Mike was surprised. “What did you discover?”“Didn’t you notice Fred’s injured arm?” Alexander looked at the two.Edward and Mike exchanged a puzzled look.“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything? Didn’t he say that he fell?” Mike asked with a frown. “Oh, why did you insist on helping with his arm? Who cares if he breaks it?”Alexander shook his head. “Why do you think he refused to let me try even though I insisted?”“How would I know?”“Because he has something to hide,” Alexander said blandly, “He’s also a lot smarter and alert than we thought.”Since Fred had decisively turned him down, it meant he had guessed Alexander’s intentions. Meanwhile, Mike and Edward were unaware of what it was all about. Of course, Fred could also be suspicious of Alexander.Mike was puzzled. “Is there anything suspicious about his injured arm?”Edward caught on. “You think it has something to do with Lily?”Alexander nodded.Although Mike could not understand it, Edward could. After
Before Mike could get up again, Alexander held him down. “No, we can’t go in now.”“Why not?!” he exclaimed.“We just left there. Besides, we did a thorough search just now and found nothing.” Alexander looked at him calmly. “Do you think we can find them if we go in again?”“Maybe our search wasn’t thorough enough! Perhaps we can find a secret room or passage if we try harder. We might just find Lily inside.” Mike’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Who knows, Nicky might be with her too!”He missed his son so much that he could not think straight. Although he could not meet his son when he worked for the “boss,” he had occasional video calls with Nick.Mike could hear his son’s voice and see his face then. However, he did not know if his son was still alive after not seeing or hearing from him for so long. Mike only kept himself going by thinking of his son.“Please calm down.” Alexander held Mike down with both hands, knowing how he felt.“Do you think I don’t want to go in and
Alexander leaned into his seat and gazed at the embassy as Mike and Edward looked at him. After some thought, Alexander said, “If Lily was the one who injured Fred’s arm, it shows she’s well enough to fight back, at least for now.“Since they need her body, I doubt they’d hurt her before the experiment. Even if Lily dislocated Fred’s arm, he couldn’t do anything to her. We should consider it a good sign.Mike scratched his head, not entirely comforted by Alexander’s words. “So, what can we do now?”After all, they could not go inside the embassy and openly search for Lily, nor could they rescue Nick.“I’ll have my men stationed outside the embassy. Tell your men to keep a close watch on all possible routes to prevent them from relocating Lily,” After a pause, Alexander continued, “I’ll figure something out.”The situation was tricky because of these people’s statuses. Alexander would know how to deal with them if they were ordinary businesspeople or low-ranking officials. However,
“Fred,” the queen said as she gently touched his cheek. “How could you be so careless after serving me for so long?”Taken aback, Fred lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Indeed, I was careless, but I didn’t want to let them in the first—"“Could you have stopped them?” The queen cocked her head and smiled.However, her tone gave Fred a terrible feeling. “Your Majesty?”“Do you know other nations have unfavorable opinions about Yudonia? There’s even a rumor that the pandemic virus originated from our country.” Although her eyes were a little cloudy, they still evoked an overwhelming sense of threat.Fred felt a chill run down his spine as he responded, “I’ll find out who spread the rumor and shut them up, Your Majesty. Just leave it to me.”However, the queen smiled and shook her head, saying, “No, Fred! Do you think you can shut them up forever? Besides, can you tell everyone in the world to shut up?”“Your Majesty—"“Don’t be quick to deny it or resort to violence in
Although Fred could appease the queen with just a few words in the past, she would not let it go this time. After contemplating for a moment, Fred straightened up, saying, “All right, Your Majesty. I'll tell you since you’ve already discovered it.“The lab started as a small workshop. You know I’ve been working on the R10 experiment for you. R10 is a codename. We call it that because there were others.”The queen raised her brow. “You’re saying there were nine other similar experiments?”“Yes.” He nodded after a moment’s hesitation.The queen tilted her head slightly. “What about after R10? Were there any other experiments?”Fred looked at her and seemed to assess whether or not to tell her. After a few seconds, he nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”He was unsure how much the queen knew and dared not probe. After all, he knew what she was like after serving her for nearly 30 years.The queen might appear kind and approachable to others, but only Fred knew about her ruthless side when
“I…do,” Fred answered after a pause.“You do?” The queen’s voice changed, becoming agitated. “Yet you’ve shown no remorse and continued the experiments behind my back? How long did you plan to keep it from me if I didn’t find out? Fred, what were you thinking?”She got choked up toward the end as tears welled in her eyes. She was heartbroken and distressed.Most thought the pandemic was a natural disaster, while others suspected it resulted from bioterrorism or human action. The queen also suspected those things but never expected them to have something to do with her country, let alone the person serving her.‘The pandemic was a catastrophe for all mankind! Although it has seemingly ended, how many lives were lost due to the pandemic? How many people suffered lingering effects? Countless individuals lost their families and friends to the virus.’At that time, the queen was also concerned about what would happen or if her body could cope if she got infected. Still, she never imagi
The queen looked at her guards entering the room as Fred said, “Her Majesty is tired and unwell. Take her to the room, and don’t let anyone disturb her rest.”The queen was astounded. She said sternly, “How dare you?! Nobody touches me!”However, Fred waved, saying, “Her Majesty is old and suffering from hallucinations. Don’t mind what she says. We must prioritize her health.”Then he gestured for the guards to bring the queen to her room.“You’ve gone insane, Fred! How dare you treat me like this? I’m the queen! Fred!” She shouted desperately. No one had ever treated her like this before.After receiving no answers from Fred, she turned to the guards and demanded, “Stop! Are you helping him rebel against me?!”“It’s not exactly a rebellion.” Fred gazed after the queen as the guards took her away. He finally smiled. “However, you’re too old and unfit to run the country, Your Majesty!”He dropped his fearful pretense and looked arrogant instead.…The guards opened the door and
The queen calmed down and looked sad, probably because of Lily’s self-deprecating tone. Maybe it was also because Lily’s words made her realize something.“I never thought he’d do this to me.”“Maybe you were just in denial,” Lily said, “He’s served you for many years and is the person you trusted most. I doubt you’d want to think he would betray you.”Lily knew how it felt to be betrayed by someone. She felt angry, disappointed, and sad when she discovered Mike had deceived her, even though the organization forced him to.‘Not to mention the queen’s situation. People in power and influence are most concerned about betrayal by those closest to them. Once one breaks that trust, it can be permanent.’The queen sighed and shook her head. “Why would he do this? My health has been terrible recently, and I’ve relied on his advice. He doesn’t need to—”“Greed knows no bounds, Your Majesty.” Lily looked at the queen without fear or panic.“Aren’t you afraid?” the queen asked, “You know
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