Chapter 276
Russell was a little dazed.
As he left, he couldn’t help but glance at the King again.
Why did he feel that things had unfolded in such a strange way?
‘The King hasn’t asked anything at all and simply let me go?
‘And, in fact, he has temporarily spared the Wallen family because of this?‘ Russell thought to himself.
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He did not know that even his mission to retrieve the defense map was a move prearranged by the King and Dashnell, merely a step to maintain stability.
Russell left the palace in a haze.
Only then did he feel a little more at ease.
Though he had said he would never return to the Wallen family, at this moment, with no one else to turn to, he instinctively headed back there.
At this moment, only Avery and Raul remained in the Wallen family.
Raul sat on the threshold, raving madly, his hair a tangled mess like a bird’s nest.
Even though it was Joshua standing in front of him, Raul pointed at Joshua’s nose and spat venomous curses, “You wretched woman, how dare you despise me?”
“Does it matter who you serve?
“One day, I’ll kill you, make you kneel before me…” Raul shouted.
Joshua could not bear to listen to the rest of the vile insults.
Suppressing the urge to get up and rain blows on Raul, he turned and walked out of the courtyard.
As soon as he stepped outside, he ran into Russell, who had just returned.
Russell’s face was red and rough from the cold, his whole appearance travel–worn; the noble air of the Chancellor’s son was long gone, and even his once lively eyes had grown dull and lifeless.
His temperament was no longer so unruly.
Upon seeing Joshua, Russell stopped at the doorway, did not step forward, and simply watched in silence.
Between the two brothers, it seemed that at some imperceptible moment, a chasm had formed.
Russell’s heart ached deeply.
This pain had nothing to do with any particular thought or realization; it was simply the feeling that everything he once had been shattered, beyond recovery.
It was a pain of utter despair, a pain born of instinct.
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Chapter 276
Joshua opened his mouth, wanting to blame Russell for not coming home, for wandering everywhere.
He wanted to blame him for not stopping Raul and the other brothers before things got out of hand.
But when these words reached his lips, Joshua couldn’t say them.
Russell had tried to stop them.
But he failed.
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It was as if fate had arranged everything from the start: at a certain moment, father and son would stubbornly go their own way, refusing to listen until it was too late.
They’d already hit a dead end.
In the end, what shattered all of Joshua’s beliefs was neither Margaery, nor Tessa, nor Russell.
It was Raul.
It was Raul who personally destroyed everything, making him realize that everything in the past was wrong, and that the malicious hand manipulating his fate was not someone else, but his own father, who gave him life and raised him!
Joshua finally spoke, “It’s good that you’re back.”
As he spoke, he stepped aside from the doorway and said with lowered eyes, “Go see Father. He’s already lost his mind.”
Though Joshua said this, he himself did not want to go back.
Russell saw Raul through the courtyard gate.
But he’d already heard his mad ramblings.
After Joshua stepped aside, Raul saw Russell in the distance. After watching for a while, he hallucinated and mistook him for someone else. “Rusty Buckman, do you still remember Finch Mudworth from back then?” he asked.
“Let me tell you, I’m not Raul, nor am I Harlan. I am the one you drove out of Weirwood Village years ago. That Finch Mudworth!” he shouted.
‘Now, I’ve made it big!” he exclaimed.
At this, Kaul got up and began to wave his arms wildly. “Now I’m the Chancellor, second only to one, above all others he said arrogantly.
“Do you know how high my rank is? I could wipe out the entire Weirwood Village if I wanted!” he warned.
“Rusty, sooner or later, I’ll make you kneel at my feet and beg for mercy, bark like a dog, and wag your tail!” he sneered
I’ll send your woman and your daughter to the brothel, to be slept with by thousands, used by tens of thousands! he ackled
While Raul was saying all this, his eyes were bloodshot
Every word from his mouth, every name, every place, was unfamiliar to Russell
“How did he end up like this?” Russell was shaken to the core, staring in astonishment at Joshua.
Joshua felt cold all over, even his voice carried a note of despair. Last time, when he left the palace to look for Margaery, he
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Chapter 276
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an into Minister Carey, who wanted to adopt Margaery as his goddaughter. That’s when he became like this.”
Minister Carey?” Russell was startled. “Are you talking about Marc’s father? Why has he taken such an interest in Margaery?”
As far as I remember, Margaery has no connection whatsoever with the Carey family.
How did things end up like this?‘ Russell thought to himself.
The King’s decree appointed Margaery as the Imperial Seal Bearer and also made Marc’s father her godfather,” Joshua said,
hose emotions were quite complicated.
This is paving the way for her,” he added.
oshua’s mind might not have been the sharpest, but after serving in the imperial court for years–and with two whole days o think things over–even he had pieced it together.
Father’s involvement in the treasury fraud means certain death, likely condemning the entire clan. The King’s move is neant to sever Margaery’s ties to us, to spare the ‘Star of Fortune‘ when the family is purged,” Joshua said.
at this, he could not help but let out a bitter laugh.
We come from the same family, yet our fates are so different,” he sighed.
Listening to these words, Russell was shocked. He thought of what the Wallen family had done, and what Walter had shown
im, and muttered absentmindedly, “She has died once already; it’s time for her to leave.”
But has she already gone so far, risen so high?
Imperial Seal Bearer, a person close to the King,’ Russell thought to himself.
He had never even considered such a position before.
oshua looked at Russell, his expression somewhat complicated. He said, “Tomorrow is her recognition banquet. Even hough the Crown Prince has died, the King has not said to cancel the banquet.”
Russell was taken aback by this.
Suddenly, he recalled Tessa’s recognition banquet a month ago.
How ironic! The Wallen family held a grand recognition banquet for an enemy, forcing their own daughter to her death.
And now, their own daughter was no longer theirs. The one they did not value was cherished by others, who were now holding a recognition banquet in her honor.
And it was by the King’s decree,
And just like that, the world had turned upside down.
Russell felt a burning sensation on his face.
After all, times had changed. He lowered his gaze and said, “She deserves it.”
At that, Joshua had nothing to say, either.
It was they, father and son, who once rejected Margaery; now, blaming her for being a daughter or sister to someone else
was unreasonable.
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Chapter 276
“Please take care of Father. I truly can’t manage it alone,” Joshua said.
He could not face Raul in this state.
He felt tainted to his very core.
From the beginning, he had accepted the wrong beliefs, and in the end, became what he was now.
Russell looked at Raul with disgust and said, “There has long been nothing between us.
‘Warren said he was unworthy of Mother.”
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Russell’s eyes reddened. He withdrew his gaze and said, “The King issued a decree: the matter of the Icy Pool will not be pursued for now, but not a word more was said.”
“I came only to inform you of this,” he added.
After speaking, he was about to leave.
Suddenly, a man in black entered from the opposite side, causing him to freeze in place. “You-”
He was from Stormshade Hall.
It was Leandro, now in disguise!
Russell had met him before; it was because of this man that he went to Ramsgate and retrieved the defense map.
He had not expected him to appear again at this moment!
“Do you have further instructions?” Russell said, feeling cold all over.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
