Chapter 415

“Loyal or not, you are mine. In this life and the next lives. No one can take you away from me.”

At Arthur’s declaration, Veronica’s face grew hot.

‘Did he forget that we are around people?’ she wondered bashfully.

Darius whistled. “Get a room you two.”

Veronica’s face burned. She couldn’t look at them.

“Let’s not embarrass Veronica more. Shall I show you other paintings? He has pictures of Felix, Sebastian, Catherine and other people. They are in another room.”

At Lady Jenette’s suggestion, others moved to another room.

.....

After having lunch, Lady Jenette, Sebastian, Felix and Zinnia went for a walk.

Darius took a nap while Ovior and Ironin went to the library. Ironin showed Ovior his book collection. Both had a hobby of collecting rare books.

“You have the History of The Dark Age. This is an ancient book.” Ovior couldn’t help but feel jealous.

“I bought it with five hundred thousand gold coins,” with a poker face, Ironin proudly told him.

“You could buy a castle with that much amount. Ah, there is a book of Dark magic...”

As everyone enjoyed a good quality of time, Arthur and Veronica went to the rose garden.

Sitting under the tree, Arthur hugged the woman in front of him. Veronica leaned against his broad chest and enjoyed the warmth.

Arthur moved a bit and pecked on her right temple.

Veronica closed her eyes and enjoyed his affectionate tease.

“Do you like red roses?” Arthur suddenly asked.

“I like any flower. You know it.”

“Do you want a rose garden? I’ll make a bigger one than this one,” Arthur conveyed his thoughts.

Veronica chuckled at his childishness.

“What are you competing for? I don’t need a rose garden. I love the garden you made for me.

“My garden has colorful flowers with mixed fragrances. Butterflies always roam around. Nothing can be more beautiful than my garden.”

The corners of Arthur’s lips lifted.

Having the woman he loved in his arms, her soft voice complimenting his generous gift, being affectionate with him – those were the best things he could have in his life.

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth and softness of her body and her melodic voice.

“By the way, I was wondering how Betty was doing,” Veronica mentioned.

Just hearing the name creased Arthur’s eyebrows.

Veronica didn’t notice his expression. She expressed her worry.

“I haven’t heard of her after I saw her in Cathy’s engagement. If she is really a close relative of Vincent, I don’t know what she will do to Cathy. Betty is too vengeful. I’m worried about Cathy.”

“I’ll tell Felix to keep an eye on her,” Arthur promised.

“That would be great.” Veronica was a bit relieved. “I wonder what Cathy is doing right now.”

——–

While Veronica was thinking of Catherine, Catherine was in her bed.

It was the weekend and she had nothing to do.

She rolled on the bed all day without eating anything.

She tried to sleep but whenever she closed her eyes, Sebastian’s face came into her vision.

As a result, she couldn’t sleep.

After tossing around for a while, she got up.

‘I should go out for a stroll. It could at least clear my head,’ brushing her hair with one hand, she chose a dress.

Her first target was boutique shops. It was her first time going shopping alone.

She had no one to talk to. The shopping district looked rather dull. Even the usual delicious street food didn’t seem tasty.

‘Should I go to Vincent’s resort and spend some time with him? I do have a teleportation stone.’

Just as she planned, she disappeared from the shopping district.

In Tybu, disappearing suddenly from a public place was nothing new. Many citizens in Tybu had teleport stones.

Vincent’s resort was surrounded by trees, birds and flowers. It simply calmed her heart.

She went to the front desk and saw a girl working there. The girl beamed when she saw Catherine.

“Miss Catherine, welcome to the resort. I wasn’t informed you would be here today.”

Catherine smiled. “I came abruptly. Vincent doesn’t know.”

She looked around but couldn’t find Vincent anywhere. “I don’t see him. Where is he?”

The receptionist replied, “I saw him going to the restaurant to supervise. It’s already past lunchtime. I think he is taking a nap after having lunch.”

“I will go and check on him.” Catherine turned around to leave.

The receptionist declared from behind, “I’ll tell the chef to prepare something for you, Miss Catherine.”

“All right.”

Catherine walked in the direction of Vincent’s house. It was far and there was no transport to go from one hill to another one.

The only option she had was to walk there.

It was amazing that she didn’t get tired from going from one hill to another.

There wasn’t anyone on the road. However, it wasn’t quiet. Birds and animals kept the hills lively.

Smiling softly, she went to Vincent’s home.

She stood in front of the main door and asked, “Anybody home? Mother? Father? Vincent?”

She was rather loud and yet no one replied.

‘Hmm? Is there no one in the house? But the receptionist said Vincent would be here.’

Hesitating for a while, Catherine turned around to leave. That’s when she heard Vincent’s voice coming from inside.

‘Huh? He is inside...? Then why didn’t he reply to me?’

Wondering for a moment, she went inside. Aside from Vincent’s voice, she heard nothing as if no one else was home.

She strode toward his room. The door was ajar. She could see inside the room.

‘...Huh?’

Her heart dropped. She saw a man with a girl.

The girl giggled when the man pulled her in his arms. Both of them were naked.

Catherine’s mind went blank.

She didn’t feel like she was physically there. She felt that she was watching a show.

During the festival, she watched a puppet show with Veronica and the rest.

Just like that time, she felt like she was watching a puppet show but this time she wasn’t enjoying it.

The scene was right before her but her brain couldn’t process it.

The man in the bed was Vincent and the girl was...