Chapter 1481: Jade’s Subtle Move

Then she remembered the photographs circulating across Paradise since his return, and found it considerably harder to dismiss the possibility.

The Young Dragon had always been ridiculously attractive, but whatever had happened during his disappearance and after his return had left him with white-gold hair, amethyst-gold eyes and a body the assistant would rather avoid thinking about while standing in front of his aunt. His face had become more striking, his presence harder to overlook, and several women who should have known better had fallen into suspiciously long silences over his newest photographs.

One of her friends had even enlarged an image, claiming she wanted a closer look at his new hair color, while staring directly at his abdomen and bulge between his legs.

The assistant had been a good friend and said nothing.

Looking at Rune now, she could hardly blame her for taking a little extra care.

Then she remembered the dream— that impossible little wish Rune had carried away from Paradise not too long ago after her last visit to settle the divorce.

A few weeks after had buried that small wish beneath sensible behavior, yet the assistant had never entirely forgotten. Perhaps Rune had, or perhaps she had merely grown better at pretending. Judging by the way she was waiting for an answer, the assistant began to wonder whether she intended to do something about it after all.

"You look stunning, ma’am," she assured her, stepping closer as Rune’s smile deepened. She inspected the suit once more, then reached toward the jacket. "Although—"

Rune raised an eyebrow and glanced down as her assistant deliberately undid one of the upper buttons. A small adjustment of the fabric gave the neckline a more flattering fall and a small view of her cleavage, and the assistant stepped back, quite pleased with herself.

"There. Now you look as stunning as you’re tempting, ma’am."

Rune’s amusement became obvious, which only made it harder for her assistant to keep a straight face. If she was seriously planning to compete for hottest auntie position, she ought to have committed properly and worn a dress.

The assistant wisely kept that opinion to herself, although Rune watched her for a suspiciously long moment.

"You are enjoying this far too much."

"I have absolutely no idea what you mean, ma’am," the assistant replied with an innocence Rune plainly did not believe.

"Of course you don’t." Rune turned toward the private exit, and they walked together beneath the immense ceiling. The last sunlight lay in long ribbons across their path, while lights began appearing on the aircraft beyond the glass.

Warm evening air met them as the exterior doors opened, carrying the scent of greenery and distant water. Rune lowered her eyelids for a moment as another current of Mana slipped through her meridians.

She could become far too accustomed to this. "Dangerous place."

"The island?" Her assistant glanced at her, and Rune answered, "The air."

That explained enough for the assistant to leave the matter alone and continue toward the polished black Maybach Guard waiting beneath the covered entrance.

Sunset gleamed along its armored body, immaculate black paint catching the last warmth of the sky. In most cities, the car would have drawn every eye nearby.

Here, it looked almost restrained. The driver was already behind the wheel when Rune’s assistant opened the rear door, allowing her to settle inside and cross one leg over the other. The door closed with a heavy, muted thud, leaving the sounds of the airport faint beyond the thick glass.

Her assistant entered from the opposite side as Rune leaned forward to catch the driver’s eyes in the mirror. "Hey, brat."

Ryuzen turned slightly in his seat, amusement tugging at his mouth. "Konbanwa, Natsuki-sama."

His greeting was considerably more respectful than hers, though he had long since learned to accept being called a brat by certain women of the Empress’s family.

He knew them well enough to keep his objections for their playfulness to himself.

"Good evening," Rune replied with a smile, leaning back as he started the car.

The engine gave a subdued hum, and they glided away from the terminal through security gates that opened ahead of them. Behind the Maybach, the airport’s glass fa?ade still blazed with the final gold of sunset, but Rune barely glanced at it:

"So where is he?"

"They got back from the hospital a few hours ago," Ryuzen answered, knowing exactly whom she meant.

"And?" Rune’s attention sharpened, then eased as he continued:

"Everything went well. They had a celebration afterward for Melissa’s pregnancy party and the twins."

"Pregnancy party?" Rune asked, pleased despite the faint amusement in her voice.

"That’s basically what it was," Ryuzen said, glancing at her through the mirror.

"No, brat. It is not." Her reply made him laugh, and he asked what he was supposed to call it. Rune gave him a patient look. "A celebration for the pregnancy announcement would work. A baby celebration. A family celebration. Nearly anything except pregnancy party."

"What’s wrong with pregnancy party?" Ryuzen was still smiling when Rune met his gaze in the mirror.

"It sounds as though everybody gathered around Sis Melissa and congratulated her uterus." Her assistant immediately covered her mouth, and Ryuzen laughed hard enough for his shoulders to shake.

Rune remained composed as she gestured toward the seat beside her: "See? Even she understands."

"I’m laughing at you, ma’am," the assistant admitted, only to assume a look of innocence when Rune slowly turned toward her.

Ryuzen kept his attention on the road, still grinning.

"Fine. They celebrated the news that Melissa is pregnant with twins." He waited for Rune’s approving "Better," then continued, "Either way, they’ve been home for hours. Young Master stayed around Melissa for a while afterward, especially after giving her the gift."

"A gift?" Rune’s brows rose. At his brief nod, she asked, "What did he give her?"

"The Rolls-Royce Droptail." Ryuzen spoke casually enough, but Rune’s gaze sharpened. Before she could respond, he added, "The Parks’ one."

Rune leaned back as a brief silence settled inside the Maybach. "The one they’ve been keeping for all this wrong number Zero-Zero-Zero-One?"

His nod confirmed it, leaving Rune to look through the window as the private airport roads slipped behind them.

For the Parks, keeping a car that rare for years had little to do with the cost of replacing it. They could remake almost anything they pleased, but that particular Droptail had become part of the family’s history. Its worth lay as much in the hands it had passed through after its creation and the private memories attached to it as in the car itself.

They had kept it close for years, and now Phei had given it to Melissa after he’d bough it.

Someone had first allowed it to leave the family, and Rune needed very little time to guess who.

"Jade, huh?" A knowing smile lingered upon her lips as she considered what that girl had done.

Rune knew Jade well enough to suspect more than just money but a deliberate gift to him.

She could have offered Phei any beautiful car from an enormous collection; choosing this one meant something. Whether he had understood was another matter. Rune could easily imagine him accepting the price right away thinking it was reasonable, admiring the Droptail as he was buying it to Melissa, entirely unaware of what the older women involved might read into the exchange.

The thought nearly made her laugh.

The Maybach joined the broader roads of Hell’s Paradise Island as evening deepened around them. A fading glow remained along the western horizon, while towers that had shone gold beneath the sun glittered from within. Lights stretched along the streets, revealing distant buildings among greenery darker and more abundant than Rune remembered.

Even the Mana grew richer as they traveled, rousing her curiosity about what awaited near the island’s heart.

Japan’s finest spiritual grounds already felt far away.

She might have resented the comparison under other circumstances, but there was too much here to fascinate her.

Hell’s Paradise had changed beyond its growing wealth— its been long since she last came to the Island, new towers and the gathering of powerful beings who apparently found the rest of the world too dull to live in. She had felt the deeper change from the moment she arrived, and now she wanted to see how far it reached.

Rune rested an elbow beside the window, though her thoughts gradually wandered from the passing island to the person awaiting her. Her assistant caught the faint smile returning to her lips and looked innocently toward the opposite window.

’So that old wish really might be alive after all.’

Ryuzen drove on beneath the deepening sky, unaware of the conclusions being drawn behind him.

Rune wondered what Phei would look like in person or his reaction to her presence after their last encounter where he was about to court her, or did he really court her?

The photographs had been troublesome enough, with that hair, those ridiculous eyes and a body she had already spent quite enough time looking at. His appearance was only part of it; even in photographs and recordings, she had noticed something different about him since his return, something she could never quite explain.

Her smile deepened as the car carried her farther into Paradise, bringing her closer to the white-gold-haired nephew she had crossed all this distance to re-meet.