Chapter 419

Would he dare to offend Zinnia?

The answer was simple.

No way!

Thus, he raised his hands to surrender.

“All right. All right. It was just a simple joke. Nothing else. No harm was done. There is no need to be angry.”

His voice was as soft as cotton.

Zinnia narrowed her curved eyes. “Just a joke? Why isn’t anyone laughing then? It was a bad joke.”

.....

Darius easily nodded and went along with her, “Yes, yes, it was a bad joke.”

“You are terrible at telling jokes.”

“You are absolutely right. I’m super terrible at this.”

Two friends went on and one. Zinnia kept pointing out his mistakes and Darius agreed to every single true or false accusation.

The way he suddenly turned into a softie, made Veronica stunned.

‘What is wrong with this guy?’ she wondered.

However, she didn’t have time to think about it as she had some tasks to do.

After finishing her meal, she trained with Ironin. Later, she had a class with Ovior.

Then, she was free to do whatever she wanted. She went to check up on Catherine.

Catherine was still sleeping. She had no sign of waking up.

Veronica accompanied her for a while before going out.

In the flower garden, she was flowering the pot when Sebastian came to accompany her.

He knelt before her and said, “Mistress, I’ve heard your call. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Yes, do you know where Arthur went?” Veronica inquired.

“Master went to the Imperial Palace. He was called by the Queen all of a sudden.”

Veronica’s eyebrows were slightly knitted. “Why so suddenly? What’s going on between him and the Queen?”

Sebastian replied with a serious expression, “I cannot say for sure, Mistress. But the Queen’s movements are suspicious. I don’t know if you know the reason behind her grudge against the Master. All I can ask you is to be more careful.”

Veronica pondered for a while and then said, “I want to go out. Prepare a carriage for me, will you?”

“Yes, of course,” Sebastian readily agreed. Afterward, he thought of something and hesitated before asking, “Mistress, is this all right if we take extra guards? You know... the Queen...”

“I understand your worry. Do as you fit.” Veronica didn’t mind taking precautions against the Queen.

Sebastian was relieved when he heard her reply. Most of the time, she rebelled whenever Arthur told her to take more bodyguards.

This time, she was acting more mature.

Like a true mistress.

On the way, Sebastian accompanied Veronica in her carriage.

He saw her looking outside the window and watching the scenery.

He said, “Mistress, I was meaning to ask you... it’s something private but you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Veronica finally looked at him. “What is it?”

“Umm... I heard that you wanted to travel the world after marriage but now you are constantly being guarded and you cannot go anywhere far because of the Master’s workload. Do you regret getting married?”

Veronica was surprised when she heard his question. “It’s hard to say.”

She took a deep breath. There was a long silence in the carriage.

Sebastian didn’t dare to say a word. He had a feeling that he offended her at some point.

Finally, Veronica opened her mouth and continued, “Sebastian, if you want to gain something, you have to lose something. Back then, none of us understood the real meaning of marriage. We wanted to get married and enjoy life. We didn’t think of the responsibility that comes with it.

“When we really faced it, we realized how fragile the married structure was. We barely had faith in each other. We constantly worried one of us would leave the other. He wanted to do things that he couldn’t. He was frustrated. I couldn’t fulfill my dream. I had my frustrations as well.

“Everything built up and we couldn’t breathe. And then one day, one misunderstanding tore us apart. I was gone for months and Arthur went insane. I was enjoying my freedom, honestly. However, if I kept doing that, the world would be destroyed by his hand.

“That’s when I had to choose. I was already married to him anyway. Moreover, if he went that far to kill so many people to summon the King of the Underworld, I assumed his affection for me ran deep.

“Even if he didn’t love me that much, at least what he was doing was wrong. I had to stop him. I have a duty as a blessed child or as the child of our Goddess. Therefore, I made a choice.

“For the second time, I willingly let go of my freedom and embraced married life. You cannot have freedom and marriage at the same time because marriage is a huge responsibility. And being the Mistress of the Magic Tower just added fuel to the fire.

“I understood that too late. I was so blinded by love back then. I didn’t think things through. No wonder Arthur always called me na?ve. I was truly na?ve.

“Well, what’s done is done. And the situation with the Queen is temporary. It’s not like I will be locked up forever. If I want to travel, I’ll just use a teleport stone. I wonder which queen can take me down then.”

After answering the question, Veronica looked at him. “I hope this answers your question.”

Sebastian stared at Veronica. “Then... even if you have regrets, you have no choice. Do you think it’s unfair?”

Veronica slowly shook her head. “Not at all. It’s not like I’m the only one who is sacrificing. Arthur is doing that too. Do you think he is the type of guy who likes to do paperwork? He would rather push all the work to Ovior and then enjoy his time at redlight district.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Yeah, he is like that...” Realizing what he just said, Sebastian was flustered. “I-I didn’t mean it. I was wrong.”

Veronica chuckled at his honesty.

“No, what you said was right. He was like that and he changed his habit just to be with me. He holds back a lot. I understand that. Look at Darius. He is so miserable not being able to go to the brothel every night. Just imagine Arthur like that.”

“If the Master really is like that, he is quite miserable,” Sebastian agreed. He felt sorry for Arthur.

Veronica stated, “Yes, so when you see your partner is suffering, your suffering lessens. If just one person was suffering in the marriage, then it would become a burden. It won’t be a happy marriage anymore. Marriage becomes null and void. It’ll become more like slavery than marriage.”

After that, no one talked until they reached the Market Plaza. As usual, people were bustling in the center of the city.

Veronica’s carriage moved further under her instruction and then moved to the residency area. She ordered the carriage to stop in front of a mansion and then got out of the carriage.

In front of the mansion, there was a huge gate. In the gate, there was a wooden board. Something was written on it.

FOR SALE

The owner was already waiting beside the gate. He smiled at Veronica and said, “Welcome, Madam. I was waiting for your arrival.”

Sebastian started at Veronica in surprise.

‘Does she want to buy a house? But why?’ he wondered but couldn’t come up with an answer.

Veronica smiled at him. “Thank you for waiting. Did you wait long?”

“No, no, Madam. Please come inside.” The owner escorted her inside the mansion.

It was spacious and luxurious. They could feel that the designer dedicated his brain to this mansion.

There was a garden at the front. A fountain was situated in the middle. The garden was well maintained.

Inside the mansion, a red carpet welcomed them. The door, window frames as well as chandeliers were made of gold.

There was nothing personal there. No family photo or anything. Except for the furniture, the belongings of the owner’s family were moved.

“The mansion is wonderful. Why did you move suddenly?” Veronica inquired.

The owner let out a forced smile. “It’s not like I wanted to move out. My wife suddenly got sick and she needs to be moved to the countryside.

“We have one child and he has his own mansion. He doesn’t contact us anymore. For my wife’s treatment and also to buy a house in the countryside, I’ve decided to sell the mansion.”

Veronica was sad when she heard the story. “It must be hard to let go of the place you grew up in.”

“It is. But Madam, now that I see you, I know my family house will be in good hands. Please take care of this place.” The owner skillfully changed the subject.

“I will,” Veronica promised. “The price is affordable. I’ll pay the full amount. Please prepare the papers.”

The owner’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Sure, Madam. Sure!”

It became noon after preparing the paper and signing them. Veronica, Sebastian, the coachman and the rest of the bodyguards had their meal.

Veronica was smiling ear to ear as she played with the keys of the mansion.

“Mistress, why did you buy the mansion?”

.....