Carlene headed back to the kitchen.Nadine pulled out her foundation and applied some on her face to conceal the skin that got bruised when Adrian stepped on her. Then, she got up to check herself in the mirror.She began to think about excuses that she could use to invite Adrian to the family home tomorrow.It took only a short time before Carlene returned with dinner. She added some extra side dishes because her daughter was eating too.The mother and daughter sat at the dining table and began to eat. Meanwhile, Carlene said, “Go on, Naddy. You’re home because you have something to tell me, right?”Carlene knew her daughter very well. She knew that something had to be wrong for her daughter to suddenly come home.Nadine giggled and said, “You make it sound like I don’t come home without a reason, Mother. However, I do have something to talk to you about. I’d like to know if Grandfather left anything behind before he passed away?”Carlene glanced at Nadine. “Why are you asking

Nadine went one whole circle until she arrived back at this topic.Carlene glanced at Nadine a few times before asking, “What prompted you to ask this?”Nadine made up an excuse. “Something happened at Fowler House today and I failed to handle the situation well. Grandfather used to be the one who handled this situation in the past. So it got me thinking about what Grandfather would have done if he was there.”Carlene pondered for a moment. She did not think too long before she said to Nadine, “Do your best in handling the matter since you’re already on it. You shouldn’t be looking for a way to quick success and instant benefits.”“Yes, I know. Tell me about Grandfather, quick.” Nadine urged.“He did leave behind quite a number of things before he passed away and they’re all stored in his residence. However, your Uncle Chase has already locked up his residence and no one is allowed to enter.“The cleaning staff are allowed to enter the house daily for cleaning works but Chase set

Meanwhile, Adrian had just left the Dean family home when he received Nadine’s call.He said, “How’s everything, Ms. Nadine?”Perhaps it was due to the dream she had last night, Nadine’s face blushed ever so slightly when she heard Adrian’s voice. She answered, “It’s done. Where are you now? I’ll pick you up and we can go over together.”“Let’s meet at Southrive Avenue,” Adrian suggested.“Okay.”Ten minutes later, Adrian arrived at Southrive Avenue. Nadine was already waiting by the roadside. He got out of his car, walked to Nadine’s, and got in.Nadine’s feminine scent permeated the car. Adrian noticed that she was all dressed up, wearing a red bodycon dress that accentuated her figure. However, he merely took a glance before shifting his gaze to the scenery outside.Noticing the situation, Nadine furrowed her beautiful eyebrows. “Hey, are you that disgusted by the sight of me? Will it kill you to take one more glance at me? I put on my nicest outfit today to meet you, you kno

Upon hearing Adrian’s words, Nadine suddenly realized that she knew less compared to him even though she was a few years older.Contradiction was the one trait that all humans shared at times indeed. It was an indisputable truth.Perhaps her grandfather was a man who contradicted himself.***Afterward, Nadine told Adrian about some dos and don'ts in the car before heading to her family home. She sternly told him to follow whatever she said. After all, she knew the family home like the back of her hand.Adrian naturally agreed to follow Nadine’s instructions. Then, they purchased some gifts from a mall nearby and were going to pass them off as Adrian’s gifts to Nadine’s mother as Nadine’s boyfriend.After purchasing the gifts, Nadine drove toward her family home. Many of the Gardners were aware that she was coming with her boyfriend because Carlene had informed the family. There were orders that Adrian was not to be stopped from entering the home, thus he and Nadine entered the e

Carlene was overcome by emotion as she began to look at Adrian up and down.He had a towering figure and exuded a masculine, strong, and unyielding presence. Like a huge mountain, he exuded an extremely powerful air just by standing there.Carlene’s first impression of Adrian was that he was a man of steel will. Men these days had a clean, tidy look. In fact, many look even more beautiful than women these days.She was under the assumption that her daughter would be attracted to beautiful-looking men. However, her mind quickly changed upon seeing Adrian. It was apparent that the man before her was a steel-willed man who was masculine and handsome.Carlene’s mother fell into a daze at the sight of Adrian. Noticing her mother’s expression, Nadine knew that her mother had already approved of Adrian.“Please allow me to introduce you, Mother. This is Adrian Xander.“Adrian, this is my mother, Carlene Bleu,” Nadine said.“Hello, Mrs. Carlene,” Adrian greeted.Carlene was jolted back

Carlene spoke in a kind, courteous, and amiable tone.Adrian could see that she was kind-hearted. Even though she was married to a Gardner, it did not signify that all the members of the Gardner family were b*stards like Chase.Speaking of which, Chase could not be considered a total b*stard either. He just had a different standpoint. Or rather, one should say that he dreamt of taking control of the whole country yet lacked the capability to do so.Then, Carlene asked Adrian many other questions such as his career and such. He answered all her questions graciously as he was posing as Nadine’s boyfriend, after all.Carlene and Adrian talked about their families. She talked about how she raised Nadine from the time Nadine was born and the hardships that she had endured during that period.On the other hand, Nadine suddenly fell silent upon hearing Carlene talk. Not expecting her mother to hold her boyfriend in such regard, she had lied to her mother.They talked for a long time. Th

“But I—” Nadine sounded dispirited.“You’re foolish. Don’t hide your relationship anymore at this point. Seal the deal as soon as possible. It’d be even better if you can get pregnant and get married quickly.“Talk to him and find an opportunity for me to meet his family so you can get married as soon as possible.”Carlene talked endlessly, while Nadine was at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. However, she figured that her mother was right. She was almost thirty and was still single while the rest of her cousins were already married with toddler-aged children.Nadine did not comment further. She figured that she could only go with the flow at this point.***By the afternoon, Carlene had prepared a feast. She was highly enthusiastic because it was her first time hosting her daughter’s guest. She, Adrian, and Nadine sat down together for lunch.During the meal, Nadine almost could not get a word in edgewise because Carlene was talking Adrian’s ear off throughout the meal. She a

While Adrian and Nadine walked to the latter’s grandfather’s residence, Carlene walked out of the kitchen after she was done cleaning up. She walked toward a room in the villa and opened its door, revealing it to be a study.The fifty-year-old woman walked into the study that had been uninhabited for a long time. A shelf stood against the wall, containing books stored in storage containers with not a speckle of dust on them. A photo was displayed on the top of the shelf.Carlene’s expression appeared extremely sorrowful. She stopped midway into the study room and took a deep breath. Then, she stretched out a hand to the bookshelf and a square hole suddenly appeared on the wall as if she had just pulled some sort of mechanism.Inside the hole sat a book. It was a wordless book—not a single word written in it. However, Carlene rifled through it gently as if she could read it. Soon after, she stopped at a page and brought over a glass of water that she splashed onto the page. Two names

“In early spring, Neo takes over Purgatorium and brings it to an end. He takes charge of Apotheosium. He announces the change of Purgatorium’s reign at the end of February. He establishes Drakarium, retires the title of ‘godking’ and takes on the title ‘Dracorex Neo.’”These were the contents traced onto the pages of the book. Carlene knew its contents like the back of her hand.These words were part of an ancient prophecy. She used to think that it was just some made-up prophecy, but she thought about it afterward and figured that it was not the case.No one knew where the prophecy originated from but the part about War Legate Draco had been fulfilled. Even though the year was not written in the prophecy, Draco had indeed been announced as the war legate in January.Wyvern Peak was also dissolved in August exactly as the prophecy stated, furthering Carlene’s anxiety. It was because Nadine was prophesied to die in Northbound.Nadine was her daughter and was prophesied to die at th

Thiago was the bodyguard of a previous war legate who worked at Wyvern Peak and served under War Legate Achelous.Achelous was one of Wyvern Peak’s past war legates and had held the position three generations before Adrian. After Achelous passed away, Thiago came to guard Achelous’ wife, Carlene, and their daughter, Nadine.Wyvern Peak had undergone the biggest change in its history. It and Internal Affairs were about to engage in a head-on collision. Carlene and Thiago had been secretly monitoring the prophecy all this time but had not expected Adrian would fulfill the contents of the prophecy one by one.No one could explain what was happening. The only thing Thiago could do was stop a part of the prophecy from becoming true.Thiago frowned for a brief moment. As a retired bodyguard of Wyvern Peak, he said, “Mrs. Legate, we have to stop two things from happening now. The first is to ensure that Nadine won’t be killed as prophesied. The second is about War Legate Draco going missi