The next day, accompanied by his lawyer, William finished recording his statement and took a private jet back to London. As soon as he stepped off the plane, Jessie rushed up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him passionately.
As their lips parted, a cheerful William held Jessie close and asked, "How have you been finding the past couple of days at the estate?"
"Not good," Jessie replied indignantly. "That heartless Abigail dumped all the estate's affairs on me and ran off to Oxford to take care of Lady Lena's birthday preparations."
William laughed heartily at Jessie's complaints. "Alright, let's head home."
When they returned to the estate, William carried Jessie straight to the bedroom for an intense workout session. It wasn't until dinnertime that the two finally emerged from their room.
Seeing Jessie radiate a lazy, contented charm, William couldn't help but feel in a great mood.
The next morning, under Jessie's reluctant gaze, William drove himself to Oxford Castle in an Aston Martin.
An hour and a half later, his car stopped in front of the castle gates, where his mother, accompanied by Abigail and several servants, was waiting for him.
"Good morning, Mom," William greeted, stepping out of the car and kissing both her cheeks. "How have you been lately?"
"I'd be doing just fine if you didn't keep making headlines that worry me."
Although Lena scolded him, her smile was bright, and unusually, she didn't continue to nag him beyond that single complaint. This made William glance curiously at Abigail.
Understanding William all too well, Abigail smiled and explained, "Chelsea's standings improved yesterday, moving up to fourth place. If we can maintain this position, we'll qualify for the Champions League next year."
"Really? That's wonderful news. Congratulations, Mom!"
Lena cupped William's face in her hands, overjoyed. "Haha, thank goodness I took your advice. Mourinho has only been managing the team for a little over two months, and he's already brought them from the lower mid-table to fourth place. After yesterday's win, the entire city of London was celebrating."
After saying this, Lena looked at William suspiciously. "Weren't you already in London yesterday? How could you not know about such an important event?"
"Well..." William's awkward expression gave Lena all the answers she needed. She rolled her eyes at her son.
"During the winter transfer window, I plan to support Mourinho in strengthening the squad in a few positions. However, the transfer plan the team faxed me a few days ago involves over £60 million. William, are we really going to invest so much during the mid-season break?"
"As long as the players are worth the investment and bring results, I don't mind even spending £100 million. I just hope the other teams' coaches, managers, and owners won't accuse me of disrupting the player market."
William smiled nonchalantly and added, "Anyway, I just made another five or six billion dollars on this recent trip. If Mourinho can win the English league title in his first year, I'll gift him a solid gold soccer ball the size of a regulation one, weighing 40 kilograms."
"Smack!" Lena lightly slapped William on the shoulder, displeased. "Forty kilograms? That's over $4 million! Just because you're rich doesn't mean you should spend money so recklessly."
"Big rewards spark motivation, Mom. Besides," William leaned in and whispered in her ear, "if all goes well, 22 tons of gold will be arriving in the castle's underground vault in a few days. By then, you could even furnish the entire house with solid gold furniture if you wanted to."
"Twenty-two tons?"
Lena gasped loudly, quickly glancing around cautiously before instructing the equally shocked Abigail to prepare lunch. She then pulled William into the castle, sat him down in the living room, and whispered, "Where did it come from?"
"Hehe," William chuckled, expecting his mother to be surprised. But he knew the actual value of those 22 tons was just $230 million.
As for their origin, he certainly wouldn't reveal the truth. "One of my partners was short on cash, so he transferred the gold stored in his Swiss bank vault to me."
"Switzerland?" Lena thought for a moment before shaking her head. "It's better to leave it in the bank. Bringing that much gold into England would cause all sorts of trouble. And keeping it here wouldn't be as safe as leaving it in a bank vault."
"No, Mom, you don't understand. The castle's underground vault is far safer than any bank. Besides, there are already 160 tons of gold stored in the vault."
"Good heavens, 160 tons of gold?" Seeing Lena's eyes light up, William, who had been feeling a bit smug, wisely chose to shut his mouth.
While he stayed quiet, Lena's expression showed she knew her son wasn't telling the whole story. Grabbing his face with both hands, she asked in a low voice, "What else are you hiding from me? Spill it. Is it jewelry?"
"There are some," William admitted, thinking of the sealed vaults containing 14 large cases of gemstones. Hesitating slightly, he offered, "If you'd like, I can check the treasure vault later and bring out a box. You can have someone turn them into jewelry."
"A box?" Lena's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Are all your gemstones stored in boxes? How big are these boxes?"
"Well..." Turning to look at the metal tissue box on the coffee table, William replied, "How about a box the size of that?"
"That size?" Seeing William nod, Lena immediately said, "Then I want two boxes. That's not a problem, right, my dear boy?"
Seeing his mother's hopeful expression, William rolled his eyes. "Fine, two boxes it is."
Overjoyed, Lena kissed William's forehead and said, "Good. In that case, I'll agree to let your women attend my birthday party."
"Huh?" William finally realized that his mother wasn't genuinely interested in the jewelry. She was just finding an excuse to make things easier for him. Holding her hand, William said gratefully, "Thank you, Mom."
"Alright, alright," Lena said, teasing him as she added, "Let's just hope they don't end up fighting when they meet. It's a shame, though, that the lovely noble ladies I invited might be disappointed."
"Let them be disappointed. I have no plans to get married yet," William said with a shrug, smiling. "By the way, since you invited several noblewomen, won't that little girl Tina be upset with you?"
Lena shook her head and explained, "Ever since you were promoted from Earl to Hereditary Grand Duke, I haven't seen Tina for over two months. I'm not sure if she's given up, but every time I call her, she claims she's too busy with classes."
"That's good." William let out a sigh of relief. He didn't want to get involved with any woman solely focused on marrying him. He preferred things as they were now—where even if he occasionally misbehaved, Abigail and the other two women wouldn't interfere.
Spending the rest of the morning chatting with his mother about the castle, the stables, and the 34,000 acres of land surrounding the estate, William didn't notice time passing until lunch was ready.
After lunch, Lena went to rest while William took Abigail's hand and headed to the stables to visit Red Hare.
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