Chapter 238
1275words
"Why are you here? How are you here?" Krendell frustratedly asked his daughters, who seemed to be in a panic and total confusion.
Looking back and forth between me and her father, the older girl Cara finally took deep breaths and calmed herself before she sighed. "We got an official letter from the Deadtails ten minutes ago."
Deadtails... the organization led by Mr. K., an influential organization that developed the serum that helped most of the people here in Wakeland.
"Letter? What letter?" Krendell was busy interrogating her daughters, and I gave Mr. K occasional glances as I watched and listened to him and his daughter's conversation.
"It says…" Cara and her sister looked at each other. After pulling some courage, as I assumed, she continued, "It says that anyone not present at the start of the party will have their entire family removed from the list of medical recipients."
What? That's smart. Well, smart and… cruel.
Krendell's jaw dropped, and his eyes almost dropped from its sockets. His gaze went to Mr. K. With disbelief plastered all over his face, he pointed at him.
"You are Mr. K!" he stated so positively. "But I invited you so many times before, and you never showed up. Why now? In here?"
Hearing his question, I was intrigued by the answer as well and I had the same curiosity as him.
I never met Mr. K, nor did we ever have any kind of contact, so I was as clueless as Kendall was on why Mr. K was taking the effort and time to come to this party and help me.
"It couldn't be because of Kylian, could it?" Trisha suddenly asked, making my heart impeccably beat wildly.
No way… That couldn't be it. Right?
My heart was pumping so fast and loud that I wouldn't be surprised if it jumped out of my chest. Slowly, I shifted my gaze to Mr. K, staring at him, nervously waiting for his answer.
While at it, I subconsciously looked at him from head to toe and realized something that made me even more anxious. His height, body build, and eyes… Now that I looked closer at him, Mr. K had the same figure as Kylian.
Oh come on Della. I reminded myself.
He definitely couldn't be Kylian. That selfish bastard would never do such a thing for me, especially with Flora around.
Then...was it possible that I had seen him before in the Dark Moon Pack before? But if I did, there's no way I'd forget about it.
Something flashed in his blue eyes, a glint of complex emotions I couldn't pinpoint what it was about. It dimmed and felt almost solemn like a vast sea with big waves shaking its calmness.
Nevertheless, his facial expression and body remained calm. Nonchalantly, he replied, "Is that even a question that needs answering? Isn't it obvious?"
He briefly glanced at me and continued, "It's only natural that I, as a business partner, stay loyal to the actual owner of this land – the Lycan King and his family, and not some…"
His eyes dimmed as he stared closely at Kendrell, his voice turning cold and serious: "…family trying to act like one."
Then his body eased before he let out a charming smile, "Right?"
With that, he turned to me, and by surprise, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to face the crowd that now filled the hall.
His voice echoed as he announced majestically, "As the leader of the Deadtails, I, Mr. K, officially declare that my organization and I give our utmost loyalty to the new leader of Wakeland—Princess Della!"
Silence surrounded the countless guests in extravagant attire and masks, who looked at each other and seemingly felt everyone's vibes. After a few seconds, a clap was heard, followed by others, until the entire crowd burst into loud applause.
Someone from the crowd took a step forward and bowed his head, "Princess Della, please take my respect as I welcome and congratulate you on being the new owner of Wakeland!"
The others followed suit and congratulated me, but I knew well enough that they were only forced to do so. Many of them were obviously rushed to come here, not being able to change into appropriate gowns and tuxedos, which didn't make me happy or relaxed.
All of these people… They came here today not because they respect my status or ability but because Mr. K blackmailed them.
Looking at them, I straightened my back and raised my head confidently, vowing to myself that a day would come when I'd make all these nobles truly and willingly recognize me for who I am and what I could do.
"I, too, wish you, Princess Delal, a successful path in performing your duties." Kendrell bowed very slightly. His lips were shaking as he forced a smile and tried to keep calm, though the rage in his eyes was vividly visible.
Swallowing and coughing a bit, he added, "But please forgive me. As I'm not feeling well, I must leave first."
With that, he gave me another bow and turned to leave.
"Hi, so you are Mr. K? You're quite handsome!"
"Right? See, we came here as you said. Aren't we so obedient?"
"How long have you been here? If we knew, we would have come earlier."
Kendrell's two daughters were so busy trying to get Mr. K's attention that they didn't even bother to follow their father.
However, they were left stunned and speechless, and Mr. K coldly looked at them and spoke, "Don't bother. I'm not interested in women like you who..."
He cast them a look from head to toe before looking in disgust. "…outright flirts and obviously don't have enough brain to use."
Cara and her sister's mouths dropped in shock, but Mr. K was unbothered by that.
Instead, he turned and looked at me, demeanor taking a complete change. He smiled and respectfully asked, "By any chance, can I have a drink with you later, Princess?"
I squinted my eyes and looked at him with contemplation. He may have helped me but there's no way I'd easily agree to a drink with a total stranger.
I was about to decline, but he immediately explained, "I just wanted to talk about our further cooperation. I am helping you today to show my ability and sincerity towards you, Princess."
He shrugged his shoulders. "I wanted to let you know how it feels to have a partner worth cooperating with."\
"And you wanted to cooperate with me because…"
Something in his eyes flashed. Almost like… sadness and… desire?
He's really a mystery.
"Of course, what other reason can it be?" he grabbed a champagne from one of the servants and took a sip. With a knowing smile, he added, "It's because Wakeland has something I wanted."
Hearing that, I felt slightly relieved. So, it's business then.
It turned out he wasn't doing all of these because of Kylian, after all. I was just being paranoid.
"Well, then, I'll see you later. " I smiled and watched as he nodded and left.
"Princess, I heard about your meeting appointment. Do you need me to accompany you later to meet Mr. K?" Sapphire suddenly walked closer to me, sounding protective.
I shook my head. "No need. He probably didn't want to be seen. I need to show him some respect."
"It's the least I could do," I added as I looked through the crowd he brought here.
Staring at the door, Mr. K had just left. I couldn't help but think further, "What exactly was it that he wanted?"
