CH 76

Elena couldn’t help but respond angrily. She, in fact, hated Lydia and was only being considerate towards her because she was pregnant. Even so, she couldn’t help but notice what a horrible woman Lydia was, having known all of Gareth’ painful past and his guilt about Adelia and using them to her advantage.

“Everyone heard what she just said to me, right? I’m leaving because of you, Elena, before you decide to poison my food.”

“Stop talking nonsense,” Elena hissed.

Lydia exhaled with difficulty and clutched her stomach tighter as the pain began to intensify. ‘It’s starting…’ she thought. Although it was a shame that the thing inside her had missed the timing to pour out in front of Gareth, Lydia decided to be satisfied with the witnesses around her.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?” Madel approached with a worrisome expression as she tried to support Lydia.

Unable to tolerate the pain any longer, Lydia ended up slapping Madel roughly on the cheek. “How dare you place your dirty hands on me!” she shrieked.

Madel was appalled by the sudden slap and staggered backwards. Elena quickly stepped forward, stood in front of Madel, and said, “You better change the way you think first if you want to give birth to a nice child. Those who treat others recklessly will eventually pay for what they have done.”

Lydia could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks now. The abortion medicine she had taken earlier was surely working. Struggling to endure the pain, Lydia wobbled out of the room as she had planned to.

“Since you’re in extreme discomfort, it’d be better for you to take care of yourself first before leaving,” Elena added, feeling uneasy about Lydia’s unsteady legs. She then approached Lydia to support her, telling herself that it wasn’t sympathy, but that she simply didn’t want to see anything terrible happen in front of her.

Lydia, who had barely arrived at the staircase, swung her hand at Elena’s face when she reached out to help her and shouted, “Don’t touch me! This is all because of you, Elena!”

Elena instinctively dodged Lydia’s hand, causing her to sway in front of the steps.

“Princess Lydia—” Elena began. However, Lydia screamed and rolled down the stairs without even having the chance to hold onto the ledges.

Act 8.

Gareth had stayed at the annex with Giggs and the rest of his men until late night, planning for the hunt at dawn. Now that he was sure, Gareth felt that he had to move faster, and the first thing he had to do was complete the protection measures for his estate.

Gareth finally entered the hall long after the moon had risen to realize that the place was strangely silent. At that moment, he could hear the sound of a woman groaning in pain. His heart naturally sank. Gareth walked around quickly, looking for the source of the sound.

“Elena!” he shouted. However, no one answered. Gareth called Elena’s name again and went into the kitchen to look for her.

“Elena, answer me! Are you alright?” he yelled as he entered the empty kitchen. He could hear the mourning again, which prompted his heart to start beating out of control. He couldn’t believe he was hearing the groans of pain of a woman again in this castle.

“Elena!” Gareth shouted again as his eyes shook uneasily, then dashed up to the second floor. He had not been able to realize that the stairs and the hallway of the second floor had been stained with blood as he was in a hurry. When he finally swung open the door to the room where the sound was coming from, he froze in place. Madel and Elena were standing by the bed with Lydia lying in it.

“You have to push more for your baby to make its way out,” Elena spoke calmly. Gareth became a little relieved when he heard Elena’s comforting voice and saw her face, but the feeling didn’t last long, as he suddenly realized that the room was filled with the stench of blood and groaning sounds coming from the bed.

“You must leave the room, my lord. You shouldn’t be here,” a maid said.