The Million-Dollar Heart

Percival stared at Arthur with an intensity that seemed to cut right through him as if trying to read his soul.

But Arthur was an enigma, a book whose pages refused to be turned.

Despite Percival's knack for sizing people up, Arthur, the revered War God of Veridia, remained an untold story to him.

With just a side glance, Arthur seemed to catch onto Percival's musings and let out a derisive chuckle. "You're wondering why I know about the elixir of life? Why I brought it up in front of you? Whether I'm a traitor?"

Percival was speechless, thinking, "Can you read minds or what?"

Wait a second.

Why did his tone sound so familiar?

Arthur stood up, his gaze icy as he gave Percival a once-over. "Kid, you've got a lot to learn. Some things aren't as simple as they appear on the surface!"

With that, Arthur turned on his heel and strode away.

Pausing at the doorway, he seemed to remember something and looked back at Percival. "The Vanguard Agency? It's history as of today!"

Without another word, Arthur left.

Percival watched Arthur's retreating figure, his eyes shadowed with thought.

After a moment, he looked up at the Vanguard Agency, then walked away.

Meanwhile, Vivienne had made her way to the Frostfire Intelligence Agency, insisting that Matthew focus on finding her father.

After Matthew briefed her on recent missions, Vivienne left. With Percival tied up in work, she suddenly realized she had nowhere in particular to go. Then it struck her - she hadn't taken the Thaddeus and Isolde out for fun in ages. With a free day ahead, she decided to treat the kids to a day out. Her place was just a stone's throw from the Hawthorns, so she headed over to pick up Thaddeus.

arrived, only

surprise, quickly followed by a warm smile. "Vivienne!

business, he had been swamped. Vivienne, too, had her plate full, and visits to the Hawthorns' had been

a family dinner a few times, but she was always tied

visit Karen in the hospital and was

I can whip up something nice. We've got nothing in the kitchen right now. Tell you

not only Dorian but also Cordelia had been busy helping out. With Thaddeus now in boarding school during the week, the

late the previous night, Cordelia hadn't yet had the chance to shop for groceries. Thus, there was

need, Cordelia. I was thinking of taking Thaddeus

had taken to calling Dorian and Cordelia by their first names - not out of distance, but for clarity's sake. It avoided confusion during family gatherings when she was

Today, we eat together. It's been

knew that Vivienne rarely had time to eat a proper meal when she was busy. More importantly, she had heard that Karen did not know how to cook. Thus, Cordelia

"How about I take Thaddeus out now, and we have a home-cooked meal this afternoon? Cordelia, I've been craving your homemade spaghetti!" Cordelia was quick to reply, "Then I'll head to the supermarket right now and

you, you've lost weight! How's Percival been looking after you? He promised us

have to ask what on earth he's been

her temples, slightly overwhelmed

weight, I've

looked skeptical. "Impossible, you look thinner to

and indeed, she was three pounds heavier, but Cordelia was still not satisfied. "Only three pounds? That's not looking after you properly. You should

at a loss for

thirsty, and stopped in his tracks at the sight of Vivienne. His face lit up with joy

noise on the other end and the