I don't want to be loved (Book II)

Chapter 220: Evil Thoughts

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Ten days passed by rather quickly.

As soon as Lalisa sent a letter inquiring about security to go back to Chrichton, Vincent immediately sent a person to help her. Within this short period of time, the internal conflict in Chrichton was quickly solved.

The Crown Prince was stripped of all power, and discussions soon broke out on whether Prince Ivan should be crowned as the next heir. Since things ended the way Vincent had planned, he hastened the return date of his cousin, Lalisa. It was as though he couldn't wait a single more day away from her.

Lalisa's farewell happened so quick and smoothly that it was simply astonishing. Mrs. Cessly didn't even show up on the last day. Raymond insisted adamantly on escorting her to port, but Lalisa refused. Jungkook saw once more that Lalisa had made up her mind and that nobody could stand in her way.

And thus, when the day arrived, Jungkook witnessed Lalisa slowly leaving the Palace from his office window. She was already inside the carriage. Then, when the carriage got far away, so far that he couldn't follow it with his gaze anymore, he couldn't help letting out a defeated sigh.

"Your Majesty..."

Raymond's worried voice came from behind his back. Jungkook stood there, his gaze focused on the window.

"I wish to be alone, so stay away. And make sure that no one enters my chambers."

Upon his orders, Raymond bowed his head. Jungkook heard the sound of the door closing, and after a long time, he finally shifted his gaze from the window. He looked at the pile of documents on his desk, but couldn't concentrate at all. Eventually, he put the papers away inside a desk drawer. While he did this, his fingers accidentally grazed over a small wooden sculpture inside the drawer.

It was a clumsily made wooden ship. It was the last trace of the past. Jungkook smiled bitterly as he remembered what had happened so long ago.

It's a gift! It's something that I cherish very much!

At that time, his younger self was smiling broadly, knowing full well that she wanted him to like her gift. However, Jungkook could not smile like he did as a boy anymore.

As a boy, knowing that his mother was the one inviting that girl to the Palace, Jungkook made up his mind on making sure he'd not feel anything for her. Thus, he made sure to keep a stony face all the time and to not hear anything that girl ever said.

He said it's the pirate ship in which Vini will cruise and sail all over the world in the future!

However, before he'd even realized it, he was already listening to every word she said quite intently. She looked so cute saying those things with such honesty, and the fact that she was willing to give away her most treasured possessions to someone else also caught his attention.

Besides, it was at that time that he became interested in the sea for the first time. Before that, Jungkook's world was limited to the continent he grew up in. Since his mother only spoke to him about how he needed to strengthen the nation to face with the adjacent Empire in the future, Jungkook thought that that was all he ever had to worry about.

Seeing that this girl knew of things he wasn't even aware of opened his mind. He'd always wanted to distance himself from his mother but... in reality, did he perhaps give up and was just conforming himself by staying in her shadow?

That's why, even if he pretended not to hear Lalisa, he was actually listening quite carefully. But once he became her husband, he couldn't listen to her anymore. Lalisa did not have that same sparkle in her eyes when she spoke, and he made up his mind on not listening to anything she had to say anymore.