Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 163
The people of Paradise Island had gone mad.
This was everyone’s first reaction when the news reached the inner city.
Due to his responsibilities, Louis was the first to receive the firsthand information. Additionally, Alexander, being somewhat involved, had the most accurate intelligence.
“Those people are from the same circle as Bravi, but none of them hold any official positions. Only Pendrel has an uncle who works as an accountant under Mr. Cameron. His abilities are mediocre, and he hasn’t been promoted in five or six years,” Alexander said. He wasn’t unfamiliar with their backgrounds, as they had boasted about their family’s few notable members when they first met, saving him the trouble of a background check.
“They used our carriage?” Louis quickly walked through the courtyard. “How many of them are still alive?” From his perspective, it didn’t matter if all that trash died, but to others, this incident was likely far more serious than a few deaths.
“The carriage was overturned by the crowd. By the time Alpha and the others arrived, Pendrel and the coachman had already been dragged out of the broken windows. They weren’t dead. Someone managed to control the situation. They might use them for negotiations later.”
Someone managed to control the situation?
Louis paused. Charlie’s friends had been lurking on Paradise Island, and they probably stepped in when things got out of hand. Otherwise, if the enraged crowd had killed them, it would have been tough to handle the potential backlash. The hotheaded rioters might not have considered this, but “those people”, including Priscilla’s brother, would certainly have thought of it.
“Who stepped in to negotiate?” Louis asked.
“They didn’t show themselves directly. They pushed out a mysterious old man who said they could talk.” Alexander felt partially responsible for the situation. If he hadn’t been so passive in dealing with Pendrel and his cronies, things might have turned out differently.
“You go to Adan’s place and keep an eye on them—” Louis thought for a moment, then changed his mind. “No, you’re not suitable. Let someone else go and make sure they don’t do anything stupid.”
Alexander was about to agree when he saw Annie running over, lifting her skirt, her face flushed from exertion.
“Sir, Mrs. Morris’s assistant is in the front hall, urgently requesting to see you,” Annie said, her breath unsteady. “We’ve tried to calm him down, but he’s very agitated.”
“Who?” Louis looked at Alexander.
“Mr. Adan’s mother,” Alexander said.
“What does she want?” Louis continued walking, but not to the front hall. He headed for the side door, where the carriage was waiting. Alexander and Annie had to follow him quickly.
“She says she wants to deploy people to deal with people who had malicious intentions toward her family…”
Alexander’s eyebrow twitched. Louis had just mentioned this, and Mrs. Morris was already demonstrating what “stupidity” meant. But then he thought, if this woman wasn’t like this, she wouldn’t have indulged people like Bravi and Pendrel, who were more trouble than they were worth.
Even so, to boldly send someone to command Louis to act as her enforcer was astonishingly arrogant. Did she think Louis, an Elder, was her private army leader? Why hadn’t he heard of the Adan family being this… absurd before?
Or maybe they were always a bizarre family, held together by the only sane and high-ranking member, Adan, preserving their image.
Louis stopped and looked at Annie.
Annie: “?”
She feared this ambiguous smile on her boss’s face the most, not knowing what he was thinking.
Alexander sighed internally, amazed at how the clever Mr. Adan could have such a reckless and shortsighted mother. He spoke up. “I will go to persuade her and arrange some people to prevent…”
“No,” Louis repeated with a peculiar expression. “No.”
“If he wants to stay here, let him. Don’t interfere,” Louis said. “As for anything happening in his household, it has nothing to do with us. That’s what you should say to anyone who asks.”
Alexander stared at Louis for a moment, trying to determine if he was delirious with fever.
“Mrs. Morris’s idea of cleaning up probably means anyone from Paradise Island in her sight. Given the unresolved conflict between Pendrel and Jason, if another incident targeting Paradise Island occurs, the rift will be hard to heal.”
Louis reached the carriage, swiftly stepped onto the footstool, and got in. He refused the coachman’s help, closing the door himself, leaving Alexander and Annie bewildered.
“Then don’t heal it. Let it tear apart.”
Annie was dumbfounded. She turned to Alexander after the carriage disappeared around the bend. “What does he mean by this?”
She knew Louis was always rebellious, rarely complying with anyone (except Khalif). But this seemed overly rebellious. Even she could see this wasn’t just about Mrs. Morris’s family honor or a life debt. If Paradise Island and the inner city broke off, most of the city would be paralyzed!
While the inner city held most of the wealth and power, the lowly workers toiling away in corners were the main force of White Bridge, especially during the auction with guests from all over. Even a two-hour disruption in hot water supply would result in countless complaints. The privileged had long been accustomed to servants doing everything for them. If the servile staff suddenly disappeared, they wouldn’t be able to drive carriages or cook, let alone untie their shoes or corsets.
Alexander didn’t respond. Reluctantly, Annie faced the difficult steward again and asked, “Where is he going? To report to Lord Khalif? Why didn’t he take you?”
Usually, Louis took Alexander with him everywhere.
Alexander shook his head, suddenly removing his glasses and carefully putting them in his shirt pocket. He ruffled his neatly combed hair.
“Don’t worry about it. Just follow his instructions. One thing, don’t let anyone into his office—not even a piece of paper. If visitors don’t listen, get some tough guys to block the door.”
Annie shouted at his back, “Where are you going?”
Alexander didn’t answer. He and Louis had worked together for so long they had developed a silent understanding. Although he had no evidence, his instinct told him Louis wasn’t going to see Khalif and that the carriage ride had nothing to do with his job.
Louis was going to do what he wanted, and by not giving Alexander any tasks or instructions, he was implicitly allowing him to do the same.
Strangely, Alexander wasn’t surprised. He walked briskly to the stables, led out a brown horse, and, after some thought, took off his coat and put on a short robe hanging on the wall.
He was heading to Paradise Island.
……
The path from the garden to the entrance was paved with granite slabs of consistent color, each meticulously polished. The carriage wheels made almost no sound as they rolled over them. The black carriage, like a ghost in broad daylight, stopped silently at the door. The silent coachman unfolded the steps for Louis to alight.
The servant, who had been dozing on the porch, woke as soon as the garden gate opened. Recognizing Louis’s distinctive black carriage from afar, he quickly summoned a maid to deliver the message and stood straight, waiting.
“Mr. Louis,” the servant greeted respectfully, bending deeply.
Louis nodded without responding, his attention on the approaching maid.
“Is the Countess home?” he asked politely.
“Madam is in the reading room writing poetry. Please wait in the side hall,” the maid, an older woman with a stern demeanor, replied.
Louis nodded, handing his cane to the footman, and followed the maid to the side hall, not urging her.
A boy entered to serve tea. Louis’s gaze traveled from the boy’s legs to his face. There were several scratches on his neck and jaw. Considering the boy’s age, it looked more like a pet cat’s doing than a lover’s gift.
“Amber?” he asked softly.
Hearing this, the boy looked up, trying to appear casual but was clearly curious, staring a bit too long at Louis’s face.
He looked exactly like Mr. Charlie but felt completely different.
“I’m Amber,” he said, a bit flustered. He regretted volunteering to serve tea just to see what Louis looked like—twins indeed shared the same face.
But Louis seemed only to be greeting him, not making conversation. Amber, unfamiliar with him, nervously forgot how to speak the common language. Priscilla soon came downstairs, and Amber took one last glance at Louis and quietly left.
“Ceylon.” Priscilla stopped Louis from rising to assist her and slowly sat on the sofa. “I can’t rely too much on others. The doctor says I might not have enough stamina.”
“I’m not others,” Louis said.
Priscilla blinked and smiled. “Of course you’re not. Why the sudden visit? Luckily, I got up early… Did Luna say what I was doing?”
“In the reading room, writing poetry.”
“Ah, I was actually eating a pie drenched three times in syrup,” Priscilla said lightly. “But Luna wants me to maintain my image.”
“How’s your health?” Louis scrutinized her face.
“The doctor forbids me from going out,” Priscilla said seriously, seeing Louis’s concern. “They all recommend I stay in my room.”
“Do you think you could handle moving? Not far, but somewhere safer.”
“What do you mean?”
“This is your registered address as Countess of the Mokwen Kingdom. Khalif knows this. Something might happen in the city soon. I’m worried.”
“Is it about Paradise Island?” Priscilla asked.
Louis looked at her.
“I’d rather you listen to music at times like this,” he said softly. “But your people are efficient. They get news quickly.”
“Do you think things will escalate? Will the conflict affect the inner city?” Priscilla frowned. “I’ve noticed many people from Paradise Island here. They handle most of the heavy work. If influenced externally—”
“They might react internally,” Louis finished. “I have an idle place five streets away. It’s listed as bad debt but maintained regularly. You can move there with trusted people.”
“This house is nice, but if something happens, it’s too conspicuous—” he was interrupted by the chime outside the carved glass door. After a few chimes and permission, Amber entered.
“Madam, another guest is here to see you,” Amber cautiously reported, trying to follow the formal speech patterns, though his pronunciation was a bit awkward.
Priscilla raised an eyebrow.
“I’m quite popular today.” She turned to Amber. “Who’s the second guest?”
“Miss Prima. She seems a bit distressed and quite frightened.”
Kinky Thoughts:
Note: This chapter is originally chapter 164. The author noted she accidentally posted it as chapter 164 instead of 163. I’ve made the changes to the translated version swapping the two chapters in order to have a more fluid flow to the story.
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