Chapter 171: Meeting Victoria in Person
Isabella quickly reached out and grabbed Joseph's arm.
She even suspected William and Nathan had deliberately come to provoke him.
If he ended up in detention again, Joseph would miss the race entirely.
William had always been the type to use any means necessary to achieve his goals.
Nathan nervously clutched William's hand. "Dad, you said Victoria would be training here today. Is that true?"
Hearing this, Isabella instantly understood why they were here.
They'd come looking for Victoria again.
Too bad they were destined for disappointment.
"Victoria won't appear at any training facility before the official race begins," Isabella said coldly, wanting to get rid of them before they ruined the atmosphere.
Nathan glared at her, eyes wide with displeasure. "Why should I believe you? You're just trying to stop me from getting Victoria's autograph! You're lying on purpose!"
Isabella couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm Victoria's assistant. What are you?"
That single sentence shut Nathan up completely, leaving him to look hopefully at William instead.
The child might not understand, but William knew better.
If Isabella was saying this, it was probably true.
But his information had come from inside the Romantic Team itself. How could it be wrong?
"If you have time to plant spies in other people's teams, you should focus on training your own. I heard Snake Racing's Aetheria division didn't even rank in the top twenty worldwide this year? Didn't even qualify for the Canvia Championship. Maybe you should stay home and practice."
Isabella's voice dripped with mockery from the first word.
Choosing such a terrible team was William's comeuppance.
That's what he got for only caring about Snake Racing's overall rankings when he invested.
William's expression darkened.
The words were harsh, but undeniably true.
That's precisely why he was so desperate to poach Victoria for his own team.
Not only would she boost the team's performance—she could even coach those useless wastes.
"So what if you have Victoria?" Nathan noticed Isabella's attitude and immediately pouted in protest. "Snake Racing has a monster rookie this year. Our team's overall strength is way better than yours!"
Isabella burst out laughing at his declaration.
"Then we'll see on the track."
Before every season opener, teams inevitably argued—sometimes even came to blows.
The scene was all too familiar to Isabella, finally making her feel like a professional racer again.
"Just you wait—I'm definitely getting Victoria's autograph!"
Olivia had been listening from the sidelines. Seeing Nathan like this, she couldn't help but look at him with pity.
"But Mommy told me yesterday we're going to Canvia soon, and I'll get to meet Victoria in person. We might even go skiing together. Nathan, it's just an autographed photo—why don't you ask Dad to buy you one online?"
Olivia's voice was equally childish, but her words cut deep.
Joseph shot Olivia an approving look.
Hearing this news, Nathan's eyes went wide with shock. He was speechless for a long moment.
By the time he recovered, William had already grabbed his hand and was dragging him away.
Staying there any longer would only give them more ammunition to mock him. William couldn't accept that.
His expression dark, he ordered the driver: "Home!"
Nathan sulked against his car seat, staying silent for a long time before finally speaking to William.
"Dad, Olivia said they're going to Canvia. I want to go too!"
"No."
William didn't even think about it. He refused without hesitation.
"Why not? I want to go to Canvia too! I want to watch Victoria race live!" Nathan flailed his arms and kicked his legs.
While protesting, he secretly watched William's expression for any change.
Why could Olivia go but not him?
"It's too dangerous," William replied, equally brief.
"But Olivia and Mom get to go! Why can't I? They'll both see Victoria race live! Everyone online is saying this might be Victoria's last race ever. I don't care—I'm going too!"
If Olivia hadn't mentioned it, Nathan wouldn't have wanted it so badly.
But knowing Olivia could go made Nathan refuse to lose face in front of her—or fall behind.
When he went back to school, what if the other kids asked why he didn't go to the race?
How embarrassing would that be?
Nathan cried and wailed all the way home. Laura was sitting in the living room and heard his sobbing from outside.
"What's wrong? Did someone bully you again?" Laura rushed over and scooped Nathan up in a comforting embrace.
Nathan grabbed onto her like a lifeline, stubbornly protesting.
"Olivia gets to go to Canvia to watch the race! Why can't I? I want to go to Canvia too! I don't just want to watch the race—I want to take pictures with Victoria and go skiing with her!"
The string of demands left Laura completely bewildered. She quickly looked up at William.
"What happened to Nathan?"
"Isabella said she's taking Olivia to Canvia to watch the race." William rubbed his temples in irritation.
It wasn't that he didn't want to fulfill Nathan's wishes—it was just that Canvia was too dangerous for a child.
Not to mention skiing.
If anything happened to Nathan, the family would never have peace again.
"I don't care—I'm going!" Nathan plopped himself down on the floor.
He looked fully prepared to stay there until William agreed.
Thinking about the freezing cold of Canvia, Laura couldn't help but shudder.
She opened her mouth to refuse as well, but then looked down and saw Nathan blinking those big eyes at her.
She'd worked so hard to earn Nathan's affection, finally on the verge of being accepted into the Montague family. Should she really throw it all away over this?
After a long internal struggle, Laura hesitated, then gritted her teeth and agreed to Nathan's demand.
"It's just one wish the child has. Let's take him. As long as we keep him away from dangerous areas, it'll be fine."
Even ski resorts had beginner slopes and advanced runs. They just needed to keep Nathan off the mountains, right?