To top it off, there was an absurdly long line of people trailing behind her.Not this again...Lucy sighed internally. It was the third time this had happened, and she had only been back with her parents for less than two weeks! After the private council meeting, the ministers had showered her with gifts. Even Juliana had sent presents her way.Later that night, Arthur and Juliana had each sent more gifts."Velda, these are all the birthday presents from your mom and dad, from your first birthday to now."Juliana herself had said it. Lucy, who had never before received a birthday gift from her family, was overjoyed to accept the gifts.Imagine her shock when she found out her first birthday present was a pure platinum necklace, centered with a pink diamond as big as a pigeon's egg.Her second birthday present was an emerald stone of immeasurable value, the third a painting by a world-renowned artist, and the fourth a Barbie doll as tall as a child. It was decked out in a diamon
Matthew was ready to politely decline for Lucy, but she responded to the maid with a warm smile, "I got it. Tell my sister I'll be right there."Lucy knew her parents' greatest wish was for her to bond with Charlotte as true sisters.With her parents treating her so kindly, refusing an invitation from Charlotte herself just did not seem right."Of course, Second Princess."The maid nodded and backed out of the room, leaving Matthew to eye Lucy with a hint of disapproval. "Lucy, why on earth did you say yes? What if Charlotte's planning something sinister in her own quarters?"Matthew's concern creased his forehead. He was not one to cry wolf without reason. He had a habit of expecting the worst in people.Lucy shook her head, a gentle smile on her face. "Oh, Matthew, you're worrying too much. We're in the royal palace, for heaven's sake. Charlotte wouldn't dare tarnish her image with our folks watching."And let's be honest, we're only guessing her intentions. She invited me for
Lucy entered Charlotte’s room with a smile.Charlotte immediately suppressed all her emotions and greeted Lucy with a smile, “I didn’t wait long. You came at just the right time, Lucy. Please, have a seat. The refreshments the helpers prepared today are delicious.”Charlotte gestured for Lucy to sit down, and without dilly-dallying, Lucy naturally took a seat.“You didn’t just invite me over for tea, right? You must have something you want to discuss with me,” Lucy said straightforwardly as she sat down, cutting to the chase about why Charlotte summoned her.Charlotte stared deep into her eyes before smiling all of a sudden. “You’re quite clever, Lucy. I wanted to invite you to accompany me out of the palace for some shopping.”Shopping?Charlotte wanted to take her shopping?Lucy looked at Charlotte with confusion, so she hurriedly explained, “Whenever I leave the palace, I have to be accompanied by many guards and helpers. I find it so annoying, so I always secretly sneak out.
Charlotte even thought that once she was done with Lucy, she would look for Cillian and get together with him, but that was beside the point… Once Matthew entered the room, Lucy felt like her savior was here. With a smile, she stood up and walked to Matthew’s side. She wrapped her arm around his. “Matt, you came at the right time. My sister was just inviting me to leave the palace to do some shopping.”She briefly explained the situation to Matthew, who nodded understandingly and smiled. “I see. Would you like to go, wifey?”“Since my sister invited me, of course, I want to go with her. But carrying bags while shopping is such a hassle…“Charlotte, why don’t we let Matthew come with us? If we’re sneaking out, no one will carry our bags for us. We can let Matt do all the labor.“Matt, would you be willing to be our laborer for the day?”After saying that, Lucy immediately turned to Matthew. He chuckled lightly and replied, “It would be an honor to be my wife’s laborer. "Besid
"Let’s go to Nubis Mall. That’s where I usually go to shop. They have many exciting things there.”Charlotte mentioned the place she had agreed upon with Alice’s people.Matthew turned on the navigation system and headed toward Nubis Mall. The journey there was smooth, so they arrived quickly.The mall was indeed bustling. The ground floor was lined with colorful shops, each adorned with beautiful flowers.All the quaint shops sold a variety of couture, many of which were exported abroad and were highly sought after.The second floor housed luxury boutiques, dessert shops, an amusement park, and bars.It was a one-stop shop for all kinds of entertainment.Although Lucy had concerns on her mind, she could not help but feel relaxed upon seeing the vibrant scenery.She happily wandered from place to place, while Matthew and Charlotte struggled to keep up as they followed her around the mall.“Charlotte, Matthew, look at this! It’s a talking rabbit! That’s so funny!”Lucy held up
Charlotte insisted on dragging Lucy upstairs with her.Despite her reluctance, Lucy could not refuse, so she simply followed her upstairs.As a man, it was not appropriate for Matthew to go up with them.Not to mention, the decor of the store… Well, it was a store that sold lingerie, so it made Matthew uncomfortable to look around.Matthew rubbed his eyes and thought that Kent should have arrived by now, so he called him.“Have you arrived? How many men did you bring with you?”Kent sounded a little lost, but he responded promptly, “Yes, sir. I brought everyone from Charleston along with me. We’re outside the store right now, but what exactly are we supposed to do?”In fact, they had arrived a long time ago. However, without instructions from Matthew, they had no idea what they were supposed to do. All they could do was silently follow Matthew to ensure their safety.Other than that, Kent noticed that Matthew was shopping with his wife! It turned out that his wife did not die,
The man jumped onto the terrace and used it to leap down to the ground. Upon landing, he found himself face-to-face with Kent and the rest of Matthew's men.They exchanged looks. With the man being the first to realize what was going on, he turned around immediately to flee.Damn it. He did not think that anyone was downstairs. Now that he had been spotted, he had to leave quickly.Otherwise, it would be disastrous if he attracted the attention of the royal guards of Charleston. The man ran as fast as he could.Looking at the person on his shoulder, Kent was shocked. Although he could not see the person’s face clearly, he had followed Matthew and Lucy closely enough earlier to realize who that was.Was that not Mrs. Leon? Without further thought, Kent ordered, “Quick, stop him! Don’t let him take Mrs. Leon with him!”The men immediately chased after the sinister man who was carrying Lucy through the back alleys.The men Kent brought were all elite bodyguards. They were highly sk
Jumping out of the window would only take two minutes tops, and Matthew was agile enough to do it without a problem.Just as he jumped, the staff member happened to witness the scene. She screamed.Was that man insane? How could he jump off the building?She thought that Matthew was committing suicide, so she frantically ran to the window and looked down, only to see Matthew unharmed.After feeling momentarily relieved, she realized something was wrong. Was this man trying to escape? She could not let that happen.Only when she was about to hurry downstairs did she discover Charlotte lying on the ground.By the time Matthew caught up with the sinister man, the man was already in a sorry state. He was struggling to fend off the bodyguards.However, he still held onto Lucy, showing no intention of letting her go.Concerned about Lucy’s safety, the bodyguards were unable to effectively intervene, which helped the sinister man hold his own against them.Now, Matthew had caught up