Conquering His Cold Heart
Chapter 474 - 474: A Detour

Everard was in his study room, frantically opening all the drawers of his desk and looking for something.

"Where the hell did I put that file on that brewery?" he grunted as he bent down on his knees and pulled the drawer at the very bottom.

His eyes suddenly widened.

His whole body stopped functioning for a split second when his gaze fell on a rolled sheet of paper that he had tucked away for a few months now.

Memories about the past suddenly engulfed him whole and made it very difficult for him to breathe.

He slowly stretched out his trembling hand but pulled it away as soon as his fingertips touched that paper. He kept on staring at it for a long time before finally taking a deep breath and picking it up.

He exhaled noisily and then sat down on the floor while resting his back on the foot of his desk.

He slowly pulled the knotted ribbon that was wrapped around that sheet of paper. But his hesitation didn't allow him to unroll that sheet immediately.

Still, after contemplating for about a minute or two, Everard built up the courage and unraveled the beautiful portrait that he had painted a few years back.

"Anna…"

He gently smiled at the young and innocent lady in the painting. For a split second, he felt as though the portrait came alive and smiled back at him.

"Anna…" he called her name once again in a very sad tone.

The more he stared at the portrait, the more unsettled he felt deep inside.

He stretched out his fingertips so as to caress the beautiful face on the painting. However, he stopped himself from doing so and forced his hands to roll the portrait again. He put it back inside the same drawer and quickly stood up on his feet.

He then rushed out of his study room and headed towards the study of his beta.

"Jerome." He pushed the door open and began to ask, "Have you seen the–"

He stopped midsentence when he saw Jerome hurriedly hiding something under a pile of files on the desk.

He furrowed his brows at Jerome and asked while sounding somewhat suspicious, "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing." Jerome quickly got up from his seat and bowed to the King. "Did you want something?"

Everard glanced at the place where Jerome had hastily tucked some papers and asked, "Yes. I want to know what you are hiding from me."

Jerome looked nervous. But he still gave a short smile and said while clasping his hands together, "It's not something that concerns you, Your Majesty."

He cleared his throat and tried to divert Everard's attention away by saying, "By the way, I have temporarily assigned Cillian to work under Sebastian."

Everard nodded, his eyes still fixated on Jerome's desk. Although curious about the contents of those papers, he decided not to pry too much. If it was something of importance to him, he was sure that Jerome wouldn't conceal anything from him.

So, he let go of that topic and asked, "I was looking for the files that we brought from Romulus' brewery. Do you have those?"

"Oh, I think they are in your study. I can find them for you." Jerome walked ahead of the King and led him out of his study.

---

While traveling back to the castle, Anastasia kept on creating several scenarios between her and her husband in her head. Most of them ended very badly for her.

The more she let her mind wander without any rein, the more her heart ached. She felt suffocated by her own thoughts and feelings. And in the spur of the moment, she pulled the curtains, opened the windows, and stuck her head out of the carriage to inhale some fresh forest air.

A gust of cool breeze instantly greeted her by caressing her face and blowing her loose strands of hair.

She looked around the forest and admired the trees that were still standing tall. She could see some birds flying from branches to branches in search of food and warmth.

'It is so peaceful…' she thought.

She couldn't think of the last time she had felt this peaceful.

The feeling didn't last for long because John came whooshing to her side and then shouted from outside the window, "Your Majesty, I think you should close the windows and curtains until we reach the castle."

"Oh, right!" Anastasia sighed.

She was about to close the window when her eyes fell on the small path in front of her eyes. She felt as if she recognized it but she couldn't quite recall where that path led to.

John was still running beside her windows. So, she asked him, "John, where does that path lead to?"

John looked to his side and then answered the Queen, "It's the path to Silver Keep."

"Oh!" Anastasia nodded her head and finally closed the window. She also pulled the curtains close and went back to resting her back on the cushions.

A thought suddenly popped up in her head. 'How about I buy some gifts for Caspian? If the plan with Lady Edith doesn't prove to be effective then I can try giving something to him. Who knows? A simple gesture like that might actually work better.'

Immediately after, Anastasia knocked on the wooden wall of the carriage and asked the coachman, "Benjamin, will you stop the carriage for a moment?"

"Of course, Your Majesty."

The carriage slowly came to a halt, much to the displeasure of Anastasia's guards.

They quickly came to the window and asked her, "Your Majesty, is there a problem?"

Anastasia pulled the curtains again and made a request to her guards, "Can we please visit Silver Keep? I wish to buy a few things there."

John and Isaac exchanged glances with each other, obviously agreeing that it was a bad idea.

This time, Isaac took the initiative to talk to the Queen, "I am sorry, Your Majesty, but I think it's not a great idea for you to visit the town on your own, especially when we are the only two guards available for your protection."

"Oh, right! Didn't the others join us?" Anastasia asked after finally realizing that the other guards never followed her.

Isaac shook his head and answered, "No, Your Majesty. That's why I think it is better for us to head straight for the castle. If you need something then we can send a few servants to the town and have them purchase those things for you."

Anastasia pressed her lips and gave it a thought.

After coming to a conclusion in her head, she showed her reluctance to follow through with Isaac's suggestion, "It would be a good idea if I knew what to buy and from where. But I don't know it yet. I was thinking that maybe I could look around the shops in town and select some items that I liked."

"But it's not safe, Your Majesty," John exclaimed in a rather restrictive tone.

However, Anastasia was quite adamant.

She honestly expressed her reason behind wanting to visit the town herself, "John, I would like to purchase a gift for His Majesty. I want to show a small gesture of love to him. Maybe we will finally stop fighting?"

John sighed and desperately tried to stop Anastasia, "After safely dropping you at the castle, I will personally visit the town and buy a variety of items. You can choose among those and–"

"Please, John. I would like to buy them myself." Anastasia gave a pleading look to both of her guards and said very emotionally, "You both know how Caspian and I are on the verge of a fallout. I don't want that to happen. Let me put in some effort to try and mend the relationship between me and my husband."

When they still didn't fall for her pitiful look, Anastasia requested once again, "Take me to Silver Keep. I swear I will not try to run away. I won't disappear from your sights. And I won't take much time. Please."

John sighed and grunted when the Queen put them in a difficult situation.

After giving it some thought, and under the pressure of pitiful gaze from the Queen, he finally caved in to the Queen's request, "Okay, I guess. We can take a little detour since it is still early."

"Are you serious?" Isaac elbowed John on the side of the stomach and gave him a side glare.

Anastasia looked at the reluctant Isaac and pleaded, "Isaac, please. I have you two by my side. You two are enough to guard me." She tucked her stranded hair behind her ears and quickly said, "If things go haywire then one of you is allowed to carry me and run. How about that?"

Isaac also fell victim to Anastasia's request at last. He finally gave a nod and said, "Alright then. But please don't open the window or the curtains until we say so."

Anastasia smiled and instantly agreed, "Sure. Thank you!"

John looked at the coachman who was eagerly waiting for instruction and said, "Benjamin, let's head to the Silver Keep."