Villain: The Play of Destiny

Demiliore Castle, Noxville, Netheria

A convoy of cars entered through the gates of the Castle in the afternoon, and as soon as Keith stepped out of his vehicle, he had to open his arms for the red blur that came running out of the front door and lunged right into his embrace.

"I missed you too, Princess." He chuckled as he hugged the little girl back and then comfortingly squeezed her small body.

Ingvild merrily smiled at being called a Princess, and expressed her happiness by kissing him on his cheek. She then let him go and hugged Kiara, leaving him a little impressed at the control she was showing on her thirst for his Blood.

She was trying to distract herself by greeting everyone, and from her smile, it was quite hard to discern that she was very agitated.

The only reason why he could sense her agitation was because he was her mate and much more now.

He let the girls be and entered the Castle, where a smile soon formed on his face when he saw Ingrid coming over, and as much as she wanted to just come forward and hug him, she bowed to him.

"Welcome Home, Master."

"It's good to see you, Ingrid." He nodded to her before leaning in and planting a kiss on her forehead.

Despite herself, she could not help but blush at his show of affection, and her body trembled a little as her thirst for his blood flared up.

"Ayesha is resting in her room. Her fever is getting worse." She informed him, exercising control over her urges as best as she could.

"And Qingyue?" He asked as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it, inspecting the changes that had taken place inside of her so far.

"She locked herself up in her room after Kiara called us and informed us that you were coming." Ingrid sighed. "She tried to create an antidote, but she failed, and now she's blaming herself even more."

"I see." He nodded to her and smiled again when he saw Nana rushing over to him from down the hallway.

"Keith!" She smiled as she hugged him and he planted a kiss on her head.

"You seem to be doing well."

"I am fine." She nodded to him and quickly tip-toed to take a quick peck of his lips. "Ayesha is in immense pain, and her fever..." She started speaking as she led him straight to the girl.

Whilst they moved towards Ayesha's room, she informed him how she, Ayesha, and Qingyue were having their daily spar and how the accident happened.

Nana emphasised that it was an accident and that Qingyue was quite devastated, not blaming her, even though she too had nearly been caught by poisonous miasma that had suddenly erupted from from his wife's hand.

Perhaps they did not realise it, but any normal person would have died by now if they had been the victim instead of Ayesha. It was how deadly Qingyue's poisons were.

Luckily, there were no Ordinary Mortals at the castle.

Ingrid and Ingvild were staying at the Manor with his grandmother, so they were not present here at the Castle when the accident happened.

The only Maids at the castle were all Aurors and Espers, belonging to the little Princess of France, who stayed here with them.

The Carmilla sisters came over after Nana called them, and together with her and Avriel, they tried to console Qingyue, but it did not work as Ayesha's state kept getting worse and worse.

"She did not return to France for Christmas?" He smiled and asked, sensing the little Princess' presence.

"She did not want to participate in the hectic Royal arrangements this year, so she made up an excuse that she was reaching a critical point in her Cultivation and control over her Powers, and the Guardian played along with her whim," Ingrid informed him with a smile. "In truth, she just wanted to play around with Ingvild."

"Avriel is resting inside her room right now. Her Shadows were very concerned about her safety after what happened to Ayesha, and it has made Qingyue feel worse," Nana told him what the little Princess was doing right now, and he simply nodded his head before he knocked on the door they arrived at and opened it.

"Go be with the girls and prepare lunch. She will be fine." He told the two of them, and both Nana and Ingrid nodded to him before leaving.

Keith entered the room and closed the door behind him, and soon his eyes caught the girl who was half-lying on the couch with her pale skin having a slight green tint to it.

Her misty eyes, which had been holding back tears as she bore the pain, met him, and her body stopped quivering for a few seconds when he smiled at her.

"You look pretty." He chuckled at her and watched her eyes dangerously narrow at him over his crude joke.

But soon her brows furrowed as he walked over and planted his right hand on her forehead, and Keith discerned a little worry in her eyes.

"I am a doctor, Silly. Of course, I have my precautions against the poison." He assured her and then to her dismay, leaned in and captured her lips.

His right hand sneaked onto her back, and his palm pressed where her heart was situated.

Soon, Ayesha felt a surge of vitality wash over her.

Even though Keith has a hundred different ways to deal with this Poison, one of which was by sleeping with her, he decided to utilise the Fragment of the Book of Life since he had not used it yet. And as expected, in a matter of seconds, the poison in her blood was neutralised.

Colour returned to her face as the pain was relieved, and any damage to her body was immediately repaired. Even the tiredness that was supposed to kick in did not engulf her. Instead, she felt rejuvenated and ready for anything.

Ayesha let out a moan in his mouth at the inexplicable and intoxicating feeling that she was bathing in and then gripped his shirt with her hands as she reciprocated his kiss, not willing to let him go.

Keith could sense the fire that was flaring up in her loins, and much as he wanted to rip her clothes off and let himself burn in their carnal indulgence, he gently separated from her lips, which earned a groan in protest.

"Later, Sweetheart." He kissed her cheek and then pulled her to her feet. "Let's go and see Qingyue. She will feel well after seeing that you are fine."

His reminder cleared up her mind, and she nodded to him, obediently following after him.

"Nana told me what happened."

"It was an accident..."

"I know." He smiled. "But that does not mean that Qingyue is not at fault."

"We pushed her, Keith. Nana and I tried to test our limits..."

Keith allowed her to explain herself and try to save Qingyue, but when she finished speaking, he turned to look her in the eyes, and she flinched.

"It's your fault too that you failed to erect the Runic Shield in time."

"I am sorry." She immediately apologised. "But please don't blame Qingyue..."

"I am not blaming her for anything." He cut her off. "She lost her composure in a spar against her friend, whom she claims she considers her sister."

Ayesha tried to defend her again but found herself at a loss of words.

"It was an accident..."

"Accidents usually happen when you are not careful enough." He told her and then turned around to keep walking towards Qingyue's room.

His words were not only directed at his wife but also at his lover, who was careless enough to test her limits against someone who could potentially kill her by accident.

Sure enough, Ayesha felt embarrassed as she followed him, keeping her head lowered.

When they arrived at Qingyue's door, Keith glanced at her, and his she silently requested him to not go too hard on her sister-like friend.

He did not say anything to her and knocked on the door once, and then proceeded to open it before entering the room.

Qingyue was up and standing next to the window, wearing a frown on her face as she anxiously looked at him.

When she saw Ayesha enter the room, and saw that she was absolutely fine, her body trembled and a tear slipped out of her eye despite her efforts to hold it back.

"Envy is a vice that corrupts you if you are not wise enough," Keith said as he started walking towards her, and his words made her flinch. "You lost your composure because you found out that Ayesha and Nana were much stronger than you had anticipated, and that they could keep up with you, leaving you with no advantage over them."

"Keith..." Ayesha tried to stop him, but when he glanced at her, the coldness in his eyes chilled her and made her lower her head obediently.

"I..." Qingyue tried to speak, and more tears welled up in her eyes as she could not refute his words.

Just when she mustered up some courage to meet his eyes and tell him how sorry she was, she felt him place his hand on her head, and for a moment her mind blanked before she looked at him in surprise.

"Work on yourself." He told her, and then gently smiled. "Go, freshen up. The girls are waiting for us."

"Keith, I..."

"We know how you feel about it." He said. "And we know that you are sorry. I hope you will be careful next time." He nodded to her and then stepped aside, letting Ayesha come forward and hug her. "I will see you in the Main Lounge." He said to them before he left the room, leaving the two of them alone.

He knew very well that Qingyue would only feel better once she understands that Ayesha did not blame her.

Keith realised that he had to he hard on her and force her to work harder on herself, but punishments were not going to work here.They would only make her feel more depressed.

A perosn like her would only learn through their mistakes and experiences, and he knew her better than anyone.

Qingyue was going to take her time, but she would eventually become the perosn that she was destined to become.