"W-What are you trying to say?" Scarlett asked, feeling perplexed by his ambiguous words.
Alex took another deep breath, "...When I first saw you, I thought I had met you. However, I was wrong. It wasn't you that I met last time, but someone who looked just like you!"
Scarlett suddenly felt tense. "You met someone who looks like me?" she asked.
"Yes!" Alex smiled.
"You mean, you met Roland Gilwynn?" Xander, who was also curious about what Alex was trying to say, finally chimed in.
"Damn it! Indeed, you do look like His Highness..." Alex couldn't hold back his shock. He closed his mouth while staring at Scarlett closely and realized how striking the resemblance was — her eyes, hair, and face bore a striking similarity to Simon's father. "Y-You, how could you be so similar to him?" he asked, still in disbelief.
Scarlett frowned. Why did he look surprised to know? Wasn't that what he wanted to say?
"Brother Alex, why are you asking?" Scarlett said. "Didn't you say you saw someone who looked like me!? That's Roland Gilwynn right?"
Alex snapped back, "No. It wasn't him, but someone else. She is the woman I met a few years ago!"
Instantly, Scarlett felt her entire body stiffen when she heard the word "She" uttered by Alex. She looked at Xander and tightly held his hand.
Iris somehow lost her ability to say anything, as her mind and heart were now about to explode, imagining who this person Alex met in the past might be.
"You met a woman who looks like my wife!?" Xander asked, aware that Scarlett was in turmoil at this moment.
"Yes. When I was on a mission, I met one of my informants. Although that woman's face is not identical to Scarlett's, her manner of speaking and voice resembled hers. And they have a similar body..." Alex explained everything about the woman.
Scarlett's pulse quickened; she couldn't help but ask, "Brother Alex, when and where did you meet her?"
If that woman is indeed her mother, then this proves her mother is still alive. This was very comforting news for her because until now, she wasn't entirely sure whether her mother was alive, having not seen her in person.
Alex sighed, trying to remember that time. "...It's been a long time; I don't really remember all the details. Five or four years ago, during a mission at the border. She became our informant to uncover women's trafficking routes..." Alex's voice trailed off as he realized something. He looked at Xander with a sharp expression, "Xander, you mentioned that you wanted to rescue Noah Withers tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, like I said to you. That's our plan for tomorrow!" Xander replied, looking puzzled. "Why are you suddenly asking about that?"
Alex frowned, feeling puzzled about something. He then turned to Scarlett, "Sister-in-law, what's your relationship with Withers family?" he asked seriously.
Scarlett felt there was nothing more to hide from Alex because this man would find out later if he got involved in this mission. She proceeded to tell him everything about her complicated entanglement with the Withers family.
Alex took a few minutes to process everything about the woman he had met in the past and what he had just heard from Scarlett. After deep thought, he finally managed to piece together the connections in this whole story.
'This is unbelievable!' Alex silently talked to himself, while his eyes were now fixed on Scarlett with a complicated look. He felt both sorry and amazed by this girl's tragic story. She had only recently discovered her mother's existence and had just met her father, Roland Gilwynn, a formidable figure in M Country. It was hard for him to believe it all.
If Scarlett weren't Xander's wife, he probably wouldn't believe her. "Scarlett, about your status as the former king's daughter, who else knows?"
"Maybe only seven people," Scarlett replied. "I hope you won't share this news with anyone."
"Does Simon Gilwynn know about you?" Alex asked. He had a good relationship with Simon and wanted to tell him about Scarlett.
"No. He probably doesn't know about me. And I hope you won't share it with him either…" Scarlett warned him.
Alex was surprised; not even Simon, the king, knew. He promised her, "...Rest assured, I will keep this to myself!"
"Thank you, Brother Alex," Scarlett said, asking Alex to continue with what he wanted to say earlier.
Alex looked at the two of them in turn before explaining, "The woman I met in the past, who bore a striking resemblance to you, was actually reporting to me about the Withers' criminal activities. She gave me information about one of their underground business branches that I was dealing with, and with her help, I managed to crack the case..."
Scarlett remained silent, listening to Alex's explanation. Still, her heart had been beating erratically since earlier — excited and worried at the same time.
"Scarlett, earlier, I'm not really sure that woman related to you, but after hearing your story and knowing how they treated her, I'm pretty certain that woman was Rosalie Withers," Alex said.
"Brother Alex, are you sure?" Scarlett's trembling voice could make Xander worry about her. He rubbed her back, trying to calm her down.
"Well, I can't guarantee that woman is Rosalie Withers. However, I could guess it was her because that woman wasn't just helping me with one case; she was involved in a few. It seems she was like a spy trying to bring down the Withers family."
"Please, can you contact her for me?" Scarlett's hands started shaking with excitement at the thought of meeting her mother. "I really want to meet her!" she pleaded.
There was a tinge of regret in Alex's eyes. "Sorry, Scarlett, I can't reach her. All this time, our communication has been one way," he paused to take a deep breath. "...To be honest with you, that woman who contacts me seems to know everything about my team mission. Whenever we were involved in a case related to the Withers Family, she would get in touch and provide me with all the information I needed!"
Scarlett's shoulders slumped, crushing any hope of ever seeing her mother.
"Brother, have you ever tried to hack her communication device?" Scarlett felt a strong desire to trace her mother through that means.
"I did. But, even Que... I mean, my hacker can't do that!" Alex secretly gulped.
"Wait, your hacker is Queen?" Scarlett was shocked to hear that. She had only heard that Queen was protecting this country from any cyber attack all this time. She had never imagined that someone she knew had direct contact with her.
Knowing that Alex knew Queen, she felt excited, thinking that maybe she could meet her idol through Alex!
Alex was utterly speechless. How could he have slipped up like that in front of Scarlett? He now felt bad and conflicted about whether to avoid her questions or answer them honestly.
"Who is Queen?" Alex decided to avoid talking about it. He couldn't say anything about Queen; otherwise, she would scold him. At this moment, Queen wanted a peaceful life and had withdrawn herself from X Team.
"Geez! Brother Alex, don't try to fool me. I know what you're trying to say. And I know who Queen is; she is the formidable hacker in the 'Hacker Community!' Well, just for your info, I'm also a member of that community..." Scarlett said proudly.
"You are!! Really?" Alex glanced at Xander, seeking confirmation, and when he saw Xander nodding, he turned his gaze back to Scarlett. "Sister-in-law, what is your hacker ID?" he asked.
"I won't say anything until you admit you know Queen in person!" Scarlett chuckled as Alex narrowed his eyes at her and then turned to look at Xander again like he wanted to ask Xander.
ραndαsΝοvεl ƈοm "Oh, even my husband didn't know my ID! It's useless if you want to ask him..." Scarlett immediately dashed Alex's hopes.
Alex almost choked upon hearing her words. He asked, "Xander, is it true!? How could you not know about that?"
"Yeah! She never told me!" Xander replied with a bitter smile, but his gaze toward Scarlett remained the same, full of love.
Scarlett's face turned stiff when she saw Xander smiling bitterly. "...Oh, please, hubby, don't blame me. Well, I didn't tell you because you never bothered to ask," she gestured for him to come closer and whispered, "Trinity. But you can't tell Alex!"
Xander nodded in agreement with Scarlett's request.
"What a beautiful name, my wife!!" Xander smiled and then turned to look at Alex, who was now staring at him. "I'm not going to tell you, Alex!" he said calmly, ignoring Alex's disappointed expression. He knew he would choose his wife over friends!
Scarlett no longer pressed Alex to reveal anything about Queen, understanding how sensitive hackers were about the anonymity of their identities.
Right now, her mind was busy digesting why Queen, the most skillful hacker in the world, couldn't trace her mother.
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