CH 46

Madel’s vision became blurry as tears welled up in her eyes. Her heart ached and tears threatened to spill whenever she thought of Adelia. After the incident, Madel had returned to the estate after a long time to find the bodies of the whole family lying in puddles of mud, covered in dirt, and decomposing into nature…

Madel trembled from the memories, then inhaled quietly so Gareth couldn’t hear. If she hadn’t run away at that time, she would have found out that Gareth had survived. Although she had fled in terror with the workers of the castle under the command of Gareth’s mother, she regretted the decision immediately, thinking that she should have stayed with her master until the end and protected them. When Gareth had returned to the estate years later, Madel had sworn to herself that she would never run away again no matter what.

“I understand, my lord,” Madel said obediently. She decided that Gareth just needed more time. She knew it was Gareth’s nature not to lie and assumed that he was just having a difficult time accepting the consequences of his actions. She, however, hoped that his lord was going to change his mind over time, and was confident that he was going to do so once he held the child in his arms. ‘Lord Gareth may settle down for the baby, and start to smile like he used to,’ Madel contemplated as she bowed and stepped back.

For the sake of his subordinates, Gareth forced himself to eat a spoonful of soup, as they only ate after he did so. However, he couldn’t bring himself to eat anymore after that. ‘Elena…’ Gareth glanced up at the second floor, knowing that she was in a situation where she couldn’t come down to the hall since she had nothing to wear. He couldn’t forget her expression when she said that she was going to be his temporary trophy; it seemed that she was breaking into pieces. To make matters worse, he was the one who made her like that. That’s what he had wanted and decided on, but…

“Damn it,” Gareth muttered coldly and threw his spoon to the side. There was no reason to hear such words from her. He jumped up from his seat, and his men followed suit.

“Rest until tomorrow,” Gareth spat out, then went into the kitchen to find Madel. “Madel, do you have a spare dress?” he asked.

Without asking why, Madel hurried off to find a dress. When she returned and handed Gareth a rough cotton dress, a bitter taste naturally formed in his mouth. It was a dress woven from a harsh fabric that would surely hurt Elena’s skin; it was something that didn’t suit an elegant noblewoman such as her. Still, he couldn’t make someone piece together the clothes that he had ripped out of anger.

Stepping out of the kitchen, Gareth was greeted by the cold air in the hall. He strode past his men eating their meals in silence and climbed the stairs. Before going to his room, he stopped by Lydia’s room and entered without warning. The two maids who were combing her hair flinched in surprise and scurried to the side.

With a haughty gesture from her hands, Lydia hinted to her maids to leave the room. Before long, Lydia and Gareth were left alone. She was now gazing at Gareth with a seductive smile. “How are you feeling, Gareth? I scared you a little, didn’t I? I still have some morning sickness, but our child is very healthy.”

Gareth looked at her slightly protruding stomach and murmured coldly, “I don’t remember doing anything to make you pregnant.”

At his quiet, but distrusting voice, Lydia showed a charming smile as if she knew this was going to happen. She then approached Gareth, who was standing at the doorway, and whispered, “The method isn’t perfect all the time. Considering your past, I didn’t think you’d be happy.”

Gareth pushed away Lydia’s hand that was approaching his chest and spat out with a frigid voice, “Did you know that you’re known as The Prostitute of the Capital?”

Lydia’s red lips twisted into a scowl. “What?”

“There’s been rumors about your obscene behavior in the capital, which means that I’ve spent a night with a prostitute, not the royal princess,” Gareth criticized her harshly. “Did you think I wouldn’t know what you’ve been doing just because I was far away from the capital? Can you even count how many animals have excreted themselves into you?”

“Are you saying that you’re one of those animals?” Lydia retorted. She knew that it wouldn’t be easy to put her plan in motion, since convincing Gareth of her story was close to impossible. She endured nevertheless, having mentally prepared herself for the hardships she was going to face.

Gareth condescendingly laughed at her and sneered, “I was an animal once as well. An animal that excreted on you.”

Lydia smiled bitterly and took a step back from Gareth. She then wrapped her arms around her stomach as if to protect it. “You wouldn’t want our child to hear that now, would you, Gareth?”

“Don’t pretend like you’re hurt, Lydia. I can’t believe you came here without knowing whose child you’re bearing.”

“Alright. I won’t deny my past behavior, but at that time, you were the only one I had spent the night with. My maternal instincts told me exactly who the father is. I could tell when the signs of life began inside me.”

Lydia knew that lying to Gareth didn’t work. He was someone who couldn’t stand being hit in the back of the head, which meant she needed a somewhat truthful method to convince him. She had learned about his character and prepared her words with much consideration, but all she received in return from him were insults. Lydia’s blood boiled with anger. She couldn’t believe Gareth would offend her like this, for even an animal wouldn’t respond so harshly when they were made aware of their possible offspring.

“Once this child is born, you’ll see who it looks like and will have no choice but to accept the baby then. You’ll regret insulting me like this.”

“Regret? I could tear you into pieces with my bare hands right now.”

Lydia gasped, unable to stand Gareth’s brutish attitude any longer. This was the first time she had been insulted like this. ‘How dare he say such words to a royal princess!’ Lydia raised her hand and slapped the rude man across the face. Gareth didn’t avoid her, and instead slapped her back immediately.

When Lydia came to her senses, she realized that she had been knocked to the ground by the wild blow and wind that followed. Blood was dripping from her nose and her ears were ringing. She was completely dazed, but could tell that slapping Gareth from lack of patience was a bad choice. She burst into tears when she realized she could have died just then. Gareth’s ruthlessness she had witnessed when he beat up Logan without even batting an eye quickly flashed through her mind. Lydia decided that she had to soothe the beast, for she might be beaten to death if she showed her temper.