212 A SCHEMING SMILE

AURUM slowly opened her eyes and saw the familiar ceiling of her room at Hanover Manor. She was in a dazed for a bit, wondering why she was here. Then she remembered that she, her mother, and Black had arrived here in the middle of the night yesterday. A day before they travelled here, her mother already contacted Gregory to inform him of their arrival. So, even though they arrived here at the middle of the night Gregory and his wife, the head maid Nelly were still awake to welcome them.

Because it was too late in the night, her mother told her that they should just hold-off checking that record her father left and do it early next morning. Which was now, by the way. 

She slowly stood up and stretched her body. Then walked towards the connecting room where her bathroom was. Inside, the mist coming from the silver bathtub almost filled the room. She could see that it was already filled with water. The tub had a magic stone inside that kept the water temperature the same as that of a hot spring. Aurum could also smell the scent of lilac filling the air. 

Nelly must have prepared this while she was still asleep. She even mixed her favorite scent in the bath. A smile crossed from her pink lips, Nelly was always so thoughtful. She removed her night wear and dipped into the bath. She couldn't help but let out a sigh of contentment when she did.

Aurum looked up at the ceiling. She wondered what her brother was doing right now. From the island, Kievan was much farther compared to Albion, so her brother and her party might not be there yet. But most importantly, even if they arrived there now, they couldn't just easily enter the place. So, most likely, they're currently at Gluastein – the nearest country to Kievan. 

She splashed water on her face. No, there's no point thinking about that right now. She was sure her brother would contact her if they would encounter a problem or something. Right now, what she needed to focus on was the task given to her. 

After bathing, she wore a simple ankle-length white dress. She just let her long golden hair fell freely behind her back. She went out of her room and walked down to the dining room. Her mother and Black were already sitting there, the table already filled with sumptuous breakfast.

"Good morning, Mother," she greeted. "You too, Black." Then she sat on the left of her mother.

"Did you sleep well?" Anthea asked.

"Yes," Aurum answered. Shen actually didn't expect that she would sleep so comfortably. She's probably more tired than she thought. "How about you, Mother?"

"It's fine. Just feeling a bit unaccustomed."

So, she already got used to sleeping in rustic inns. Sleeping again on her soft bed felt a bit uncomfortable. Add that to anxiety she was feeling, thinking of that record book Dorian mentioned in his letter, she hardly had a blink of sleep. 

"Black sleep very well!" Black said.

Anthea chuckled and ruffled Black's hair who was sitting on her right. "Good for you, kid."

Black smiled brightly at the duchess. "Lady Anthea, should we eat?"

Aurum put her hand on her chin and smirked at Black. "You only have food in your brain. Remember not to eat too much or I'll tell on you on Brother."

Black pouted. "Tattletale."

"Now, now, let's just eat," Anthea said, mediating between the two.

Before they started eating, Nelly walked up to Anthea's side and put a bowl of soup in front of her. "Your Grace, please eat this soup. I mixed in some medicinal herbs in it to alleviate your fatigue."

Anthea looked up at Nelly, she must have noticed that she didn't have a proper sleep that's why she made this soup. She smiled and said, "Thank you, Nelly. I'll make sure to finish it all."

Nelly smiled back and retreated.

"Mother, have you asked Gregory about that?" Aurum asked after a while, talking about the record book her father mentioned in his letter.

"Not yet. But I already told him to come to the study later after breakfast."

Hearing that, Aurum inadvertently tightened her hold on her spoon and fork. Finally, just a bit more and they would find out about the truth behind the Blackbourne family's lineage. 

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Argent looked out of the window, all she could see was endless white snow. She didn't feel cold because of the shuttle's good heat insulation. So, even if it was snowing heavily, they could barely feel it. She heard that the Northern continent was the land of snow. That fact didn't fully register in her until they entered the said continent. The further they got to the North, the more snow there was. Since Keivan was at the most northern part of the continent, it's undoubtedly the coldest region. 

The flying shuttle they were in were above the small country of Gluastein. A country located at the south of the Empire of Kievan. It was called a country but it was more like a small rural state. A very thriving one at that. Most probably because before one could enter Kievan, they had to pass through Gluastein first.

Even though Kievan was very strict when it came to the people who could enter the country, many people still wanted to enter it. Because despite being ruled by such a tyrant, Kievan was still one of the most powerful and richest country in the world. That's why many still tried to enter the country in the hopes that they could do some business. Because the pros outweighed all the cons. 

"Argent, this is the list you wanted," Jaxon said, giving her his sPhone which contained the list that one of his subordinates staying at Gluastein just sent.

Argent asked him before they left her island if he could contact anyone who was working at Gluastein that could compile a list of noble families that were about to enter Kievan. It was easy to do since the McAllister Chamber of Commerce had businesses stationed at almost all countries in the world – Kievan and Gluastein included.

Truthfully, with his identity as the head of the McAllister family, it would not be hard for him to enter Kievan. Sure, he had to pull some strings for that to happen, but it was not something impossible. But Jaxon also knew that it would be bad if he went there using his own identity. The thing that they had to do absolutely couldn't be traced back to him. Because that would be the safest option for Ylannea and their son.

Unless, of course, they killed the Emperor. Which at this point, he'd rather do.

"Thank you, Uncle Jax." Argent took the sPhone and started scrolling down the list. Once she found what she was looking for, a smile appeared on her lips. It was a smile that clearly tells the others that she was scheming something. She raised her head and looked at the silent general standing at the corner. "Lei Feng, what do you think about being my fiancé?"