Chapter 363: Untitled
Everybody dismounted from their horses and instinctively avoided physical contact with Cheng Anya while they leveled their machine guns at them. They were escorted at gunpoint into the castle, which was surrounded by tall walls. To even describe as an ancient city was not an overstatement either as there were fortresses, lookout towers, and soldiers on the walls guarding it. The soldiers were well-equipped and were clearly, on first look, a well-trained force.
Third Young Master Ye looked at them with a deep gaze and seemingly smiled. He was reminded of defensive battles for ancient cities, and this ancient castle was clearly a military installation in the middle of the desert. That explained why they were so brazen.
The interior of the castle was an altogether different world when compared to the rolling sands outside the castle. There were buildings of many different styles in the castle as well as a large garden of roses. The owner of the castle seemed to really love roses. There were roses of several breeds in the garden, along with tall trees and millennial-old palm trees which created huge foliage. There were many rattan chairs and stone tables underneath the foliage, which faced two huge swimming pools. The swimming pools had cold and warm water respectively, along with many lounging umbrellas next to them.
There were cobblestone paths, fountains, and a Persian stone statue from the middle-ages…
There was indeed a castle door that separated the two vastly different places. While sand and stone rolled outside, the inside was a paradise on earth.
Seeing how the master of the castle was a person of good taste, Cheng Anya could not help but sigh at how luxurious the interior of the castle was. While building a castle in the middle of a desert was not particularly difficult, a lot of thought and cost must have gone into decorating its interior.
“Ah Chen, this place is sure majestic.” Cheng Anya teased as she appreciated the castle. “Are you able to afford it?”
“Small change.” Third Young Master Ye coldly harrumphed as several thoughts ran through his mind. When did such a massive castle appear in the vicinity of Melilla, and add the fact that he received no information about it?
Or did he make a judgment error?
That was impossible. Third Young Master Ye overturned his hypothesis. He smiled and said, “Doesn’t this look like a bustling city?”
“Save the effort, for I’m smelling the scent of roses,” Cheng Anya said as the men at a side quickly ushered them into the great hall of the castle. While the exterior of the castle was already gorgeous, the interior of the castle was nothing short of opulent.
The ancient pillars had intricate and beautiful decorations inscribed into them. These pillars being coated with gold made them seem even more prestigious. The great hall was extremely large, and one could tell that the master of the castle was a huge fan of Persian culture. There were several large Persian artifacts in it, and the carpet in the hall was a costly Persian carpet. With luxurious decorations adorning the wall, along with its crystal lamps, its opulence was emphasized even more. A massive pearl adorned the highest point of the great hall, and the gentle lights entering the great hall reflected off the gold to downplay the opulence in the hall. Furniture throughout the great hall was retro-styled, and many famous calligraphy and paintings adorned the walls. While the style of the great hall, at first glance, stood out, it blended into the luxury and opulence of the interior of the castle.
The luxurious decorations of the great hall did not seem crude at all but instead, emanated a dominance and style. Having visited the castles and manors of several dukes in Great Britain, Cheng Anya had never seen any which were as opulent and outrageously decked out as the one she was in.
General Chauvet ordered his men to call upon the prince as Third Young Master Ye and Cheng Anya individually tried to figure out who the other person was. General Chauvet noticed how stoic they were in the opulent castle, and he, too, was figuring out who they were.
That moment, the great hall fell silent.
A few guffaws could be heard from the central atrium, which fell silent. As the huge castle fell especially silent inside, Third Young Master Ye could not help but ask, “General, which nation is your ‘prince’ from?”
“You have no right to know,” Chauvet replied calmly. As this was how he usually sounded, he was hence not impolite.
Third Young Master Ye seemingly curled his lips into a smile while a sinister coldness flashed past his face. General Chauvet noticed it and felt that this man was above all and clearly domineering. As he was clearly not the tourist he claimed to be, he became even more cautious toward him.
A moment later, steps could be heard and General Chauvet respectfully bowed toward the entrance. Third Young Master Ye and Cheng Anya looked in his direction and saw a tall man walk in with a few youths flanking him.
He was 1.9 meters tall, had a typically Western build, and thick maroon hair. His features, sculpted into his face, were suave, and his pale skin gave people the ‘Mister Nice Guy’ vibes. His white teeth and red lips complemented his blue-black eyes which were deep and beautiful. While his etiquette was dignified and impressive, he seemed cold and distant.
“Good afternoon, Your Highness.” General Chauvet bowed respectfully.
The prince waved his hand and gently said, “General Chauvet, who are these people?”
“Your Highness, our men spotted them in the restricted area. They claimed to be tourists who were separated from their tour group due to a sandstorm and hence ended up at the oasis,” Chauvet replied respectfully.
Third Young Master Ye had been observing the prince. Although he seemed like a nice guy, to have such a large castle and a well-equipped militia meant that he was not some nice guy. Like Louis, it was a misimpression he gave people.
The prince acknowledged in a slightly curious tone and looked toward Third Young Master Ye. Third Young Master Ye nodded in acknowledgment as a greeting. He smiled elegantly and cut to the chase. “Your Highness, could you give us a lift home?”
The prince looked at Third Young Master Ye’s face and then looked at Cheng Anya. General Chauvet reported to the prince, in Spanish, about Cheng Anya’s virus. Third Young Master Ye feigned not understanding what General Chauvet said and just held Cheng Anya tightly.
While he sounded earnest, he reasonably suspected that they were not tourists and were definitely people of special status. The prince’s dark-blue eyes, like the calm blue sea, were so calm as though nothing rippled through him.
“There are extremely few tourists in the desert at this season,” the prince said as he broke into a comforting smile. “Also, this is no tourist hotspot. Even if you became separated from your tour group, you would not end up here even after getting lost in the desert for ten days to two weeks. Moreover, the two of you look like you have only been around here for two days. You two can’t possibly be tourists.”
Cheng Anya was secretly surprised. He was such a keen man who was spot-on about them.
“Your Highness, we come with no ill intent. Even if we are not tourists, we have no business or whatsoever with you, so could you just treat us as tourists and let us go?” Third Young Master Ye coldly said in full arrogance. “Making a friend is often better than making an enemy, no?”
Chauvet felt that Third Young Master Ye was overly presumptuous and wanted to tell him off before being stopped by the prince. As the prince stroked his chin, he observed Third Young Master Ye and Cheng Anya in detail for a moment. He then smiled and said, “Indeed, you come with no ill intent. There is nothing wrong with making an additional friend like you, but… I detest it when people lie to me.”
His smile carried coldness with it.
Third Young Master Ye smiled elegantly despite how hideous he looked. “Your Highness, life is never a bed of roses, and you, too, will certainly hit a rough spot from time to time. When things do not look good, I’m afraid that you, too, would lie.”
The prince curled his lips into a smile. His brief conversation with Third Young Master Ye confirmed that the latter was no average joe. Third Young Master Ye was also even more certain that this prince was no simple person.
He seemed gentle, yet keen. He seemed kind, yet extremely cold. It made bad sense to trifle with such a person, and especially so when he was on his turf. Third Young Master Ye secretly wondered how he ought to extricate himself.
Another negotiation ensued.
“What is your name?” the prince calmly asked. His gaze was calm as usual, and his prestige towered above them. This was extremely different from the image he portrayed.
Cheng Anya smiled and said,” Do you expect us to tell the truth at such a juncture? Tell us your conditions.”
The prince’s eyes went bright for a moment and then landed on Cheng Anya. Extremely few women dared to talk to him in such a manner—a secret mockery in spite of a smile. As he observed her eyes in detail, her eyes became slightly dark.
Third Young Master Ye panicked when he noticed the prince’s line of sight. He thought to himself that things were not going well. Cheng Anya did not understand why he suddenly paid attention to her either as she had no intention of provoking him. If Third Young Master Ye had said what she said, he would have said and meant exactly the same as she did.
“Your woman?” The prince had an interested look in his gaze that broke the calm in his eyes.
Without saying a word, Third Young Master Ye pulled Cheng Anya next to him and arrogantly said, “Yeah, she’s my woman.”
General Chauvet, who suddenly discovered something, became a little worried. “Your highness…”
The prince raised his hand, and as though he did not like counsel, stopped him from speaking. The prince directly pointed at Cheng Anya and said, “I can let you go, but she must stay.”
Third Young Master Ye coldly smiled as his anger boiled over. As he suppressed the anger in his pitch-black eyes, he said, “Your Highness, do you typically snatch women who belong to other men?”
General Chauvet’s face changed and the prince’s face instantly became dark. His kind and royal face became as terrible as the devil. He suddenly pulled out his pistol and aimed at Third Young Master Ye. He said, “You sure have guts. Repeat what you said.”
This statement raked up a deep-seated rage in Third Young Master Ye, and even Cheng Anya was worried. They had just escaped danger only to run into a madman. Third Young Master Ye remained stoic and elegantly smiled. “Was I spot-on?”
The prince, in a rage, was about to pull the trigger when a gentle female voice suddenly waltzed into the room. “William, I must say that I have not seen you fire a gun in a long time. Pretty standard posture you have there.”
The prince paused and quickly kept his pistol. General Chauvet respectfully bowed and said, “Miss Rong Yan.”