novelraw Chapter 428: Easy Access
Chapter 428: Easy Access
Seraphina’s POV
I didn’t want to go to the hotel anymore.
At first, I thought I would. It made sense to rest, settle down, and then figure out what to do next, but the moment the driver told me that no one in the Ashwyn family had died recently, something shifted in my mind, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit still if I tried. The thought kept replaying over and over again, refusing to leave me alone, and the more I thought about it, the less I could ignore it.
If Yuna wasn’t dead, then everything I thought I knew was wrong, and if she was dead, then why didn’t her own kingdom already know when she was from such a prominent family?
Neither option made sense, and I hated that I was stuck between them without any clear answer. It felt like I had come all this way expecting to mourn someone, only to be told that there might not even be anything to mourn at all. That alone was enough to make me uneasy, but what made it worse was the thought that something might have been hidden on purpose.
So instead of leaning back and trying to calm down, I leaned forward slightly, my eyes finding the driver through the mirror again.
"Take me to the Ashwyn family," I said.
There was no hesitation in my voice this time. I didn’t even try to hide how serious I was about it, because there was no point pretending anymore. I needed answers, and I wasn’t going to get them by sitting in a hotel room thinking about possibilities.
The driver didn’t argue. He simply nodded once, his expression calm, but there was something careful about the way he looked at me, like he was measuring his words before speaking.
"I can take you there, my lady," he said. "But I should warn you, it will not be easy for you to get in."
I frowned slightly, though I had already expected that.
"They are not a family that receives just anyone," he continued. "Especially not without prior notice."
I let out a quiet breath, my gaze shifting briefly to the window before returning to him. "I understand that," I said. "But I still want to try."
There was a short pause, and then he nodded again. "Very well."
After that, the car went quiet.
The rest of the drive felt longer than it probably was, mostly because my thoughts wouldn’t stop moving. I kept going over everything in my head, trying to make sense of it, but nothing lined up the way it should have. I kept seeing that moment on the rooftop where Yuna had confronted Iris and given me a chance to get away. At the time, I didn’t question it as much as I should have. I was too focused on surviving, only to end up being in an unconscious state for weeks, but now...
Now it felt like there were pieces missing.
Either Yuna was still alive, which didn’t seem possible considering what I had heard, or something had been covered up in a way I didn’t understand, and if it was the second option, then that meant someone, possibly Yuna’s family, had made sure the truth didn’t reach the whole of Varynthia.
Still, a part of me hoped desperately that it was the first option. That somehow, against all logic, Yuna had survived. It would be shocking, almost impossible, but I would take that over anything else. At least then, she could tell the truth herself. At least then, I wouldn’t be the only one carrying what I knew.
The car slowed down gradually, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I looked up just in time to see the gate.
It was massive, far bigger than anything I had expected, and for a moment, I just stared at it, taking in every detail. The metal was dark, and right at the center of it was a design that immediately caught my attention.
A snake.
Not just any snake, but one that looked almost alive, coiled in a way that made it feel like it could move at any second. The design wasn’t just for show. It felt like it meant something, something important, something tied to the very identity of the family that lived behind those gates.
Without being told, I already knew that this was it. This was where Yuna came from.
My eyes moved slowly, taking in the rest of the property as much as I could from where I sat. Even from the outside, it was obvious that this wasn’t just a normal home. It was very large, very structured, and also very powerful in its presence. Everything about it spoke of wealth and influence, and for a second, I found myself thinking back to what Yuna had told me before.
How her family was known, how they were respected, and how she and her sister were treated differently because of what they were, which was the complete opposite of how they were treated in Elysium.
The gate began to open slowly, the metal moving without a sound, and the driver guided the car forward without needing to be told. I stayed quiet, my hands resting lightly on my lap, but my eyes remained fixed ahead, watching everything carefully.
We didn’t get far.
Just as we crossed into the property, the car was stopped, and two women approached from either side. They didn’t look like guards in the usual sense, but there was something about them that made it clear they weren’t just standing there for decoration. Their posture was straight, their expressions serious, and the way they moved carried a kind of authority that made me sit up a little straighter without even realizing it.
One of them stepped closer to the driver’s side, her eyes sharp as she looked at him.
"State your business," she said.
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it didn’t need to be. There was something about it that made it clear she wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.
The driver remained calm, his posture respectful as he spoke. "The fiancée of Prince Darius of Aldoria is here," he said. "She wishes to speak for herself."
For a moment, both women froze slightly, their expressions shifting just enough to show that they hadn’t expected that answer. Their eyes moved toward the back seat, toward me, and I felt the intensity of their attention immediately.
It was moments like this that reminded me of something I didn’t think about often.
My title. I didn’t like using it, and I didn’t like what it came with, but right now, I couldn’t deny that it had its advantages. Without it, I wasn’t sure I would have even made it past the gate.
The woman who had spoken earlier stepped closer to my side of the car, and I took that as my cue to open the door. As soon as I stepped out, I felt the shift in the air again, the kind that came from being somewhere important, somewhere that demanded a certain level of respect whether you wanted to give it or not.
I straightened slightly, doing my best not to let the nerves show, even though I could feel them creeping in. These women weren’t easy to read, and something about the way they looked at me made it clear that they weren’t going to be easily convinced.
"I’m Seraphina Hook," I said, keeping my voice steady. "I came here because of what happened to Yuna Ashwyn. She and I were classmates."
The moment I said her name, something changed. It was small, almost unnoticeable, but I saw it. The brief flicker in their eeyes andthe slight shift in their posture. They tried to hide it, but they weren’t fast enough.
I continued before they could interrupt. "What I need to talk about is important," I added quickly. "And it can’t wait."
For a second, no one spoke.
The two women looked at each other, their expressions unreadable, like they were communicating something without using words. Then they looked back at me, and I braced myself, expecting resistance, expecting questions, expecting something that would make this harder than it already was, but it didn’t happen.
Instead, to my surprise, both of them lowered their heads slightly.
I blinked, caught off guard by the reaction, my mind struggling to process what was happening. I hadn’t expected that. I had expected to argue, to explain myself more, to push my way through if I had to, but instead, they stepped aside.
"Proceed," one of them said.
I didn’t move right away.
For a moment, I just stood there, staring at them, trying to understand why that had been so easy when everything about this situation suggested it shouldn’t have been, but I didn’t question it out loud. I couldn’t afford to.
So instead, I nodded slightly and stepped back into the car. The driver didn’t need to be told what to do. As soon as the path was clear, he drove forward again, deeper into the estate, and as we moved further inside, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.