Chapter 1212 - 1152: New Pursuits

In Blackwood Town, Kiya and Paige Desmond, along with their son, were temporarily in hiding.

Compared to the harsh cold of Sileria City, this place felt like spring all year round, with picturesque scenery, and Paige fell in love with it the first time she visited.

Since he had a beautiful Chinese wife, Kiya’s Chinese was decent, and although the locals in Blackwood Town spoke in dialect, it was not too difficult to understand with careful listening.

"...Dad, what is this herb?" Dylan asked his father.

Blackwood was Sienna Johnson’s herbal base, so most of the land here was planted with medicinal herbs. Kiya, looking at these herbs, found himself at a loss, as he didn’t recognize them.

"Old man, what is this herb?"

"This is notoginseng." The old man in charge of tending the herbs replied, "It’s a great thing, stops bleeding, disperses bruises, reduces swelling, and relieves pain. Add some notoginseng when making soup for even better effects."

Kiya told his son, "Son, this is notoginseng."

Dylan, seeing his father not knowing much, decided not to ask him but went over to the old man with a straw hat, curiously asking about the herbs.

Paige Desmond said, "Dylan, are you planning to be a doctor in the future? Why are you so interested in herbs?"

Kiya imagined his son in a white coat as a doctor and couldn’t help but smile, "Being a doctor isn’t bad, though it is a bit hard work."

"Isn’t work always hard?"

"Then let’s not work. My wealth is enough for him to squander for several lifetimes." Kiya despised his own father but didn’t mind spoiling his son.

"Kiya, you’re already dead now; no matter how much wealth you have, you can’t access it, right?"

"I’ve saved a lot of private money."

Paige: ...

Kiya’s phone rang, and he answered it—it was Gavin calling. Kiya remained silent until about five or six minutes later when he finally said, "Mm, I got it."

Seeing him hang up the phone, Paige asked, "How’s it in Abyanabad?"

"Moore has become the Sultan."

Moore, Gulit’s son, was a child who only knew how to eat, drink, and defecate and couldn’t even turn over yet had become the Sultan of Abyanabad.

Paige thought of the Empress Dowager story she had read and chuckled, "Could it be that your Queen Mother is ruling from behind the scenes?"

"What?" Kiya didn’t understand.

Paige explained the meaning of "ruling from behind the scenes" to Kiya, and his expression deepened.

"Your Queen Mother managed the palace so well; I’m sure managing a country wouldn’t be a problem either, so you needn’t worry," Paige thought Kiya was worried his Queen Mother might mess up Abyanabad, so she comforted him.

Kiya, deeply concerned, said, "My Queen Mother’s personality is too strong, and I’m afraid she will block some people’s paths. Since they could take me out, they could also target my Queen Mother..."

This, Paige hadn’t considered.

Although she was at odds with the Queen Mother, she hadn’t thought about her dying an unnatural death.

"So what to do?"

"I won’t let my Queen Mother rule from behind the scenes," Kiya said.

"Aren’t you already ’dead’? How can you stop it?... If you came back from the dead, that would be interesting."

Seeing Paige picking wildflowers, Kiya also joined in, picking a large handful and giving them to Paige, who smiled at him, making him feel like the whole world brightened up.

"After all, I’ve been the Crown Prince for so many years, and I still have influence, even if I’m ’dead’ now."

"The Sultan, so impressive."

Kiya knew this woman was teasing him; as a magnanimous man from Abyanabad, Kiya didn’t bother with her, and spoke about serious matters,

"Your ovulation period is tonight, right? Let’s go back early; if we miss these days, we’ll have to wait until next month."

No longer being the Sultan, Kiya poured all his passion into having a daughter, determined to have a daughter as beautiful as Paige.

"You really are persistent!"

"I’m so persistent, hoping the true Anna will bless me with a daughter."

Paige, holding a bouquet of flowers, laughed and said, "Then I wish you all the best."

"For this kind of thing, I’ll need your cooperation."

Paige’s beautiful eyes, filled with feigned anger and affection, glanced at Kiya and then walked away. Kiya chased after her.

...

The Johnson Family,

Sienna Johnson and Adrian Desmond quickly learned about Kiya’s fake death, and the two of them stayed in a room, cautiously discussing Kiya.

After all, if this got out, it would be troublesome.

Sienna said, "We have emperors in the Orienta who forsake the throne for love; I didn’t expect Kiya to be one of those who loves the beauty more than the throne."

Adrian knew Kiya better than Sienna, "Maybe it’s just retreating to advance."

"What do you mean?"

"Kiya knew someone wanted to harm him, so he did a retreat-to-advance move. By faking his death, those who want to kill him will become bolder.

When someone becomes bold without any scruples, they will show flaws, and then Kiya will know who is plotting against him?"

What started as a romantic plot of "forsaking the throne for love" turned into a conspiracy with Adrian’s explanation?

Sienna still believed Kiya simply loved Paige too much and thus gave up the throne.

"Aren’t you overthinking it?"

Adrian looked at Sienna and said, "Mrs. Desmond is a woman too..."

The common trait of women, fantasizing about romantic love.

Even the usually thoughtful Sienna had simplified the matter.

"Nonsense, I am, of course, a woman! If I were a man and you, Adrian, liked men, what would that be?"

Adrian and Sienna fool around in bed; he strokes her soft hair, smiling, "If you were a man, I wouldn’t mind either."

"..."

"Only, if you’re a man, you’d still be the one below me..."

Sienna hit him on the shoulder, "Why? If I were a man, I’d..."

"You’d what?"

"I’m not talking to you anymore, I’m going to shower." Sienna’s cheeks weren’t thick enough to speak those blushing things.

Adrian lay on the bed, crossing his hands behind his head, mischievously saying, "Alright, I’ll wait for you in bed, wash up quickly."

"Hehe... Sure."

Anyway, certain parts of someone’s body haven’t healed completely yet; just looking and touching were possible, but actual performance was far off.

Adrian was now happily and painfully enduring.

...

In the Imperial Palace of Abyanabad,

Night Owl sat on Kiya’s throne, overlooking the opulent hall below, imagining the council room full of civil and military officials.

"No wonder everyone wants to be Sultan; it does feel comfortable sitting here."

After Moore became Sultan, Night Owl became the Chief Guard of the palace, in charge of all the guards, and at the same time, the actual ruler.

After Moore became Sultan, the first thing Night Owl did was suppress the Desmond Family’s business, just as Adrian once left him homeless, Night Owl intended to take an eye for an eye.