CH 21

Count Townsend remained silent, despite being mocked. The commander of his knights had been subdued almost instantly. The count couldn’t open his mouth to say anything and only chewed on his lips, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

“Elena is mine from now on, Lord Townsend. There’s no need for a dowry,” Gareth said straightforwardly as he gave the count a cold look, “She’s mine.”

Elena squeezed her eyes shut as she thought about the terrible meaning of the word ‘mine.’ As a daughter, she had no authority over her life. She was required to obey her father’s orders and would enter a marriage of convenience for her family’s benefit. The only thing that mattered in this world was preserving the power of one’s family, after all.

Elena would have to obey her husband’s orders once she got married. Very occasionally, there were headstrong women who persistently voiced their opinions to their husbands, but such a thing was only possible if they had a powerful, doting father to back them up. 

Tradition instead dictated that a daughter was owned by her father, and that she could not refuse her husband’s request to sleep together once they were married, as it was necessary for her to produce an heir. No matter how coercive or violent a man he might be, a wife could not say no to her husband. As far as the laws of this land were concerned, rape did not exist between a married couple. 

This realization cut deeply into Elena’s heart. She had known this but thought she would lead a different life. All her struggles until now disappeared into thin air. However, Elena pulled herself together when she realized that she could not just continue staring vacantly at William pinned beneath Gareth’s feet. “I will be your wife,” she said. 

“Elena!” shouted Rowena.

“Lady Elena! No!” William yelled.

Ignoring their protests, Elena straightened her back and spoke again, “You must stop with the disrespect, Gareth. Remember that this is my house.” 

“It’s not anymore,” Gareth shot back. 

“It is for a little longer,” Elena insisted. 

Gareth looked irritated, turning to look at her. The woman who had moments before been trembling and collapsed on the floor was now standing straight-backed and asking a favor of him.

“I’d appreciate it if you could give me time to say goodbye to my family, Gareth. Please,” she said.

As he had expected, she was no ordinary woman.

She approached Gareth and grabbed his arm. “Let William go,” she said quietly.

‘Ha!’ a cold smile spread on Gareth’s lips, ‘What a huge loss for the count. How did he even manage to raise a daughter like this? Well, I guess I can let him go now.’ Gareth moved off of William and watched Elena lean over to help the knight up. 

“I won’t give you a long time. I want to leave this disgusting place as soon as possible. Isn’t this what you wanted anyway?” Gareth said, baiting her, “A chance to leave your cowardly father? Was that why you came to my room last night?” 

In a flash, Elena whipped around and slapped Gareth across the face with all her might, snapping his head to the side. The crack of her hand against his cheek echoed through the room.

His men stared, slack-jawed for a moment, but soon recovered. Giggs and Hansen began to move in unison, their expressions filled with bloodthirst. It seemed that they were going to make quick work of Elena, but Gareth simply raised one hand to stop them.

He looked down at Elena with an icy smile and said, “We’ll have a ceremony once we get back to my estate.” 

He kept his sharp eyes on her as he announced to his men, “The noble daughter of a count has become my wife today, so everyone better behave well from now on. Gather at our rendezvous once you’re done getting ready.” 

Gareth’s men were astonished by their leader’s statement but began to move anyway. Gareth, who remained seemingly indifferent, approached Elena. There were still traces of her handprint on his face.

“You better hurry,” he said, then turned around without giving her a chance to reply.

* * *

Gareth swallowed down overwhelming nausea as he left Elena’s room. On top of feeling nauseous, he was irritated. Count Townsend was no different from the arrogant aristocrats he had met until now. The man only thought of himself. He sacrificed others to save face and considered his daughter as property.

Gareth had felt as if he would vomit when he was harshly reminded that daughters were used as tools in marriages of convenience to expand territories or join hands against a common enemy. He was no stranger to this custom, but he had never met such a nasty man like Count Townsend who suddenly gave away his own kin to a mercenary. 

‘He abandoned his daughter because he believed in his faulty logic.’ Gareth suddenly recalled his own father, who had sacrificed himself for his family, and became even more dissatisfied. He did not want to linger in this place for another minute.

With his unpleasant emotions showing clearly on his face and his murderous eyes turning night-black once again, Gareth descended the stairs to the hall as he took a deep breath. His cheek still stung from Elena’s slap. He had never let anyone get away with hitting him, but he had already let Elena do so twice. He didn’t understand why. 

“I’ll make you pay, Elena,” he pledged to himself.