Chapter 568

Tiffany was momentarily stunned. She had long known of June's feelings for James; love isn't easily concealed—the way their eyes shone when they looked at each other always gave it away. But June had buried her feelings deeply. Only when she gazed at James's back did the love and despair in her eyes betray the truth. The word "love" was the most hurtful of all.

Tiffany opened her mouth to speak, but sighed instead, softly murmuring, "James, wake up!" What should really be cherished isn't the person who doesn't belong to you, but those who are by your side, she thought.

James chuckled quietly at her words, a flicker of understanding lighting his eyes. After a long pause, he looked at Tiffany and said, "If you knew the story of my relationship with your mother, maybe… you wouldn't say that." Ever since we first met in our youth, I've devoted myself to her with unwavering passion, he thought. Time had passed, changing everything. Selfish or not, despicable or not, he only wanted to hold onto that unfulfilled dream from years ago. That was all.

Without another word, James gently pushed June aside, refusing her assistance. Turning away, he walked off, his tall figure disappearing beyond the dark stone door. Garry and the others arrived just in time to see his retreating silhouette. They were about to give chase when June stopped them.

"You're just going to let him go?" Garry asked incredulously, exchanging puzzled glances with John.

Tiffany didn't respond. She stood frozen, staring in James's direction, his words echoing in her mind: "If you knew the story of my relationship with your mother, maybe… you wouldn't say that." What happened back then? she thought. Narrowing her eyes, Tiffany resolved to ask the older generation about it upon her return.

Garry, still reluctant to let the matter rest, opened his mouth to speak, but under Richard's piercing, ice-cold glare, he fell silent, swallowing his objections.

"Let's go," Tiffany said calmly, taking June's arm and walking away at a leisurely pace. Richard smirked and, with a flick of his hand, set the altar behind them ablaze, leaving nothing but ash.

They exited the ancient building and returned to their vehicle, leaving the so-called forbidden land behind. On the way back, June, severely injured, collapsed as her knees gave way.

Tiffany carefully helped her into the car, instructing her men to take June to the hospital immediately. Thankfully, Tiffany had already given her spirit herbs. With their protective properties, the wound wouldn't be life-threatening. The henchman nodded and immediately obeyed. Tiffany got into another car.

On the way back to the Azure Sea Palace, Garry asked, "Tiffany, why did we let that man go?" He didn't know the man's identity—only that he was more likely a foe than a friend.

Without hesitation, Tiffany replied, "I owe him." After so many years of learning under him, even if ulterior motives were involved, the sentiment couldn't be entirely erased. But she would only let him go this once; from now on, they owed each other nothing.

Garry still didn't fully understand. Hesitating slightly, he asked, "By the way, Tiffany, didn't you say you were looking for something? Did you find it?"

Tiffany opened her palm, revealing a small, transparent glass bottle. Inside, a colorful spider lay dormant. The red threads on her grandfather's body originated from this spider. James had thrown it to her just before he left. This spider was the antidote.

Once they returned to the palace, Tiffany hurried inside. Richard raised an eyebrow. "In a hurry?"

"A bit," she admitted with a small nod.

Before she could react, the air around her rippled. Jeremy's surprised voice echoed, "Miss Kelley, you're back?" Blinking, Tiffany realized they were already inside the king's inner sanctum. Stunned, she turned to Richard, surprise and shock evident in her eyes. Richard merely spread his hands innocently, a low smile curling his lips. "Weren't you in a hurry?"

Tiffany was speechless. Okay, fine, she thought.

Tiffany composed herself, deciding not to explain their entrance to Jeremy. Instead, she went to the large bed, casually rolling up her grandfather's sleeve. She opened the glass bottle, releasing the red spider. Drawn by the scent of its prey, it immediately leapt onto the king's hand. Its tiny, sharp spines pierced his skin as it began consuming the red silk threads.

In mere seconds, all the red threads were gone, and his skin returned to normal.

Seeing this, Tiffany sighed in relief. Jeremy, standing nearby, cautiously asked, "This is… a Venom Spider?"

"Uh-huh," Tiffany confirmed, swiftly placing the spider back into the bottle. "The people around my grandfather need to be thoroughly investigated. If not, this will happen again."

"I understand," Jeremy nodded. "What about you, Miss Kelley?" He hesitated, unsure if he should ask whether she would stay.

"I'll stay until my grandfather wakes up," she replied.

It didn't take long. Within half an hour, the king opened his eyes. The first thing he did was call out, "Tiffany… Where is my Tiffany?"

"Grandpa, I'm here," Tiffany said, stepping forward to examine him. The impact of the red threads was hard to detect, but after the Venom Spider removed them, his heartbeat had grown stronger. With proper recuperation and spirit herbs, he could live a long life without worry.

A weight lifted from Tiffany's heart, and her smile brightened. "Grandpa, you're going to be fine. But you can't overwork yourself anymore."

"Alright, alright. I'll listen to you," the king said, grinning and nodding repeatedly. In the past, he might have thought his time was near, but now, everything was different. Tiffany, the granddaughter he had longed for, had returned. He hadn't even seen her married yet—how could he possibly leave now?

The king gazed at Tiffany with relief and determination before turning to Richard. "When's the wedding?"

"Half a month from now, on the eleventh," Richard replied.

"Good, good. That's an auspicious day. I'll make sure to recover and attend in person!" the king declared, his laughter hearty, his eyes regaining clarity and sharpness.

Tiffany nodded, then dismissed the servants. Propping her chin in her hand, she asked, "Grandpa, can you tell me about my mother?"

The extraneous chapter numbers and notations have been removed as they are not part of the narrative text. The story is now much clearer and more readable.