Frank sighed, shaking his head—the pecking order always worked.Hence, he got onto a buggy escorted by the soldiers, which soon arrived at a five-floored manor near the sea.When they arrived and Frank alighted, he did a double take as the soldiers alighted and followed him."Why are you boys still following me?" he asked."Governor's Quill's orders, sir," one of the soldiers replied. "He's worried there'd be another misunderstanding, so he told us to stay as your escort.""Fine." Frank sighed, not bothered to chase them away, and hurried inside the manor.The Quills certainly deserved their reputation as one of the top families in the country. A single manor was just a part of the entire estate, but it was already almost the same scale as Frank's Cologne Court.Then, as the soldiers continued to escort Frank straight up to the fifth floor, they ran into Alba, who had just tried to chase Frank away."What are you doing here?!" he snapped, clearly frowning with clear disdain whe
"What's so funny?"Frank frowned, really wondering if Alba was crazy.Wait, maybe he was the son who was driven insane by Governor Quill's death aura?Nonetheless, Alba stopped laughing and leered at Frank in disdain. "You said you're here to help my daughter?""I am."Frank nodded. "Your daughter tried to mess up a business transaction that I had, just to prove that she's better, even taking all the merchandise with her. But she's proven to lack both skills and brains and has ended up infected by parasites."Today is the final day for her to get cured. If she doesn't and the eggs hatch, she'd be bug food."The soldiers behind Frank actually twitched as Frank's creepy description, but Alba remained skeptical.In fact, he chuckled coolly. "I've already sent for Dr. Georg. He's the best doctor on the east coast, and he has determined that my daughter isn't suffering from infection. It's just an allergic reaction!""Exactly. On the surface, it looks just like an allergy."Frank
Frank certainly felt Dr. Georg's temper, but he smiled nonchalantly as he picked up a chair to sit on. "So you're Professor Roberts' student?""Yes, I am," Dr. Georg said proudly, rearing his chin. "Though I heard him mention losing to a Draconia citizen, he's a master of medicine, unlike you!"Frank simply regarded him with amusement. "Really? What makes you think that wasn't me?""Because…"Dr. Georg paused, but he soon continued solemnly, "Because he said he had lost to a master of medicine! That means he won't be as young as you are, so you don't get to insult him!""Pfft…."Frank could not help chuckling—Dr. Georg's expression and bearing actually resembled Professor Roberts' stubbornness and competitive side."Dr. Georg."Alba rose to his feet just then, interrupting Frank and Dr. Georg's conversation anxiously. "How's my daughter? Are you sure you can save her?""Not a problem."Dr. Georg's brow eased as he turned toward Alba, assuring him, "I can say for sure that Ms.
Smack!Even as Cara was going to insult Jean and Winter further, she felt a sudden gust of wind brushing against her cheek, and it soon blaze agonizingly.The audible slap left everyone in the room stunned."What the…""Frank?"Winter was clutching her reddened cheek as she looked up, staring in disbelief at the man suddenly standing beside her.On the other hand, Frank's eyes were narrowed, and his growl was murderous. "How dare you hit my sister!""D-Did you just hit me?!"Cara was left clutching her bruised cheek which quickly swelled up, at a loss.Her lips trembled even as he looked up and glared at Frank. "H-How dare you! Who do you think you are?! I'm Governor Quill's daughter-in-law!""You're asking for it!"Even before anyone realized it, Frank slapped Cara across the face again with his backhand, hitting her so hard he knocked out several bloodied teeth.She dropped limply on the floor with a thud, stunned, and it took her considerable effort to come to her senses
"Mr. Lawrence…?"Alba's cheek stiffened as he pointed at Frank in disbelief. "He's Frank Lawrence? The one that Father mentioned? Aren't you mistaken?!""No, sir."The soldiers shook their heads repeatedly, leaving Alba's face falling.Still, as he glanced at Cara, who was still hollering nearby, his haughty expression soon returned as he snorted coldly. "No. I don't believe this, unless my father personally tells me he is."According to the family tree, Alba would be Frank's uncle.However, he had just exposed himself for knowing Frank but pretended not to at the gates.And now, he was basically turning a blind eye again, demanding Governor Quill to personally come and verify Frank's identity.Everyone there was well aware that Governor Quill only returned to Quill Manor once every year, and telling him to come was basically harassment.The bottomline was that Alba was simply refusing to acknowledge Frank.Meanwhile, Alba was still rambling coolly, "Would a member of the Qui
Seeing that there was no one else around, Jean calmly walked up to greet Frank. "I'm surprised… You've really kept your cards close to your chest!"She had been there with Winter when Frank was personally training her in traditional Draconian medicine, so she and Frank were quite close too. And while she was not as accomplished as Winter, she was a capable assistant to her."What's that supposed to mean?" Frank raised a brow, perplexed.Jean was glancing at Winter just then, rolling her eyes at her bestie who was smiling stupidly as she leaned into Frank's chest."I'm talking about your family connections, of course," she said with a snort. "I mean, Governor Quill's grandson? Tut, tut… You'd be strutting in Riverton if you had told everyone back then, and there certainly wouldn't be so many problems."Frank chuckled at her words, shaking his head. "I just found out myself, and…"He then paused, glancing coldly at the stairs where Cara fled. "I wouldn't stoop to taking up such tit
Winter's jaw could not close for a long while, as she had no idea what to say."F-Frank…?"As she came to her senses, she asked in agitation, "Are you really Governor Quill's grandson?!""Yeah." Frank nodded.However, Winter clearly did not notice the troubled look in his eyes and hung her head as she murmured to herself, "Great… I knew you were special and would succeed one day… And prove yourself…"Frank chuckled when he saw that Winter was more thrilled than he was.Patting her head, he reminded her, "Relying on family and connections isn't really succeeding, kiddo.""Then… what is?"Winter drew a blank but soon grinned in delight and shook her head repeatedly. "Doesn't matter now. No one would dare mess with you, Frank! You're Governor Quill's grandson, gosh…""Shush…"Seeing that Winter was more excited than he was, Frank put a finger on his lips before sighing. "Don't get too excited. I'm not going to announce it anyway.""What?"Both Jean and Winter were stunned by w
Jean simply shrugged at Winter's question. "I'm fine either way.""Actually… Let's not do that." Frank smiled, remembering Governor Quill's horrific presence just then.Given Winter's meek nature, she would faint at the sight of Governor Quill.In fact, it would be fine if she just fainted—Frank would have trouble forgiving himself if something worse were to happen, and Governor Quill would most probably feel the same too."Something like this… should be planned ahead," he said vaguely."Umph!"Just as Winter tilted her head aside in confusion, Megan Quill grunted audibly in pain, drawing the trio's attention.Jean scowled and muttered, "Guess Dr. Georg has just done his thing.""Yeah." Frank agreed."Urgh… How did things turn out like this?"Winter remained too kind for her own good, feeling concern for the patient despite being slapped for her troubles. "Frank, can't you do anything about the parasite?""I can," Frank replied without hesitation and recounted how Megan was