Allie turned away from her book and looked slightly startled, with her eyes shifting to look at the vampiress, while the expression on her face barely changed, and after a second, she went back to solving the problems in her book.
Rosetta closed the door and made her way to where Eve stood. She said in a panicked voice, "D—do you t—think it is too late for me to run away from here? My parents are making sure to invite the Lords, the D—Dukes, and everyone else they have high contact with!"
"Calm down, Rosetta. Deep breaths," Eve breathed in and out, and Rosetta followed, who appeared to be hyperventilating.
"I don't think there's enough time for me to woo Eugene," Rosetta's red eyes widened in realisation. "He gave me a balm this morning for my palms. Is that love? Do you think he likes me? What if he isn't?!"
Eve wanted to be optimistic in Rosetta's situation, hoping Eugene would respond to the vampiress's feelings. But if Rosetta wasn't Eugene's type, this was a lost case, and they were only wasting their time with hope.
"Why don't you take a seat? And we can think of something that doesn't involve you running away."
Rosetta sat on the piano bench as she inhaled and exhaled loudly through her mouth, trying to calm her anxious nerves. She didn't know why her parents were making it difficult for her. Were money and status more vital to them than her happiness? She didn't even want to know the answer because the answer was in front of her.
Her parents didn't like her! Rosetta yelled in her mind.
Eve placed a comforting hand on Rosetta's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. Vincent has surely devised a plan so that you both won't be getting married to each other." There was more than one person who didn't want the marriage between Vincent and Rosetta to occur, and they were all working on it.
But Rosetta, who had grown up with a reputation, whispered as she thought about the future, "Everyone will know that I was going to get married, and then I didn't. The shame… You must have felt worse than me." The vampiress was talking about Eve's time with the people of Meadow.
There was the change, Eve thought to herself. The vampiress, who was previously self-centred with only her feelings and emotions, was now thinking about others' feelings. She smiled at the thought of it.
"Why are you smiling?" Rosetta asked with a confused look.
"I am happy to know you. You are a good person, and I say this not because you are my friend," Eve praised the vampiress, whose mood brightened at her appreciating words. People like Rosetta showed that there were exceptions to the proud, arrogant vampires.
Once again the piano room's door opened, and it was Vincent, "Good, all of you are here." He noticed his sister turn to look at him, "Eyes on your book, hamster." Allie resumed her studies, while he closed the door behind him.
Vincent walked to where Eve stood and leaned in to kiss her cheek. Rosetta's eyebrows twitched. Here they were in crisis, and this man was busy romancing her best friend. Then suddenly, her shoulders slumped. She would be doing the same if she and Eugene were a couple, but then at the same time she blushed. She wondered what her beloved human was up to. Was he cooking? Or maybe cleaning. Maybe she should go and see, the vampiress thought to herself.
"Do you think her parents are going to call the members of the Council too?" Eve asked Vincent.
He gave her a nod, "That they will. They will invite the highest of the high members to the soiree. But that is fine, let them play and believe that they are in the advantage. It is always good to cheer for people on the other side. The more they fly, the worse their fall will be. Let it be an extravagant wedding to look forward to."
"I sometimes cannot believe that I am going against my parents," Rosetta muttered in worry. If her parents sniffed even a little bit of what she was doing behind their backs, they would skin her alive. She nodded to herself in nervousness and received looks from Vincent and Eve.
Vincent said to the vampiress, "Go see if you want another dress for the soiree."
"I don't care about my dress," Rosetta responded, and Vincent's eyes narrowed.
"Your parents have arranged for you to stay here, visiting them without a proper reason would raise doubts in their minds. Show them that you were in the wrong, and you have come to realise if it weren't for them, you would have lost an opportunity," Vincent instructed, and Rosetta's eyebrows furrowed. "This will lower their guard, and if they ask, tell them I am still being indifferent with you. This will lower their guards about you, and they will solely focus on me. You will be free from being tailed by your maid."
While an excited Rosetta left the piano room, Vincent and Eve stepped out too, as they didn't want to disturb Allie. They sneaked into the next room and closing the door, and Vincent pulled Eve into his arms.
"I missed you," Vincent leaned forward and kissed Eve's neck, hearing a soft sigh escape from her delicate lips. "Did you get enough sleep?" He pulled his face away from hers and looked into her blue eyes.
Vincent had come to find Eve, noticing how announcing his marriage to Rosetta had disturbed her. Though she didn't talk about it, he could tell it bothered her.
"I am alright. I will take a small nap when it is lunch time," Eve felt her eyes slightly burn because of the lack of sleep.
"You should get some sleep now. I don't think Allie would mind, she's a smart child. She will continue her work and get back to you when you are ready," Vincent tucked a piece of Eve's hair behind her ear. He took note of how Eve and Allie wore the same hairstyles today.
Eve shook her head and smiled, "That wouldn't be an ideal thing to do for a governess."
"Mm but you aren't just a governess here anymore. You are going to be my wife, a sister to Allie, and I don't think the hamster would want her sister to be tired when she can rest," Vincent felt the curves on either side of Eve's waist before he gripped it firmly. "I haven't slept either, want to join me?"
Eve chuckled at his suggestion and noticed how he looked serious. She asked, "You are serious? It's day and Blythe will be hot on our tail. Do you always have to live at the edge of danger?"
Vincent grinned, "It is the only way I know to live, else I feel dead with the paleness, my love. So, what do you say? I promise to try to keep my hands to myself," and his words stirred her quiet mind.
"My work, I need to—"
Vincent placed his finger on Eve's plump lips, brushing it gently enough to stir her emotions. He said, "I will let Allie know that her big sister needs some rest and that she continues with her studies. Don't worry, little girl, your employer won't cut your wage."
Eve asked him in a slight whisper, "How do you plan to do it without getting caught?"
Vincent's eyes darkened, picking up the willingness. He said with a lopsided smile, "Leave that to me."
