Nadine pointed upstairs, and Adrian brought her with him to the old man’s study without a second thought.When he opened the door and shone his flashlight inside, he suddenly saw a man sitting before the desk. This man’s presence was enough to cause Nadine’s scalp to tingle and her legs to tremble once more.Adrian held her by the waist and stood outside the door as he looked at the man.The man was wearing a coat, with his elbows against the desk and his palms against his head. The man had completely decomposed, leaving behind a layer of darkened skin that had freckles all over it.His nails were long and blackish-purple in color.“Grandfather?” Nadine immediately said when she took a good look.“This is your grandfather?” Adrian asked.Nadine nodded profusely as she replied, “That’s him, but isn’t he buried? I was there when they buried his coffin. What’s he doing here?”She was stunned, wondering how a man who should have been buried was doing in his own study as a corpse.

“Just one kiss.” Nadine held up a finger.Feeling helpless, Adrian held the back of Nadine’s head and kissed her on the forehead. After that, he let go of her and disappeared into the night without a trace, leaving Nadine standing there in a daze, touching the part of her forehead he had kissed.After a long time, Nadine looked in the direction he had disappeared and said, “I really, really, really want to have you, but I know you’re not mine… If only we met each other a little sooner…”She then heaved a sigh of relief and smiled. “But it’s okay. You may not belong to me, but I belong to you. I’ll be your woman for the rest of my life.”At the same time, Carlene was standing on the balcony upstairs, silently watching her daughter with an extremely pained expression on her face.Nadine had no idea her mother was watching her and soon returned to her room.***Adrian left the Gardner family residence at two in the morning and arrived at a nearby square, where a car had been parked

Adrian planned to return to his room since the sun was not up yet. Yet, the moment he entered the living room, he ran into Joanna, who was in her pajamas.Joanna bumped her head against Adrian’s chest and hissed in pain. When she looked up and saw that it was Adrian, she said, “Are you crazy? What are you doing walking around so quietly in the middle of the night?”Adrian turned the lights on and turned toward her. “I think that should be my line. What are you doing out here at five in the morning?”Joanna rolled her eyes. “That’s none of your business.”Through the corner of his eyes, Adrian saw that the fridge’s door was ajar and Joanna’s hands were behind her back.‘I see what’s happening here.’“Are you getting a snack?” Adrian asked with a smile.Feeling exposed, Joanna chose not to hide anymore. Actually, she was famished and wanted to grab something to eat.“I’m hungry because I didn’t eat last night,” she replied.Adrian thought it was funny and shook his head as he he

Nadine looked at her mother and asked, “What else are you hiding from me? Am I really your daughter, for starters? Why won’t you tell me anything?”Hearing this, Carlene knew Nadine was already aware of everything. She was already prepared for Nadine to find out the truth ever since Adrian showed up.“Come and sit, Naddy. Let’s sleep together tonight.” Carlene smiled as she patted her bed.Nadine walked over but knelt by the bedside and said, “I’m no longer a child, Mother. I’m thirty now. How long are you planning on hiding the truth from me?She then asked, “That corpse in the glass coffin at Grandfather’s villa… It’s Father, isn’t it? Don’t you think it’s just ridiculous for a daughter to wet herself from the shock of seeing her father’s corpse? After all, you know that happens to me whenever I get overly anxious…”“I thought this would all be over, but War Legate Draco has found out about it in the end… You see, Naddy. I sincerely wished for history not to repeat itself. Many

At the same time, Juno was sitting on her bed downstairs, looking at her laptop screen. Her screen showed a video feed that was coming from the observatory.Juno was the one who set the cameras up in that place. She had seen Adrian heading upstairs and could not fall asleep, so she turned on the live feed in the hopes of finding out what her brother was up to.She was dumbfounded when she overheard Adrian’s conversation with Rue.‘I’m going to become the next legate of Wyvern Peak?!’***“No!”Rue was silent for a moment before rejecting Adrian’s statement.“I won’t let you take Juno down the path you’ve taken. Do you have any idea how much I feared for your life ever since I found out you’re the legate? I’ve been so afraid that my son would leave me someday. Do you even know how that feels?!”Faced with Rue’s question, Adrian replied, “I understand, but sometimes your thoughts can’t dictate what we should and shouldn’t do. We’re all grown-ups now, we should choose our own path