Let Me Go, Mr. Howard Chapter 285

Yet even with his smile gone, Neville's voice sounded cheerful—almost gleeful, even.

Adeline knew this state all too well. Probably bad news, but because of his relationship with whoever was on the line, he had to hide his true thoughts.

She suspected something had happened, but didn't particularly care. It probably wouldn't affect her end anyway.

"Ms. Morgan."

However, after hanging up, Neville turned to Adeline with a serious expression.

Adeline immediately looked over. The moment their eyes met, an ominous feeling washed over her.

"What's wrong?"

Her throat tightened.

Neville didn't answer right away. He first glanced at Ayana playing her Switch, then returned his gaze to Adeline. "Does she understand English with a Sovereign City accent?"

Adeline's brow furrowed immediately. "You speak English with a Sovereign City accent?"

"Of course I do. I spent quite a long time in Sovereign City back in the day." Neville crossed his arms, his eyes half-closed. "You just need to answer my question."

Adeline turned her head in speechless exasperation. “Do you see her reacting to anything you’ve said?”

At that, Neville did look at Ayana. Clearly, when it came to Sovereign City-accented English, the game console in her hands was far more captivating.

After confirming no one would eavesdrop on their conversation, Neville finally continued speaking.

"Scarlett's left Vesperia."

The words were light as air, yet they struck Adeline's heart like a heavy blow. She immediately grew agitated. "What about our plan?"

She urgently pressed for answers, completely forgetting about her volume. This instantly caught Ayana's attention.

Though Ayana couldn't understand Sovereign City-accented English, seeing Adeline like this, she immediately glared at Neville. "What are you two talking about? Why is she suddenly so worked up?"

Neville didn't answer, only looking at Adeline.

The meaning was clear enough—clean up your own mess.

Adeline closed her eyes, composing herself before turning to Ayana with a smile. "It's nothing. Neville just told me my sister's pregnant."

Ayana made a sound of acknowledgment, her gaze shifting between them before she sat back down. Halfway through her game, she remembered to add, "Congrats."

No one paid attention to her congratulations.

Adeline didn't dare get that agitated again. She cleared her throat and spoke at normal volume.

"What the hell happened? Yesterday, you were still saying she was in Vesperia."

Neville's brow furrowed slightly. He thought for a moment before speaking. "It's fine even if she's not in Vesperia. She's in Virella Island, Seraphim, now."

He paused here, glancing at Ayana again.

"Benjamin and I have been invited to Virella Island tomorrow. Find a way to come along. As for her..."

His words were full of dissatisfaction with Ayana's presence here.

"I'll make her leave." Adeline immediately promised, but then asked again, "Can't I just go with you?"

Neville gave a dry laugh, his gaze lingering on Adeline's face. "You look too much like Scarlett. Benjamin will notice something's off."

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket but didn't light it, just held it between his lips. "Besides, Teddy will be going with us." Here, Neville gave Adeline a light glance. "You know him, right?"

Of course, Adeline knew. She frowned and made a sound of annoyance. "Got it."

The Alphard pulled into Hotel Caelstra's underground parking garage.

"I'm heading back. We shouldn't meet again after this. Find a way to get rid of her and get to Virella Island. I'll provide you with people."

As they parted ways at the elevator lobby, Neville still spoke to Adeline in Sovereign City-accented English.

Adeline nodded in response.

Seeing her nod, Neville relaxed somewhat. He entered the elevator first. As for Adeline and Ayana, they needed to take another elevator to their room.

"When are you leaving? I need to visit my sister at the hospital later."

The moment they returned to the room, Adeline couldn't wait to urge Ayana to leave again.

Ayana lay on the bed playing games. Hearing this, she briefly glanced at Adeline. "When are you going back to Eldoria?"

"A week at most." Adeline's tone was calm.

A week wasn't long.

The discomfort rising in Ayana's heart immediately vanished. She spoke casually, "Alright then. I'll head back first thing tomorrow morning."

Hearing this, Adeline immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She walked over and touched her head. "Good."

Ayana was busy with her game, but the hand on her head still made the corners of her mouth lift.

...

Seraphim, Virella Island.

The old Ford drove slowly into the seaside castle.

Sebastian looked out at the scenery, his eyes lingering on scenes that felt strangely familiar within their foreignness.

"You came here when you were little. Tana was still alive then—she adored you." Noticing he'd been staring out the window, Marco spoke up at the opportune moment.

Hearing Marco's words, Sebastian withdrew his gaze. "Is that so?"

His memories of childhood weren't very clear—probably due to that disaster.

The flat response made even Marco pause, but he quickly understood why the reaction was what it was. With a light sigh, he said nothing more.

The estate was vast with many buildings, but only the main castle was still habitable. The other houses had already begun restoration and reinforcement. Some buildings, too weathered by wind and sun, could only be rebuilt.

The estate had originally belonged to a nobleman but had been acquired by the Russo family several hundred years ago.

Several generations of Russos had grown up and died in this estate.

It wasn't until over a decade ago, when the castle was assessed for safety and entered reinforcement works, that the Russo family moved to live at the vineyard.

And because it was an ancient structure covering such a vast area, the castle's restoration work proceeded at an agonizingly slow pace.

Of course, this was also due to the workers' limited hours, but the Russo family excelled at patience. And over hundreds of years of development, they certainly didn't lack places to live.

Though an ancestral home held a different meaning, the Russo family would rather see a perfect castle than a shoddy product rushed through construction.

Currently, the castle's restoration work had reached the outermost buildings. In about another year, the entire estate's restoration should be complete.

After getting out of the car, everyone walked toward the castle.

Though the castle was currently uninhabited, a butler and several servants still kept watch over it.

They'd already been informed that Marco would be coming today and were waiting at the castle's main entrance.

"Mr. Russo."

Upon seeing Marco, everyone immediately bowed their heads.

They hadn't met Sebastian, but Jacob's reputation on Virella Island was considerable. Everyone knew the Russo family's leader had a Lumarian mixed-blood nephew.

So when they saw Sebastian—this man with obvious Lumarian heritage—they immediately guessed his identity. "Mr. Jacob Russo."

As for Tommy walking at the back.

He was an old hand in the Russo family. Everyone knew him.

"Mr. Crowe."