Villain: The Play of Destiny
chapter-23

Watching him take his seat at her study table, and then unceremoniously go through her Design Book, agitated her even more. And then there was the occasional sound of him helping himself to some pistachios as he turned the pages over.

After nearly an hour of silence, Amelia, as patient as she was, could not bear the tension that was gripping her nerves.

"I think we should talk, Mr. Demiliore." She spoke determinedly after taking a deep breath.

Keith's hand, which was halfway down turning a page, stopped and then fell to close the personal Design Book of the lady, whose boudoir he was sitting inside.

He turned the seat around and then looked her right in the eyes.

"We can talk, but first you must get these glasses of yours out of the way." He lightly said. "We both know that your eyes are perfectly fine."

And there it was again, the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

How did he know about it?

It was a question she was rather scared of.

Amelia looked him in his deep brown eyes, and seeing the mischievousness sparkling in them, she decided to not play around and did as asked.

"You are beautiful." He off-handedly commented after she took off her glasses, and then leaned back in his seat. "What do you want to talk about?"

His question only ended up making her feel more agitated, but after a minute of contemplation, she severely looked him in the eyes.

"What do you want, Mr. Demiliore?"

"Not messing around, are we?" He chuckled to himself and then closed his eyes. "I want you, Miss Amelia. I want a wife who can stay shoulder to shoulder with me, and share the responsibilities with me." He opened his eyes and sincerely spoke.

Amelia looked as if she had not heard what he had said, and her eyes still pressed him to state his true intentions. However, even after minutes of waiting, she got no more words from Keith, who simply kept looking at her right in the eyes.

"May I see your eyes?" He suddenly asked, and his question unnerved the lady who was trying her best to stay composed.

"How do you know so much about me?" She did not listen to his request and gravely asked.

"If I told you that a dream guided me to you, would you believe it?" He playfully spoke and chuckled when he saw her gaze getting more severe. "It does not matter what you believe or not." His persona suddenly took a 180° turn and then he seriously looked at her. "What I have said is the truth."

Seeing the smile vanishing from his face strangely made her feel better. At least, he was not going to play around anymore. Even if she found it hard to believe, she could feel that he was not lying about that Dream of his.

"And what do you know about me?"

"I know what you like, what you dislike. I know how you grew up, and I know what you desire in life. I know things about you that you already know, and I know things about you that you are yet to figure out."

She was again tempted to ask how he knew everything, but then remembered the answer he had just given her.

"Prove it!"

"Ask what you want to ask, and I shall reply to you. But know that I won't tell you everything, because there might be things that you are not yet ready to hear."

Amelia frowned at his words, and her curiosity only flared up even more at what he was implying.

"Tell me the truth about my Runes. Why do I have these powers?"

"Powers?"

Keith chuckled at her choice of words. She was not wrong at all, but it just sounded funny to him.

"You are one of the inheritors of the Runic Monarch. Your Physique is special as you possess the Runic Monarch Profound Veins. The Runes you see in your dreams is the knowledge that these Profound Veins provide you. You are only in the Great Profound Realm right now, so the knowledge you have so far gained is only elementary."

His words made her quite shocked, and now she finally had an answer for what was going on with her. She was not surprised that Keith saw through her Realm, which was hidden under the Runes that she had inscribed on her body. No one in the Mourntale Family knew how strong she was. For all they knew, she had been stuck at the Peak of Foundation Profound Realm for the past 7 years.

"What is the strange door that I keep seeing in my dreams? That Mystical Palace..."

"That's the first Trial Ground that the Runic Monarch left behind. There's a test for you inside of it, and if you pass it, there are special rewards for you. Also, that Palace is inside an independent dimension and is simply a treasure trove. There are lots of good things for you there." Keith did not keep this information from her and truthfully told her everything about the Trial Ground.

"How do I enter that place?" She did not doubt his words and simply asked.

"You can not access that Dimension from the world we are in right now." He shook his head. "We both are also not strong enough to enter that place, and it's something that we should not be concerned about for now."

She frowned at his choice of words.

"Others can enter that place too?"

"Anybody who meets the requirements can enter that dimension, but only the Inheritor of the Runic Monarch can take the test."

Amelia stayed silent after she heard his words, and Keith let her stay occupied with her thoughts.

"Who was the Runic Monarch?"

"A God. And even among the Gods, he was at the top of the pyramid of hierarchy."

She had speculated that after hearing his previous answers, but hearing him confirm it shocked her beyond belief.

"Be mine, and I will make sure that you will become an existence just as strong as the previous Runic Monarch, if not more powerful." Keith devilishly spoke those words, and it was not just an empty promise. He was confident that he could help her reach such heights.

His words caught her attention and then her eyes narrowed at him.

"And how will you achieve that?"

"That's my secret." He smiled at her and did not shy away from her gaze.

"What do you want in return?" She straightforwardly asked.

"I have already told you, I want you." He replied. "You will be one of my Queens, and we will rule over the worlds."

His ambitious words only made her pride flare-up, and briefly, her eyes that were hidden under the contacts flashed a brilliant golden glow.

Amelia had never thought that her day would turn up like this.

When she had learned that the Heir of Demiliore Family had asked for her hand and was coming to see her today, she was quite displeased and agitated.

Getting married was never one of her priorities, and she only wanted to uncover her mystery whilst exploring more of her powers. She thought that she could somehow delay this marriage and if possible, reject the offer after talking in private, but all her plans came crashing down when he whispered those words in the Family Hall.

'I know all your secrets, Princess of Runes.'

And here she was now, already feeling bound to him.

"Tell me your secret, and I will be yours."

An elated smile graced his lips when he heard her words.

"I have lots of secrets, my dear Amelia." He playfully spoke. "But for now, know that a Dream has put me on a mission."

Keith knew that his answer did not satisfy her, but he did not want to say anything about his secrets.

"I will see you tomorrow night, and we will discuss things further." She stood up from her bed and waited for him to take his leave for now.

"You know, your family is waiting for an answer..." He teased her a little as he stood up, and found her eyes narrowing at him.

"You can go ahead and discuss the Bride Price with my family. I need to get some rest now." She pressed on him to leave her alone, and Keith complied.

"Be safe!" He nodded to her and then turned around to leave the room.

Only after he arrived outside and the door behind him closed, did he sigh in relief. He took a deep breath and let his heart beat in all its anxiousness that he has been suppressing all this time.

It was never easy to talk with smart people, but there was something that they lacked. And what they lacked was the mind to raise some stupid questions, which sometimes hit the mark and were the hardest to answer.

Thankfully, his talk with Amelia went smoothly, and even if he was pushed in the corner a few times, he got around by spinning the truth, rather than outright lying to her about anything which would have proven detrimental in the future.

"Young Master!" Caesar was waiting for him down the hallway, and Vladimir was right by his side.

"We can discuss the Bride Price, Uncle Vlad. Amelia has agreed to marry me." He gave him the good news and saw a brilliant smile appear on his face.

"We are satisfied with the terms that you have already put forward, Young Demiliore. And all now remains is a date for the Wedding Ceremony."

"I need to talk about that with Amelia first. She has invited me to come to visit her tomorrow night."

"You are welcome to come to the House of Mourntale any time you wish to, Young Demiliore."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Uncle Vlad. We will take our leave now."

"You could stay here at the Mansion if you want. I will arrange rooms for you."

"There's no need for that. We have some business to attend to as well, and so we must take our leave for now."

"As you wish." Vlad nodded to him and then escorted both of them outside the Manor, where Yingying and Victor were already waiting with their car.

"Take care!"

When the convoy of cars exited the gates of Mourntale Estate, Victor finally let his clumsy side show up.

"That was one scary family of Aurors..." He commented, which prompted all of them to lightly smile at his words.

"You should know that Mourntale are not the only Ancient Family in Netheria, or even in the Magic City." Caesar seriously told him. "There are some even more Powerful and more ancient than them, which even our Demiliore Family can not provoke."

An awkward silence lingered in the car after Caesar spoke those words.

"Where to, Young Master?" Victor decided to change the topic and asked Keith.

"Let's go and eat something light. Only the four of us." Keith rested his head back and looked at the beautiful scenery outside the window. "Old Street, Commercial Market. There's a restaurant there by the name of 'The Silver Lounge'."

Caesar heard the words and immediately searched for the location on the GPS before pinning it. And Victor informed the guards in the other cars to separate at the next junction, instructing them to reach the Hotel first.

Even if the old man was curious why Keith wanted to go to this specific restaurant, he did not raise any questions. And while they drove, he prepared a summary of the events before he sent them to Keith's Grandfather, and also to Venessa. She had strictly instructed him to keep her updated with everything that transpires with the Mourntale Family, and as the Head Butler, he had to keep the Lady of the House informed about such an event.