The Princess And The Lord-Chapter 1323: I’m Back!

___Cestine Palace__

People cleared their papers, laptops, and stuff from the table as the meeting ended, and then one by one they left the room in an orderly manner later on there were only Fargo and Fredhardt left in the room.

Fred leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes while trying to calm his chaotic mind, full of wild thoughts scattered everywhere, like an unfinished puzzle game, unfortunately, his efforts were fruitless, he instead got a mild migraine. Fred groaned while massaging his forehead.

Meanwhile, Fargo filled his empty cup with coffee and then gulped the entire cup down until it was almost empty. Although he felt more energetic afterward his stomach made a rumbling sound as if complaining about drinking on an empty stomach.

Fargo ignored his stomach like he always did, he had no time to eat and he had no appetite. The truth is he had no appetite for a long time and rather filled his stomach with alcohol and caffeine. Fargo stared blankly at the wide window glass that granted him the magnificent view of the great King’s city, Herriond however, Fargo stared at the beautiful view with indifference.

"Have you heard from the boys?" Fred’s weary eyes turn at Fargo.

The corners of his lips curled up slightly, "Let me remind you, the boy you called is already mid-thirties."

"Call me a stubborn old man, but in my eyes, they will always be a boy, a bunch of naughty boys to be precise..." Fred stood up from his chair, he tucked his hands into his pockets as he walked towards Fargo.

Fargo didn’t refute it as he also felt the same way about Clift and Jay. Every time he saw them, he couldn’t help remembering the old days when they used to sneak out of the Cestine palace with Lucas and Lory to have fun, of course, it was mostly Lory’s idea though. However, those times seem so far away now,

"Those naughty boys said they were on their way back and they brought something that might be able to save Luc’s life," Fargo said.

Fred cast his gaze to the view outside then let out a long sigh "I hope they’re right"

"We saw before our eyes how they grew from naughty boys into reliable Archknights, therefore, I won’t start doubting them now."

"You’re right..." Fred paused for a moment as he was lost in thought, then suddenly spoke in a slightly confused tone, "Do you think it’s a bit strange for Jay to ask for the Arcem to pick them up?"

Arcem is a special aircraft belonging to the Lucient family. Although the Archknights were given exceptions, they never used them, especially when the king wasn’t there, so they were surprised when Jay asked to send the Arcem as a ride for them home.

Fargo’s phone suddenly vibrated, then he took it out and checked it, a second later, he turned to Fred, "Why don’t you ask yourself, they have already arrived at King Ar’kheon’s airport so I presume they will arrive at Cestine Palace in less than thirty minutes.

"Hm" Fred checked the watch on his wrist then turned around "I will check Luc’s condition, first," he said with a somber look then headed to the door and left the room.

Fargo reached into his pocket until he touched the cold metal in his pocket. He took out a silver box which was an old match from his uncle, Zargan. Fargo then proceeded to light the cigarette, he took a deep inhale until the smoke filled his lungs then he could taste the distinctive aroma of tobacco spread inside his tongue, slowly he blew the white smoke into the air.

Fargo stared blankly into the pale blue sky thinking why time passed so slowly these days. People say time will move faster as you get old but why isn’t the case for him? freēnovelkiss.com

’Fargy you stink, get away from us!’ Lory’s cute little face pinching her nose suddenly flashed across his mind.

Fargo lowered his eyes and then walked to the trash bin and then threw the remaining cigarettes into the bin. Fargo sighed heavily, he began to think of Lory even more than he used to after Lucas fell into a comatose state.

This incident happened too often and randomly, to the point it started to interfere with his daily work, even to the point that his subordinates often caught him staring blankly at the wall when he was supposed to check his work, but he couldn’t help it.

Fargo felt his spirit sucked out of his body, sometimes he felt so lost just like a broken kite floating in the sky, without knowing when he would be swept away by the harsh wind or plunged to the ground, maybe he just doesn’t care anymore, sadly, he knew he was not the only who felt like this.

Fredhardt only hid it better than the boys and him but Fargo knew deep down Fred was crumbling down as Lucas’s condition continued to deteriorate.

Fargo dropped his body to the chair, then rubbed his tired face. It’s funny he doesn’t feel this tired when fighting with Nazareth nor does he feel as much despair as this. Fargo glanced at his watch, and he took a deep breath hoping that Clift and Jay truly came with good news because he didn’t know how long he could hold on.

___________________________________

___On a meantime___

The streets of the capital city were bustling with life, filled with all kinds of people mingling with each other, from professionals walking briskly while occasionally answering the phone with a frown, to groups of teenagers hanging out on the streets in stylish clothes, and families spending their times in small restaurants and cafes, they chatted and laughed, enjoying their time.

"They look very happy" Lory smile.

"They are" Clift cast his gaze out the window, he thought about how contrasted this scene with the time during the Dark Ages war when darkness enveloped the entire world and all people’s faces were filled with despair and fear.

"There’s still a lot of work to be done, but it’s pretty good for now." Jay looked out the window and felt proud of what they had accomplished together as a nation.

Lory also agrees with what Jay said, "You all indeed do a great job~"

"One of the reasons is because Luc is a very good leader, he knows what to prioritize first and works very hard for it, you know he’s only slept for three to four hours for the last few years, we all tried to advise him to take more rest, but you know how stubborn he is, just like you, hey, this is probably hereditary!" Jay quipped.

"Maybe that’s why he slept so long," Lory squinted her eyes, "Maybe he just wanted to make up for his lack of sleep," she joked.

Clift knew what Lory was trying to do, he chuckled, "Maybe..."

"Oh well, I’ll just wake him up, as I always do?" Lory supported her chin on her palm as she looked at the window, then suddenly her eyes widened, then pulled Zhao Li Xin’s arm.

"Li Xin Look - See, it’s a cake shop where I work part-time!" Lory Point at a small but funny cake shop.

Zhao Li Xin with curiosity seeing the window then saw the waiter wearing a funny servant uniform with a skirt that was too short, "Are you wearing a uniform like that?" Zhao Li Xin felt uncomfortable knowing Lory was running around in a short skirt that showed off her long, slender legs to all the men.

"Yes, but my uniform is not like that, it has long sleeves to the elbow and an A-line skirt to my knee, overall it’s very chic. I heard the uniform was designed by a famous brand, but after the war ended they probably changed the image of the store so the uniform changed as well." Lory didn’t find it strange that a store would change their image to attract more customers.

Zhao Li Xin felt much better Lory wearing a long skirt then he accidentally caught Clift and Jay exchanging a knowing glance.

What Lory never knew was when she was told to do a part-time job to compensate for Lory accidentally destroying someone’s car while doing a chase.

King Marcus gave an order through Stephan to change the uniform of the cake shop where Lory worked, but they must do it secretly because no one could find out Lory worked there. Hence, Stephan racked his brains on how to fulfill the King’s request then he got the idea to approach a well-known brand.

Stephan sent his subordinates to persuade the well-known brand to make uniforms for small shops that were popular among the youngsters on the grounds of supporting these small entrepreneurs and one of them was the shop where Lory worked.

Not only this will help those shops it also increases the image of that brand therefore they agreed and thus how the uniform of that shop changed. If only Lory knew how much effort and money was spent just so she didn’t wear a mini skirt uniform.

"Hey, that’s Cravenhall’s uniform, Li Xin, that’s my school uniform!"

Lory shook Zhao Li Xin’s shoulder when she became very happy.

Zhao Li Xin doesn’t mind, he actually can’t wait to explore this city to find out how Lory’ spent her life when she was young.

"I’m gonna take you to visit my school when we have time okay!" Lory wanted to show every part of her life to Zhao Li Xin.

"En" Zhao Li Xin looks at Lory affectionately.

Clift and Jay silently watched how Lory and Zhao Li Xin interacted, to be honest, they didn’t have much of an opinion on Zhao Li Xin’s current character due to the lack of interaction between them but at least they could feel Zhao Li Xin’s feelings for Lory were genuine, sincere though it was a little bit obsessive.

Fortunately, they could see Zhao Li Xin was completely wrapped up in Lory’s fingers even though from the outside it looked like Lory was being controlled but seeing how Zhao Li Xin’s eyes were always glued to Lory and his cold expression only changed when talking to Lory they could easily conclude who has more control in this relationship.

"Lory covers your face" Jay’s voice reminded.

For the time being, Jay, Clift, and Lory agree to keep the fact that Lory is still alive a secret to keep the situation under control. While they trust their people, they can’t risk someone accidentally or intentionally spreading the news to the enemy, so the less people know about Lory’s whereabouts, the easier it is for them to control the situation.

Lory hurriedly pulled up her jacket hood and then put on a mask and sunglasses.

"I feel like a celebrity" Lory posed like a model in a magazine.

Jay stared at her as if Lory was an idiot, "You know, you’ve always been more famous than any celebrity in the world, right?"

"And much more influential, you remember the archery glove trend you started" Clift reminded her.

Lory winced as she reminiscence one of her embarrassing memories. At that time Lory, Lucas, and the others got a sudden request from the gone of the Guild to hunt down a high-level beast that had been terrorizing a remote village in southern Harland, considering how urgent the situation was Lucas and Lory decided they had to fulfill this request as soon as possible.

However, because the location of the village was too far away from Herriond, Lory, and Lucas were late to attend an important state event despite they already used Arcem to come home, as a result, they all had to dress up in the airplane before they’re landed but the situation was much worse for Lory because as a girl Lory needed to style her hair, put on make-up, not to mention she also need to squeeze herself into a complicated designer dress, even though Lory got help from a big group of stylists, hairdressers, make-up artists, and whatnot, however, it didn’t give much help instead adding to the already chaotic situation, and as a consequence, Lory forgot to take off her leather archery gloves.

When Lory exited the plane, dozens of reporters and photographers already waiting for her. When Lory realized what happened it was too late. So, Lory pretended that the gloves were part of her outfit, fortunately, she managed to fool everyone and even got compliments for her unconventional style, some said she broke the traditional order of how royals should dress, and many other excessive compliments that made her conscience prick.

However, who would have thought that her style was followed by many Harland celebrities which resulted in this style spreading to common people and even other countries?

"Oh, and don’t forget the ’Wet - Wet’ look she started" Jay gave a teasing look.

"Oh, shut up!" Lory hushed him.

"Wet look?" Zhao Li Xin had no idea what kinda look is that.

Lory begrudgingly explained, "My gift got out of control and I accidentally got myself wet and I didn’t have time to change because the door was already open and the photographer was already taking pictures of me, I don’t know why this always happens to me. At that time I was sure I was cursed or something"

"Yeah, but you always look so confident when you’re posing, You even almost fool me," Clift said in genuine admiration.

Lory blew her cheeks and rolled her eyes "You know what Fred always said, Fake it till you make it"

"Well, it’s work like a charm, isn’t it" Jay’s brows shoot up.