A Spoonful of Sugar: Don't Beg for Love

In the evening, Hesper received ten pounds of chestnuts from Carter.

"I can promise you Big T deshelled all of these one by one. Some of them have been caramelized with sugar, and some of them are still raw so that you can get the kitchen to cook them in whatever way you like." Carter was indescribably submissive, but Hesper did not care about these details at all.

'I've been tossing Nathaniel around to rationalize my actions. I'll ask for 10 pounds of chestnuts today then go for peanuts a few days later.'

Hesper received the nuts expressionlessly.

'Although Nathaniel has gone along with my request obediently, I don't believe for a second that he wouldn't doubt my sudden request and my motives. That's why I can't ask for peanuts on the first go. Although Nathaniel has imprisoned me at this place at the moment, I can see that he has special feelings for me. Perhaps the personnel in Daybreak are currently at each other's throats because of me, especially 013; he's surely one of those who can't wait for me to die. If that's the case, I must use these conditions to earn myself opportunities or windows. The more chaotic Daybreak becomes, the better it is for me.'

"Big T also said that he'll send whatever you want your way."

Carter let off a sigh deep down.

'If Nathaniel hadn't made it clear earlier today that he's planning to use Hesper as bait, I would've thought that he'd really give up everything in order to live peacefully with Hesper for the rest of his life.' "Then get him to deshell some pumpkin seeds tomorrow."

Hesper was not so polite with her next request either. She turned around and entered the room immediately.

After a few days of going back and forth like this, Hesper had also guessed that the location she was in now should be relatively remote. Otherwise, it would be impossible for Matthew to still have not found her after so long.

'As long as I can delay things a little longer, there might still be a chance.'

Hesper was not so naive as to think that Nathaniel would lock her up like this for the rest of her life. After all, Nathaniel was a complete egoist; he was proficient in psychology and good at manipulating people. 'I've been fooled before, but I'll never fall for it again.'

On the other end of the world, sure enough, Renfrew's surgery was really successful, and everything went smoothly throughout his postoperative recovery. Of course, no one else had the knowledge and skill to take care of him now except Professor Miles.

"Why are you so sure that she's in Fredonia?"

After a few days of fruitless searching, Matthew had become a little irritable. "Although Daybreak's base is indeed located in Fredonia, they should know that we'll go after them, shouldn't they? So wouldn't they move to another hideout?"

"No." Rickard lowered his head and crossed out the places that he had searched through earlier that day. "According to what you said, if Nathaniel has kidnapped Hesper for revenge, why didn't he kill Hesper immediately?"

Matthew remained silent for a moment.

Naturally, he would not respond to the question with a stupid answer like love. It took him a moment before he reacted and then smacked himself in the forehead with some hesitation. "Nathaniel wants me dead too."

Since Matthew had already figured it out, Rickard did not bother to explain it further and showed Matthew the map of Fredonia.

"We've been to all these places. The only two places left that we haven't been to are the bay area near the suburbs of Shermere and the mountainous regions near Saint-José." Rickard tapped on the two spots; both looked quite remote and closed in.

Compared to Halwanest, Fredonia was still a bit easier to search. After all, the land area was small. If you could confirm that Hesper was in Fredonia, one of these two places, you would definitely be able to find her.

"Are we going to each of the locations separately?"

Rickard shook his head. "I'm not their target, so if I happen to catch up to them, they'll probably leave Fredonia right away... And if that happens, we'll lose all trails and clues."

What he said made sense. Rickard continued, "Is there anything that Hesper is afraid of?"