Chapter 1216 - 1156: Adrian Desmond Is Having a Hard Time Lately

"There are carp, but unfortunately they haven’t grown up yet. Others include crucian carp, white bream, bian fish. These fish can be raised together, but fish like the black bream cannot."

"Why?" asked Kiya.

Paige frowned at him, "I find you quite silly."

"I think my intelligence is just fine."

Kiya is not a spoiled child. He excelled in his studies since childhood and graduated as a top student from the Campbell Royal Military Academy in Brevon.

The Campbell Royal Military Academy, along with the Westoria Military Academy at Crosscoln, Cargheda Military Academy in Bonraca, and Saint-Cyr Military Academy in Aurinnois, is known as one of the world’s ’Four Military Academies.’

"Since you’re so smart, why don’t you know that black bream cannot be raised together?"

Kiya chuckled and said, "I’m just giving you the opportunity to show off your extensive knowledge in fishing."

"Hmph, I knew you were teasing me."

Sienna Johnson and Adrian Desmond walked hand in hand, seeing the couple playfully bantering. Sienna didn’t want to interrupt them, initially planning to come by later, but was spotted by Paige.

"Brother, Sister-in-law," Adrian called out.

Sienna had to walk over. Her gaze swept over the two people, and she said, "Kiya, are you getting used to staying here?"

Kiya replied, "It’s great here, I really like it."

As the Crown Prince, Kiya had always lived a busy life. Enjoying such leisurely moments now was a first for him, especially with Paige by his side, he genuinely enjoyed his current lifestyle.

Paige noticed her brother’s expression wasn’t great and asked, "Brother, why did you come here? Is there something wrong?"

Adrian was very dissatisfied with Kiya’s staged death, abandoning the royal affairs of Abyanabad, and hiding here with Paige.

"Sultan, do you know what kind of chaos Abyanabad is in right now?" Adrian’s tone carried accusations.

Everyone has their own responsibilities. As the Sultan, Kiya should fulfill his responsibilities and duties, but Kiya irresponsibly abandoned everything.

Kiya said, "I’m no longer a Sultan."

Adrian said, "The Queen Mother and Gulit don’t know how to manage a country at all. The Queen Mother is turning sixty soon, and just to celebrate her birthday, she decided to impose heavy taxes on businessmen... I’ve never heard of something so absurd!"

Adrian recalled the history he had studied, this was the path of a foolish ruler leading the country to ruin.

"Oh." Kiya had nothing further to say.

Another fish was caught on the hook. Evidently, Kiya was more interested in the fish he caught than in Adrian’s discussion about national worries.

"How many did you catch?" Kiya asked.

"Six," answered Paige.

Kiya put away his fishing rod and said, "That’s enough to eat; let’s have fish today."

Paige was happy to see her brother and sister-in-law. Her current life was very carefree, free of in-law relations, with Kiya not having to worry about state affairs, and their son accompanying them.

"Alright. We’ll have a full fish feast today, perfect for Sister-in-law to nourish herself." Paige looked at Sienna’s belly and joked, "Sister-in-law, your belly seems to have grown again."

Sienna fretted, "Yes, I’m really worried that when it’s close to delivery, my belly might burst open."

Paige said, "Even with triplets or quadruplets, the belly doesn’t burst open. Sister-in-law, you need to believe in the elasticity of your belly."

Sienna was amused by Paige. Paige had become much more lively, with the happiness clearly visible in her face, showing that they were truly having a good time.

Kiya’s gaze moved from Sienna’s round belly to Paige’s flat one, and he sighed inwardly. He had been working diligently lately, wondering when Anna would bless him with a little Princess.

...

Dinner was a full fish feast: oil-soaked carp, squirrel carp, hibiscus lotus carp, lake water boiled fish, steamed silver edge fish. Fearing excessive consumption of fish might cause heatiness, they also prepared wild vegetable soup.

Because everyone was in a good mood, they all enjoyed quite a bit of food.

After dinner, Kiya and Adrian went to discuss political affairs, while the two sisters-in-law sat together, eating seeds and chatting.

Sienna laughed, "...Kiya has really impressed me. Giving up being a Sultan for you shows me that there’s still love in this world."

"Cut it out! Don’t you believe you and my brother have true love?"

"Except for me and Adrian."

Paige lay comfortably on the recliner, gazing at the star-filled sky. There were no factories here, the air was clean, and the sound of insects filled her ears... This place was like an idyllic paradise.

"You and my brother suddenly came to Blackwood, what is it all about?"

Sienna was expecting twins, and Adrian had been very careful and meticulous, so how could they have driven for so long just to visit her and Kiya?

Sienna didn’t plan to hide anything from Paige, and spoke of Adrian’s predicament, "Kiya isn’t the Sultan anymore, and much of Adrian’s business has been shut down, making things very difficult.

It’s as if someone is deliberately targeting Adrian. Even the businesses that haven’t been shut down are struggling to survive... Recently in Abyanabad, the new legislation to heavily tax merchants... Adrian has attributed all of it to Kiya."

"..."

"I wonder if the two of them have quarreled."

Paige didn’t expect things to be so bad, "The Queen Mother doesn’t seem like such a muddleheaded person."

Sienna didn’t know her mother-in-law, the Queen Mother, well. She was unaware of what kind of person she was, but indeed Abyanabad was being messed up at the moment.

Although Sienna found Kiya’s abandoning the throne for love quite romantic, many others would suffer because of it.

If this continues, who knows what state Abyanabad might end up in.

"Sister-in-law, what do you want me to do?" Paige asked.

Sienna turned, smiled at Paige, and said, "Leave men’s affairs to men to solve; you don’t need to do anything."

Paige said to Sienna, "I really like the life I’m living now... if Kiya still wants to go back to being Sultan, I wouldn’t go back with him."

"Mm."

...

While the women’s topic revolved around love and life, the men’s was much more grim.

"Kiya, are you really planning to ignore everything?" Adrian asked.

Kiya chuckled, not giving a clear answer.

"I heard from Paige that you mentioned someone wants to kill you, what’s that about?"

"...The brakes of my car were tampered with twice; while inspecting a construction site, a piece of iron plate almost fell on me; one of my dogs, a Dogo, suddenly went berserk, almost biting me..."

"..."

Kiya humorously said, "I’ve always thought my luck had been good since childhood, it makes no sense that Anna suddenly doesn’t like me anymore and wants me dead, seemingly trying to ensure no one realizes I’m being assassinated."

"Any suspects?" Adrian asked.