Walter then continued, "When the Martial Alliance took me, Mr. Lawrence was the one who stepped up. He threatened their chief Lady Silverbell, saying that he would fight them on the spot if she refused to protect me!" "And Lady Silverbell agreed to it, even though it meant braving the wrath of Morhen's mayor. Hell, as she kept me in custody, she told me so much about Mr. Lawrence, and I've come to realize that we're the ones who don't deserve him."Turning and leveling Frank a troubled look, Walter wiped a tear as he asked with a choking voice, "I'm sorry, but can I count on you to take care of Vicky from now on? Is that too much to ask for?""Of course not." Frank smiled, nodding repeatedly."Oh, thank you…" Walter sighed. "Whatever happens now, Frank… You will have a home wherever I may be.""Yeah," Frank nodded, feeling warmth in his heart thanks to Glen and Walter, even though it had recently grown cold toward the Turnbulls."Last but not least…" Walter suddenly added quie
Frank left Turnbull Estate alone the next day.He never told anyone where he was going as he drove alone to a mansion in the outskirts of Morhen.The mansion was modest in size but stood in the middle of a small forest—a quiet and clean environment far removed from the bustling city.Frank's heart calmed considerably just from seeing it, and he stepped through the front door to find a faint tea fragrance wafting from the drawing room.An ancient, familiar voice spoke from the door. "Ah, you're here." "Yeah," Frank replied as he strode in to see his father, the Lord of the Southern Woods, seated primly.He had an antique tea cup beside his fingers, and Frank had picked up its aroma earlier."You should sit." A pretty silhouette appeared out of nowhere with another cup of tea, putting it respectfully on the opposite end where Godwin Lawrence was seated.Frank turned to see that it was none other than Silverbell, and he wanted to thank her for protecting Walter Turnbull but could
Frank finally gave in to his curiosity and frowned. "You called me here just for tea?!"He had thought a lot about his father along the way here, that pleading look in his eyes and claiming that his days were numbered…"What, is there a problem?" Godwin smiled after having another sip of his tea. "Silverbell brews good tea. You can ask her to brew it for you from now on.""Whatever!" Frank sniffed and turned to leave.He really thought his father would at least explain himself, but he once again treated him like a child as he always did, saying nothing.Silverbell watched as she left and turned worriedly toward Godwin. "Is this really alright?""What's not alright?" Godwin smiled and took another sip of his tea. "Don't worry—I've left everything to him that I should, and as they say, ignorance is bliss. If I tell him anything now, he'd be storming our enemy's doorstep and just get himself killed.""Yeah." Silverbell nodded in agreement despite her conflict, since she knew ve
Clearing her throat, Helen said, "I'll send you the address. You can head over now. Remember, you're signing the contract, but only after the video conference is over. Do you understand?""Yep," Frank nodded, then turned to glance at the serene mansion and sighed.It turned out that he traveled all this way for tea…Still, he did not drag his feet and drove to the address Frank gave him in his Maybach.When he entered the designated cafe half an hour later, he found a familiar face right then and was stunned. "You're the one from Waver Street…"It was indeed Clarity, wearing a tight black skirt and a blouse with a low neckline and taking a sip of her coffee elegantly.Her red lips parted in a smile when she saw Frank, and she licked her finger as she breathed charmingly, "I'm surprised we meet again so soon, handsome."Frank was not flinching but was merely surprised.He looked around, but as she was the only customer, Clarity must be the client.As Frank walked over to her an
The beauty mark beneath Clarity's eye only added to her charm. In fact, not many men would be able to resist her."What's wrong, Frank?" Helen seemed to sense that something was wrong on the screen and frowned slightly."It's nothing." Frank shook his head, reluctant to let it go or Helen would definitely get jealous and misunderstand.Still, despite his antsy attitude, he was not about to play along to Clarity's tune.He understood that the more beautiful a woman was, the more dangerous they would be.Likewise, she was definitely up to something if she appeared very interested in someone.And the fact that Clarity came to him twice so enthusiastically made it clear it was no coincidence, and she was planning something.Meanwhile, Helen opened a presentation file on the other end, introducing her project with a professional script. "Ms. Clarity, we've drawn up plans and blueprints for the resort you asked for. Do take a look…"The exchange took less than ten minutes, and it w
Helen, however, could hear Clarity's immodest voice on the other end and snapped, "What?! What are you doing over there, Frank?""Wait, that was you?!"Frank was flinching as he remembered—so that was why he found Clarity so familiar. She was the companion of one of the bigwigs attending the bid event in Zamri!She had invited him to a masquerade ball, but he thought nothing of it since he was not interested.And now, she actually showed up here in Morhen…"What do you want?" he snapped, glaring sharply at Clarity even as he caught her foot.Clarity gasped. "Oh, you're hurting me… I mean, it's not like I hate it, but are we really doing this in front of so many people?"As she turned pointedly elsewhere, Frank turned to find that other guests had arrived at the cafe and were staring at them.It would certainly look like they were getting frisky, with Frank holding her leg."Tut, tut… Men these days are real pigs…""No way, doing it in public? How immodest…""Mommy, what is
Shutting the laptop, Frank glared at Clarity. "What the hell do you want?""Nothing. I like you, that's all!" Clarity beamed, leaving Frank even more frustrated."Hmph." Frank ignored her and turned to leave. "Hey, wait!"Clarity caught his wrist and flashed an apologetic smile. "Calm down. Don't you want to know who I am, Donn Lawrence?""What?!" Frank turned right then. "You know my name?! Speak! Who are you?!""Well…" Clarity shook her head mysteriously. "I'm a displaced vagabond like you."Frank charged his Five-Peat Archaeus right then, ready to attack—since she refused to go along when he was nice, he just had to get tough!But even as Clarity took a step back, she was beaming charmingly. "Oh, calm down! How impatient can you get? Well, since you're so eager to find out, I guess I can tell you… I go by many names, so which should I tell you? Oh, right."Suddenly, the air around Clarity changed, and the bewitching lady was an Ascendant rank with a death aura swirling
Frank was weary when he left the cafe and decided that he would absolutely refuse Helen if he had any other similar requests in the future.Still, he stared at the black Maserati convertible parked outside, while Juno's words echoed in his mind:"Being my enemy does you no good. Accept me like a good boy, and I will provide you with Draconian information that you desire. Take this piece of information as a show of sincerity—there's an unfinished construction project sitting in the outskirts of Zamri. However, you could ask Ms. Lane to pick it up, since the government would take it back for demotion in a few days. By then, the value would multiply tenfold!""Where did you get that information from?" Frank asked right then.Juno simply flashed him a mysterious smile. "That's a secret, unless you say yes…"As such, once he left the cafe, Frank whipped out his phone to call Trevor Zurich."Yes, Mr. Lawrence?" Trevor answered right away, respectful as ever."Help me look into this wo