Chapter 655: Chapter 655: Only a Fool Would Walk Into the Wolf’s Den
"When your body recovers, remember to return today’s gratitude."
Having said that, Cyrus Hawthorne raised his hand and lightly flicked Ann Vaughn’s forehead, speaking in a low, hoarse voice.
"...Don’t even think about it!!" She would have to be crazy to walk into the lion’s den!
...
After a few days of recuperation in the hospital, the medical team repeatedly confirmed that Ann Vaughn’s body was no longer in danger, just recovering slowly, and that she only needed to pay more attention to nutrition and recuperation in the future.
But Ann Vaughn still couldn’t be discharged as she wished.
The reason was simple. The Archfiend insisted on keeping her in the hospital until her body was fully recovered.
What exactly is considered fully recovered?
Of course, it was up to the Archfiend to decide.
For this reason, Ann Vaughn was quite frustrated, and not even the ever-increasing sales of the aroma balls could cheer her up.
If she had more strength, she would have wanted to give herself an injection long ago.
"You don’t seem to be in a good mood?" Kressiel’s voice suddenly came from the doorway of the ward, and she then closed the door behind her, bringing in a bunch of supplements and fruits.
Ann Vaughn looked at her somewhat surprised, "How did you come here?"
"I went to the clinic to find you but couldn’t, so I heard you were hospitalized from the staff and then had someone check it out." After saying this without any pretense, Kressiel took off both her mask and sunglasses.
Anyway, Ann Vaughn wouldn’t mind the scars on her face, so she had nothing to hide.
"The scars have faded a lot, and the internal injuries are nearly healed too." Ann Vaughn observed her face for a while, then plucked a juicy cherry into her mouth, "However, you didn’t take your medicine on time, did you? You even drank alcohol."
At that, Kressiel’s action of sitting down froze.
"...How did you find out??"
"The prescription and ointment I gave you complement each other, so taking them on time is the only way to have noticeable effects." Seeing her surprised expression, Ann Vaughn guessed, "Drowning your sorrows in alcohol?"
Kressiel cared so much about her appearance that she probably wouldn’t have drunk during treatment unless she’d been heartbroken.
Kressiel silently sat down, picked an apple from the fruit bowl, and began peeling it quietly.
After a long time, Kressiel threw the broken peel into the trash can and said sullenly, "I was raised as Warren Vance’s fiancée from a young age."
Ann Vaughn paused with the cherry in her cheeks, blinking with eyes wide open, even forgetting to swallow the fruit in her mouth.
Kressiel continued with a nostalgic expression, "In the Gothasen Royal Family, only he and I are close in age. My parents set their sights on him early on and always instilled in me the notion of being his future princess, but I never accepted it."
"I don’t know if you believe in love at first sight; I fell for Warren the first time I saw him and strived day after day to become his princess."
"At first, I was really jealous of you for being his princess, but everyone in the Kingdom of Gothasen adored and revered you, calling you ’The First Royal Consort.’ So I couldn’t help but wonder, what kind of person are you really? But I didn’t dare meet you."
Upon hearing this, Ann Vaughn’s red lips parted slightly, and after a few seconds of being stunned, she came to her senses and explained, "Actually, I am not Warren’s princess,"
Kressiel, who was lost in memories, raised her head, "Huh?"
"You’ve probably heard my husband’s name since you came to S Country; his name is Cyrus Hawthorne."
"The Family Head of the Hawthorne Family and CEO of the Hawthorne Group?" Kressiel had heard of this man’s name before coming to S Country, albeit in a different context, "But the entire Kingdom of Gothasen says you are Warren’s princess."
Ann Vaughn nodded lightly, "The reasons behind it are a bit complicated, and I can’t explain them to you, but Warren and I have no relationship whatsoever; he just never clarified it publicly."
Kressiel was somewhat confused by what she heard, "But why would he do that?"
"If I could figure out his thoughts, I wouldn’t have been detained in Gothasen for half a year without being able to leave."
The only explanation is that he must’ve taken his act a bit too seriously.
Kressiel hadn’t expected such a large part of hidden truths within, her eyes widening slightly, "He... he even imprisoned you?!"
This was completely different from what she had heard!
Reports all said the crown prince and his princess were passionately in love, inseparable, and even reluctant to be apart for half a day, as sweet as can be.
Many of Gothasen’s vowed celibates had renewed their beliefs in love due to a month of such reports and decided to enter the nuptial hall...
"He wouldn’t restrict me from going anywhere, but he wouldn’t let me leave Gothasen at all." Ann Vaughn lowered her gaze, and smiled bleakly.
"You may not believe it, but I’ve even tried to swim and escape, always failing."
Warren, that demon, just considered her as his possession, not allowing her to grow rebellious.
No matter how many times she tried to escape, he’d always catch her back, looking at her with a demeanor as if he had her fully under control.
Did she like him?
She once wanted to kill him.
As the thought crossed her mind, Ann Vaughn’s gaze dimmed, and she looked at Kressiel’s ashen face, "You still have a chance to stay away from that demon."
"I know." Kressiel mumbled, "But the one thing I can’t let go of..."
Halfway through her sentence, Kressiel suddenly took a sharp turn: "is his face."
Ann Vaughn immediately choked on her words, coughing twice, "...Ha?"
"I’ve always had a higher standard for beauty since I was a kid, and my taste has become more critical as I grew. Even my servants have to be the best-looking. That’s why I couldn’t accept the fact that I was disfigured." Kressiel said with distress.
Ann Vaughn fell silent.
She hadn’t expected that the reason Kressiel loved Warren would be so... refreshingly unique.
Just because of his face.
But thinking of Norn, who closely protected Kressiel, and the high appearance value of those female bodyguards in her room, it wasn’t hard to see that she was a deep aesthetic enthusiast.
"Warren is the most handsome man I’ve seen in my life." Kressiel’s eyes were filled with longing, "For a person to have such outstanding looks amongst humans, it’s like a godsend for me to admire, isn’t it?"
Ann Vaughn fell silent again.
If you actually dared to admire him.
Maybe even your head would be twisted off by that demon.
"You like Warren so much, but since we’ve met, you don’t seem to dislike me?" Ann Vaughn asked with curiosity, "From your perspective, shouldn’t I be your rival in love?"
Then why did Kressiel choose to help her when she was in Warren’s villa?
"It’s because you’re as beautiful as Warren, almost evenly matched." Kressiel said, pouting with grievance.