Chapter 260. Reunion
A tall, gorgeous figure pounced on Charles, burying his head into her bosom.
Everyone on the docks was stunned speechless at the sight. They had heard about the relationship between their governor and the governor of Hope Island, but they were still caught off guard by the abrupt display of affection.
"Elizabeth, let me go. I can't... breathe," Charles muttered. The tight embrace loosened, but Charles had failed to take even one full breath as sweet, honey-like lips pressed against his lips.
Lily stared wide-eyed; her eyes glimmered with awe and envy as she stared at the two. The pair separated and were left panting for breath three minutes later. Elizabeth then wrapped her arms around Charles' and walked toward a white stretch limousine.
The governor of Hope Island went missing for the entire day and was only seen at the banquet held at noon the next day.
Elizabeth raised the wine glass in her hand. Her rosy cheeks bloomed as she broke out into a grin and said, "Everyone, let's toast to our allies from Hope Island!"
The newly minted upper echelons of Elizarles Shores raised the wine glass in their hands with smiles hanging on their lips. The majority of them cast curious gazes upon Charles, who was still wearing his Captain's uniform.
They were curious about Charles after hearing that he had been daring enough to venture into the dangerous deep sea, even though he was already the governor of such a wealthy island.
"What do you think? My Governor's Mansion isn't too shabby compared to yours, right?" Elizabeth asked; her voice was tinged with pride.
Charles looked around. The guests of the banquet were dressed to the occasion, and beneath the sparkling chandeliers of the ivory-painted banquet hall, maids and servants in formal attire shuttled around with trays in hand.
Charles also spotted a few familiar faces in the crowd. He saw William, who had once purchased his relics, and he also saw the enthusiastic chubby man from Coral Archipelago. Even Charlie's daughter was there, however, her gaze toward him seemed quite strange for some reason.
"Not bad. Everyone's here." Charles downed the wine in his glass. He put his hand around Elizabeth's slender waist, and they started walking toward the nearby balcony.
Charles stood at the semicircular balcony and looked around. The ruins were no longer there and had been replaced by a variety of buildings.
The vegetation had also been culled and rearranged. It looked more like a garden rather than a forest.
The buildings on the island were built using an architectural style—cone-shaped roof—rarely seen in the Northern Seas. Clearly, there were quite a few denizens of the Western Seas here.
Charles also noticed that the cave where 1002 was once held captive had been occupied by a building. It seemed that they had made use of the vast space inside of the cave.
"The island has sure changed a lot," Charles said, sounding moved. In just a few short years, the dangerous island had become a flourishing island full of life. Humans were indeed the best at adapting to circumstances.
"How long do you plan on staying this time?" Elizabeth asked as she stroked Charles' chest.
"I won't stay here for a long time. I'm going to the Albion Isles and take care of some business there," Charles replied and removed Elizabeth's hand from his chest.
"The Albion Isles? Isn't that Swann's territory? Do you need my help?"
"It shouldn't be a dangerous journey. If your navy fleet goes with us, we'll just make them misunderstand our intentions. They'll definitely think that we've joined forces to attack the Albion Isles," Charles responded.
Elizabeth chuckled and said, "True. I'm sure he hasn't been having a great time lately, so it won't do me any good provoking him when he's probably too paranoid at the moment."
"Any uprising won't be impactful to him so long as Ronker exists. Anyway, let's stop talking about him. Let's rest today," Charles replied.
"Mmhm." Elizabeth agreed with a gentle look on her face and nestled in Charles' arms.
A moment like this was indeed precious to both Elizabeth and Charles, so they wanted to savor it for as long as possible.
The guests in the banquet hall initially wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to mingle with the host and establish connections with Charles, but the guests wisely chose not to approach the affectionate pair cuddling each other.
"Oh, right. I remember you set off on a voyage to the Sea of Mist. Did you run into any trouble or anything?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yep, I ran into a few issues, but they're resolved now," Charles replied. He couldn't help but recall the utopia that belonged to 041.
"Did those people hurt you? You really can't let your guard around them. Grandfather also told me that they're skilled at casting curses," Elizabeth said.
"Are you talking about the Haikors? Well, they're giants, indeed, but they were pretty easygoing," Charles said.
Noting the nonchalance in Charles' tone of voice, Elizabeth's expression grew solemn, and she warned, "You'd best not underestimate them. The evil things that they've been doing are certainly beyond your imagination."
Charles found Elizabeth's words to be incongruous with his own experience. He had a different opinion on the Haikors, and it was based on what he had experienced on the Shattered Heart Isles.
"I've visited most of their islands, and they were just like ordinary people. Their daily life mostly revolved around their livelihood. They're nowhere as dangerous as you depicted them to me. If I had to choose a partner to work with, I'd choose those guys rather than those evil cultists that perform live sacrificial rituals," Charles said.
Elizabeth's brows furrowed. She seemed to have forgotten that they were still in the middle of a banquet because she grabbed Charles' hand and pivoted on her heel before dragging Charles away with her.
"Come with me!" she exclaimed.
"Where are we going?" Charles asked.
"We're going to visit my grandfather," Elizabeth replied.
The pair moved quickly, passing by quite a few lavish-looking rooms of the Governor's Mansion until they arrived before a strange-looking door.
The door looked strange, as it was extremely high. It made Charles feel like he had returned to the Shattered Heart Isles.
"Cough, cough." Coughing echoed from behind the door, and a low, aged voice reached their ears. "Is that you, Liz?"
"It's me, Grandfather. I'm here with a friend," Elizabeth pulled Charles closer to her as they walked into the room.
The room was huge, but a massive bed took up most of its space. A haggard-looking Haikor was in the bed, and two doctors wearing white coats flanked him, seemingly testing him for something.
The old man's dazed eyes cleared up slightly upon seeing his granddaughter, and he struggled to sit up.
"You should just lie down, Grandpa," Elizabeth said as she went over and nudged him down.
"It's fine. I'm feeling much better; my knees don't hurt anymore, and I can sit just fine," the old man replied. He cast a curious gaze on Charles and stared deeply at the latter.
"So you're the governor whom Liz has been talking about? You've discovered a habitable island, so you must be an extraordinary man," the old man said.
"You flatter me," Charles replied before shooting Elizabeth a questioning gaze. He had no idea why she had decided to bring him here. As far as he could remember, the custom of meeting the parents didn't exist in the Subterranean Sea.
Elizabeth whispered into her grandfather's ears upon receiving Charles' gaze.
The old man nodded in understanding, and his eyes emitted a worried glimmer as he stared at Charles. "My child, Liz is right. The Haikors are dangerous. You shouldn't get involved with them."
"Aren't you a Haikor as well?"
"Yes, I am, and I escaped. The things they do along with their gods are far more sinister than you can imagine."
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