Free Web NovelChapter 69: Let’s Bankrupt The Royal Lineage
Ace had pinned her to a wall, he had almost tasted her lips, he had given her his mother’s most sacred heirloom and she still looked like... all of this, all of what they had experienced together in months meant nothing to her.
A self-deprecating laugh escaped his chest, "Is business all you see? Is that the only language you understand now?"
"Why should I not?" Evelina replied coldly.
She walked past him, heading toward the grand window that looked out over the courtyard where her carriage was already being fitted with extra iron wheels for the long journey, "With the wrong person, feelings can easily become a liability with time, Ace. They make you lose your focus.
I am going to the Capital to secure my goals and probably the future of this house as well, and I suggest you use the next two days to regain your composure as the commander of the North."
[System Notification: Heart Rate Elevated by 15%]
[Current Heart-Wrecker Points: 150,000(and increasing)]
[Warning: Target Ace is experiencing severely distressed]
Evelina ignored the blue text floating in her vision. She kept her back turned to him, her hands clasped loosely in front of her dress.
Behind her, Ace stood completely still in the center of the quiet study.
He looked at her elegant back, his chest heaving as he fought down the urge to grab her again, to turn her around and force her to acknowledge the heavy feelings that confused him.
But he knew her rules now. If he pushed her, she would only retreat further behind her walls.
"If you go," Ace said, his voice dropping slightly, "I am going with you. The Duke of Alvarez does not let his wife travel into any danger alone."
Evelina didn’t turn around, but her eyes narrowed slightly when she heard that, "The High Council requires your presence here to oversee the winter guard rotations."
"The council can manage for two weeks without me," Ace countered bluntly, turning on his heel.
He walked toward the door, his heavy cape sweeping behind him. Before he pulled the handle, he paused, his profile dark against the sunlight as said, "You can do whatever you want. But you cannot dictate my wishes. I will do... whatever the damn I want to do."
He declared like what Evelina would call a stubborn mule. And then, with a firm click, the door closed again, leaving her alone in the study.
She let out a slow breath, her fingers tightening against her fabric.
She raised her hand, her thumb casually sweeping over the shoulder where his palm had rested just moments ago. The heat was still there, lingering beneath the silk like a stubborn ember, just like him.
The System buzzed softly in her mind.
[System Notification: Main Quest Parameters Adjusted]
[New Factor: The War God’s Escort. Target Ace will accompany the host to the Capital.]
[System Advice: Use the target’s jealousy to farm more points. The host has enough for now, but high-level Capital skills will be expensive.] fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Evelina walked back to her desk and sat down, her face going dark for a moment before her mask of nonchalance was back in place.
It was weird for somebody who was solely focused on profits that she knew taking Ace along was a profitable deal. But every nerve of her body refused to comply. If she could, she would leave that man behind and head alone.
Sighing, she pulled the gold-stamped imperial decree toward her, her fingers tracing the roaring dragon seal of Crown Prince Elian.
A charming prince who wanted to buy her monopoly, and an easily-triggered territorial husband who wanted to lock her away from the world.
To an ordinary woman, this would be a terrifying romantic disaster. But once Evelina calmed herself, she no longer cared about it.
The Capital wanted a grand show for their Autumn Gala, and she was more than happy to give them one, for a price that would leave the entire royal lineage bankrupt.
...
The two-day journey to the Capital was marked by an awkward and tense silence inside the carriage.
Ace sat across from Evelina, his massive frame making the spacious interior feel incredibly small.
The man spent most of the journey staring out the window, his jaw clenched as if he was heading to war, though his eyes would occasionally snap back to her the moment she shifted or moved. Now, that, made Evelina rethink once before she even took a breath too loudly.
But after her while, she composed herself and completely ignored his heavy gaze, focusing entirely on her financial plans for the upcoming negotiations.
When the carriage finally rolled through the towering golden gates of the Capital estate, the crisp northern air was entirely replaced by the perfumed atmosphere of the empire’s center.
The moment the carriage door opened, the servants stepped forward to offer his hand, but Ace bypassed the servant entirely. He stepped down first, turning around to extend a leather-gloved hand toward Evelina.
Evelina paused for a moment.
She looked at his broad palm, then up into his dark, unreadable eyes that very much looked like ’If you turn my hand down, I will be a brat right here’ and ’try me’.
There was a simmering standoff between them for a brief second before she deliberately placed her smaller, smooth hand in his, deciding that she should be conserving her energy instead of having to deal with Ace here.
The man looked very satisfied with her little action as his fingers closed around hers instantly, tighter than necessary, his thumb brushing against her knuckles before she swiftly stepped down and pulled her hand back from his grip, leaving that lingering warmth behind.
"Long time no see, Your Grace," a calm voice echoed from the grand staircase of the estate.
Evelina lifted her gaze.
Walking down the marble steps with absolute grace was Isabella. She had left the northern estate immediately after the poisoning incident under the guise of urgent military paperwork, fleeing the quiet investigation Evelina had initiated.
