CH 54

‘How could Lord Gareth side with that woman and hit the royal princess like that?!’ Madel thought bitterly as she took out her frustrations on the dough she was kneading. “How mean,” she muttered to herself. She was indescribably upset that her lord was not accepting the child as his, and had spoken so ruthlessly to Lydia. She couldn’t understand why he had said such harsh words and was starting to become extremely worried about Lydia possibly having a miscarriage.

As she was part of the royal family, it was only natural for Princess Lydia to be arrogant. It was also reasonable for her to feel uncomfortable about Elena’s presence since she was sharing a room with Lord Gareth. Madel couldn’t even begin to imagine how distraught Lydia must have been over this fact. ‘The pregnancy probably makes things worse…’ she thought.

Madel once again lamented over how Gareth had ignored Lydia’s words and had spit out frightening threats instead. Overcome with her emotions, she began to beat the dough with more force.

“Still, I shouldn’t be rude to that woman,” Madel decided, thinking about Elena. Gareth had sided with Elena and taken her upstairs. They had not come down yet, which meant that Gareth was a little more fond of her than Lydia. “It won’t last long, though. Once the baby is born, Lord Gareth will come to his senses and realize that he was wrong and marry Princess Lydia. I’m sure of it.” Suddenly feeling less distressed, Madel continued to knead the dough with a pleasant expression.

By the time Elena came back to the kitchen, Madel and the maids were preparing for dinner. Elena kept her eyes on the floor as if she was embarrassed about something.

* * *

That night, Gareth quietly went down to the hall to look for Elena. He soon came upon her sleeping form lying on the cold floor. Standing close to the wall, Gareth watched her sleep for a while.

“You’re so stubborn,” he muttered to himself. He thought she would eventually come back to the room, but Elena had not come back even after midnight.

“Does it have to be like this? Can’t you just stay by my side like you’ve done until now?”

Gareth stayed with Elena for a little longer, since he couldn’t sleep well at night in the castle anyway. There was nothing he could do except endure the slow hours of darkness. Gareth leaned against the wall and sank down onto the floor next to Elena. The cold energy from the floor quickly spread throughout his body. He reached out and felt the floor where Elena laid, his fingers coming into contact with a thin blanket.

‘Damn it…’

* * *

The following morning was noisy as usual. Lydia continued to occupy Gareth’s side at the table, sitting like she was the queen of this castle. Gareth looked at Elena’s empty seat again, then turned to Lydia.

“I’ve never seen the king let you stay out of the capital for this long,” he commented.

“Really?” Lydia responded innocently.

“Have you ever been anywhere else besides here?”

Lydia realized what Gareth was asking at that moment.

“The king must be greatly obsessed with you, given that you’re 28 and still not married.”

Lydia’s chest tightened with anxiety. What Gareth was saying was true; she was 28 now and still single. It was because the king kept her in his grasp and would pick her brain for ideas to use for his schemes.

“So, what do you do for the king?”

“What are you saying, Gareth—”

“I asked what you do for the king. What’s making him hold onto you like this?”

Frankly, Lydia was taken aback. She was worried that Gareth had found out something about the king. However, she only forced a smile in return and leaned over to coquettishly whisper in Gareth’s ear when she saw Elena approaching the table to retrieve the empty plates.

“What would I be able to do as a woman? I just want to be a good wife and a good mother.”

Gareth glanced at Lydia with cold eyes and spat out, “Don’t test me if you want to stay here, Lydia.”

“I love you, Gareth,” Lydia whispered in an even sweeter voice.

“How dare a whore from the capital say such words! I’ll tell you that the child inside you is a bastard.”

At that moment, Gareth felt Elena’s hand rest on his shoulder. It was as if she was asking him to refrain from saying such harsh words. Gareth jumped out of his seat, unable to bear the annoying situation any longer.

* * *

Gareth’s interrogation resumed in the evening. “Who told you about me and where I was going?”

“That’s something everyone knows,” Lydia tensely responded, having trouble swallowing the meat served for dinner due to the fierce atmosphere surrounding them. “Why do you keep asking such things?”

“What do you mean something everyone knows? Who is it that knows when I return to my estate? Are you saying that they know everything? Have they planted a spy amongst my men?”

Lydia barely managed to swallow the meat, then opened her mouth. “I’ll excuse myself. I’m having cramps.” Gareth’s questions were very straightforward, and she was having trouble answering them properly.

Gareth smirked as he watched Lydia standing up. “Are you close to Logan as well?”

“Yes, as he’s my cousin.”

“More than the king?”

Lydia barely managed to smile and said, “No way. The king is my brother. It’s natural to love and trust my brother completely.”

Gareth pinned the tip of his knife to the table and spun it with the handle. He then gave a cold smirk and sneered, “That’s what the king said to Ethan as well. He said that he loved his half-brother, Ethan, the most.” Gareth then pointed to his ear and continued, “I have ears, too, Lydia.”

Ever since then, Lydia refrained from coming out of her room under the pretext of having cramps. But a strange rumor saying that Lydia had been locked up in her room started circulating.

* * *

For the next few days, Gareth had a hectic schedule. He and his men picked out some big trees to cut down and trimmed and sharpened the branches. They used small branches to section off the space needed to dig the moat and build the walls. Once Gareth had finished up the basic work, he trained his men to prevent their swordsmanship from becoming rusty. In the midst of everything, he constantly thought about Lydia, wondering if it was a coincidence for her to show up while he was becoming more certain of the king’s schemes.

‘Is the king trying to win me over to his side?’