Chapter 345

Chapter 345

Leopold agreed.

When Teddy saw us walking over, he immediately opened the back door.

Noticing Leopold's unnatural gait, he couldn't help but speak up.

"Mr. Percy, your injury..."

"It's nothing. Airport first."

Leopold steadied himself on the roof of the car and sat down sideways.

I got in after him.

The moment I closed the door, my peripheral vision caught the ambulance.

Ethan wasn't lying down. He'd sat up again.

A nurse was carefully tending to his wound.

He stubbornly looked in my direction.

When he saw me glance over, something flickered in his eyes. I looked away coldly, then raised the window, cutting off his view.

The car pulled away from the accident scene and headed straight for the airport expressway.

Teddy passed a first aid kit from the passenger seat. "Mr. Percy, your injury still needs basic treatment."

Leopold didn't respond.

I could tell what he was thinking. I held back a smile and took the kit. "I'll do it."

Leopold raised an eyebrow slightly and proactively rested his injured leg on my knee.

I took out a disinfectant swab and examined his wound.

It was deeper than I'd thought.

I tried to be as gentle as possible, but when the swab touched the exposed flesh, the muscle in his calf still tensed.

"Bear with it. Your wound needs to be cleaned."

Leopold leaned back against the seat, his tone flat. "It's fine. Do what you need to do."

I looked up and glared at him. "I told you to bear it, not to grit your teeth through it. If it hurts a lot, you need to tell me."

"Okay." He responded softly.

Like he'd let me do whatever I wanted.

My cheeks warmed.

I quickly lowered my head and focused on cleaning his wound.

After disinfecting it, I took out gauze and wrapped it around his calf.

"All done. Sit properly and rest for a bit."

I put away the supplies. When I saw Leopold wasn't moving, I looked at him curiously.

His head was tilted slightly to one side, resting against the seat back. His lowered lashes cast a small fan-shaped shadow.

His breathing was light and even. His chest rose and fell gently with each breath.

During the time I'd been taken by Ethan, he must have worked himself to exhaustion.

Otherwise he wouldn't have fallen asleep so quickly.

I didn't make a sound. I quietly put the first aid kit away.

I readjusted my position so his leg could rest more comfortably.

The car moved forward in silence.

I listened to his breathing and watched him quietly.

---

Twenty minutes later.

The car stopped at the VIP entrance of Gravenford Kingdom International Airport.

I gently woke Leopold.

He opened his eyes immediately. Before he was even fully awake, his hand had already found mine with precision.

"We're at the airport?"

This almost instinctive closeness made me feel safe.

"Yes. We need to get out."

"I'll help you up."

Leopold chuckled softly. "No need. I'm not that weak."

With that, he lowered his leg and prepared to get out.

The spot where he'd rested his leg began to tingle with numbness.

I instinctively reached down to rub it.

Leopold noticed. His movements paused. His large hand replaced mine, massaging for me.

"Your leg's numb. Why didn't you wake me?"

I pressed my lips together slightly, enduring the spreading numbness.

"You rarely sleep that soundly. I didn't have the heart to."

Leopold's eyes deepened. "Don't do it again. Otherwise I'll feel bad."

I didn't argue with him.

Once the numbness faded, we got out of the car.

Teddy had already met up with Brady.

Seeing us get out, Brady immediately said, "Orion's inside. A nurse is with him. His condition is very stable."

My gaze immediately went inside. "Is Orion awake?"

"No." Brady shook his head. "But he has awareness. He can hear what we're saying."

"Brady, check Leopold's wound first. I did a quick treatment earlier. Take another look." After I finished speaking, I turned to Leopold. "Can I go see Orion first?"

"I'll go with you."

Once we went inside, I rushed straight to Orion's stretcher.

Probably from lying in bed for so long, his little face had lost its color.

His chubby belly had also slimmed down.

"Orion, Mommy and Daddy are here."

"Don't be scared. We're taking you to get treated right now. Soon you'll be jumping around like before."

Maybe he heard my words. Orion's lashes trembled twice.

"Brady, Orion just moved his lashes. Is he about to wake up?"

Brady was crouched down checking Leopold. He felt the bone while answering.

"It's like this—Orion can react, but he just can't open his eyes."

My heart felt like someone had squeezed it.

This was more torturous than complete unconsciousness.

Being able to hear and feel, but unable to respond.

Like a person in a vegetative state.

Brady added, "But don't worry. Once we get to Clouds District and meet Arlo, Orion will definitely wake up."

His words encouraged me. I kept encouraging Orion.

Over there, Brady had finished his examination.

"Leopold, your bones are fine, but you have severe soft tissue contusions. During the flight, don't keep your knee bent for too long. I'll do further treatment after we land."

Just then, a staff member came to notify us that we could board.

It was Leopold's private plane.

The cabin was brightly lit.

After securing Orion's bed, we each took our seats.

Brady and I sat on either side of the bed.

He watched the data jumping on the monitor.

I watched Orion.

Leopold sat beside me, handling business on his tablet.

"Look at this."

He suddenly handed me the tablet.

I looked closely. It was a compiled news summary.

[Following the investigation into the Seymour family, royal family member the Guise family has also been exposed for abnormal cash flows, especially in several offshore projects the Guise family completed independently.]

I scrolled down.

From Cade to Ethan, every member of the Guise family's assets were being investigated.

Ethan had the most irregularities.

He had three shell companies registered in three different countries under his name. Through these companies, the Seymour family's gray money was laundered into legal income and then funneled back into industries under the Guise family.

The amount involved was incalculable.

"How did the Guise family get so many secrets exposed this time?"

Leopold took back the tablet and said with a smile, "When you do too many bad things, God punishes you."

I was speechless. This whole thing was probably him pulling strings behind the scenes.

"You could be a little less transparent about it."

Leopold glanced at me. "Are you mad?"

"No. You're blocking my view of Orion."

I reached out to push him, but he caught my hand instead.

"Fine. Let me explain."

"The Guise family's foundation in Gravenford Kingdom depends entirely on royal protection. Now that there's a money problem, the royals will definitely suspect their own money is dirty. They might even suspect the Guise family of embezzlement."

"Once they abandon the Guise family, none of them will escape."

"They might even fall faster than the Seymour family."

I didn't say anything.

All of this was the Guise family's own doing.

"What, feeling sorry for them?"

Seeing my silence, Leopold teased me deliberately.

But I didn't want him to misunderstand. I answered honestly, "No. Just reflecting."

"When Cade first left Silverlight City for Gravenford Kingdom, he was full of ambition. Who would've thought that in his old age, he'd end up like this."

Leopold suddenly kissed the back of my hand. "Don't worry. I'm clean as a whistle. I'll never leave you with nothing in your old age."

Before I could even react, Brady across from us couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"There's still a living person here. Can you not flaunt your love so openly?"