Villain: The Play of Destiny

Celine could not help but stare at the enchantingly beautiful girl whom they stumbled across in the Flower Garden.

She had seen Qingyue when she was nine years old, and Celine could not deny that this little girl with pearl white hair and ocean-blue eyes was someone who was just as beautiful as her daughter was at this age. But then her heart suddenly thumped hard when she saw the tiara on the little girl’s head.

“Princess Avriel.” Rebecca lightly smiled as she grabbed Celine’s hand and then politely bowed to the little girl.

“Lady Rebecca!” A sweet melodious voice greeted their ears as the little princess bloomed in a bright smile. “Welcome to my home.”

“Thank you.” She giggled and then introduced Celine to the little girl.

“Good morning, Princess.” Celine smiled, trying her best to not look the little girl in the eyes, but it was very hard.

“Good morning,” Avriel replied and then looked Rebecca in the eyes.

However, the blonde girl did not shy her eyes away, allowing the little girl to search for whatever she intended to search in her eyes.

“I hope you found the Gardens to your expectations.”

“They are more beautiful in reality than in the pictures we had seen,” Rebecca replied and then leaned closer to the little girl. “But I must say, Princess, that you are perhaps the most beautiful little girl I have seen in my life. Of course, except for the one I watched in the mirror when I was your age.”

Her words took Avriel by surprise then the little girl brightly giggled.

“You are indeed beautiful, lady Rebecca.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and then stood straight back up.

Avriel still seemed to be searching for something in her eyes, and then after a few seconds, there was a cute little frown marring her expression.

She turned to look at the grey-eyed woman but found her looking around the Garden, and Marianne was keeping her head lowered as well.

“Would you like me to show you around the Gardens?” She cutely asked Celine.

“Thank you for your kind offer, Princess. But we can’t bring ourselves to make you do that. Marie has already been assigned as our guide, and she’s doing a great job.” Celine smiled at the maid and then briefly looked at the Princess before lowering her eyes.

“As you say. I will see you at the dinner tonight, Lady Rebecca, Lady Celine.” Avriel courteously bowed to them and then left the Flower Garden together with her maids.

Rebecca’s smile ceased as she watched the little princess leave, and then her eyes narrowed a little.

Keith had warned her that the Princess would look for her when she was not with him, and with Celine now joining them on the trip, the little girl would target the grey-eyed lady to get some answers.

She had not missed the brief frown on Avriel’s face when she was searching her eyes, and she was relieved in her heart that the little Princess’ powers did not work on her. Of course, Keith had told her that she had nothing to worry about, but knowing that there was someone in the world who could read your thoughts after establishing a connection just by gazing into your eyes for a few seconds was scary, to say the least.

Of course, there were limitations to her abilities, however, Celine was simply not strong or special enough to resist her powers.

The little Princess was not considered one of the most powerful Espers in the world for nothing. Her powers were not limited to Mind-Reading alone.

She was a very strong Psychic with terrifying Telekinetic and Telepathic Powers. And she was a tightly kept secret of the Royal Five.

The three of them returned to their room half an hour before lunchtime, having only explored the Flower Garden, and found Keith waiting for them in the room.

He was lazily lying on the couch with Yingying behind him, kneading his shoulders and chatting with him, but as soon as they entered the room, he opened his eyes and smiled at them.

“So, were they beautiful?”

“We only explored the Flower Garden. And yes, it’s beautiful.” Rebecca informed him before smiling at the maid, who immediately excused herself from the room. “How was your meeting?” She asked as she approached him and sat on the couch next to his.

“The Russian and Chinese Delegations will arrive tomorrow. And then we will sit with the King and pen down an agreement.” He informed her before smiling at Celine. “Any plans for the evening?”

“If you are not busy, can we first go and see Louvre Museum later in the afternoon?” She expectantly asked.

“I am free for the rest of the day.” He smiled at her.

“Okay. Louvre Museum, and then a cruise on the Seine!”

“We will leave the cruise for tomorrow. We have to be back for dinner at 9 pm.” He informed her.

“Oh, yes. Princess Avriel said that she would be seeing us at dinner tonight.” Celine remembered the words of the little girl and nodded. “Then can we visit the Notre Dame Cathedral?” She brightly asked.

“Okay.” He nodded to her and looked at Rebecca. “Did the little princess find your eyes quite fascinating, my lovely bride?”

“She did.” The blonde playfully smiled. “And frowning makes her look very cute.”

“I see.” He chuckled and shook his head.

He knew that the reason why the Royal Family of France specifically asked for him to lead the Netherian Delegation was that they wanted to get some answers from him. Unfortunately for them, they were going to face only disappointment.

“Keith…” Celine wanted to ask him why she was warned by Rebecca to not look Avriel in the eyes but was not sure if she should raise that question.

“She’s a very special girl who loves peeking into the minds of people. That’s why I asked Rebecca to warn you about not looking into her eyes. If you don’t mind her reading your thoughts, you may ignore the warning. It’s not like she would harm you.” He smiled at her and watched in amusement as Celine’s jaw dropped open.

“She’s an Esper?” She asked in disbelief.

“She is.” He nodded to her.

“Oh…”

Celine had once caught Victor training where Ryou was hitting him with a metallic rod with all his might, generating loud clanking sounds, but the muscle-head seemed completely unharmed and was shining like metal. It was then that she learned about the existence of Espers, and needless to say, she was quite scared and fascinated by them.

“You should have not told me that! Now if she manages to read my mind, she would know that you warned me about it…”

“Don’t worry. She can not easily read memories. She just reads the thoughts that pop up in your mind. So, if you want to make sure that she does not learn about our conversation, just don’t remember it at the time when you are conversing with her.” He playfully smiled at her.

“It’s easier said than done!”

“I know.” He laughed and then winked at her. “Get ready. We will leave for the city after lunch.”

Celine looked at Rebecca for help after Keith left the room, but the blonde girl simply shrugged at her.

“As he said, she won’t harm you even if she reads your thoughts.” 𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚕.𝚝

“Rebecca…”

“Don’t worry, Aunty. I think Keith does not mind Avriel learning that he warned you about her. There’s simply nothing that she can do about it.” She assuredly said.

What she told Celine was the truth.

Keith actually wanted Avriel to learn that he knew about her secret. Besides, though Celine lived with him at his home, she was unaware of his secrets. There was nothing substantial that the little Princess could avail from her.

After arriving in the room that was prepared for him, he entered the bathroom to take a quick shower, and when he returned, the ladies were already waiting for him.

Celine was in for another surprise when they reached the dining hall and met with the Japanese and Korean Princes, who were leading the delegations of their respective countries. And she also met with the delegates of the Union of the Sub-Continental Countries, which included Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Everything made her more curious about exactly what all the representatives of these countries were gathered here for. There was nothing about a global conference in the news, and Celine had a hunch that it was some sort of a secret meeting that was going to take place between the major powers of the world.

She did not know how right she was as the meetings in the coming days were key to global stability. And all of this was a result of Keith’s actions when he had informed the City of Sin about the plans of the European Union.

It was something even he was not prepared for. And when he had received his Grandmother’s call that the Royal Five were asking him to lead the Netherian Delegation at the Palace of Versailles to discuss some very important issues, he was quite surpised.

Of course, the City of Sin had not leaked the information to other countries, but with the little Princess by their side, it was not hard to guess that the Royal Five now knew that it was he who had informed the City of Sin about their plans.

She was a very troublesome little girl who needed to be punished for peeking into people’s minds. And Keith did not mind scaring little children.