The Princess And The Lord-Chapter 1402: Familiar Eyes, Distant Years

Under the old rosebuds, a little girl sits with knees hugged tightly to her chest, her small shoulders trembling with each sob.

"Lory?" Stephan called her gently as he crouched down beside her.

She sobbed, paused, then she raised her little head, her beautiful purple eyes were glassy from tears, and dirt smudging her pink cheeks. For a moment, she didn’t say anything, just staring at Stephan sadly.

The truth is, Stephan never liked children before to the point he even considered whether he ever liked his own child if he ever got one. That is way, he had no interest to starting a family. The joke on him, though.

However, seeing the little girl cry made his heart ache so much. He didn’t know why he cared so much about her — and not just her, but also her little brother, Lucas. Maybe it was because they were Lucient, but even so, it surprised him.

Unlike any other children, the twins are distressingly sensible, too mature for their age and too kind for their own good, and what makes them even more remarkable is that they were born in great privilege, power, and influence that a man could imagine.

"I missed mom..." Lory’s lips tremble and a bead of tears rolls on her chubby cheek.

Stephan let out a heavy sigh. It’s been six months since Queen Lorenna passed away, and the twin was barely six years old. No wonder she missed her mother. Stephan sits next to her, then strokes the little girl’s head gently.

"So, why are you crying here?"

Lory wiped her tears and sniffled, "Luc is in the room..."

"So?" Stephan raised his brows, not understanding.

"If I cry, then he would cry too...I don’t want to make him sad...and..and if we were sad—Father will be sad too, everyone will be sad again...I don’t want that!" Lory pressed her head against her knees as she cried helplessly like a wounded animal.

Stephan then remembered he caught a wet pillow on Lucas’ bed, it seemed the brother didn’t move on from his sadness as everyone thought, ’See, they are just too kind for their own good.’

Stephan felt the heaviness in his heart, knowing the twins pretended to be alright with each other. They were so young, yet they hid their pain like grown-ups do. It was sad and infuriating...frustrating.

"Okay, come here," Stephan pick up the kid on his lap then hugged her tightly "If you want to cry, just cry okay but don’t do it all alone like this, call me and I will acompany you and you can cry as much as you want and I won’t tell anyone..." he patted Lory back softly.

"...Promise." Lory’s little arm wrapped around Stephan’s neck, desperately searching for safety and comfort.

"I promise!" Stephan firmly said, "Now, you can cry, and after this, we will grab the strawberry cake you love so much, okay?"

"Okay..." Lory whisper.

The memory came uninvited as Lory saw the man whom she considered her own uncle. The years had changed them both, but in her eyes, he was still the kind yet strict uncle she loved very much. Tears welled up in her eyes. Without a second thought, Lory ran to the man and jumped to hug him.

Stephan was stunned at who this blonde girl was and why she hugged him like this? Hundreds of questions ran through his head, when suddenly he heard the familiar voice "Uncle Stevie..."

Stephan was frozen, his heart thrummed wildly. He knew this voice, even if he died, he would still recognize this voice, it was the voice of the girl he considered wholeheartedly as his own daughter, the one he loved more than his own biological Son.

His voice trembles in shock and disbelief, "Lo...ry" ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

A realization hit him, then he looked at Fargo for reassurance, a confirmation. A small smile spread across Fargo’s face. "Now you know why we’re desperately searching for you..."

For a long time, Stephen could not move; his breathing caught somewhere between disbelief and fearful hope that it might only be a dream because he did have a dream like this many times before.

"It’s been a long time, Uncle Stevie." Lory released her hug, she looked at him with a soft smile.

Stephan stared wide-eyes at the blue-eyed woman, he knew that face but it’s a different eye color was different — but still, he knew her gaze was very similar, and that sweet smile...

"Lo... Lory? How can this be...? You’re alive?" Stephan nearly fell to his knees before Lory swiftly caught him by the arms.

"Uncle Stevie!" Lory gripped his arms anxiously, but then she felt the hard metal hidden beneath his sleeve. Tears welled in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "Your arm...?"

Even though she already knew from Fredhardt what happened to Stephan’s right arm and eyes, seeing it personally still shattered her heart.

Lory clutches Stephan’s shirt and cries, "I’m sorry, if only I were there, if I stay..."

"No! That’s not what your father would’ve wanted, Lory." Stephan cupped her cheeks gently. "...You’ve grown so much. You look just like your mother."

A chuckle, tinged with sobs, escaped her lips. "Really? I always thought I looked more like Father."

Stephan studied Lory’s face, now more mature than the one in his memory. The little girl he once knew had become a woman — a beautiful one, at that.

"You have your father’s eyes," he said softly, "But you look so much like your mother... especially with your hair dyed blonde like this." He gently patted Lory’s head, just as he used to when she was a child, Lory smile sweetly just like she was achild.

"Um... sorry to interrupt your reunion," Serena said, awkwardly raising her hand, "but I don’t think this is the best place for it."

"Oh, are you Serena Shawn?" Fargo completely forgot Serena was here all along.

"Eh, yeah." Serena was intimidated by Fargo’s big posture and sharp gaze.

"Serena!" Just like Fargo, Lory also forgot about Serena, but no one needs to know that.

Lory rushed to Serena. "Serena, it is me, Raven Jane, we’ve been talking on the phone with Garrof and Lloyd. To be honest, Garrof and Lloyd asked for my help to find you, and I got information that you are with Uncle Stevie, I mean Stephan, but I cannot contact Uncle Stephan to ask about your situation, so...here I am."

"You are Raven Jane, but how do you know Stephan Knoxville?" Serena looks at Lory and Stephan alternately. From the way she saw them hug each other, they look very close; after all, she calls him uncle.

"How do you know Serena Shawn, Lory?" Stephan is also curious and wants to know.

Serena was taken aback. "Wait, who’s Lory? Your name is not Raven Jane?"

Stephan raised his brows in understanding, "Oh, she didn’t know?"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Lory massaged her head. "I’m Raven Jane, but my real name is Lorient Jean Frau Lucient, but you can call me Lory." Lory smiled awkwardly.

Serena’s jaw dropped, her eyes widely open as she stared at Lory with shock, though with the way she looked, she might gonna have a shock. Lory looked at Fargo with pleading eyes, she genuinely feared Serena would have a stroke by now.

Fargo sighed and then stepped in front of Serena to calm her down. "Miss Shawn, my name is Fargo Elkhandt. I know this situation is a lot to take in, but I need you to calm down..."

Serena’s breath hitched, her eyes swiftly shifted to Fargo. "You are Fargo Elkhandt! The Archknight? The one that vanquished Nazareth with King Lucas, FARGO ELKHANDT!" She screamed in a high pitch untill her whole face turned red.

"I think she’s gonna pass out," Stephan said with certainty.

"How could this be? I meet the former Archknight - the present Archknight, a-a-and Princess Lorient, that supposed to be dead, who turns out to be Raven Jane, and she’s a hunter or not, of course she’s a Lucient, the only lucient other than King Lucas, oh my god! I’m face to face with the Lucient heir, this - this - this us crazy!" Serena was rambling frantically.

"This is not working, Lory," Fargo sighed.

"Serena, I’m sorry I have to do this," Lory said in regret, then raised her hand and slapped Serena’s cheek.

’SLAP!’

Serena snapped back to reality, the sting in her cheek grounding her. She looked at Lory and muttered, "Thank you... I needed that." She sighed while rubbing her swollen cheek.

Lory’s expression softened with regret. She placed her palm over Serena’s cheek. "I’m sorry..."

A faint glow began to emit from Lory’s hand, and within seconds, the pain vanished. When Serena touched her cheek again, it was no longer hot or swollen. That’s when she realized — Lory had healed her.

"Okay, whatever explanation you’ve got, save it until we’re out of here," Fargo interrupted. He then turned to Stephan, who was still staring at Lory as if he couldn’t quite believe she was real. Fargo couldn’t blame him — he had felt the same way for days after reuniting with her.

"Yo, old man, did you find what you were looking for in here?"

Stephan snapped out of his daze and turned to Fargo. "Well, mostly. But we’re still searching for the ancient manifesto scroll left behind by possibly the Archknight."

"That impossible, all history about Archknights it’s safe inside Harland National Archives. How could Dolza get his hands on this?" Fargo was bewildered.

"That’s impossible! All records about the Archknights are supposed to be safely stored in the Harland National Archives. How could Dolza get his hands on this?" Fargo said, bewildered.

"That... we don’t know for sure," Stephan replied, stepping behind the computer. He plugged in a USB drive and began typing.

"My conclusion is that it was taken long before Harland was even founded by King Ar’Kheon," Serena added.

"That’s a very long time ago," Lory muttered.

"We were in the middle of searching when we thought the enemy was coming..." Stephan shot a reproachful glance at Fargo.

"Sorry, Uncle Stevie," Lory said apologetically.

"It’s okay, darling," Stephan said with a warm smile toward Lory.

Fargo shook his head, already used to Stephan’s obvious favoritism — especially when it came to Lory. Even Fredhardt hadn’t been exempt from it.

Just then, a steel box slid open with a soft hiss, drawing everyone’s attention. They immediately moved closer to inspect its contents. Inside the box lay a bundle of documents, an old parchment, and a round bronze artifact etched with ancient runes.

"Let’s take everything with us!" Serena said as she reached for her backpack, about to pack everything inside when Lory suddenly stopped her.

"Allow me," Lory said, raising her hands. A second later, everything in the box vanished in a flash of light.

Stephan and Serena’s eyes widened.

"Where did it go?!" Serena stare at the box dumbfoundedly.

Lory smiled while showing her spatial ring. "Don’t worry, it’s safe in here."

"A pocket dimension, Harland can make that?!" Serena gasped.

Fargo waved his hand casually, "It wasn’t Harland, it was Lory’s husband who made it."

"YOU’RE MARRIED?" Stephan shouted in disbelief

"Eee.., Haven’t I told you that?" Lory smiled nervously.

"NO! Who is he? What’s his name? Where does he come from? Wait, forget that! HOW STRONG HE IS?"

Lory glared at Fargo. That was not how she wanted to break the news to Stephan. Fargo looked away, feigning ignorance.

"I’ll tell you everything later, okay. But the most important thing right now is how do we get out of here first!" Lory tried to change the subject, as it would take too long to explain everything, and they had more pressing things to attend to right now.

"Relax, Lory, no one knows we’re here." Fargo spread his arms as he spoke confidently.

All of a sudden, an alarm shattered the silence like breaking glass. The steel door was slowly closing, and everyone moved in haste. Lory quickly summoned a block of ice to stall the door open, buying them more time to get out. One by one, they jumped out of the vault, just before the ice cracked and the door slammed shut behind them.