Chapter 559: Chapter-559
Just as Samuel opened his mouth to greet her, Heena turned completely in the opposite direction toward the second figure entering from the right—her grandfather.
"Oh my God," Heena gasped loudly, her hands flying to her cheeks in exaggerated awe. "Who is this handsome man?"
Hearing her breathless praise, Samuel froze. A soft, incredibly confident smile instantly spread across his handsome face. He puffed out his chest just a fraction, fully preparing to accept his wife’s blatant admiration.
He looked up, meeting her gaze—only to realize she wasn’t looking at him at all. She was looking right past his shoulder.
Samuel blinked. He slowly turned his head to see the old Vanguard Patriarch, dressed in a dignified, heavy brown robe with a pristine white inner layer, walking toward them.
Samuel stared at the old man, and then back at Heena, his confident smile twitching slightly.
’This woman is completely blind,’ Samuel thought, absolutely bewildered.
The grandfather, however, burst into a hearty, deeply flattered chuckle. He smoothed down his brown robes, trying to look modest but failing completely.
"Yeah, my dear, don’t say it so loudly," the old man laughed, waving a hand dismissively.
"Come on, Grandpa!" Heena teased, walking past a completely ignored Samuel to link her arm affectionately through the old man’s. "Now I finally understand why Grandmother fell for you!"
The grandfather looked like he was floating on cloud nine. His chest puffed out proudly as he patted her hand. "Ah, it’s not just that... I just, you know, have a certain charm."
Heena grinned, resting her head lightly against his shoulder. "May I get the pleasure of going to the banquet with you, Grandpa?"
The old man immediately wrapped a protective, doting arm around her shoulders.
"Of course, my dear!" he boomed cheerfully. Then, he leaned in and lowered his voice into a conspiratorial whisper. "Just don’t let your Grandma know. If she knew that I was the one escorting you to the palace instead of focusing on the perimeter guards, she would literally chop me down."
Heena laughed out loud, a genuine, bell-like sound that echoed in the cool night air. "Yeah, yeah, my lips are sealed! I will not say a word."
They started walking toward the estate gates, chatting and joking together like the perfect grandfather-granddaughter duo.
As they breezed past Samuel, Heena paused for a brief second. She looked him up and down with a perfectly blank expression.
"Follow," she ordered flatly. "What are you doing just standing there?"
Samuel’s jaw tightened. He forcibly swallowed his pride, letting the terrifying mastermind vanish and the obedient, foolish husband take his place.
"Yes, Ma’am! Coming!" Samuel chirped loudly, jogging after them like a loyal, overgrown puppy.
When they finally reached the grand gates of the estate, the Vanguard escorts were already waiting with lit torches. But parked on the cobblestones were two separate, magnificent carriages.
Heena paused, raising an eyebrow as she looked at her grandfather.
"Grandpa, two carriages?" she asked in confusion. "Why do we need two?"
The old man cleared his throat, offering a vague but fond smile. "I don’t know, child. But it would be better this way. We have a lot of space to stretch out before dealing with those stiff civil officials."
Heena simply shrugged, continuing to joke playfully with her grandfather about the upcoming banquet.
Standing a few feet away in the shadows, Samuel watched the exchange, his dark eyes narrowing into an icy glare directed entirely at the back of the old man’s head. He was forced to stand on the sidelines while this senior completely monopolized his wife’s attention.
Samuel gritted his teeth, cursing under his breath as he crossed his arms.
’If this old fossil was not her beloved grandfather,’ Samuel thought viciously, his inner psycho flaring up, ’I would have thrown him out of the moving carriage myself just to get a seat next to her.’
"Go on, you two take the second carriage," the grandfather said, waving them off as he climbed into the first, heavily armored Vanguard transport. He winked at Heena. "Young couples need their space, after all. Plus, I want to take a nap before dealing with those civil vultures."
Samuel’s dark mood instantly evaporated.
The grandfather’s carriage rolled forward, its wheels clattering against the cobblestones. Samuel didn’t waste a single second. He placed a hand on the small of Heena’s back—a touch that was both protective and utterly possessive—and guided her into the second carriage.
The moment the heavy wooden doors of the carriage clicked shut, locking them in the dim, private space illuminated only by a small internal lantern, the atmosphere completely shifted.
Samuel dropped the loud, whining puppy act entirely. He leaned back against the plush velvet cushions, crossing his long legs. His predatory, bottomless dark eyes locked onto her, reflecting the golden lantern light.
"Is your little... intuition ready for tonight?" Samuel asked softly, his voice a smooth, freezing baritone. He didn’t know about the System, but he knew Heena possessed methods that defied standard logic.
Heena rested her hand on the hilt of her ceremonial dagger, her fox-like eyes completely calm. "It is ready. The moment the tea is poured, I will know exactly what is in the cup."
Samuel smiled, a terrifying, beautiful curve of his lips. "Good. The banquet follows strict imperial protocol. The Head Royal Physician will personally serve the Emperor his health tonic right after the third course. That is when the Prime Minister will spring his trap."
He leaned forward, the space between them suddenly vanishing. He reached out and gently brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, completely bypassing the black kajal mark she had painted there.
"Do not act too early, Wife," Samuel whispered, his breath ghosting over her skin. "Let them present the poison. Let the Prime Minister point his finger at the Vanguard. Let them dig their own graves so deep that not even the Emperor can pull them out."
Heena didn’t flinch. She met his lethal gaze with a wicked, dangerous smile of her own. "I know how to play the game, Samuel. Just make sure you don’t break character too soon."
The carriage ride through the capital was smooth, eventually slowing as they approached the towering, blood-red gates of the Forbidden Inner City.
The courtyard outside the Great Hall was an absolute sea of opulence. Hundreds of glowing red and gold paper lanterns hung from the sweeping eaves of the palace. The carriages of the civil officials were parked in perfect rows, adorned with ridiculous amounts of jade, silk ribbons, and imported pearls. The air was thick with the suffocating scent of expensive floral perfumes and political anxiety.
The Vanguard carriages pulled up to the jade terrace, their heavy, iron-reinforced wheels sounding like war drums against the delicate stone.
The chatter of the civil officials instantly died down.
Every single eye in the courtyard turned toward the Vanguard transports. The military family was an anomaly at these poetry-and-wine banquets.
Samuel stepped out first. True to his public persona, he immediately started acting like a complete diva, dramatically dusting off his black and silver robes and complaining about the humidity to the nearest palace eunuch.
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