CH 49

“Elena, do you really have to be so hostile towards me?” Gareth asked in frustration.

Without a single word, Elena stared Gareth dead in the eyes as the silence suffocated him once again. Just as he was about to yell at her in anger, she opened her mouth.

“You’ve lied to me. We have nothing to do with each other now.”

“I lied to you?” Gareth asked in an unbelieving tone.

“Your words are meaningless now. Let’s stop arguing,” Elena replied quietly.

Wanting to let out his anger on Elena, Gareth grabbed her shoulder. The rough fabric of her dress came into contact with his calloused hands. “I told you this was for you, Elena. A mercenary’s wife needs to be independent.”

Elena’s eyes glinted at his words. “For me? Alright.”

Uncomfortable and dissatisfied at Elena’s cold words and expressions, Gareth asked, “So? What are you going to do?”

“I’ll live diligently like I’ve done until now. It will be for my family—the only reason I have left to continue living.” Elena pushed down the bitterness that was overwhelming her heart and added on in a soft voice, “The next time you need me, you can find me in the hall. The floor of the hall is more suitable for a trophy like me. Please don’t give me any more false hope from now on.”

Gareth grabbed her shoulder even tighter, then eventually let her go.

Act 6.

Madel curiously peeked at the woman in the kitchen. She had her black hair braided and held in an updo, revealing her slim face and slender neck. Her pale skin shined and stood out, probably due to the coarse, brown dress she was wearing. Madel couldn’t help but be interested in her, as Elena was the very first woman Gareth had brought to this estate.

Madel hadn’t been able to pay attention to the woman yesterday as she had been focused on welcoming Gareth and his men. In addition, her mind had been preoccupied with the news of Lydia’s pregnancy. However, it was different today now that they were both in the kitchen together. The woman had quietly entered the kitchen in the morning, asked her what to do, and was now kneading dough in the corner.

To Madel, the woman seemed like an aristocrat who hadn’t had to do chores like this before. Nevertheless, she was extremely proficient at kneading the dough. Madel noticed at that moment that the woman was about to turn towards her, so she quickly directed her attention elsewhere.

After a while, Madel glanced at her again and continued to observe her. No matter how much she thought about it, she was pretty certain that the woman wasn’t supposed to be doing chores like this. ‘Look at her thin hands… She’s also the first woman Lord Gareth has brought to the castle…’ she thought.

“What should I do now?” Elena interrupted Madel’s thoughts at that moment.

Madel cleared her throat before speaking. “Baking the bread is good enough,” she said. For some reason, she found that she couldn’t speak carelessly in front of the woman. Madel quietly observed the woman’s tightly closed red lips and her eyes that were directed at the floor. She could see a hint of green in them. ‘She definitely doesn’t seem like a commoner…’

“I can do other things, too. I’ll do something else once I’m finished with the bread,” Elena replied gently, then began to tear the dough into bite-sized pieces to form smooth, round rolls.

Elena had felt Madel’s eyes on her the whole time as there were only a total of four women in the kitchen. She was quickly able to tell that the middle-aged woman who was constantly peeking at her was the person in charge of the castle duties.

Eventually, Madel decided to introduce herself to Elena. She rubbed her wet hands on her skirt and said, “I’m Madel. I was Lord Gareth’s nanny in the past and now manage this castle.”

The tips of Elena’s mouth raised slightly as she turned to Madel. “I’m Elena. Let me know at any time if you want me to do anything,” she replied.

Although she felt doubtful at Elena’s words, she nodded slightly in return. ‘I’m pretty sure she’s not a commoner… She shouldn’t be dirtying her hands with chores like this…’ she silently worried.

At that moment, Giggs stomped into the kitchen. “Oh, you were here,” he said to Elena.

Elena turned around and looked at Giggs, who smiled sheepishly. He scratched his neck out of habit and asked, “I’m sorry, but could you give me a little more of your medicine?”

“Let me see the wound,” Elena said softly as she took a step closer to Giggs.

“I thought it was all better after applying the medicine, but I guess it’s not totally healed, yet,” the bear-sized Giggs spoke politely and leaned over to Elena.

Madel watched the sight with astonished eyes. She knew that Gareth’s men were violent and wild. They had never spoken to her politely, and were simply—as the rumors said—people mad for blood. Even though she only saw them once a year, she had tried her best to get close to them multiple times, but it was to no avail. Madel had persistently tried to find out Gareth’s whereabouts and his plans by asking Giggs and his men whenever she had the chance, but all her efforts had been fruitless. She continued to watch Giggs and Elena in silence.

Elena examined Giggs’ neck, where the skin disease had flared up again. She realized that he had applied the ointment thoughtlessly without going through the other necessary measures such as washing the wound with uncontaminated water. She came to the conclusion that Giggs viewed these measures as inconvenient, thus preventing the wound from healing.

“Giggs, you need to wash the wound with boiled water then apply the medicine,” Elena stated firmly.

“I’m too lazy…”

“Giggs,” she repeated in a stern voice.

“Alright, alright. Where’s the medicine anyway?”

Madel’s eyes gradually grew wider in surprise. Giggs, the human bear, was being gentle towards her. Was this really the same person who was always irritated at her for forcing him to get up from hibernation? ‘He was always so rude to me… using his big build to intimidate me!’

“I don’t have any with me right now,” Elena said. There had been some in her clothes yesterday, but Gareth had torn them apart, rendering them useless in the process.

Giggs let out a long sigh, making it obvious that he was discouraged. He was sure that the itchiness was going to drive him crazy within the next few days.