Lilly blinked her black eyelashes in a cute manner, then leaned toward him and gave a light peck on his lips and said in a lazy voice “Good Morning.”
Max caressed her face lovingly “How was your sleep?”
“Mmm, Very comforting.” She said as she snuggled into his arms and closed her eyes again.
Max looked at her acting like a spoiled princess, amused. “Shouldn’t you wake up and get ready now?” As soon as he spoke, he regretted bringing this topic up just when she woke up. And as he expected Lilly’s expression became sad.
He didn’t know what to say now and could only hug her in silence. After half an hour, he finally broke the silence and asked “Should I refuse that woman?”
Lilly raised her head to look at him and shook her head “No, I know I should go and join that Ice sovereign mountain because it will be good for my future. But… But I don’t know if I can live without seeing you for such a long time. I would miss you very much.” Her eyes became tearful.
“Foolish girl! What if we won’t be able to see each other for a few years? Would that make you stop loving me? Or would I not love you after a few years?” Max rebuked as he wipe her unshed tears.
“No, it-it’s not that. I- ” She stuttered when she tried to reply.
He flicked her forehead and interrupted “I know what you mean.” He then took out his stone pendant and put it around her neck.
“This… Isn’t this your- I can’t take…” Lilly touched the stone pendant and looked at him in disbelief. At the same time by this gesture of his, she knew that he truly loved her.
Max nodded “Yes, this is the pendant my mother gave me before her death. Although I didn’t wear it for a few hears now, it like part of my body to me. When you miss me, look at this and it will help you calm down to some extent and will remain close to your heart in my stead.”
“But it’s very precious and I can’t take it.” Lilly shook her head in frenzy. Even though this pendant looked very ordinary, she knew what value and place it held in his heart. Although he had stopped wearing this when his mother died, but every now and then he would take it out and stare at it for hours and sometimes cry in silence. There was a time when Lilly walked in his room when he was staring at it and when she asked, he told her what it was.𝔬𝑽𝓛xt.𝒞𝒐𝓜
Max looked at her for a moment and sighed “How about you give it back when you return? Until then I want you to take it with you.”
Lilly was still hesitating. She didn’t want to take his most precious thing from him and at the same time, she felt loved that he would give it to her.
Seeing this Max kissed her and said “Don’t think too much. Just treat it as a memory token.”
“Mmm.” She nodded and smiled brightly “Okay, now I should get ready. That elder will come soon.” Then she get out of the bed and headed to the bathroom.
…
After Lilly and Max were ready, they came out of their room and went to dining hall for breakfast.
“Good Morning everyone!”
As they entered the hall, hand in hand Max greeted everyone present. Lilly also bowed toward them in greeting. Ashton, Esther and others were all present. They were the last ones to come. His sisters in law and Amelia greeted them back while Esther just nodded towards them. Ashton also nodded but his usual cheerfulness was nowhere to be seen. His brows were knitted in a frown and he looked angry at this moment.
Max sat down with Lilly around the table and asked “What it is father? Everything alright?”
Ashton sighed and waved his hand. A transparent mana barrier enveloped both of them. Max looked at the barrier in astonishment and then glanced at the others and understood that he didn’t want them to hear their conversation and established a sound proof barrier. “It seems my enemies have become impatient and want to rob a precious thing from me.”
Max didn’t speak and just listened. Ashton had a hint of anger in his eyes when he said, “Do you know why that bastard’s son came here and returned as soon as I came back?”
Max shook his head. “Do you mean to say that he was here to steal the thing you speak of?”
Ashton nodded “Right. His father sent him to locate that thing and if possible, steal it.” He then sneered, “But those fools weren’t able to open the door where that thing is kept and decided to break the formation which controlled the door. They had destroyed fifty percent of the formation but unfortunately for them, I came before they thought I would.”
‘So that’s the case.’ Max was already suspicious of Timon as he knew that a young master like him won’t come to their small town with purpose. He was here to steal something and when failed, he returned with Madam Mari in case his father found out his intentions.
“Only if I knew, I would have captured him.” Max said in frustration.
Ashton shook his head. “How would you have known if even Butler George didn’t know even when he was keeping an eye on them? And even if you’ve captured him, it wouldn’t have been of any benefit. As his father would have used it as a reason to wage war and accomplish what he wanted.” He said, feeling helpless.
Max didn’t say anything at this. He knew Butler George was more powerful than the current him. If even he was unaware, it was next to impossible for him to know. “It seems he brought some capable man with him,” Max uttered.
Ashton shook his head, and just as he wanted to say something, he paused and looked to his side in shock. He hurriedly waved his hand again. “We will talk about it later.”