Tangled By Fate

Chapter 585: CURIOUS



Veronica couldn't help but feel sad for her friend. Some nobles would enjoy luxury but she knew him since childhood. He liked nothing more than the ocean. He would tell her stories we read about pirates and finding their hideout to get all the treasures pirates took.

"How about this? Hand over your duties to your brother and escape from your house," Veronica suggested. "You can go directly to the port. Find a job on a ship. They always need crews."

Eugene heard her imperative tone and realized that she was serious. The corners of his lips gradually spread, turning his lips into a half-moon shape.

"If I want to run away, will you help me?" he asked.

"Most certainly I will! What kind of friend do you think I am?" Veronica snapped.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"A scary one," Eugene answered without batting his eyes. Anyone who knew her since childhood would never trust her. He didn't want to leave his fate in her hands either.

Veronica coldly sneered. "Then, stay the rest of your life in the cage."

Eugene tried to appease her by saying, "Now, now, aside from duties, it's not that bad. You can eat whatever you want, do whatever you want, spend as much money as you want."

"Spending money on vanity," she scoffed, his words didn't please her at all.

After being the second most powerful woman in Tybu, she still lived a simple life. She wore simple and elegant clothes with small sets of jewelry. Aside from imperial parties, she wouldn't prepare any fashionable clothes. She'd avoid going to tea parties and other evening balls to avoid having an extravagant lifestyle.

Even though she knew how rich her husband was, she never tried to show off Arthur's wealth, nor did she have the desire to covet them. Fortunately, her husband knew her taste and never forced her to wear anything uncomfortable. Her most expensive clothes and jewellery sets would be her wedding ones. Since it was a special day, she let Arthur prepare everything.

Eugene wasn't bothered by her dislike of richness. He commented, "Even if you say that, without money what can you do in this ruthless world?"

"Can money give you happiness?" Veronica questioned him.

Eugene smirked. He remarked, "You seemed to live a good life, enough to the point you find money worthless." Looking at her flabbergasted expression, he said, "If you have a roof on top of your head, your stomach is filled with food, cover your skin with comfortable clothes, what else do you need? Can you afford them without money?"

Veronica argued, "I'm not saying that without money you can survive. I'm talking about happiness. How many nobles did you see to be happy with their wealth? Look at you. Are you happy with your heavy duties and responsibilities? You don't have the freedom to even go to the ocean. Nothing excessive is good."

Eugene retorted, "But what can you do? It's not like you can change the way society works. If you can, be my guest and be the ruler of the world. Try dismissing the nobles and giving away the wealth to the poor. What do you think will happen?"

Without waiting for her answer he continued, "The nobles will be after your throat. Poor will gobble up the wealth. Nothing will remain. During an emergency, there will be no one to protect anyone. Equality will destroy the remaining peace in the world. Do you know why? It's because humans are selfish. There will always be greedy people lurking around to trample the weak. There will be people who like to snatch others belongings. Equality doesn't exist and it shouldn't exist."

After he was done speaking the atmosphere became heavy. None of them spoke for a while. They could hear the music, seductive voices and drunken laugh of the patrons. Realising that he said too much in front of his childhood friend, he smiled and tried to loosen up the tension.

He said, "You are still idealistic. This is good though. You dreamed of something and worked hard to achieve it while I stayed realistic and couldn't fulfil my dream. You definitely deserve my respect."

"If you don't dream the impossible, how can you have the courage to do what it takes to get what you want?" Veronica hummed.

The atmosphere around them became friendly once again. After finishing their meal, Eugene ordered another jar of orange juice for Veronica. He also insisted on paying for the meal. Veronica suddenly regretted not choosing the most expensive meal. She was mulling over if she could invite him over one more time, Eugene noticed something in her finger. "This is an unusual ring," he commented.

Veronica bit her tongue. Subconsciously, she took her wedding ring from her pocket and put it on. The ring was embedded with the sign of the Mistress of the Magic Tower-in other words, it was her seal. Not many people knew the shape or design of the seal, but she knew that she should remain careful.

She crossed her arms, an act to hide her ring and said, "What? I like this ring."

"Where did you get it?" he suddenly became curious.

"It's a gift," she lied.

"A gift from a man?!" Eugene was genuinely surprised.

Veronica told him, "No, you remember Catherine? She gave it to me. I have no clue where she bought it."

"Ah, the blonde who always stuck to you like a glue." Eugene didn't seem to catch her lies. "I wonder where she got it. Do you know where she is now?"

"No," Veronica replied with a frown. She couldn't understand why he was so curious about the ring. "Why are you so persistent to find out?" she asked.

"This ring is so unique. It looks like an ancient relic. I want to know from your friend, Catherine if she bought it from the black market," Eugene stated.

"I didn't know that you had a thing for antiques. But I apologize, I cannot help you." Veronica

shrugged.

"Why not?"