Chapter 16: Freg’s Gift

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Freg’s Gift

A gift... Another gift.

Caius looked at the red box. The packaging was exquisite, clearly showing that a lot of thought had gone into it. Although there was no signature, Caius knew who sent it.

Griffin Freg.

For a long time, he had been sending people to deliver gifts to Lilia from time to time. Like those lilies that were entirely useless other than looking pretty. And those pink cards filled with bizarre phrases that just looking at them would irritate someone. Ever since he found out these things were from Griffin, Caius had warned him many times, both overtly and covertly.

But Griffin showed no restraint whatsoever. Not only that, he frequently appeared in front of Lilia like an annoying stray dog on the side of the road; no matter how many times he was kicked away, he would persistently cling back on. Even though Lilia had already shown obvious disgust towards him, he still remained completely oblivious.

"Throw it away," Caius said coldly.

"Yes, sir."

Just as the butler was about to carry out the order, Caius suddenly changed his mind. "Wait a minute." He thought of what Lilia had said. "Bring it here."

The butler complied, handing the gift to Caius. Showing no mercy and not caring in the least if he ruined the contents, Caius violently tore the packaging apart. He took a glance. Inside was a pure gold ring set with crushed diamonds and a ruby. On the inner band of the ring, the familiar word was engraved as always: Lily.

Caius lowered his eyes and handed the item back to the butler. "Pry off the ruby and diamonds and smash them to pieces, then melt down the gold. Dispose of it cleanly."

"Yes, sir."

The butler didn’t know why Caius had given such an order, nor would he ask. His only duty was to execute it.

Not long after the butler left, Lilia came downstairs. She had changed into a casual, loungewear-style dress. Its pale red color perfectly complemented the girl’s fair, delicate skin, and it slightly cinched at the waist—not tight enough to be uncomfortable, but just enough to highlight her slender, soft waistline. From the moment she appeared, Caius’s gaze was glued to her. Once she made her way down, the two of them headed to the dining room together.

"Autumn is almost here," Caius said. "I’ve had a batch of new clothes custom-made. They should be delivered to your room by tomorrow."

Lilia didn’t even turn her head. "What is the reason this time?"

"Someone sent a gift. I took a look, deemed it useless, and threw it away for you."

"Oh." Lilia nodded.

Caius had handled this sort of thing for her too many times. In the past, she would have asked a few questions, like what the gift was or who sent it... but now, she couldn’t even be bothered to ask. If he said it was useless, then she would just treat it as something useless.

The two arrived at the dining room and took their respective seats.

A few minutes later, Lady Beaumont walked in, arm in arm with the Earl. The Earl couple had a very loving relationship. The Countess deeply loved her husband and children, never being stingy with either emotional or material support. Count Beaumont appeared aloof, but he would also show concern for his family’s recent affairs during his rare moments of free time. Once everyone had gathered, the maids served dinner to the table.

The Earl picked up his knife and fork, asking casually, "I heard from Alfr that Lilia has been frequently receiving gifts lately."

The Countess looked somewhat surprised. "Is that true, Lilia?"

Before Lilia could answer, Caius interjected, "Yes."

The Beaumont couple looked at him simultaneously.

"Caius?" the Countess said hesitantly.

"The items were sent by Griffin Freg. I suspect he has ulterior motives, so I disposed of them all."

Hearing this answer, the Countess breathed a sigh of relief. "I see..."

She liked Lilia very much and would remind Caius to take good care of her in their daily lives. However, this didn’t mean she wanted to see Caius and Lilia develop too close of a connection.

"But why would the child from the Freg family send gifts to Lilia?" the Countess asked. Although her political sensitivity wasn’t high, she knew perfectly well that the Freg family and the Beaumont family had always been at odds. Influenced by the older generation, the relationship between the younger generations of the two families wasn’t great either; even if they weren’t enemies, they were definitely not friends.

"Freg’s stance is not firm. Hedging one’s bets is a common trick for fence-sitters," the Earl said without any surprise. Compared to that, he was more concerned about something else. He looked at Lilia. "The youngest son of the Freg family likes you?"

Lilia shook her head, appearing exceptionally well-behaved. "I don’t know. I rarely speak to him."

"Our Lilia is so adorable, of course many people would like her," the Countess said with a smile. "But she is still young. Right now, she should focus on her studies."

"Interacting with more people isn’t a bad thing," the Earl said indifferently. He turned to Caius. "Lien Academy gathers all the outstanding talents of the younger generation. If you want to expand your network and cultivate your own faction, that is the best place to do it.

"Even though you both hail from the Beaumont family, Lilia manages to receive gifts from Freg, whereas you can only clash with him.

"As the future head of the Beaumont family, Caius, what you should be doing is winning people over, not shutting everyone out.

"In this regard, Lilia is doing far better than you."

Caius remained silent. He looked up at the girl sitting across from him. Lilia happened to be looking at him as well, blinking her pitch-black eyes that were filled with innocence. It was as if the person who always pushed him forward to chase Griffin away whenever they encountered him wasn’t her.

Caius withdrew his gaze. "Understood, Father. I will reflect on this."

Count Beaumont gave a grunt of acknowledgment and said no more. The dinner concluded in silence.

Lilia returned to her room. Like usual, she took out her textbooks, preparing to preview tomorrow’s lesson material. Suddenly, someone knocked on her door.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Lilia opened it to take a look, and sure enough, the person outside was Caius.

He seemed to have just taken a shower. His short hair was dripping wet, carrying the lingering moisture. He was loosely draped in a black shirt. Unlike his usual meticulous appearance at school, the top two buttons were undone, revealing his distinct collarbones. At a glance, he looked somewhat languid, as if he were wrapped in the night itself. Lilia’s gaze swept over that patch of exposed skin—from his faintly visible pectoral muscles to his prominent Adam’s apple—before finally landing on the young man’s handsome face.

"Do you need something?"

Caius made no attempt to cover up, simply letting her look. "Yes."

Lilia thought for a moment before letting him in. Caius reached back and closed the door behind him.

He rarely entered Lilia’s room, and the reason was simple: Lilia didn’t allow it. She appeared easygoing, as if she didn’t care about anything, but Caius knew very well that she was highly territorial. She was like a cat that had marked her domain and refused to let anyone near. Being able to enter her room was an acknowledgment in itself.

Caius walked over to Lilia’s bed, his fingertips brushing across the soft bedding, seemingly unintentionally. Not far away, with a soft CREAK, the girl threw herself into a lounge chair.

"Speak," Lilia said. "What is it?"