Chapter 564: Next Month, Let’s Go Get Our Marriage Certificate, Okay?

Quentin Blackwood’s men had successfully infiltrated the enemy’s ranks, keeping him updated on the situation at all times. Currently, nothing much was happening. The kidnappers had merely locked the Princess up. Quentin ordered his men to hold their ground and avoid alerting the enemy.

Seeing Quentin on the phone, Ivy Sherwood had no intention of eavesdropping; she simply walked straight over to him. Upon seeing her, Quentin hung up.

"How are things with the Princess?" Ivy asked. "Have they found her?"

"Yes, she’s been found."

"How did she go missing in the first place? Is it serious?"

"Not very. She probably just ran into some extortionists," Quentin said, choosing not to tell Ivy too much.

"Is she alright?"

"She’s fine. Ayre should be arriving soon, too." Quentin reached out, resting his hand gently on Ivy’s head. "Don’t worry about these things. Everything will be alright."

"Okay. Ayre is my friend too, so if there’s anything we can do to help, let’s do it."

Quentin was in an accommodating mood. "Alright, but you have to promise me that you and him will only ever be friends."

"What are you thinking? You don’t think I’m having an affair with everyone I meet, do you?"

"I can only blame you for being too outstanding. What if he has his eyes on you too?"

Ivy laughed. "Is President Blackwood really that insecure? Or do you just not trust me?"

"Of course not."

Ivy started digging up the past. "Don’t you and Claire Sherwood have secrets too?"

"There is nothing between me and her."

"There’s nothing between me and Ayre either. No, wait—there’s nothing between me and anyone."

With a gentle pull of the hand still resting on her head, Quentin drew Ivy into his arms. "I believe you."

They had come this far together; what was there left to doubt?

"Ivy."

"Hmm?" Ivy looked up at him with her bright, clear eyes.

Quentin’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Unable to resist, he leaned in and kissed her. Ivy wasn’t wearing any makeup, yet her bare face was still breathtakingly beautiful.

Quentin said, "Let’s go get our marriage certificate next month, alright? I had a master look into auspicious dates, and he said there’s one day that is exceptionally good."

However, the master had also mentioned that the celestial alignment seemed somewhat abnormal on the day prior. He had frowned deeply at the time, but it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t affect the following day.

Ivy happily agreed. "Sure."

She had no objections, though the thought of actually getting married made her a little nervous. Still, it was time to give their baby a proper family. She couldn’t wait until the child was born, only for them to realize their mommy and daddy weren’t even officially together yet.

Quentin intertwined his fingers with hers. "Then it’s settled. No going back now. You are mine."

Ivy blinked. "Haven’t I always been yours?"

Quentin’s heart felt as though it had been scorched by a warm brand. "Yes, always!"

Ivy had always been his.

Ivy said, "But if you ever bully me in the future, I will leave without hesitation. If you ever let go, I definitely won’t wait around for you.

"Quentin, I know you are protecting me, but you have to promise me that you’ll keep yourself safe too. If you ever go missing one day, I’ll take our child and remarry. I’ll make them call another man ’Daddy’."

Knowing she was only joking, Quentin hugged her tightly. "That day will never come."

Even though she knew that day would never come, a faint, inexplicable sense of unease still lingered in Ivy’s heart. She hoped she was just overthinking.

Remembering that Quentin had wanted to take her back to Aethelgard, she said, "Let’s go back to Aethelgard."

"Really?" Quentin hadn’t expected her to bring it up on her own.

"Of course. Didn’t you say you wanted to take me back last time?"

"Alright. I’ll make the arrangements right away. We’ll head back as soon as possible."

Although several days had passed, Quentin’s own sense of unease hadn’t faded; instead, it had only grown stronger. Now that the Princess had also come to Lustre, the city felt like a brewing storm, hiding many unseen dangers beneath its surface. And the Princess’s appearance seemed to have shattered the calm before that very storm.

News of Ayre’s impending arrival in Lustre soon reached Jason Summers’s ears. If Ayre arrived, things would become difficult to handle. Ayre was the Princess’s younger brother; the two had a close relationship, and Ayre himself was a formidable figure.

Jason weighed his options. If he let the Princess live, she might discover the truth about Ivy. If the Princess remained unharmed, the conflict between Calypsos and Elandra would never ignite. It would be much better to kill her and be done with it. That way, he could avoid a lot of trouble.

Jason immediately issued an order. "Dispose of her."

Upon receiving the command, his men prepared to strike.

Meanwhile, Quentin’s side intercepted the intelligence: the higher-ups had decided to assassinate the Princess.

"Stop them immediately," Quentin ordered. "Bring her back."

Jason’s men, armed with knives, prepared to stab the Princess.

The Princess turned pale with fright. "What are you doing? Stop!"

The assassins either couldn’t understand her or simply had no intention of stopping. As the blades swung toward her, the Princess fainted from sheer terror.

Before the knives could reach her, Quentin’s operatives swiftly intervened. The assassins hadn’t expected infiltrators within their ranks. Rather, Jason had been too careless—he never anticipated that someone could act so quickly and plant moles among his men in such a short amount of time. With Quentin’s men arriving fully prepared, the Princess was successfully rescued.

She was relocated to a relatively safe location. The moment Ayre stepped off the plane, his first priority was to check on his older sister. He had brought along a private physician, who examined the Princess and confirmed that she was unharmed.

"Thank you so much, Quentin. I don’t even know how to express my gratitude," Ayre said. He wasn’t particularly close to Quentin and only knew of him by reputation. He knew that Quentin’s willingness to help was undoubtedly because of Ivy.

"There’s no need to be polite, no need to thank me, and absolutely no need for you to go looking for Ivy," Quentin replied.

Ayre was rendered speechless. He wondered how Quentin knew he had been planning to look for Ivy.

"Do you know who did this?" Ayre asked. "Who abducted my sister?"

"That is your business, not mine," Quentin said flatly. "I’ve already done everything I can by securing her safety. I have fulfilled my obligations."

Ayre was speechless once again. This was exactly in line with the rumors of Quentin’s infamous style. Ayre hadn’t believed that such a person existed at first, but seeing it for himself confirmed everything. Quentin made no attempt to curry favor with them just because of their royal status. Instead, his words were as blunt and direct as ever.

"Still, thank you. Consider it a favor that I owe you."

A favor from Ayre was something many people coveted but could never obtain. After all, he was the younger brother of the King of Elandra, and he possessed considerable assets of his own.

"Good. See that you remember it well."

Quentin never turned down a favor. One never knew when it might come in handy.