q“The only one who can save you now is Dr. Felch. However, I highly doubt you'll have a
chance with her, Your Highness. Please don't let your emotions cloud your judgment,”
Robin warned with a sigh.
“Is it because of Mr. Lindberg?” William retorted, clearly refusing to call it quits. “I know I
can't compete with him now, but if I fully recover someday and inherit the throne, things
will be different...”
“If you became king, you'd have even less say in your marriage,” Robin reminded. “You'd
be expected to marry a woman who can help secure your throne.”
William suddenly recalled Danrique's words and felt his heart burn with hope. “Mr.
Lindberg was right. Only when we've hit rock bottom will we do whatever it takes to reach
the peak. After all, we want to be our authentic selves!”
“W-Well—”
“If I have to stay in the dark for the rest of my life, then so be it,” William interrupted. “But
if I ever get the chance to be king and stand on top of the world, I'll definitely marry the
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtwoman I love!”
The prince was full of hope, which was the one thing that had helped him through the
longest, darkest days of his life and kept him going.
As such, Robin couldn't bear to persuade him otherwise, nor did he want to dash his
hopes.
Before Francesca entered William's life, he had come close to resigning himself to his fate.
Her appearance, however, quickly became his beacon of light. No matter how much effort
it might take to win her over, William knew it'd all be worth it.
More importantly, he finally found a goal to strive toward, a purpose to live for, and the
motivation to carry on.
Meanwhile, Francesca had returned home, but she couldn't stop thinking about William's
condition. She was fairly certain that someone had harmed the prince, and even though
the signs of poisoning weren't visible yet, she knew a thorough checkup the next day
would definitely confirm her suspicions.
She had previously heard Robin talk about how sinister and scheming the royal family
was, and she'd never forget William's paleness and melancholy expression when she first
met him.
In fact, the first time he smiled was when Francesca took him out for some much-needed
sun. They had rescued an injured bird, and as he watched the bird spread its wings to fly
away, a smile finally crept across his face.
He had even mentioned how much he wished he could fly free like the birds in the sky.
From that moment on, Francesca decided she'd do everything in her power to heal the
prince's legs.
Alas, she later became so bogged down in other matters that she hadn't had a chance to
research a cure. William's leg condition, on the other hand, continued to worsen, which
made Francesca even more guilt-ridden.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. “Francesca, Mr. Lincoln is back!”
“I'll be right down,” Francesca replied before putting on a jacket and rushing downstairs.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
Lincoln was busy all year round and was only home for a few days each month. Every time
he was back, he would, without fail, gather everyone for a meeting.
As it turned out, Lincoln and Layla used to be special forces agents. Upon their retirement,
they roamed the world and stayed unmarried and childless for the rest of their lives.
Later, they met Francesca and Anthony by chance, and after having gone through a life-
and-death situation together, they quickly became a family forged in fire.
It wasn't long before the four of them founded the Lovely Care orphanage, but due to their
limited funds, they had no choice but to entrust the orphanage to a foundation.
Unfortunately, that was also the main reason for Lincoln to call a meeting that night. “The
foundation is rotten to the core!” he grumbled. “Almost everyone in upper management
was embezzling money, which includes the funds that Francesca had transferred
previously. I rushed there last night to detain those scumbags and forced them to sign the
release form for Lovely Care orphanage. Thankfully, I also managed to get them to return
the money they stole from Francesca. Now that that's over, we'll either have to find a new
foundation for the orphanage or start one ourselves. However, if we go with the latter, the
funds required will undoubtedly be an astronomical sum...”
With that, the three of them promptly turned to look at Francesca. It had always been her
dream to build an orphanage, and since she was also the main financial backer, it was
only natural for her to be the decision maker.