Ch. 1661..1670
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1661
“Y-You...” Lucy had gone blue in the face from anger.
No one had expected the seventeen-year-old Vivian to make such a compelling argument in public.
The audience and reporters watched their exchange with rapt attention.
It was difficult to reconcile those bold arguments with the dainty and rather childish-looking Vivian.
Elysium falls under his jurisdiction. Such dominance and bravery! Who is this girl?
Everyone snapped away at Vivian with their phones and cameras.
Kurt quietly observed the scene from a distance away.
He only approached them after Lucy ranted and began strong-arming the Elysians into leaving.
“Prince Kurt?” Horror filled Lucy's face upon his sudden appearance in the center of the crowd.
The Elysians fell to their knees and gave him a royal welcome.
The prince's cool gaze roved over his surroundings. He did not pause in his perusal, not even when his eyes swept past a stunned Vivian.
His gaze eventually landed on his attendant, and he demanded, “What are you doing?”
Lucy stammered, “P-Prince Kurt, this lady fooled t-these people into joining this show. I believed she broke the laws of Elysium, and I was just about to bring her back to face the royals' judgment.”
She had twisted Vivian's kind intentions into a scam, but the Elysians were too frightened to deny her false claims.
Riley, who had walked nearer to the commotion, noticed that Vivian was dumbstruck by Kurt's appearance. The poor girl was rendered speechless.
Exasperated, Riley came forward and said, “Hello, are you the Prince of Elysium? I'm one of the official organizers for this event. My name is Riley Cooper. Please allow me to explain the situation to you. It is nothing like what your attendant has described.”
Riley addressed him as a prince, seeing as he was no longer just a boy taken in by the Jadesons.
Kurt, wearing a gold headpiece exclusive to Elysium royals, mulled over her words. He arched his brow before shooting Riley a cold stare.
“Go ahead.”
Elated, she immediately arranged for staff to escort him to their temporary office while dragging an absentminded Vivian along.
“Vivian, don't you want to speak with him? Here's your chance! You can talk to him alone.”
Ah, Riley did this on purpose! She wanted to give me a chance to talk to Kurt alone and hopefully jog his memories.
Vivian was dazed.
By the time she collected herself, she felt as though her heart had leaped into her throat. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth in indecision.
Eventually, Vivian mustered the courage to enter the temporary office.
Kurt stood with his back against her. He looked as tall and as strong as ever, reminding Vivian of their first encounter in Yartran. However, he now wore the attire of the Elysium tribe instead of his beloved navy guard's uniform. The long silk robe embroidered with gold thread and a jewel-encrusted belt made him look like a completely different person, and he now exuded a natural air of nobility.
Vivian stood quietly behind him. She could not help but think she was looking at a stranger. Her beautiful black eyes appeared wistful.
Tears pricked her eyes.
“It's you.”
Kurt had turned around then, and his brows scrunched in confusion.
Vivian's heart sank at his expression.
He never used to treat me like this.
“D-Do you really not remember me?” Still hopeful, she stubbornly believed that he could regain his old memories.
Her question deepened Kurt's frown.
“Should I remember you? Did you call me here to ask me this?” His gaze cooled by several degrees. Anger and impatience colored his tone.
Vivian was speechless.
She failed to prevent tears of disappointment from streaming down her face.
Nevertheless, Vivian admirably suppressed her dismay as she declared, “N-No. I didn't come here to tell you these. I just wanted to explain what happened earlier. I merely wanted to use this opportunity to bring a better life to the people of Elysium.”
Vivian wiped away her tears and got down to business. She took out several design blueprints from her satchel. These had been modeled by the Elysians earlier.
Then, she handed them to Kurt, and the latter froze in shock.
He looked from her teary eyes to the design blueprints she had placed in his hands. He did not move or speak for a long time.
Vivian confused his silence for mistrust, and she sniffled before rummaging around her satchel.
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Clang! Unexpectedly, something dropped out of her bag while she was doing that.
Kurt looked down when he heard the crisp sound that rang out as the object landed on the ground.
When he saw that it was a dagger with colorful patterns on its sheath, the young man's expression changed at once.
“You...”
“No, it's not what you think. I didn't steal this. You gave it to me yourself.”
Vivian noticed the object on the floor as well.
She picked it up in a fluster and hugged it close to her chest as if she was worried that Kurt would take it back from her.
Since he was no longer by her side, she did not want to lose the only item which he had given her as well.
However, after Kurt saw the dagger, his expression darkened and he stared at it intensely. Seeing the look on his face, Vivian got increasingly worried that he would snatch it back from her.
What is he thinking about?
Is he going to change his mind?
Is he going to take it back now that he no longer remembers anything?
Vivian tightened her grip on the dagger, finally bursting into tears.
“You... Are you thinking of taking it back? Since it was a gift from your mom, you would want to have it back, right?”
However, Kurt did not reply her.
Instead, he continued staring at the dagger, his eyes filled with pain, shock, and sorrow.
When Vivian saw the look on the man's face, she felt as if her heart had just been stabbed.
She suddenly remembered that he had not managed to find his mom and sister yet. Since that was the case, the dagger must have meant a lot to him.
At that thought, all color drained out of her face at once.
In the end, the kind-hearted Vivian stepped toward Kurt and handed him the dagger, together with the draft.
“Don't be sad. Here, I will return it to you,” she said, passing the items to him.
She would do anything to make him feel better.
Kurt looked up at Vivian. When he saw her eyes that were brimming with tears, he felt as if he was stabbed in the heart by a knife.
He felt utterly defeated and could hardly keep up with his pretense any longer.
Why is she so silly!
In the end, Kurt never figured out how Vivian had managed to leave the place. All he knew was that when he finally came back to his senses, the two items were already placed next to his bed.
At the same time, he noticed that Lucy was now inside the room, kneeling next to him.
“Prince Kurt, please don't be fooled by them. As you know, we have a rule in Elysium that doesn't allow us to have excessive communication with outsiders. The rule was set by the king, and if he finds out that you're working with those people, he won't let you off.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Kurt finally spoke, with a hint of defiance and hostility in his voice.
“If that's the case, I will keep doing that. You can report it to him. I'm interested to know what he would do to me,” After the young man finished speaking, he took the two items with him and walked out of the room while Lucy remained kneeling on the floor.
Even after Kurt disappeared from her sight, she continued staring at the door with resentment written all over her face.
Vivian Wand, why can't you just leave him alone!
After Vivian returned to Cooper residence, she locked herself in her room for the entire day. Sounds of crying could be heard coming from her room upstairs intermittently.
Riley could feel her heart aching for the girl when she heard that.
A representative from the Cultural Affairs Bureau visited the house in the evening and informed Riley that the Elysium-themed fashion show that Vivian had organized was a hit on the internet. Because of that, the bureau had received numerous inquiries from global fashion companies that are interested in collaborating with the tribe.
“Have you guys contacted Elysium? Are they OK with that?” Riley asked.
“We have already checked with them. The prince of Elysium has agreed to it and even offered to make a trip here to sign the agreements with the merchants if needed,” the bureau representative said, smiling from ear to ear.
Oh my God! The prince is coming here personally to sign the agreements!
Even though Riley was excited about that, she could not help but worry at the same time.
That night, the Cultural Affairs Bureau handed the written reply from Elysium over to Riley. She opened the letter and saw that there was something else in the envelope—a dagger with colorful patterns on its sheath.
“This is?”
“This is a token given by the prince of Elysium. We just need to take this with us and show it to them when we visit the place next time. Oh, the director of the bureau also wanted to ask if Princess Vivian could help us complete our first business deal. Since it was her idea, it would be ideal if she could act as the intermediary for the merchants and Elysium,” the representative explained.
It would be a tricky situation for the bureau to handle the matter directly, especially since doing business was not their forte in the first place. Moreover, it did not seem like a good idea for those international merchants to liaise with a backward tribe on their own.
As such, it seemed like Vivian, who had been studying abroad, was the best candidate to assist in the matter.
Riley agreed that it was a good suggestion as well and headed upstairs to speak to Vivian with the letter in hand.
“Vivian, open the door. There's a letter from Kurt.”
“What?”
As expected, just hearing the name “Kurt” was enough to get the girl, who had locked herself in the room crying the entire afternoon, to open the door.
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1663
Riley immediately handed the envelope to Vivian and said with a look of admiration in her eyes, “Look, the Elysium-themed fashion show you organized today has caused quite a stir overseas. It seems like this might be the beginning of the development of Elysium! Vivian, you're so capable!”
Riley was full of praise for the girl.
When Vivian heard the woman's words, she looked down shyly, her eyes still swollen from all the crying.
Taking over the envelope, Vivian said in astonishment, “This is...”
She took out the dagger with trembling hands.
Riley looked at the girl with a smile and explained, “This is from Kurt. As the next ruler of Elysium, he had written this letter to express his willingness to collaborate with our government. He has also sent this token that we are supposed to bring along with us whenever we visit the tribe with the merchants.”
Without a need for further elaboration, it was implied that that meant they could visit Elysium anytime they wished, as long as they had the dagger with them. Since Vivian was the reason that such a good opportunity was presented to them, it was obvious that she should be in charge of it.
After hearing what Riley said, Vivian's chest heaved as she experienced a roller coaster of emotions.
However, Riley was taken aback when the girl rejected the offer after a while.
“That sounds good. You guys should make the necessary arrangements quickly and send someone over then.”
“What?” Riley looked at Vivian, stunned.
“That's not it. Vivian, I was hoping that you could take charge of this matter and go to Elysium yourself. Isn't this the perfect opportunity for you? Don't you want to see him badly? This will allow you to visit Elysium whenever you wish. You can even enter the place freely—”
“I'm not going there anymore.”
Riley was interrupted by Vivian before she finished speaking.
Vivian downcast her eyes and returned the dagger to Riley before a layer of mist formed in her red and swollen eyes again.
“Since he doesn't want to see me, why should I go and upset him? Aunt Riley, I've already booked my air ticket to Yartran. I intend to return to school and continue my studies. Regarding this matter, you should make other arrangements instead.”
After saying that, Vivian made to close the door with a sorrowful expression on her face.
Riley panicked when she saw that and grabbed the girl's arm at once. Trying to persuade her, she said, “Vivian, you should calm down first. I know you're very upset right now, but think about it, the only reason Kurt's behaving this way is because he was fed the worms. That's not who he really is!”
“What?”
Vivian was momentarily stunned.
Riley nodded and replied, “You heard me. Haven't that occurred to you? You've also told me before about his resentment toward his tribe. Think about it, why would he willingly stay knowing that his mom, sister, aunt, brothers, and grandparents were all harmed by the king of Elysium? In order to keep him around, the Elysians must have found a way to control him. Vivian, his life is already hard enough. If you give up on him as well, he would be utterly miserable.”
She could feel herself choking up as she analyzed the situation for Vivian.
That was indeed how the situation seemed to her.
Riley figured that the reason why Vivian had not realized the truth of the situation was due to her young age. After all, some things came with experience.
Moreover, Kurt might have hurt her too deeply, causing her to focus on her pain so much that she was unable to assess the situation objectively.
Riley fixed her gaze on Vivian and continued, “Vivian, we can't do this to him. If he recovers one day and finds out that all his friends have left him, that even you, the most precious person to him, had abandoned him... how tragic would that be?”
Hearing that, Vivian gave up struggling. She stood by the door and looked at the older woman in a daze before bursting out in tears.
“Aunt Riley, I... I don't want to leave him either. But it makes me so sad that he is so cold toward me. He also seems to detest me so much now.”
“I understand. But Vivian, you need to remember that that's not how he really feels. Just think about those times when he was still the old Kurt. You should know how well he had treated you back then. I heard from Matteo that you were more important to Kurt than his own life! You know that right, Vivian?” Riley said gently to the girl.
At that reminder, Vivian stood rooted to the ground, feeling a deep ache in her heart as those images from the past flashed across her mind.
In the end, she bit her lips and kept quiet.
She could not believe that she had almost forgotten how Kurt had always protected her at the expense of his life. How could I leave him at a time when he needed me most?
With that thought in mind, Vivian finally agreed.
Two days later, Vivian had a meeting with the overseas merchants at the Cultural Affairs Bureau with Riley accompanying her. After the meeting, arrangements were made to send them to Elysium.
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“Vivian, we're counting on you this time!”
“That's right. Princess Vivian, if we manage to strike a deal with Elysium, you will not only be the tribe's benefactor, but you will also be making a huge contribution to Yorksland. When that happens, we will definitely get the Ministry of Commerce to commend you.”
“Umm...”
Vivian blushed when she heard that as no one had ever complimented her that way before.
To her, she was just doing what she was supposed to do.
Leading the group consisting of a dozen of overseas merchants, Vivian, who had already settled her emotions, set off for the mysterious tribe that had remained largely unknown to the outside world.
“Ms. Hayes, we heard that the fashion show was your idea. Is that true?”
As the journey would take quite a while, boredom arose and the merchants started chatting in the vehicle halfway to their destination.
When Vivian, who was in the front seat, heard the question being directed to her, she turned around at once and replied, “Yes, that's right.”
“Wow, that's really impressive. By the way, Ms. Hayes, you're really fluent in foreign languages. Are you local?”
“Exactly! That fashion show was really interesting and the visuals were stunning. I love the way it was designed as well. Ms. Hayes, did you major in fashion in school?”
There were a few merchants within the group who were more familiar with the industry, and it was obvious to them that the fashion show was definitely not the work of an amateur.
Vivian shook her head and replied, “I'm not local. I'm just here to visit some relatives. Regarding my course of study, I'm a student of the Royal Academy in Yartran, majoring in fashion and jewelry design. Currently, I'm also the exclusive designer of Princess Odette.”
“Oh my God!”
Everyone was dumbstruck when they heard that, letting out gasps of astonishment.
After learning that fact, the merchants finally understood why the fashion show was presented in such a unique and refreshing manner. It turned out that it was planned and executed by a student of the world-famous art academy, who was also the exclusive designer for the royal family of Yartran.
That greatly increased the merchants' trust in Vivian. Because of that, they had also decided to give the girl full autonomy in the design of the upcoming products of their collaboration.
After some time, the group finally arrived at Elysium.
“Vivian, you're here!”
When they arrived at the destination, Matteo was the first to welcome them.
Vivian was delighted to hear her brother's voice when she got out of the car.
However, the light in her eyes dimmed shortly after when she scanned her surroundings and noticed that Kurt was not among the Elysians who had gathered to welcome them, despite the fact that there were some royal representatives present.
“Princess Vivian, our king and Prince Kurt are waiting for you at the palace. We are very grateful to you for introducing such esteemed overseas guests to us. Please allow me to lead the way to the palace.”
The representative sent by the Elysium royalty was the palace chief who had served the king for many years.
When he saw Vivian and the dozen of overseas merchants, he greeted them enthusiastically and invited them back to the palace, informing them that a banquet had already been prepared to welcome them.
As such, Vivian and the merchants followed the palace chief back to the palace.
As for Matteo, since he was temporarily in charge of the tribe's security matters, he went with Vivian and the overseas guests.
“Don't worry, in order to ensure that the business deal will be carried out smoothly, I've made special arrangements to keep the troublemakers out of the way,” he said.
“Huh?” Vivian was confused.
“Oh, by the way, don't be scared when you're in the palace later. Even though that stubborn king was quite against this collaboration with the overseas merchants at first, that rascal somehow managed to convince him. He seems to be quite cooperative now,” Matteo told his sister.
Vivian heaved a sigh of relief after hearing that.
Indeed, that was her biggest worry. In fact, the current king was the reason Elysium had been isolated from the rest of the world.
As such, Vivian was rather concerned that there might be a chance that the obstinate king would change his mind upon the arrival of the overseas merchants.
Matteo's words had given her the assurance she needed.
At the same time, Vivian's thoughts drifted to Kurt again.
When the group of them arrived at the lake near the palace, they saw the royal honor guards who were in charge of receiving guests. They also noticed that trees on both sides of the lake had been decorated with colorful ribbons and feathers.
“What are these?”
“This is the tribe's way of welcoming guests. It's a royal treatment that's only reserved for their most distinguished guests. The feathers attached to the trees are from extremely rare birds and beasts in the region. And those ribbons are hand-sewn by the people of the tribe.”
After accepting the task, Vivian had spent two days scouring the internet for information about the tribe and its entire history.
As such, she had no problem answering the questions posed by the merchants.
After listening to her explanation and knowing that they were being accorded the royal treatment, the overseas guests were delighted. They had wide smiles on their faces all the way until they were escorted into the palace by the honor guards.
It was the same for Vivian, who had a jovial expression on her face until she finally saw the young man who was awaiting their arrival in the palace.
Kurt...
She called out to him silently in her heart.
However, she noticed that Kurt still had a frosty expression on his face, and he did not even look at her.
After sweeping a glance at the overseas merchants, Kurt turned his gaze toward his father, the current king of Elysium.
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“They are the overseas merchants I told you about. There are a dozen of them. If we manage to strike a successful deal with them, people will start buying Elysium's products,” Kurt explained to his father in a rather gentle tone.
In contrast, however, the king appeared to be quite indifferent.
In fact, upon careful observation, Vivian noticed that the king had an impatient look on his face. He even appeared to be slightly averse to the presence of the group of them.
“Ms. Hayes, are these two the leaders of the tribe?”
“Yes, the younger one is the prince of Elysium. He's also the main person in charge of this collaboration,” Vivian quickly explained to the merchant, snapping out of her daze.
The overseas guests had a look of realization on their faces after hearing her words and waited patiently for the instructions for the next steps from their two hosts.
“Lucy, help them settle into their seats and inform the kitchen to serve the dishes. Make sure to take good care of them.”
Kurt's cold voice rang out in the hall. Soon after, a young lady who was dressed in a blue cloth costume and wearing numerous silver accessories appeared.
“Yes, Prince Kurt,” the young lady lowered her head and answered with a respectful bow.
After that, she turned around and left the hall.
The gaze of the overseas merchants lingered on the woman until she disappeared out of sight, her accessories tinkling as she walked past them.
They were unable to take their eyes off those sterling silver accessories that she had on her as they had never seen such jewelry before.
“That was stunning. I'm going to reserve it later.”
“Me too! The design is so unique.”
“Her clothes are pretty as well. Did you guys notice the material of the cloth? I wonder what dye they used that gave it its pure color.”
The merchants started to discuss among themselves.
The king and the various chiefs, who were specially called to the palace that day to help entertain the guests, could feel their anger building when they noticed the behavior of the merchants, thinking that they were interested in Lucy.
“Your Majesty, see that? I was right when I told you that they are not good people. I mean, look at the way they're staring at our women.”
“That's right! Did you see that lecherous expression of his?”
“What are we waiting for? We should chase them out right now!”
Some of them urged the king, exploding in anger.
Noticing that the king was going to be swayed by his subordinates' comments and about to lose his temper, Kurt, who was seated next to him, let out a cold snort with a scornful smile appearing on his face.
“Do you understand what they are talking about? Given how fancy the outside world is, do you really think the merchants would be interested in an attendant? They are just interested in the jewelry and costume Lucy was wearing and was talking about making orders for them,” Kurt commented sharply in a mocking tone.
Upon hearing the young man's words, the chiefs felt as if they had been slapped in the face, and their faces turned bright red with embarrassment instantly.
Even the king had an awkward expression on his face.
Meanwhile, Vivian had been quietly observing the interactions between those men at a distance.
Even though she was not able to figure out what they were talking about, she could tell from their expressions that it wasn't something pleasant. As such, she could not help but worry about the situation. That was, until the young man spoke.
“Our distinguished guests, since you must be tired from traveling, please get some rest after the meal. After that, we will give you a tour of our tribe and introduce the goods we have to you. How does that sound?”
The palace chief and Lucy appeared once again and quickly showed the overseas guests to their seats with Vivian following behind.
However, just when she was about to get seated, Lucy stopped her.
“Ms. Hayes, your seat is over there. As those are foreign merchants, our king would like to interact more with them during the banquet. As such, we have reserved the seats at the front of the hall for them.”
She pointed to the seat right at the end of the hall.
Vivian took a look at her allocated seat. Actually, she was not that particular about where she was seated. Previously, she was worried about the potential difficulty in communication between the Elysians and the overseas merchants due to their language barrier. However, since the palace chief was well-versed in foreign languages, her worries were put to rest.
Without asking any questions, Vivian headed over to her seat. However, what she did not notice was that the expressions of the two men on the throne had darkened the instant she sat down.
The atmosphere was so unsettling that it sent chills down one spine.
Vivian started gobbling down her food, savoring the tribe's specialties, not paying attention at all to the conversations between the overseas merchants, the chiefs, and the king.
Suddenly, slices of bloodied raw meat were served.
“Everyone, this dish consists of raw venison meat from deer around the River of Styx. It's a local delicacy of Elysium. The River of Styx is one of the few remaining rivers with a high salt concentration containing extremely rare metals and minerals that also gave the river its black color. Those deer grew up drinking water from the river. As such, their meat is extremely tasty and nutritious. All of you should give it a try!” the palace chief explained when he saw the signature dish of the tribe being served.
It was indeed a delicacy that even the royals did not get to eat regularly due to the rarity of such deer.
The eyes of the merchants lit up when they heard that and started digging in, completely ignoring the blood on the meat.
“Wow, this is yummy!”
“D*mn right it is! This is definitely one of the nicest food I've ever tasted!”
While everyone was busy enjoying the delicacy, no one noticed that Vivian, who was seated at the back of the hall, had already turned pale. Beads of cold sweat dotted her forehead as she stared at the plate of bloodied raw meat.
She was simply unable to look at it and have the dish in front of her any longer.
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“Who told you to serve this? Not everyone can consume raw meat! Take it away!”
A furious voice belonging to the young man boomed from the throne, causing everyone in the large hall to jump in fright.
He was now glaring at the plate of raw meat, his beautiful face looking especially somber.
Lucy was dumbstruck.
She quickly turned to the king, only to notice that he was also staring at his son in puzzlement.
“Kaiden, wouldn't it be nice for them to give this a try?”
“We're dealing with foreigners and businessmen, Father. What if they start hunting our deer after tasting them? We can trade silver and textiles, but the deer belong to the wild. If we refuse to trade these animals with them, they'll resort to hunting,” the young man remarked coldly.
Realization dawned on the king as he heard that.
He, too, turned grim and roared at Lucy, who was kneeling on the ground. “You insolent! Who told you to serve this? What are you waiting for? Take it away!”
“But-”
“You dare defy my orders? Men! Get her out of my sight! Make her remember her place!”
The king immediately ordered for the woman to be whipped as her punishment.
While everyone in the hall watched her being dragged away, the foreign businessmen appeared visibly confused.
Vivian was no different, but she quickly returned to her senses and felt relieved as someone came up to remove the bloody dish from the table.
The feast lasted for over an hour.
When it was over, everyone got ready to view the products.
“Well, now that we're done with our meals, allow me to introduce you to our products,” the chief announced.
“Please do,” the businessmen responded.
Vivian, who had just finished her food, quickly followed them.
The group exited the court and headed toward a few tribe members' houses where the products were being exhibited.
She walked along with the businessmen while introducing each product to them in French.
“Have a look, Mr. Will. Everything here is purely handmade, and this is what they used to dye the goods. It's called woad, scientifically known as isatis tinctoria.”
The young girl had such an eloquent demeanor—unlike when she was busy stuffing her face back in the hall.
The businessmen appeared satisfied and now had a grown interest in the tribe members' goods.
“What a remarkable young lady, I must say,” the chief commented. “She knows so much for her age. Elysium will benefit greatly if this event turns out to be a success, Your Majesty.”
“Indeed.”
The king finally appeared pleased as he nodded.
Just as he was preparing to head to the following house, he noticed his son next to him staring right at Vivian.
The young man's eyes had always been cold and unapproachable, but for some reason, there was now a slight hint of gentleness in them as though a ray of light was slowly melting an iceberg.
The king said nothing.
“Let's go, Prince Kurt,” said the chief as he noticed the prince spacing out.
Kurt snapped back to reality and retracted his gaze. By the time he turned to leave, his eyes had regained their usual frostiness.
Noticing that, the king stared at the young man's back with a profound expression.
“When is his birthday?”
“Hmm?” The chief hastily turned to look at the king. “Are you referring to Prince Kurt, Your Majesty?”
“Yes.”
“Very soon. On the eighth, to be exact. You've mentioned wanting to have him select the candidates for his royal concubine, Your Majesty, so I've already informed a few of those families,” the chief explained thoroughly.
Turning sixteen was a huge deal in Elysium.
Here, the age of sixteen signified adulthood and members of the royal family would immediately begin wedding preparations for the princesses.
Of course, the princes were no exception.
In fact, it was all the more important. That was why the royal court had long prepared for the arrival of their future ruler. Not only were they going to hold his coming of age ceremony on a grand scale, but they also intended to provide him with an extraordinary selection of royal concubines.
Lucy was one of the candidates.
The king nodded approvingly.
The group continued to walk ahead. The next house they were going to involve silver ornaments. As Vivian had little knowledge in this area, she let the chief do the explaining while she admired the products alongside the businessmen.
“Do you like them, young lady?”
The tribe members approached her enthusiastically, assuming she was also a foreigner because of her attire and the group she had arrived with.
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Vivian didn't understand.
However, she had been captivated by some tiny bell ornaments laying among the other jewelry.
“How much is this?” she asked while gesturing with her hands.
“Very cheap! One for ten of these.”
Elysians were simple and honest people. One of them smiled bashfully and raised his index finger at Vivian.
Oh? One hundred per piece?
Beaming, she grabbed a handful of silver beads as her other hand rummaged through her little purse. She then took out a large currency and handed it over.
The Elysian man was speechless.
“Why? Is it not enough?” asked Vivian.
Having grown up in such a comfortable environment, the young girl clearly had no concept of money.
Even while studying abroad in Yartran, everything she bought would cost hundreds.
Thankfully, a royal guard hurried over to clarify the situation.
“These items don't cost that much, Princess. He meant that it's one for ten of these beads, not a hundred for each one.”
“Huh?”
It was Vivian's turn to be taken aback.
Then, her face instantly flushed as she kept the money and began to search her purse for some smaller change.
“Mr. Guard, I don't have any small change. What should I do?”
The guard was stunned by her sweet voice.
On top of that, she even addressed him so affectionately.
Feeling the heat in his ears, the man quickly handed a small sum of money to the tribe member and left in a hurry, afraid that he would suffer the same fate as Lucy if he were to remain here any longer.
After getting her beads, Vivian noticed the foreigners were now in the midst of business negotiations with the tribe members.
Thus, she found a place to sit before taking out the beads and some thread.
Look at how pretty these tiny bells are! I'm going to turn them into bracelets and give them to my friends.
“This is for Sonia. This one's for Mona. Hmm... And this one—”
“Hmm? What are you mumbling about, Miss?”
While Vivian sat alone on a stone slab making her bracelets and muttering her friends' names, a little girl seemingly younger than her suddenly appeared from behind.
With a pair of twinkling eyes, she watched in amazement as Vivian swiftly turned a handful of beads into a gorgeous-looking bracelet.
Where did this pretty little girl come from? She looks adorable!
Speechless by her facial features, Vivian couldn't stop staring at the child.
“Who are you?”
“I'm Nina! I came over from there. That's a really nice bracelet you have there, Miss. Can I have one too?”
The child appeared to be seven or eight and spoke eloquently.
However, what surprised Vivian most was the fact that she spoke fluent Chanaean. I can understand what she's saying!
“Sure, but how are you able to speak my language?”
“My uncle taught me.”
“Your uncle? He can speak Chanaean too? Who is he?”
“Uh...” The child fell into silence.
So did Vivian.
Forget it. I mean, she's probably only eight.
Thinking that, she began to make another bracelet. When she was done, Vivian held it up and looped it around the girl's hand.
“Do you like it?”
“I do!”
The child grinned with delight.
Vivian thought she would leave right away, but the latter knelt beside her and grabbed her hand when no one else was paying attention to them.
“Come on. Let's go eat something yummy.”
“Huh?”
Vivian was astonished.
In just a couple of minutes, the two girls disappeared into the unknown while the adults carried on with negotiations.
It was only when they were about to discuss some contract and deposit-related matters—something even the chief didn't understand—that they realized Vivian had gone missing.
“That's weird. Where did Ms. Hayes go?”
“You're right. Wasn't she just here a while ago? Where is she?”
“What are you waiting for? Find her at once!”
As soon as someone fumed, the entire entourage broke out in a cold sweat and began searching for Vivian.
To their surprise, they found her squatting beside a little girl under a family's roof as she munched on a large roasted chicken drumstick.
“Is it yummy?” asked Nina.
“Yeah, it is. But are you sure it's okay for us to steal someone else's chicken? Should we leave them some money?”
Despite enjoying the chicken drumstick, Vivian still felt guilty and was about to take some money out of her purse.
The little girl refused. “Oh, don't you worry about that! A chicken doesn't even cost that much. We can just pluck some wild fruits from the mountains in return.”
Wild fruits?
Are fruits worth more than a chicken?
The crowd watched in shock as the naïve young woman fell for the words of a child who was practically ten years younger than her.
Who knew how many more lies she would believe if they hadn't shown up in time?
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1668
“What are you doing, Nina? Who told you to teach her such things?” A frantic Kurt lost his temper upon seeing them and yelled at the little girl.
That caught Nina's attention.
“Kurt?”
Her face turned pale as she dropped her chicken drumstick on the ground. Thud!
Vivian was at a loss for words.
Kurt is her brother?
She followed the little girl's gaze, only to stumble upon Kurt's charming yet gloomy face.
Thud!
She stopped her chicken drumstick too.
Oh no.
A few minutes later, Nina was taken back to the palace by a few royal guards.
Meanwhile, Vivian, whose hands were still full of grease, remained standing before everyone else. She was so embarrassed that she wanted to crawl into a hole.
“Uh...”
“Did you not have enough to eat during the feast, Princess Vivian?” The chief interrupted her before she could explain anything. “Why did you still do such a thing with Princess Nina?”
Vivian didn't know what else to say.
She glanced at a furious-looking Kurt. Her lips twitched slightly before she finally decided to speak to him. “Was that your sister? So, you've rescued them?” She felt happy for him.
Yet, Kurt scoffed in response.
“Did you do that on purpose, Princess? Did you come over knowing she'd be here? What are you up to? Were you trying to get close to Nina just so you could continue to stick around and bother me?”
From those words, an initially sheepish Vivian turned to him sharply as though something had just triggered her. Now, she was filled with disbelief, anger, and humiliation.
Bother him? Did he really just say that?
Her eyes slowly reddened.
She then took out the bracelet she had made for him, flung it to the ground, and ran off.
What a meanie! I'm never going to forgive him!
Her actions weren't too surprising. Her parents had doted on her ever since she was born. How could she ever tolerate such humiliation?
She was their rarest gem, the most precious flower in the world.
The thought of her being a nuisance was too much for her to handle.
Vivian stayed away from that day on.
Back in the royal court, the king had returned and was in the midst of a discussion about Kurt's future empress with a trusted aide. Just as he was considering adding Vivian to the list of candidates, he stopped writing upon hearing what had happened.
“You're saying Kaiden humiliated her?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. She was found causing some trouble with Princess Nina. They stole someone's chicken and ate it. Prince Kurt was livid and chased her away after he reprimanded her harshly on the spot,” an officer reported.
“In that case, Your Majesty, perhaps we would be better off not including her,” the aide suggested. “We brought this matter up so suddenly that we don't even know if the Jadesons will approve, but now that even Prince Kurt doesn't like her, I suppose we really shouldn't consider her anymore.”
The king fell silent for a moment.
Alas, he put his pen down regrettably.
He truly wanted this marriage to happen. These are the Jadesons we're talking about, a family with a population of over ten thousand in the country! How advantageous it would be for Elysium to join them through marriage!
They're practically royalty.
After the foreign businessmen had left happily, the chief returned only to find that Kurt hadn't come out ever since returning to Agarwood Pavilion.
Even Nina had returned after being punished, although she was kept downstairs. For the entire night, a depressing atmosphere surrounded Agarwood Pavilion. It was as though the whole place was shrouded by a thick, dark fog.
Lucy also came over in the middle of the night.
Standing at the foot of the stairs, she noticed there was not a single sound or any lights from above. However, she detected a pungent stench of blood, causing her expression to turn harrow.
The woman immediately climbed up one of the towers.
The closer she was to that room, the stronger the scent, and the more panic-stricken she became.
After dashing over, she barged right into the room. “Prince Kurt? Prince—”
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a sharp object came flying in her direction.
Unable to hide, Lucy frantically bent over her back. It was rather surprising that a frail young woman like her had managed to narrowly evade the weapon.
Crack!
With a bone-chilling sound, a sharp dagger landed an inch deep into the windowpane behind Lucy.
The woman broke out in a cold sweat.
“D-Don't be afraid, Kurt. I'm just here to give you some medicine. The poisonous bugs are acting up again, aren't they? Don't worry. I have something that will help!” she called out to him, her voice trembling.
While assuring the young man in the dark, Lucy began to walk toward him.
She wasn't sure if the silence was because the poisonous bugs had taken over or because Kurt no longer had the energy to move after throwing that dagger.
Regardless, the young woman held her breath and slowly lifted the drapes.
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1669
Even though the room was pitch black, she could see once her eyes had adjusted to the darkness.
There was a young man sitting on the bed who was breathing heavily. With one hand gripping the edge of the bed and the other on his chest, it was apparent that Kurt was in pain.
In that instant, Lucy turned pale when she saw the pool of blood.
“Prince Kurt!”
She immediately rushed over and got down in front of him. When she saw Kurt's face was covered in perspiration, her heart ached so badly as though someone was tearing it apart.
“What happened to you? Why are you having another relapse all of a sudden? Didn't you just take the medicine two days ago? Did that dad of yours upset you again?”
Her heart wrenched. She immediately took out the medicine that she had brought along with her and gave him two.
However, just as she wanted to give him the medicine, he looked up.
“Get lost!”
Then, he smacked the medicine away.
Lucy was speechless.
At that moment, she had the urge to seize control of him and forced the medicine down his throat.
In the end, she held back.
Putting a lid on her temper, Lucy tried to talk some sense into him. “Prince Kurt, please calm down. You're in a precarious situation right now. If you can't put up with it, you will only end up with more suffering. If you still want to save your mom, then the only thing you can do in front of the king is to bear with it. Do you understand?”
Kurt remained silent afterward.
He shut his eyes because the pain in him had reached its peak. She could nearly hear his knuckles cracking as he gripped the edge of the bed.
His entire body started to tremble as well.
The moment Lucy saw that, she took out another two pills and gave it to him.
“I beg of you. Please take the medicine, Prince Kurt.”
She still did not dare to force the pills down his throat.
Instead, she appealed to him.
Perhaps, her words got to him. After staying silent for a few seconds, Kurt finally took the medicine from her hand.
When Lucy felt his icy cold fingertips on her palm, she could not help but shudder.
That old b*stard!
After taking the pills, Kurt's breathing gradually went back to normal. The pain in his face had also clearly dissipated.
As soon as he got better, she quickly lit the candle, and there was light at last.
There were electric lights in Agarwood Pavilion.
However, given the fact that it was already very late into the night, a bright light would certainly arouse suspicion.
Lucy returned to the bedside.
“Prince Kurt, are you feeling better now? Should I get you some water?”
“All right.”
Lucy was thrilled. She turned around and poured him a glass of water.
In truth, ever since both of them had regained consciousness, she had been serving Kurt. Hence, there was nothing wrong with her doing any of those chores for him.
Without any delay, Lucy went to fetch a basin of hot water and proceeded to wipe the young prince down. She then helped him change into a new set of clothes.
After that, she asked with her head bowed, “Prince Kurt, did you have another conflict with the king today?”
She still wanted to know the answer to her question.
Since he had only taken his medicine two days ago, it was impossible for him to have another relapse unless something had upset him tremendously. That was the effect of those worms on his body.
Kurt said nothing. However, he looked grim.
Lucy understood.
“I knew it. It's because of the foreign business issues, isn't it? I told you before. In this backward tribe, people may not appreciate what you have done for them. The same goes for the king. If anything goes wrong, you're the one who gets blamed for it!”
“You seem to be very familiar with this area. Aren't you being fed the worm just like me?”
Kurt's sudden hostility took her aback.
Lucy looked up and saw his narrow eyes staring at her coldly. She felt a chill down her spine and quickly stood up.
“I-I have been observing them for quite a while now. It isn't difficult to notice such things.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Prince Kurt. You hardly step out of here. Every day, you're forced to stay in Agarwood Pavilion and study hard in order to take over the throne in the future. I'm only an attendant, so I get to go out frequently. As such, I get to see more than you do,” explained Lucy in a hurry.
She was worried that he might become suspicious.
Thankfully, Kurt did not question her further after her clarification.
Once Lucy got out of Agarwood Pavilion, she let out a long sigh of relief. At one point, she had been so nervous that her legs had gone soft.
That was so close!
Luckily, I'm smart enough.
Then again, this is all because of Vivian Hayes. It will be good if she can just disappear from here.
Lucy held on to the pillar next to her. When she thought of Vivian, who had ruined things for her repeatedly, a murderous look flashed across her eyes.
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead chapter 1670
Is She Gone
The next morning, the tribal chiefs came to the palace and reported events that took place in the tribes as usual. As for the officials in charge of the foreign businessmen, no one had come.
The king frowned and asked, “What's going on? I thought the foreign businessmen were very pleased yesterday. Why aren't we hearing from them?”
The palace chief started to panic.
“Your Majesty, we have already made our inquiries this morning. According to Mr. Jadeson, both his sister and him worked tirelessly for Elysium. In the end, they're still being told off. Now, they refuse to serve us anymore. He said we're on our own regarding business matters!”
What!
Everyone who was present was shocked!
Then again, they could not help but admit such an arrogant attitude was completely Matteo's style.
He was not going to allow anyone to bully his sister!
The king's expression looked terrible. He turned to his son.
“Kaiden, what exactly is going on? Everything was fine yesterday. Why did you have an argument with Vivian? No matter how much you dislike her, you shouldn't have made such a mistake with these important matters.”
Everyone could hear how furious the king was. No one dared to utter a word.
Kurt, on the other hand, sat there without any expression.
“She instigated Nina to steal chickens. Why can't I reprimand her?”
“Nina? So, this is all her fault again. Men, tie her up and give her twenty slaps! After that, bring her to the Jadesons and get her to apologize!”
When the king heard his own daughter had caused the mess, he actually ordered his men to punish the child. It did not cross his mind that she was only seven years old.
Kurt immediately shot him a murderous glance that resembled that of a beast.
“You can try.”
What?
The king fell silent while the others gasped in shock and stared at Kurt. They could sense the prince was even more terrifying than his dad.
Kurt was no longer the same person who they could just execute like how they wanted to five years ago.
He had already turned into a very fierce wolf cub.
When they saved him back then, he had nearly slaughtered everyone in the forest. If he had not been exhausted, he would not have landed in their hands.
The king's face turned bright red.
“Then tell me. What should we do? We know nothing about those foreign businessmen. Before this, you told me we must work with these people in order to get out of our backward situation. Now that the pair of siblings have refused to help us and we have no experience in working with foreign businessmen, how should we go about doing it?”
Kurt finally retracted his icy gaze.
He then replied begrudgingly, “I'll go and look for them and settle this issue on my own. But listen to me carefully. If you dare to touch Nina, I will come after you.”
With that, he left the huge hall with his subordinates.
The king was enraged!
“How dare he threaten me? Is he tired of living?”
“Your Majesty, please don't get so worked up. Prince Kurt is worried about his own sister. That's understandable. As long as he can resolve this matter, he can redeem himself, from the mistake,” advised the palace chief.
Redeem himself!
Ha! They really treat this place like they would in ancient times. A dad will threaten anyone with death at any time. Even his own son is the same.
As for the rest of them, they actually think that they are courtiers. I can't believe they speak of redemption.
How ironic!
Back at the tribe office.
In truth, Vivian did not go to the tribe office that morning because she had overslept.
She was indeed very upset and angry the day before. Later in the day, Matt took her to the town for a sumptuous meal.
Vivian even had a taste of the local rum.
Afterward, she got drunk and fell asleep until now.
“Vivi? Vivi?”
“Yes?”
She was lying on the bed and heard someone calling out her name. That was when she opened her eyes and looked at the person who had disrupted her sleep.
“What's wrong?”
It was the staff from Summerbank who had stayed back to work there. When he saw she was awake, he quickly told her, “The sun is already up. Why are you still sleeping? You didn't go to the palace to sign the agreement on the foreign businessmen's behalf today. Now, the king's son is here. He's waiting for you downstairs.”
Vivian was dumbfounded.
Hold on a second. The son of the king?
Her reaction had always been slower than others, and the fact that she had just woken up did not help at all.
Then, she heard voices from downstairs.
“I'm so sorry, Prince Kurt. Vivian isn't up yet. I've already sent someone to wake her up. Please wait for a while.”
“She's still here?”
“Yes. Last night, she went out with her brother for a meal. I heard she drank too much rum, and he had to carry her back. She has been sleeping till now,” explained one of the staff.