Chapter 1555 Will It Ever End?
Chapter 1555 Will It Ever End?
The other butlers and maidservants immediately started moving some of the antique decorations out of reach, rearranging the room, and removing the more important artifacts to the storage.
Iris watched these people operating like clockwork and nodded in approval. She sensed that they were trying to show her and her husband how reliable and excellent they were in executing their jobs.
She kissed her twin sons. "Dom, please help settle the twins in the master suite. You and the nannies should also choose your bedrooms near us. Liwei and I must speak with the head butler first."
"Got it, Boss!" Dom carried Little Matcha despite the baby's insistence to walk by himself.
Jin Liwei also kissed his sons and handed Little Mochi to one of the nannies. "Jin Haoyu, Jin Lingyu, behave. Mommy and Daddy will be back."
"Dada?" Little Mochi immediately became anxious.
Fortunately, Dom was there to help distract the twins while Iris and Jin Liwei sneaked away with the head butler. He soon made the twins laugh.
Iris listened to her sons' adorable giggles while tiptoeing away with her husband. When they couldn't hear their sons anymore, she released a sigh of relief.
"Madame, Monsieur, shall I give you a quick tour of the most important areas of the chateau?" the head butler asked.
"Yes, please." Then Iris whispered to her husband to ask, "Are you okay with the staff speaking in French?"
"En. Don't worry, love. I've also been taking some extra lessons to improve my rudimentary French. I'll just ask if I don't understand anything."
She nodded. "Okay, good." Then she gestured for the head butler to continue.
"Please follow me, Madame, Monsieur."
The couple followed the head butler and listened to his explanations. They also asked him about the chateau's situation—everything that the couple could think of. The head butler was calm when answering their questions and even added more information that they missed, impressing Iris and Jin Liwei.
They couldn't tour the entire chateau and the outside grounds due to the sheer number of rooms and the size of the entire property. There were more than a hundred rooms in the chateau. The chateau grounds also covered significant acres of land in the area, including a dense forest where people hunted, a beautiful lake for recreational fishing, and even a neighbouring village where actual local people lived.
Afterwards, Iris excused the head butler so that she and her husband could discuss.
"Then Madame, Monsieur, please ring the bell if you need me or any of the staff. Once again, on behalf of everyone here, we welcome Madame and Monsieur Jin as our new mistress and master." The head butler bowed deeply before leaving.
"He's good," Jin Liwei couldn't help but comment.
Iris nodded.
He held her hand and they began walking together to enjoy the chateau's interior by themselves.
"There are hundreds of rooms in this chateau, we can't possibly use all of them by ourselves even if we add everyone in our family including our friends," Iris said. "Dragon Palace is already too big for our family, that's why I love inviting our friends to stay with us. This chateau is huge and reminds me a little of the Vetrov estate back then."
Jin Liwei stopped and hugged her. "Does this chateau remind you of bad memories? Do you want me to dispose of this chateau?"
She hugged his waist but still shook her head. "No, that's not what I mean. I'm just comparing their sizes."
He released a sigh of relief. "So you like this chateau?"
"Yes, of course. More than the chateau itself, I quite like the area. It's so quiet and peaceful here. After we renovate and redecorate, I'd prefer to stay here than in our Parisian residence. Our sons can run around the chateau grounds. They can also go horseback riding when they grow old enough to learn."
"En. Up to you, love." Seeing his wife liking this chateau so much, his grudge against the French magnate had considerably lessened.
They continued walking hand-in-hand while discussing the specific situation of the chateau according to what they heard from the head butler earlier.
"I still need to see the accounts with my own eyes," Iris said.
"Of course, love. I'll tell the head butler to send the accounts later to us. I also want to see how this chateau and the neighbouring village are run and managed. From what I heard, the French magnate only stays here during autumn to host hunting parties with friends and business partners."
"It seems that we're now responsible for most of the neighbouring village's livelihood?" she asked.
"En. Technically speaking, the entire village is privately owned by the chateau master. Now that you're the owner, the entire village is technically yours. You're basically just leasing the land and even the buildings to the local residents. I still don't know the specific terms yet, but it should be something like that."
"It really reminds me of the Vetrov estate," she murmured.
He kissed her head, comforting her. Even when she said that she was only comparing this chateau and the Vetrov estate, he still wanted to be careful not to remind her of too many traumatizing memories.
Seeming to sense his caution, she smiled at him. "I'm fine, darling. Really. I'm not that weak anymore."
"You were never weak," he said. "You're the strongest woman I know."
She hugged him, burying her face against his chest, and inhaling his masculine scent. Even without any perfume, she loved smelling his natural manly scent. It always managed to reassure and comfort her. And during intimate moments, it never failed to arouse her.
This, however, wasn't one of those sexy moments.
Iris felt warm and content.
Happy.
Yes, she was happy.
The life she had now was something she couldn't even dare to have in her past life as Evelina Vetrova. But now, she was able to build a beautiful family with the love of her life, Jin Liwei.
The constant dangers of her dark past as a member of the once most powerful and most infamous criminal family in the underworld seemed to fade away.freё.com
But she knew that as long as her brother was intent on seeking revenge, their dark past would continue to loom over them.
She wanted to bury her head in the sand and continue living this ideal, fairy tale life that she had built with Jin Liwei, but she knew that as long as her brother was involved, she would inevitably become drawn in as well.
Sighing, she continued hugging her husband's waist, trying to recharge her emotional and mental batteries.
"What's wrong, love?" Jin Liwei asked, sensing the change in her mood.
"Just thinking about my dark past with my big brother. I feel like it will never end. Will it ever end?"
He immediately understood. He moved her so that she was facing her and looking directly into his eyes.
"Evelina, I just want you to always remember that I'm always here for you. No matter what happens in the future, our children and I will always be with you. You're never going to be alone anymore. I won't allow you to feel alone or lonely. The potential dangers will always be there. We can't stop your brother. We already tried, but he has his own mind.
"As a man, I understand why he won't let it go, but as a husband and father, I wish that he would give it a rest and just focus on his family. But you know your brother, he has a stubborn streak just like you."
She chuckled. "Well, he is my brother."
"En. Indeed, he is. We can't stop him. Even his wife can't stop him. But the good thing is that you've done your best to increase his chances of safety and survival by having Bacon assist him. I know that Nikolai always tries to influence Bacon to fully join his side, but our Bacon will always remain loyal to you, his mother. Even I am only second fiddle to Bacon compared to you."
This time, her laughter was fuller, echoing in the huge hallway. "Bacon also cares about you, darling. He's just awkward in expressing his love. Remember that he always comes to you for help whenever he needs to, er, you know…."
"Whenever he needs help in extorting people," he finished her sentence.
She cleared her throat. "You know his origins. It's something even I can't change."
"I know. But you're already amazing to be able to transform Ketchup's corrupted part into something incredible. If you didn't do what you did, not only would our Ketchup become corrupted beyond recognition, but we also wouldn't have our Bacon today. Bacon's origins might be dubious and dangerous but he has become one of the best protectors of our family, including your brother's."
"You're right." She sighed. "I just worry a lot."
"It's normal to worry, love. Just don't worry too needlessly and harm your health. You can always rely on me. I'm always here for you."
She felt reassured by her husband's words.
They continued hugging for a few moments before walking again.
"We won't be staying here for the majority of the year," she said. "I think it's such a waste to let such an enormous property sit here without enjoying it. Do you think we should rent it out? I know that some chateaus and manors rent out a portion of their properties for special events. Some even arrange for ticketed tours."
Jin Liwei paused to think about it. "That's possible. This is also considered a historical site, albeit a private one. If you're willing, then we can do it."