Villain: The Play of Destiny

"We only have a little over 2 hours left in the dinnertime. Where do you want to go next?" Keith smiled at the grey-eyed lady, who was very happy after spending nearly 4 hours in the Louvre Museum.

There were hundreds of paintings she wanted to take a good look at, and she managed to observe all of them thanks to the additional time they were given after the closure because they were the Royal Guests.

"Keith, we will visit Picasso and Orsay tomorrow!" Instead of answering his question, she excitedly told him, and Rebecca could not help her giggles.

Celine was just too crazy and passionate about Art, and perhaps it was the reason why she was such a brilliant artist herself.

"Yes, yes... We will visit all the museums in Paris in the next seven days." He nodded to her.

"Really?!" She happily hugged his arm and tip-toed to plant a kiss on his cheek. "You are the best!"

Keith sighed in his heart and nodded his head, much to the glee of Celine.

"So, where to now?"

"I don't want to visit Notre Dame tonight. Let's head to the Avenue Montaigne."

"You want to shop?" He curiously looked at her.

"Yes." Celine nodded her head, and Rebecca too smiled at him.

"Okay." He shrugged and then entered the car together with the four ladies.

The butler of the Palace of Versailles, who was their attendant and driver for the day, nodded when he told him about their next destination.

They managed to reach the avenue an hour before most shops closed down, but the ladies seemed to be in no rush, and Rebecca happily hugged his arms as she dragged him to walk with them.

Though they were nearing the closing hours, there were still lots of people on the street, and many of them were couples who were walking down this romantic street with trees covered in yellow lights. This place looked serenely beautiful on winter nights.

Celine curiously looked around and took some pictures of Keith and Rebecca walking down the street, and then under the insistence of the blonde girl, she took some pictures with Keith and the rest as well.

Right before the Dior Flagship store was about to close down, the ladies dragged him into the shop.

The management was more than happy to entertain them, and even if the Royal Butler had not been with them, they would have still treated Keith with the same courtesy. The reason behind it was simply that Keith was too famous in the Business World right now, and as the Heir of one of the richest families in the world, he was always more than welcome at their premises.

Unlike most men, Keith never found shopping too tiring. He was more than willing to engage and help his companions choose something for them, which was not that hard since he never shied away from spending big. And his attentiveness was something that all the ladies at his home appreciated a lot.

Celine had not brought enough dresses with her, intending to shop in the fashion capital of the world. And since Rebecca had informed her that they would be having dinner with the Royal Family every night, she wanted to be at her best.

And the blonde girl was always more than happy to make Keith spend money on her.

Whilst Rebecca and Celine chose clothes for themselves, he helped Yingying and Marianne pick some beautiful dresses that would accentuate their beauty. Of course, he was not fond of putting his women on display for men to feast their eyes on them, and everything he chose did not jeopardise the modesty of the wearer.

Rebecca sometimes teased him about wanting to wear something backless or strapless, and even though he knew she too was not fond of showing her skin, he always played along and adamantly refused her, which for some reason pleased her a lot.

"Thank you, Master." Yingying sweetly said when he decided on her dresses after helping Marianne.

"You are welcome." He playfully flicked her nose and then smiled at Marianne, who was wearing a blush on her face. "You are welcome too."

"Keith." Celine suddenly called out to him and then showed him the five dresses that the shop attendants behind her were holding. "Pick three of them."

"Why not all five?" He glanced at them and found them all quite attractive.

"I only need three more. Rebecca has already helped me decide on one." She shook her head.

"Okay." Keith nodded to her and then walked over to the attendants, taking a good look at each dress. "The purple, silver, and royal blue." He said after a good minute and Celine's smile brightened.

"Thank you!" She happily hugged his arm and then walked away with the shop attendants, not asking him why he picked those dresses as she too was keen on the three of them.

Keith knew her favourite colours as Qingyue loved the same ones, and she always chatted a lot about what her mother loved and liked.

Rebecca's approach to shopping was quite different from that of Celine. She would simply pick up a pretty dress she took a liking to and would ask him if it would look perfect on her or not. And if he said yes, she would buy it.

Since the clock had already hit 8 pm, and less than an hour remained in their dinner with the French Royal Family, all of them decided to get dressed inside the store.

The attendants happily helped the ladies, and by the time they arrived downstairs, Keith was waiting for them, having changed into a mystic-grey Milanese Suit.

All the ladies, Celine and Rebecca included, stopped and stared at him for how good he looked, and then his gorgeous blonde Fiancee happily walked up to him and pulled him in a light kiss, as if telling all the ladies off and claiming him.

Her action made him smile and then he quickly reminded her that they were getting late. Of course, he did not forget to compliment the ladies and then left the store together with them.

The attendants at the shop were a little lost when he left, but when the manager informed them of the hefty pourboire he had left for each of them, they were stunned and then drowned in the waves of happiness, blessing him and the ladies with all their heart.

Luckily, there was not much traffic on the way, and they managed to arrive at the Palace in time.

Yingying and Marianne were not going to be present at the dinner table with them, so the two of them took the shopping bags and headed to their rooms after which they would have their dinner in the other dining hall.

The host of tonight's dinner was the Queen of France, Catherine Valois, mother of the second prince, Charles, and the little princess, Avriel.

All the guests invited to the dinner were already gathered in the Hall, and they were the last ones to arrive.

Seeing the Queen already present, Celine was a little nervous, but Keith and Rebecca confidently walked forward and greeted her.

"Your Majesty!" Keith smiled at her and politely bowed, and Rebecca followed suit.

Their greeting could have been considered rather prideful, as they greeted the Queen as if she was their equal, and even if a few guests frowned, the Queen herself was smiling and similarly greeted them.

"Lord Keith, Lady Rebecca!" She politely and then her eyes lingered on Rebecca, making her feel a little envious as the blonde girl easily eclipsed her beauty and grace, and Catherine was someone whose beauty and grace was hailed all over the world.

Whilst Rebecca introduced Celine to the Queen, Keith greeted the Crown Prince, Francis Valois, the Second Prince, and then the little princess with the pearl white hair, who was curiously looking at him.

"Princess Avriel!" He smiled and looked right into her soulful ocean-blue eyes, and then crouched down, drawing his hand to her.

The little girl subconsciously placed her delicate little hand in his, and then he planted a soft kiss on her knuckles.

"I can see that you take after your mother, and I am sure you would one day grow up to become just as graceful." He sweetly said to her, but the little girl just kept staring into his eyes.

The silence that followed was quite awkward, and her older brother finally interjected, tapping on her shoulder, and calling out to her.

"Avriel."

The little girl was a little flustered as she realized that she had left Keith hanging and then apologetically bowed to him.

"My apologies, Lord Keith."

"You don't have to apologise to me, Princess." He smiled and then stood up, towering over her. "I can understand that you might be a little tired. After all, your young shoulders bear a lot of responsibilities." He meaningfully said, and only the members of the Royal Family heard his words, which tensed them.

"I don't mind my responsibilities, Sir." The little girl mustered up some courage and said, looking right into his eyes, trying to find something there again.

"I am sure you don't." He knowingly smiled at her and watched fear finally flicker in her eyes.

Just to make things clearer to her, he used magic to make her body freeze, and her eyes widened in fear as she realised that she could not move at all, but thankfully, the invisible hold vanished as Keith smiled some more.

Catherine seemed to have sensed her daughter's unease, and then invited everyone to settle down at the dinner table.

The little princess seemed a little scared to look into Keith's eyes now, but after Rebecca engaged her in a conversation, telling her about the beautiful places in Netheria, the little girl finally relaxed a lot. The naive her had a dream to see all the beautiful places this world had to offer, so it was a subject that she happily chatted about, even forgetting for some time that she was a princess and had to adhere to the Royal etiquette of her family.