In a secluded area in Emerald Terrace.In contrast to the quiet atmosphere around it, the surroundings of Marquis Julien de Montclair's palace appeared bustling.The gate, usually closed, was now wide open, with several men in black suits standing guard in front of it, pistols hanging from their waists.From afar, a long line of cars could be seen, waiting to be verified by the guards.One by one, the cars passing through the gate were luxurious vehicles, with even the cheapest appearing to be in the range of five hundred thousand RG."Mr. Hayden," the guard said, looking to the passenger seat to confirm his identity.At the same time, other officers used sophisticated detectors to check the cars."All right, please proceed! Thank you for visiting our event!" The officer said politely.The queue proceeded orderly until it was Jack's turn for verification."Jack, do you want me to change your identity?" Quantara whispered in his ear."No need! Don't we have enough money to buy it!" Jac
6:00 PM.Jack stood in the main courtyard of the palace once owned by the late Marquis Julien de Montclair. He was right in front of the building dominated by its white color. Currently, everyone was given an hour to wander around and see what the palace held."Look at that painting! It's Heinrich's famous work! For years, no one has been allowed to see this painting except for today!""Wow! Is that chandelier in this room made of gold? Why does it look so beautiful to my eyes? It fits perfectly with the overall color scheme of this room!""Is this a sculpture by Reinhorf? Oh my, it's truly meticulously carved! If I didn't see it firsthand, I wouldn't believe people saying that this sculpture is so lifelike!"These were the voices Jack heard every time he focused his gaze on each part of the palace. Not only could he hear them, but Jack could also clearly see the shapes and colors of each room's interior.Heinrich's painting in the art gallery room was treated differently from other p
Everything was making sense to Jack now."Irvin deliberately organized this palace auction event to lure Jeremy out of Calder Manor!" murmured Jack.That's why the gatekeepers earlier prevented Jack from entering. It was because those who attended this event were not ordinary people. They were all invited guests who, of course, were either mafia members or people supporting Irvin.Not only that. "Irvin also invited people who support Mr. Calder so that he can kill them all at once!"Besides the mafia members, important people who had been supporting Jeremy, both covertly and overtly, also received invitations."This is a trap! This is a massacre!" muttered Jack. "They must be warned to leave this place immediately!"As Jack muttered, Quantara said in his ear, "It seems we're a little late, Jack! Try to look at the eight o'clock direction!"Jack directed his gaze to another room inside the palace as Quantara indicated.It was a very spacious private room equipped with luxurious furnitu
Jack felt that the voice wasn't unfamiliar to him. He knew whose voice it was.As he turned his head to look in the direction of the voice, a beautiful girl in a knee-length red dress stood before him.Jack didn't need much time to realize that the girl was the same one he had seen at the opera house.Maartje Dujardin, the daughter of Governor Crystalbrook."Musician? Singer? A Warrior?" The girl spoke those words without shifting her gaze from Jack. "I wonder how someone with extraordinary talent like yours hasn't stood out much until now?""What are you trying to say exactly?""At first, I thought you were just a simple figure, a highly talented piano expert or a singer with a golden voice! But, it seems your identity isn't that simple!"Jack still didn't understand what the girl was trying to say. "Please, can you be more to the point? I'm having a bit of trouble understanding your speech!" Maartje narrowed her eyes. Jack's disrespectful demeanor slightly offended her. She took
As Jack's lips landed on Maartje's cheek, Quantara spoke with a hint of surprise, "Ummm, seems like there's a misunderstanding between you two?""What do you mean?" Jack, still pressing his lips against the soft and fragrant cheek of the girl, wondered."What she means is she's willing to help you as long as you report directly to her and not to anyone else!""What?" Jack quickly drew back his face.In front of him, Maartje still appeared very surprised by what Jack had done."You..." That's all that came out of the girl's mouth. Her face turned very red, especially her cheeks.Whatever happened between the two seemed to have angered Wim, who had been watching them since earlier."Bastard!" he cursed. Wim, who had locked Jack's chest as his target, no longer hesitated to pull the trigger.Bang!"Jack, move now! He's firing!" Quantara reminded him.Jack would move at that moment, but his brain could think quickly. "If I dodge now, the bullet will definitely hit Lady Maartje!"Without a
A few minutes earlier.Jack and Maartje had agreed to divide the tasks."You will attend the auction event, then take Jeremy out, while I will take Rebecca away!" That's what Maartje said before the auction event started."If you have a good enough opportunity, you might ask Jeremy to cancel the engagement event and ask him to attack Irvin together!" the girl continued.Both Maartje and Jack had decided that they would also attack Irvin and all his people tonight."Lady, may I ask one thing?""Of course! Just say it!""If you agree with me to attack Irvin tonight, you surely won't come alone, right?"Maartje looked at Jack, seeming to admire his way of thinking. "You don't need to worry! I've brought enough troops to crush them all!"Back to the present."Lady, have you managed to get into Rebecca's place?" Jack spoke through the device in his ear."Be patient, Jack! It's tougher than I imagined!" Maartje's voice came from the other end."The auction event will start shortly, I'm worr
"What? You came here by accident?" Red Hair, who had been sitting in the chair, immediately approached them."Miss, is what you said true? Can you convince us that you really entered accidentally? I'm worried you're just pretending?" Red Hair, who had also not taken his eyes off Maartje, became even wilder when he was near the girl."True! I meant to go to my friend's room, but I ended up here! So let me go now!""Oh, is that so!" Red Hair then walked towards Yellow Hair and slapped his head. "Stupid! Can't you hear that this girl is just lost? Why are you still standing there? Go! Let the girl pass!""But, ..." Yellow Hair seemed reluctant."What else do you want to say? I said go, so go!" Red Hair pushed Yellow Hair to move his body away from the door.With a heavy heart, the youngest brother finally did it."Miss, no one will disturb your path now! You may go.""Thank you!" That's all Maartje said. She then quickly approached the door where Red Hair stood right beside it."But of c
Those words certainly furrowed the brows of the people even more. "He dares to defy Mr. Wigram's orders? Is he tired of living?" they thought.The same thoughts were mirrored by the host, who stared at this mysterious man with a furrowed brow. "How insolent! Who is this man, really? What is he thinking? Does he want to challenge Mr. Wigram's orders?""Sir, I must apologize for this inconvenience!" The host said, trying to put on the friendliest expression he could muster. "I don't mean to disregard your offer, but Mr. Calder has already agreed to purchase it beforehand! So there's nothing I can do except to hand over this palace to him!""Hand over this palace to him?" The mysterious man asked. "Sir, were you planning to sell it to Mr. Calder from the beginning?"That question immediately caused the atmosphere to grow more tense. "How dare he speak like that? Does he want Mr. Wigram to cut his throat for leaking this big secret to Jeremy?" they pondered."Sir, please refrain from caus
Maartje stayed in a different room from the one she usually used before.This time, she was assigned one of the rooms on the third floor whose decoration and furniture had been completely changed. Not only wider than the room she used to occupy on the first floor, this room also looked more luxurious.The girl was sitting on the edge of the bed typing a message on a highly secure phone."I haven't seen my parents yet. Can you do something?"Shortly after, a reply landed on her phone."We're working on it, Lady! We'll check all satellite images and CCTV cameras."Maartje was almost certain that her parents had been moved from the palace. "I've checked every corner of this palace, but they're nowhere to be found!" she muttered.Earlier, before the female soldiers escorted Maartje to her room, the girl asked them to accompany her to explore the palace, which they said was being renovated.Those who had no suspicions about Maartje finally complied with the girl's wishes.However, there wa
In Cornelia's mind, by marrying Maartje, Leon would not only gain a very beautiful girl."Haven't you remained unmarried all this time because you were searching for the most beautiful girl in Crystalbrook?" said the secretary. "That girl is now before you! So what else are you waiting for?""Furthermore, consider one more thing!" Cornelia continued. "Maartje is a symbol of resistance and at the same time a symbol of hope for the people of Crystalbrook. By marrying her, you will not only be able to force those who have opposed you all this time to support you! On the contrary, the possibility of people rebelling will diminish even more!"Upon hearing such considerations, Leon's eyes widened. So did his mouth. How could he miss such a great opportunity?Back to the present."I will not only make you my deputy governor, but you will also be my wife!" Leon said again, walking slowly towards Maartje proudly while holding a glass in one of his hands."Both of us will produce successors who
Feeling disgusted by Leon's gaze towards her, Maartje quickly opened her mouth. "You shouldn't waste my time! I came here to sign the reconciliation letter!"Leon smiled widely. "My dear, why rush? We haven't met in a long time. Wouldn't it be appropriate for us to exchange a word or two first?"The man then ordered the female soldiers to leave."Alright, Duke!" they said and immediately left the room, closing the door behind them.As the female soldiers left, Maartje felt very uncomfortable being alone with Leon. However, she tried to control her feelings."Come, sit here!" Leon gestured for Maartje to sit on the sofa where he had been drinking earlier.Maartje quickly moved to the spot Leon indicated because she didn't want the man to try to touch her again."Here, take this!" Leon handed Maartje a glass of wine."I am good!" Maartje simply said without touching the glass offered to her."Do you know what I dislike most about someone?" Leon asked as he sipped the wine in his hand.M
Thirty minutes later, the long sedan carrying Maartje arrived near the palace. Behind the sedan, a large jeep followed."This is truly terrifying!" One of the female soldiers inside the jeep couldn't contain her feelings upon seeing the sea of people surrounding the palace. "This is far more than what we faced before!" she murmured again.The female soldier used to be one of the Warriors who fought alongside Duke Dujardin to overthrow Leon.Back when they attacked this palace, Leon's forces weren't as numerous. But now, the situation was completely reversed."I really don't understand how Duke Sardou could gather such a massive army!" muttered the other female soldier, still focusing on her driving.The horror they both felt was also felt by Maartje inside the long sedan. "So many soldiers," she murmured. "There's no way I could fight them!"Anyone who saw the large group of blue-uniformed soldiers would shiver immediately.The sedan continued along the straight asphalt road that woul
Since that day, Duke Dujardin secretly helped those who were struggling financially to pay their taxes. "My father secretly doubled the employees' salaries! The aim was for this bonus not to be counted for deduction from their wages! He also provided financial assistance to those in great need, also secretly!" thought Maartje, recalling her father's struggle at that time. As time passed, the number of people receiving assistance from Duke Dujardin grew steadily. And it didn't take long for the duke to gain recognition from the wider community. "Hundreds of Paragons fought on my father's side! They sacrificed their lives so that Leon could be acquitted!" she thought again. The result was ten years ago when the very fierce civil war was finally won by Duke Dujardin. As Maartje reminisced about her father's struggle at that time, a voice inside her seemed to echo in her ears. A voice urging her to keep fighting, no matter how strong the enemy and how impossible victory may seem. T
It's been a common knowledge that although Leon and Duke Dujardin came from the same ancestors, their lines of luck differed. Duke Dujardin inherited thousands of hectares of land from his great-grandfather, a family wealth passed down through generations. It was all productive land cultivated with various vegetables, fruits, and even rare medicinal plants capable of generating billions of RG annually. That was just one aspect of the Dujardin family's wealth. Besides that, they also controlled several mining locations and significant real estate businesses. It could be said that the Dujardin family's hotels were almost scattered throughout the Eldoria kingdom. This was in stark contrast to Leon, or "The Unlucky Duke" as people called him. His grandfather was nearly bankrupt due to debts he couldn't bear. Meanwhile, his father became a fugitive after being found guilty of embezzling state funds. Leon, who was raised in a military education since childhood, lacked sufficient knowl
How dark Duke Dujardin felt hearing their explanations. Especially when they said that hospitals and social houses no longer provided social services. If you're sick or hungry, but you have no money, then the government can't do anything for you. In other words, you have to endure your suffering on your own, and there's no one you can ask for help. "The government argues that it's the people's obligation to pay taxes to them. While they have no obligations to the people!" the supervisor said again. When the tax rules were first implemented, along with the elimination of social security rules, chaos erupted almost throughout the province of Crystalbrook. It could even be said that this province experienced turmoil like never before in its history. "However, the protests we've made never succeeded because anyone who opposes will immediately be shot! If not, they will be arrested and tortured or sent to the mines for forced labor!" Duke Dujardin clenched his mouth tightly while clen
A month after Duke Dujardin lived in his luxurious manor in Emberfield, he was approached by a group of people who worked on his estate. "Duke Dujardin, forgive us!" The group of no more than ten people then immediately fell to their knees before the duke. "The police threatened to take our wages! We beg you, do not give them that money! It's all we have to feed our children and wives! We are even willing to work longer hours every day if you want us to, as long as you don't give that money to them!" They continued to prostrate themselves at Duke Dujardin's feet while pleading with him not to give their wages to the Crystalbrook police officers. Duke Dujardin didn't quite understand what they were saying. Of course, he wouldn't give their money to anyone. "Get up! There's no need to grovel like this!" he said, holding the shoulders of each worker one by one. "Please tell me, what's really going on?" They glanced at each other for a moment before the man at the forefront explaine
"What?" Jack exclaimed. "It seems Leon has been thinking about this for a long time! He realizes that Duke Dujardin has become some sort of symbol of rebellion for the people to oppose him! Therefore, he is convinced that as long as Duke Dujardin is still alive or residing in Crystalbrook, people will still have hope to rebel against him!" "In other words," Jack continued. "If Leon succeeds in marrying Maartje, then it's like destroying the last hope of the people of Crystalbrook to oppose him?" "Exactly! But, of course, that won't solve the problem in Crystalbrook! Mass oppression and exploitation will occur! In the end, it's the people who will suffer!" "You're right!" That's all Jack could say. Now he understood that letting Leon marry Maartje would only make the people even more miserable in the end. He also understood that the most important thing now was to save Maartje and her family first. "Quantara, do you have any ideas?" "Of course! I've been thinking of the most pos