She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 706

Upon returning to the Lonsdale family estate from the island, everyone noticed that Loyce and Lucian were practically glued at the hip.

It was the last night of their vacation; Lucian was heading out on a mission early the next morning. However, regarding the classified details, he didn't say a word, and Loyce didn't ask.

The two of them completely dropped their usual reserve in front of everyone. When Lucian dropped her off at home, he leaned down under the porch and initiated a kiss.

Loyce kissed him back softly, a smile lingering on her lips as she watched him leave.

When she turned to head inside, she saw her three brothers crowded in the entryway, while Gordon, Marcella, and Zelie stood on the stairs. All eyes were glued to her.

Hank Lonsdale was the first to speak. "Whenever I look at Loyce now, I just see pink hearts floating around her."

Morris Lonsdale smiled gently. "The color of love."

Forrest Lonsdale had the sharpest eyes and immediately spotted the cluster of hickeys on her neck. He could already guess exactly how wonderful their nights had been. Being the most practical one, he asked, "When do you two plan on getting married?"

Loyce closed the door and handed her coat to a maid. "I haven't even thought about that. We're just dating."

Forrest nodded. "Fair enough. It's really not the best time anyway. The international geopolitical situation is tense, which is a major challenge for us and for Lucian."

The family gathered in the living room. Loyce took a sip of the hot coffee a maid brought her and asked, "What else happened these past couple of days? Lucian didn't give me the details; he just told me he was deploying right after we got back."

"It's a top-secret national mission, so I don't know the specifics either," Forrest said. "But the Eastern Isles Kingdom deployed missiles and military forces on the Greenwood Archipelago near the Emerald Strait just yesterday."

The Greenwood Archipelago was a small cluster of islands closest to the Emerald Strait, with a population of under four hundred thousand. It had been colonized by the Eastern Isles Kingdom in the past, and even after gaining independence, it still heavily relied on the Eastern Isles for its economy and other resources.

Loyce frowned slightly, setting her cup down. "Why the sudden deployment?"

Forrest tapped his fingers absently on his knee. "They claim there was a military clash with our navigational monitoring personnel in the Emerald Strait, resulting in the 'accidental' death of an Eastern Isles soldier. But the whole thing is clearly a staged stunt by the Eastern Isles. It's an excuse they deliberately manufactured so they could justify declaring a state of emergency and deploying troops to the Greenwood Archipelago."

He looked at Loyce, his tone grave. "The Emerald Strait is a critical international shipping lane. By doing this, the Eastern Isles wants to put a chokehold on this economic lifeline and force us to make concessions in upcoming negotiations. After all, they are the ones who absolutely do not want us establishing a military presence in the strait."

Hank couldn't help but interject, "We're building on our own damn turf. What the hell does it have to do with those bastards?"

Forrest explained, "We have a natural geographical advantage. The Emerald Strait is a global economic transit zone. Building up our military power there is a fatal strategic threat to countries like the Eastern Isles that rely on energy imports. That being said, they've always been the Oceanic Federation's lapdogs—close neighbors, but very hostile."

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