His Contractual Mistress

SHEN LIBRARY 

When the girls left to have their chit-chat, Zaijan didn't stay longer. He left the Shen mansion for a reason, to pick up Fraine in the DV Gem Store and go home together. 

Tomorrow, Hailey will officially appoint Fraine as Deputy Director of DV Inc. Asia Branch. She will be even busier, and so Zaijan wants to meet her during the night, at least. 

And as for Carl, he went to La Fleur Restaurant to drink with Hailey's knights. Carl knew that he could not invite Vincent to drink all night. That guy has been so clingy with his girlfriend, now a fiance, so soon his wife. 

At the moment, Vincent is putting a spoonful of coffee beans into the pot and placing it in the coffeemaker. After that, he comes out from the pantry inside the library to join his dad on the long sofa. 

"What do you want to talk about with me, dad?" he asked. 

"I just wanted to ask if Mr. Jacob Davies already knew your relationship with his daughter?" 

With a flash of guilt and sadness in his eyes, Vincent shook his head, then heaved a long sigh. "Hailey hasn't told her dad yet. And I understand why." 

"It is about your arranged marriage," Fred need not guess. It is a hindrance to their relationship. "If you need me to talk with him to ask for his daughter's hand, just tell me so." 

"Thank you, dad. I will definitely need you. But first, I need to settle my divorce with Eva before I talk to Chairman Davies about my desire to marry his daughter." 

"I see…" Fred reaches for his chin and rubs it. He seemed deep in thought. 

"Dad, I'll go check on the coffee," said Vincent. 

Fred nodded, watching his son's receding back. "My ancestors… Maybe it is the right time to tell Vincent the truth." 

Fred muttered to himself. Not long, Vincent came back with two mugs and a coffee pot on the wooden tray. Vince handed one mug to him. 

"Thank you, son." 

"You're welcome, dad." 

In the following seconds, the father and son took a long moment of silence to enjoy their coffee. It was Fred who spoke up first. He shared the story in the past. 

"Are you saying, dad… It was mom who found Hailey's mom when she got into a car accident?" asked Vincent afterward. He was astounded at hearing the story. 

"Yes. Your mom did everything she could do to save Marley Davies. But because of the miscarriage, Hailey's mom lost so much blood other than her bleeding from an accident. So then, that caused her death before they arrived in the hospital." 

"That was really sad. Hailey must have missed her mom. I think I begin to understand why she was attached to her knights. They were probably the ones who comforted her during those times she was mourning. I've witnessed how they spoiled her. But from what I learned, mom tried to rescue my future mother-in-law; she was really amazing!" Vincent expressed with amazement. "What a small world!" 

"Yeah. It was a small world indeed. The little girl that your mom has been thinking about since that day is your Hailey." 

Vincent smiled when his dad said, 'your Hailey'.   Indeed, this is his very own Hailee!

"But because she is hiding her true identity, mom does not know that they talked on the phone fifteen years ago," Vince's conclusion.

Fred nodded. "Yes. We tried to collect information about her, but nothing we could gather. Now that is her true identity revealed to us, and then, there's no surprise why we get nothing." 

"And if you ever found out who she is, then you would learn Chairman Jacob Davies is her dad and her mother is the woman mom tried to help before," he concluded further.

"Yes, son. And you need to know this... She is an important descendant of the High Royal families," Fred stated. 

Vince creased her forehead. "High Royal families? Is there such a thing? Like a Czar or Emperor?" he asked.

"Yes, son. From a long line of hierarchy. In this world, some people are treasures. It means they were part of an important history that the rest of the world didn't know anymore as the Alliance protected them." 

"Alliance? Like the Mafia Association?"

Fred shook his head. "We could say that, but it is higher than the Association. The elders who hold the role were called The Pillars. They represent every continent. Even the presidents and prime ministers of this world bowed to them." 

"Wow. But why are you telling me all of this, dad?" Vince could tell that his dad is bothered with something. And the knowledge he holds is beyond ordinary. Besides, why did his dad know all of this? 

On the other hand, Fred prepared himself to reveal more facts to Vincent. Now that he is in this situation, his son needs all the power their family is holding. 

"Son, as you know now that your girlfriend is not just from an ordinary background, I received a call from a brother in the Alliance." 

'My dad has a brother from Alliance?' Curiosity grew in Vincent's heart. It seemed like his dad was also hiding a secret. 

"Vincent, the Higher Royal Family has begun to question the bloodline of the Princess's fiance…. That was you." 

"A brother from Alliance? Dad, don't tell me you are also part of the Mafia Association? You seemed close to them somehow." Vincent couldn't help expressing this. 

"I am not part of the Mafia Association, but in my younger years, I am not only joining the Camp. I am directly training to serve the Godfather, or known to the world as the Mafia Emperor." 

"Right hand of the Mafia Emperor?" Vincent mumbled; he pondered for a moment. "Dad, isn't Shun Crow, Hailey's cousin, the present Mafia Emperor?" 

"Yes, he is." Fred nodded. "And by the time I was in training, the future Mafia Emperor was Nicholas Crow, Jacob's cousin-in-law." 

"Nicholas Crow, former Chairman of Crow Corporation," Vincent murmurs to himself. "Dad... You are mentioning this for what connection? Is it the possibility that they will not accept me? Is this why you look restless?" 

"It was brother Nicholas who informed me that the Elders would run an investigation about our family. They were bugging the present Mafia Emperor, and Chairman Shun Crow rejected their demands. He told the Elders to leave Hailee alone." Fred reached his forehead, pressed his temple. 

"Hailee's elders, the High Royal family won't stop investigating you behind the Emperor's back." 

"So then, I have to prepare myself?" 

Fred nodded. He lifted his arm, patted his son's back as he told another story.

"Do you remember the story your grandma used to tell you?" 

*

"Yes, dad," Vincent replied. 

"The story of the three kingdoms is real. The Shu family is one of the strongest allies of the Xing Dynasty. It is only a small kingdom, but a thousand warriors could fight against a hundred thousand enemies. To strengthen the relationship between the Empire and our kingdom who defend the wall in South Land, and Naval ships, one of the Imperial princesses is married to the Shu prince, the strongest warrior and the future King of Shu Kingdom." 

"Now, that story of the Good Prince who wears Imperial armor won the Tournament to marry the neighboring princess. He is the son of the Imperial Princess." 

Vincent didn't notice that he dropped his mouth open. "Dad, you're saying that story is true, and it's not just a book written by our ancestors but a history?"

"It was actual history, yes. The Shu becomes tied to the Emperor. After the Imperial princess conceives a Shu offspring, they become a relative to the Emperor." 

Wait… What is the relevance to Hailey and me? Shen is some kind of Keepers? Vince mused. 

"After our ancestors fled from South Land, our name was replaced with Shen to hide our identity." 

"What do you mean about that, dad?" 

Instead, Fred replied to Vincent's query, he continued his story.

"When someone assassinated the Imperial Family, no one survived. But those who were indirect descendants survive like the Shu family. They run for their lives to escape. They sailed as a way out, and they arrived at P Country." 

Vincent couldn't believe what he heard now. Could it be that they were the Shu family? 

"Dad, what are you talking about now?" It confused him so he was asking questions. "Is that… We are the indirect descendants of Emperor Xing?" 

"You are partly correct in your conclusion, son. When our ancestors arrived in P Country, our ancestors changed our name to Shen. Since then, our ancestors have lived a low-profile life from the Wu's who searched for all the Xing descendants. Do you know that the Wu Dynasty changed their surname into Huo after the great rebellion and fled C Nation?" 

Vincent was surprised to hear another fact about the history. He asked, "Dad, are you saying that Liam Huo and Galvin Huo's ancestors assassinated the whole Xing Imperial family?"

Fred nodded.