"Mother is busy with her Cultivation. She has a few days off on her hands, and she has decided to make the most out of them." He informed her.

"Is she strong?" Qingyue curiously asked again.

"She is." He nodded his head.

"How strong?"

"I can't give away her secret now, can I?" He chuckled.

"I was just curious." She apologetically smiled and then looked at the bottle of wine on the table.

"You should not take it. It's very strong." Rebecca sincerely informed when she found her reaching for it.

"Thanks for your concern, but I will be fine."

The blonde frowned when she saw the grey-eyed girl pour her glass full of it, and she worriedly glanced at Keith and Amelia, however, both of them seemed to not care about what Qingyue was doing.

She could not suppress her giggles when Qingyue's eyes comically winded in surprise at how delicious the wine was, but then, to her astonishment, the grey-eyed girl finished her glass as if it was some fruit juice.

"Keith!" She looked at him with misty eyes. "It is so delicious!"

"Thank you!" He smiled at her. "How do you feel?"

"Great!" She brightly smiled and reached again for the bottle.

She was not drunk, but the wine had helped her embolden a little, and Keith knew that it was the most this wine could affect her.

"Where did you get this wine from?" She curiously looked at the label on it and asked.

"You can't find it on the market." He shook his head. "If you want some, you can ask me."

"Oh." She surprisedly looked at him. "Can I get one? Grandpa would love it, but I can't let this thing fall into the hands of Mama."

"If you want to kill him, sure." He darkly chuckled, which made the grey-eyed girl frown at him.

"What do you mean?"

"It's poisonous for him. And he would die after only drinking a cup of it." Amelia informed her on his behalf.

Her words tensed the grey-eyed girl and she looked at the bottle again.

"Why?"

"It's a special wine that only Aurors can handle. Normal humans can take it too, but only if they are young and healthy. Your Grandfather's liver won't be able to handle it." Keith told her. "Even weaker Aurors can get dead drunk after just one cup."

"Oh." She was stunned after hearing his words and apprehensively looked at the bottle in her hands. However, her mind suddenly picked up on something and she narrowed her eyes at the empty glass of Rebecca. "You are an Auror?"

"No, but I am special." The blonde lightly smiled at her. "However, Keith has promised to help me cultivate." She mischievously said and then let her in on some more detail. "On our next date."

Qingyue felt a little agitated in her heart after hearing those words, but she now understood that Rebecca was again trying to get under her skin, and so, she composed herself quickly.

"Good for you. He already helps me." She shrugged and poured herself some more wine. "By the way, Keith, is she as talented as me?"

Her words made both Amelia and Keith pause their meal, and the latter sighed in his heart before he smiled at Qingyue.

They were both meant to be the Heroines of a Child of Destiny, how could they not be immensely talented? And he knew that these two were destined to become rivals in the future.

"She may not be able to Cultivate as fast as you." He truthfully said, knowing well what sort of effect it would have on the two ladies.

"I see," Qingyue smirked and then silently got back to her meal, however, Rebecca was lightly smiling with her beautiful blue eyes locked on Keith.

"How can you tell that when we haven't even started?" She lightly asked.

"I can tell." He seriously looked her in the eyes. "Your path of Cultivation won't be easy, Rebecca. And Qingyue is special. You won't be able to keep up with her Cultivation Speed. At least, not for a long time."

"So, she is more special than me?" The blonde curiously asked, having already sensed that there was more to what Keith was telling her.

"I never said that." He brightly smiled at her, and Qingyue's hands paused on cutting her steak when she heard those words.

"Who's more special?" She straightforwardly asked and narrowed her eyes at Keith.

"I am." He proudly smiled.

"Answer, please!" Qingyue was not in the mood to play around and seriously said.

"Well, he doesn't want to hurt your feelings, Miss Lin." Rebecca giggled. "You shouldn't put him in a tight spot."

"You!" She clenched her fist at her words but then took a deep breath and looked back at Keith.

Amelia was wearing an amused smile on her lips as she resumed eating, showing no concern about the cat fight that was taking place on the table, and she knew that Keith was enjoying himself as well.

"You both are equally special in my eyes." He simply shrugged and resumed his meal too. "But that may be because you both are not as talented as me."

A melodious giggle escaped the mouth of Ingrid, who had been silently eating her meal sitting next to Minami, and suddenly the mood at the table livened up.

"Did I ever tell you that you are a little too narcissistic, Heir Demiliore?" Rebecca scoffed at his words and then got back to eating, not willing to pursue the matter. However, in her heart, she was a little displeased that he had not given a clear answer.

Her feelings were shared by the grey-eyed girl, but in her case, they were much more intense.

Qingyue meaningfully glanced at the blonde before getting back to her meal, vowing in her heart that she would prove to him that Rebecca was not as Special as her.

"By the way, Keith. Who is the girl playing the Piano with you in that Video?" Rebecca suddenly asked, remembering the Video she had seen earlier that her friends shared with her.

"Her name is Alana. And she is a new Artist that my Music Label has recently signed." He informed her.

"She's good!" The blonde admitted.

"And I am not?" He teasingly smiled at her.

"You wish!" She scoffed. "Julian and I are going out for horseriding tomorrow. Do you want to come?"

"I am busy in the day." He shook his head. "My Fiancée and her little brother come over on Sundays for their music lessons. And in the afternoon, both Amelia and I need to visit the construction sites of our ongoing projects."

"Okay." Rebecca understandably nodded her head.

"May I come over tomorrow morning?" Qingyue suddenly asked. "I want to listen to you playing the Violin! Kiara told me that you are really good at it."

"You may join us." He nodded his head. "But I won't play the Violin. Both of them would stop paying attention to their lesson and we will run late because of it."

"Alright. Another day then?"

"Sure!" He readily nodded his head, much to her pleasure.

The rest of the meal was quite harmonious, and since it was already quite late, both the ladies decided to leave right after it.

"I will come back for more!" Rebecca shamelessly said before getting inside her car, greedy for more bottles of Wine, but Keith only sighed and nodded.

It was not like he could not get more of them if he ever ran out. What mattered was that Rebecca now had a reason to approach him now and then.

"I will see you on Monday!" Qingyue brightly said. "And don't forget to prepare for the exam!"

"Don't worry." He smiled at her. "Be safe!"

"I will!" She nodded her head and then suddenly stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him.

He could feel her erratic heartbeat, and as surprised as he was, he did not keep her hanging and hugged her back.

"Thank you for being around." She shyly whispered before running out of his embrace.

"You are welcome!" He chuckled as he watched her get inside her car and drive away.