"The Cole are also old royal families that adhere to old traditions that royalties must marry royalties."

". . ." Ren was dumbstruck at what he heard.

Now everything made sense as to why Evie was hiding and the reason why she was working and hoarding money like her life depended on it.

Ren stood to his feet, not breaking eye contact with Ragnar.

"Then I just have to pay this debt, right?" Ren said, unbothered. It took all his self-control to remain calm and collect his wits.

". . ." Ragnar was silent before a wry sigh pushed past the lump in his throat. "Heh. Leave it to you to be so calm about it."

"I don't have the luxury of time to be calm. Evie is going to be married off!"

Ragnar raised one finger. "A month. You only have a month to pay the debt. That's what Marcus told me. It should have happened a year ago, but Evie disappeared. Now the Coles wanted to push the marriage faster and make it all happen in a month."

"How much is this debt?" Ren asked seriously after a short silence.

". . ." Ragnar was quiet for a moment. He returned Ren's gaze with the same intensity. He opened his mouth and spoke the numbers.

Ren's eyes bulged, and he almost fainted. "That's like the whole Zone A!"

Ragnar shrugged. "The interest piled up. That's why an entire kingdom was the collateral. Or it could be the other party's ploy to get Frizkiel and Evie."

Ren bit his thumb. So, in the end. It all boiled down to money.

"I need to speak with Evie," Ren muttered to no one in particular.

"Huh?"

"I need to speak to her father too."

"You . . ." Ragnar couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Frizkiel is so far from here. It's on another side of the globe."

Ren wasn't listening, though. "Even if it's in hell, I need to go to her.

"Y-you . . ." Watching Ren, something told Ragnar that he wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted.

Ragnar took a deep breath, fixed his lapel, and said with a sigh, "I did owe you for breaking in into your unit. Even if it was protocol. As payment, I'd set you a meeting with the Frizkiel's royalty."

"When can we leave?"

Frizkiel country was situated in the far northern regions of the globe. Two days by the fastest plane from Zone A and three days if traveled by regular commercial planes.

The country had its own set of laws and set of rules. Only a few knew that they existed in the world. They were a small country that survived through mining, selling, and trading precious stones.

The royals in the country were a very private family. Boys born in this family usually don't show their faces until they are fourteen and have their rite of passage into high society.

They have stricter rules for women. Until they were married, they should always wear a veil during public gatherings or going into town.

This tradition spanned over decades until the country became a republic.

Looking at her daughter, silent still and ignoring him, Marcus sighed.

"I'm sorry . . ." He began, breaking the stony silence between them.

Evie looked out the window's plane, never moving, never showing any emotions on her face. "Are you sorry that you had to take me home? Or are you sorry that you found me?"

". . . You showed your face to the whole world. What do you expect would happen?"

Evie's brows were slightly wrinkled. She knew that it wasn't her father's fault.

The reason why she went to Zone A in the first place was because it was far and the country didn't care about royalties. It was ruled by a democratic government. And the reason why she could stay there for more than six months was that she knew her father wasn't even searching for her in the first place. Neither did her supposed to be fiancé.

Why would they? They were the two perpetrators who helped her escape. Without their help, she couldn't have gotten out of Frizkiel.

Lamir wasn't also keen on the idea of marrying her. He would rather enjoy himself, traveling here and there surrounded by beautiful men. It was just the rules of his family that he couldn't escape if he wanted to take over the throne someday.

With their power and money, Cole could easily kill Ren and it was the reason why she came back with her father in the first place. To prevent that from happening.

Evie knew this would happen the moment she showed her face in international media. Her father had no choice by then. The few who knew her face already knew where she was, so her father had no choice but to escort her back.

The Cole family was also pressing the other party to seriously find her even before. And now that she was found, they wouldn't just let her go again.

Security was doubled, and the marriage was hastened to seal the deal.

All of this wasn't anyone's fault but hers. Evie knew what would happen, but she did it anyway.

Evie wasn't regretting one bit of it, though. The only thing she regretted now was that . . . she left Ren too soon without even explaining her circumstance to him.

Ren . . .

Evie closed her eyes tight. She wanted to rest her mind to plan her next move, but all she could think about was Ren.

Ren . . .

Evie wondered what he would do. Would he forget about her and move on after learning the problems she carried?

Evie sadly smiled . . . it was better if he did move on. In that way, she didn't have to trouble him anymore.

But knowing Ren . . . Evie knew that he was probably plotting on how to save her. It wasn't in his nature to give up.

However . . . the question was how?

Yes, it was a simple money problem, but the debt was so huge it was impossible to accumulate in time for her wedding.

Heck, it was impossible to even accumulate in her lifetime. She tried to save that amount but still fall short even after six months. She couldn't even save twenty percent of that debt.

( . . . continuation on NOTES)