The Inescapable Celibate Heir Chapter 125: Caught Something Strange

Victoria lowered her head. "Don't lie to me, I know it hurts. You didn't have to take the hit for me." 

In her past life as a stunt double, Victoria had been injured before. 

Even with medication, the pain lingered until the wound scabbed over, and then it would itch like crazy, making her miserable.

Ethan cut her off, staring into her eyes. "If I hadn't, you would have been hurt. What if it left a scar?" 

Sophia hadn't held back at all; she aimed straight for Victoria's face. Even if Victoria had turned her head, it would have hit her neck or shoulder. 

A girl's skin is delicate and scars easily. How could he let that happen?

Victoria shook her head. She had plenty of scars from her past life and didn't really mind them. 

She sighed, "I don't care about scars that much. What bothers me more is that you got hurt because of me."

"But I care. I care about you a lot." Ethan looked away, focusing on the blue pearl in his hand. 

"Everyone cares about you—Samuel, your parents. Victoria, please take better care of yourself, okay?" 

His voice was so gentle that Victoria blinked several times to make sure it was really Ethan speaking.

Victoria gazed at Ethan, his face illuminated by the cool moonlight, making his skin and hair seem to glow. 

Her heart pounded, wanting to etch this moment into her memory. 

In her past life, she had stopped caring about her injuries, probably because no one else seemed to care.

They stayed at the resort for two more days. During that time, whenever Victoria was in the lobby, people would talk about her. 

She had become the new record holder, and she was a newcomer who was also very beautiful. 

Declan was curious about how she managed to get Queen to obey and asked her while she was feeding Queen. 

Victoria gave a mysterious smile, "I whispered to it that if it lost, I'd buy it and slice it up for hors d'oeuvres. Naturally, Queen behaved."

Declan laughed heartily, "You must be joking!" Victoria shrugged, "I told you, but you don't believe me." 

She couldn't easily reveal her secret to communicating with animals, especially to someone she wasn't close to. 

Declan, sensing this, didn't press further.

Soon, they left the resort and headed to their next destination. 

They had heard that the Northern Lights would be visible in the coming days, so Samuel had arranged for a cruise ship to take them out to sea to follow the aurora's path. 

The cruise ship belonged to Samuel, and to avoid any unwelcome company, only their group and the crew were on board. 

They enjoyed food, drinks, and the breathtaking views of the sea, glaciers, and the magnificent sunrises and sunsets. 

Despite the stunning scenery, they started to feel a bit bored after a few days.

One morning, Nick suggested they go fishing to see who could catch the most unusual fish. 

Samuel, an avid fisherman, eagerly agreed. The others had no objections, and even Victoria was on board. 

They chose a wide-open area of the sea and anchored the ship. Each person claimed a spot on the deck, set up their chairs, and started fishing. 

Some of the sailors, who also enjoyed fishing, joined in with their own gear. 

Samuel promised that the winner could choose the dinner menu, a reward that, while not monetary, gave a satisfying sense of control and was well-received by everyone.

It was winter, and the fish weren't very active. After half an hour, only one sailor had caught a small, ugly blue fish about a foot long, which was reportedly not very tasty. 

The group was starting to disperse when Samuel's fishing rod suddenly jerked hard. "Looks like I've got something big," he murmured. 

Everyone turned to watch Samuel, including Victoria, whose own rod hadn't moved. She wasn't very interested in fishing.

Samuel skillfully played with the line, letting it out and reeling it in, as if teasing the "big fish" to bite harder. 

Finally, he felt the fish tugging strongly on the hook, indicating it had taken the bait. 

Samuel pulled the line in with force, lifting the rod sharply. The line brought up a large, dark object that landed on the deck with a thud.

"Wow, it's huge! About four feet long and really heavy!" someone exclaimed.

But as they gathered around, they realized it wasn't a fish at all. It was a large black suitcase. 

Samuel's smile faded when he saw it. He had been confident in his fishing skills and thought he would win the right to choose dinner. 

Instead, he had spent all that effort to catch a suitcase, which was even less impressive than the small fish. 

To make matters worse, Nick burst out laughing, "Samuel! How many people come to this part of the sea in a year? And you managed to catch a suitcase? That's some luck!"

Samuel's face darkened, and he glared at Nick. "Keep laughing," he warned. 

Nick quickly covered his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter. But he couldn't help but say, "Samuel, we're just playing a game. Don't be so sensitive."

Victoria chuckled softly, "Yeah, Samuel, don't keep threatening Nick. We're here to have fun." 

She walked over to the large suitcase. It was well-sealed and, despite being in the sea for a few days, showed little wear and tear, indicating it was relatively new. 

Victoria suggested they clean it up; maybe they could find the owner and return it.

As the sailors cleaned the suitcase, they found it wasn't locked. Someone opened it and discovered a wallet in an outer pocket, containing a woman's photo. 

Since most of them were from Lytheria and couldn't read Aerion's language, they brought the wallet to Victoria. 

She recognized the card immediately—it was an Aerion driver's license. And the woman in the photo? She knew her!