However, the nurses only held the babies without responding.Lily anxiously took her daughter, but the nurses did not stop her. Immediately after, she opened the blanket, squeezed the baby’s hands, and carefully checked if she had any wounds.After ensuring her daughter was unharmed, Lily signed in relief and examined her son, finding no wounds on him, either. After some thought, she checked their mouths and saw nothing unusual. Therefore, she concluded they must be hungry or uncomfortable.Lily looked at the nurses, then turned to the CCTV camera and said, “Why’d you bring them here?”She figured the nurses were only following orders, thinking, ‘Fred must’ve told them to behave like this. That fucking asshole!’Suddenly, Lily heard a noise coming from outside. However, it was not the sound of a cane but of a wheelchair. The wheels revolved, and Lily soon saw the queen. She was somewhat surprised as she had expected Fred to come and threaten her again or make more demands.“Your
“Well, I’m just stating the obvious.” Lily said as she patted one of her babies soothingly. “Although Your Majesty is the ruler of your country, you often have to listen to what Fred says, don’t you?”The queen looked upset. “Why should I listen to him?”“You know why better than anyone,” Lily said indifferently, “Also, you know if I’m telling the truth. If not, you wouldn’t have come to talk to me alone.”‘She even wanted her people to leave us alone. That tells me she doesn’t want others listening in on our conversation. She has many attendants, and any of them could be working for Fred.’The queen rested her hands on the wheelchair’s push rings and pensively tapped her finger.Meanwhile, Lily sat down and turned her attention to her twins. She thought caring for two babies simultaneously was somewhat challenging. In comparison, raising Galen was easy because she had a nanny’s help.However, soothing two crying babies alone was physically demanding for her. Fortunately, the twi
“People died?” Confused, The queen blinked. “Wait, what are you talking about? Who died? You said we never experimented it on a living person before, didn’t you?”“Come on. You know what I’m talking about. Honestly, I don’t know why your people created and spread so many variations of the viruses through your experiments. What good would that do—”The queen was puzzled and interrupted Lily, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. My project is about exploring the possibilities of prolonging human life. What does it have to do with viruses and spreading them?”Considering the queen’s confused expression, Lily knew Fred must have kept the queen in the dark.Lily shook her head. “I don’t know why you or your men would want to research viruses. I’m sure you know about the pandemic in Burnwken, and I heard there were even deaths in Yudonia.“You claim to love your people and doing all this for them, but your experiments have destroyed their lives.”The queen widened her eyes in dis
“Shut the hell up!” Fred showed up at the doorway.The queen was shocked. “Fred?!”“Your Majesty, what are you doing here? Don’t you trust me?” Fred hurried over and bent a knee before her, but he looked angry.“No, it’s not that I don’t trust you.” The queen looked panicked, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.“Your Majesty, I’ve always been loyal to you. You know how hard I’ve worked to ensure you would live on forever. Yet here you are, questioning my loyalty?” He looked as if the queen had betrayed him.Ashamed, the queen touched his face. “Oh, of course not. I know you’re loyal, and I’ve never doubted you. I just wanted to ask her a few questions.”“Then why did you wait until I wasn’t around? Why did you purposely do it behind my back? Was it because there were things you didn’t want me to hear?” Despite half-kneeling, his manner was so forceful that the queen felt overwhelmed.Lily looked at the two and guessed what it was all about. Suddenly, she burst i
“I understand, Your Majesty. I promise we’ll finish things as soon as possible,” Fred said, nodding. “Our priority is that you hang in there for a little longer. Soon you’ll have a healthy young body and can continue your work for the nation.“You must be patient and trust me until then, okay?” Fred stressed again.The queen nodded. “Yes, of course. I’m a little tired now.”“Ah, yes. You need your rest, Your Majesty. You shouldn’t have come here in the first place,” Immediately after, he turned to the guards and shouted, “Take the queen back to rest!”Once again, Lily was alone with Fred. The latter gazed after the queen and slowly turned to look at Lily spitefully, cursing, “You fucking bitch!”He tried slapping Lily. However, he forgot Lily was good at combat. She seized his wrist and twisted his arm behind him, causing him to scream in pain. Alarmed, the guards outside stormed in and pointed their guns at her.Lily remained unfazed as she glanced around and chuckled coldly, “D
Fred screamed in pain, and the guards immediately closed in on Lily. Still, none dared to shoot her. After a momentary silence, someone shouted, “Let the duke go!”Lily glared disdainfully at the guards, saying, “Bring my babies to me if you want your duke to live!”“Nobody moves!” Fred thundered, despite the pain, “I’d rather die serving Her Majesty.”After taking a breath, he said through gritted teeth, “Don’t let this woman go and kill her children if necessary!”“Don’t you dare!” Alarmed, Lily applied more pressure and twisted Fred’s arm further.Fred groaned and refused to yield as sweat flowed down his face. “I’m nothing compared to Her Majesty’s grand plans for the nation! Lily, you won’t be able to leave here alive even if you kill me!”He glanced sideways at Lily as he spoke.Lily did not know what to do next. She knew she would be gambling as Fred was since they were at a standstill. Nonetheless, there was no way she could kill him because she had to think about her ch
Lily knew Fred was right and that they would remain in the standoff if she did not let him go. Moreover, Fred refused to yield, and his men might shoot Lily or her babies if things dragged on.Still, she did not let him go so quickly. “Since I broke your arm, what if you hurt my children after I release you?”“Believe me, I wanted to,” Fred said, nodding. He kept gasping in pain as his eyes were full of hatred. “However, I know it won’t do me any good. You won’t mind getting hurt to get back at me if I lay a finger on your children.”After a pause, he continued through clenched teeth, “Don’t worry. I promise to never take it out on your children. I’ll settle our score in the future, but not now, alright?” However, Lily could not simply take his word for it, so she pulled him up and gripped his cheeks, forcing his mouth open.“What are you—” Before he could finish, he felt Lily stuffing something into his mouth, and it slid down his throat. After confirming that he had swallowed t
Lily spoke calmly, as if she controlled everything, “Don’t worry. The poison won’t take effect immediately. You have one week. If you can get someone to neutralize it soon enough, you don’t need to bother about me.”Fred was unsure if he should believe her. After all, she could not have created a poison under his nose. Also, she could not have carried it with her through the transit points.‘But what else could I have swallowed if it weren’t poison? If it is, then where did she get it?’With that thought in mind, he became worried.Lily smiled as if she had read his mind. She said casually, “If you must know, I’ve interacted with many doctors and nurses during my time here. Do you honestly think I couldn’t have swiped some drugs from them? Do you think I couldn’t make something out of whatever I took?”Fred remained silent, but his wavering eyes made it apparent that he believed her. He had to admit that what Lily said could be true. Furthermore, he had witnessed what she had acco
Lily tilted her head up to fight back her tears, saying, “There’s something I find strange.”“What is it?” Mike asked after comforting his son.“Instead of detaining Prince Ross, Her Majesty has sent him back to Yudonia. If so, why couldn’t we reach him?”After some thought, Mike answered, “There are two possibilities. It’s probably due to poor signals, or he doesn’t want us to contact him.”The two shared a look, knowing what each other was wondering.‘Why can’t we contact Ross? Is he planning something?’…Three days later, Lily inserted the last needle into the queen’s leg and looked up at her, saying, “You should start feeling your legs tomorrow. Still, it’ll take some time before you can stand.”Suddenly, Lily chuckled.“Why are you laughing?” Yasmin touched her legs. She had begun to regain sensation in her legs over the last two days. She then began to believe that she could get up. However, the queen was hesitant when the queen heard Lily chuckle.Lily shook her head
Lily straightened up and said without resentment, “Of course, you wouldn’t.”“That’s… quite a pity,” the queen murmured thoughtfully.“Well, there’s a price to pay for everything. That’s how the world balances itself,” Lily continued, “I can’t stop you if you must carry on with R10. Still, I won’t witness whether or not it succeeds. I just wish the outcome isn’t something you’ll regret.”Lily smiled and turned to head out the door.Rick heard their conversation as he stood guard outside. After exchanging looks with Lily as she brushed past him, he entered the room and saw the needles in Yasmin’s legs. “Your Majesty, those needles—”The queen waved dismissively. “It’s okay. Lily will remove them later.”Even so, Rick was wary. “You’re being too careless, Your Majesty. What if that woman—”“She wouldn’t,” Yasmin interjected, shaking her head."Why do you trust her so much?" Rick asked despite himself. The queen fell silent. If Rick had not asked her that, she would not have rea
Lily took out a cloth and unfolded it, revealing a row of silver needles inside. Yasmin was surprised she carried the needles with her.“Tell me. What do you want?” The queen took a deep breath to calm herself. She then reminded herself that she could always say no to Lily’s request. Still, Yasmin was cautious about Lily trying to trick her.Lily casually said, "I left because Prince Ross wanted to help me. I hope you don’t punish him.""That's it?" Yasmin thought she had misheard Lily. 'Is she trying to talk terms with me just so that I won't punish my son?' she wondered in disbelief."Ross is my son. I won't harm him. Don't you think you've wasted an opportunity by making such a request?" The queen shook her head. "I wasn’t sure if you’d blame him, but he did rescue me once. If I don't do anything, it would be ungrateful of me," Lily said gently, "Also, didn’t you already lock him up?"Yasmin was puzzled. "No, I only sent him back to Yudonia. He kept trying to get me to sto
"Three days," Lily replied.“That’s it?!” Yasmin was in disbelief. She thought Lily would try to buy some more time and suspected she would say the process would take several months or even years.‘I haven’t felt my legs for over a decade. I wouldn’t mind waiting for three more days.’“Are you sure I can get up and walk in just three days?” Yasmin pressed her legs hard but felt nothing. She would have treated her legs long ago if it were that easy.The queen had visited many famous doctors from various countries, but they could only stop her legs from getting weaker. However, Lily confidently told Yasmin that she could fix her legs so quickly.Yasmin wanted to believe it.After some consideration, Lily said, “I can’t guarantee that you’ll walk as fast as you once could. After all, you haven’t used your legs for a long time, and your muscles have atrophied. Still, you’ll recover slowly.”Yasmin nodded repeatedly, thinking it was good enough. She never dreamed of walking as well a
“Because only our opinions matter." Lily thought of something and said, "Unless you choose to believe Rhea.""I… don't trust anyone." Yasmin’s expression stiffened as she turned her wheelchair away."Your Majesty, I know you're dedicated to the experiment, but there are other things in life. Have you ever considered letting go of your burden to sightsee? You’ve done enough as a queen over the last few decades. Aren’t you tired of living a lonely life?”Lily gently spoke as she gazed at Yasmin’s back.The older woman caressed her knees with both hands and stared down at her legs, murmuring, “Sightsee, huh? I’ve forgotten what that’s like.”Yasmin had not used her legs for many years. Initially, she could still stand up and sometimes took a few steps. However, she could no longer get to her feet.She had grown accustomed to sitting in a wheelchair, but she felt a pang of sorrow after hearing Lily’s suggestion.Lily asked, “What if I can help you stand again? What if you can walk a
"Yes, I returned not just for him but also for you," Lily said, "I'm sure you were anxious for my return, weren't you?"Yasmin scoffed dismissively. "Why would I be? I have my bargaining chip. Besides, did you honestly think I couldn’t bring you back?""Bargaining chip? Do you mean Nick?" Lily shook her head with a smile. "Don't forget that he's not my son. Do you think he'll be much of a bargaining chip to you if I choose to ignore him for my three children?"She did not wait for Yasmin to reply and continued, "Besides, Nick still has a father who’s willing to die for him. If Mike decides to take drastic action against you— Yes, you're a queen, and you don't care much about an insignificant businessman.“However, don't forget that his business spans worldwide. There's no guarantee what he might do. Who knows, he might spread information that can affect Your Majesty and Yudonia's reputation?""You…" The queen was exasperated but could not retort.Lily noticed it and casually said
Rick could only remain silent at that moment.Yasmin then turned her wheelchair around and blandly said, “Bring Lily over. I’d like to see what excuses that sly woman can come up with.”"Your Majesty?" Rick was puzzled. "You know she'll just lie to you. Why must you—"Yasmin interjected, "I'd like to hear what she has to say."Rick had no choice but to leave and do as she said.As Lily was about to doze off, she heard noises from outside and opened her eyes. Immediately after, the door opened, and Rick appeared. He glared at her and spoke coldly, “Her Majesty wants to see you.”Lily glanced at Rick calmly and stood up as if she had expected his appearance. On the other hand, Mike rose before her and headed out.However, Rick stopped him as he reached the door. “You stay.”"But we came together!" Mike glanced over his shoulder at Lily, signaling her to persuade the man. Rick added, "The queen doesn’t wish to see you. Just stay here!"Lily patted Mike's shoulder and said gentl
Everyone was shocked when Lily returned to the embassy with Mike. One of the staff members quickly left to report the news to Queen Yasmin.Meanwhile, Lily saw people peering at her and Mike from the corner. Afterward, several guarded-looking men appeared. Lilt recognized them as the queen’s attendants. They brought Mike and Lily inside and then gave the duo a thorough search.The men only relaxed after finding nothing suspicious about the duo. Even so, Lily could not see the queen as the men told her to wait in an innermost room instead.After returning to the embassy, Lily felt a sense of strange familiarity. Although she knew the place well, her mindset had changed.She previously hated the embassy and simply wanted to escape. However, she had returned with a critical mission. Not only did she have to complete it, but she also needed to leave the place in one piece.While she was calm, Mike was somewhat anxious. He clasped his hands on his knees and glanced around as he sat dow
"I promise I'll do anything you want, okay?" Mike begged. He was desperate to see his son, so he decided to follow Lily when she insisted on returning to the embassy.Mike continued, “If any of you go with her, they might stop or suspect you. They won’t do that to me. It’s natural for me to want to see and rescue my son. I’m the best candidate because it makes sense for me to sacrifice myself for him.”After a short silence, Lily said, “You’re right.” She then looked at Alexander, who pondered before slowly raising his head and saying, “Me too.”Dominic tapped the table. "So do I."Cameron thought for a moment before saying, "I've no objections."Seeing this, Austin spread his arms and said, "Since you all agree, what else can I say? Let's do it!"It did not matter whether or not he agreed, but he just wanted to support Mike. The latter nodded and became emotional, saying, “Thanks, you guys!”"Why are you thanking us? Just be careful, and don’t be rash like you promised," Aust