CH 92

Madel approached Giggs, who had returned to the castle for lunch after finishing up his strenuous training.

“What do you want, fatty?” Giggs spat out. Ever since the incident that had happened with Elena, he had been treating Madel and the maids with more disrespect than usual. Almost every sentence he would say to them contained an insult.

Madel’s expression distorted from regret.

“What’s that look? Do you think I’m being harsh? I’m nothing compared to what you all have done. What a bunch of nasty women. I swear I’ll twist all of your heads one day.”

Madel silently accepted his criticism, since Giggs’ words were right. She had left the rumors unattended, and worse, had spread it to others. She had defended Lydia under the pretense of wanting the best for her lord, and disobeyed Elena. Madel only realized that she had been wrong after what had happened to Elena. She realized that she shouldn’t have let Elena suffer like that if she cared about her lord. At the very least, she shouldn’t have let the rumors get out of control.

Madel quietly waited until Giggs stopped swearing at her. It wasn’t long before Giggs closed his mouth as if he had grown tired of talking. Taking the chance, Madel spoke quietly, “I have a favor to ask of you, Giggs.”

Giggs’ face crumpled at the word ‘favor.’ “Why would I do a favor for a narrow-minded woman like you?” he complained, then yelled, “Get out of my face!” He then spat on the floor and began to stride out of the hall.

However, Madel clung to his sleeve and insisted, “Giggs, please, listen to me just once.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Giggs violently shook her off, slightly taken aback since Madel had never done such a thing before.

Nevertheless, Madel clung to him again and spoke as earnestly as she could. “I won’t ask for something like this again, so please listen.”

Giggs glanced at Madel’s pleading expression. He thought of brushing her off again, but remembered that she once used to be Gareth’s nanny. Pretending that he had no choice, he followed Madel into the corner of the hall. “You better make it quick,” he urged her.

Madel began to tell Giggs the things that had been haunting her while Elena had been ill. “The baby…”

Giggs’ expression distorted violently at that moment. Realizing the sudden change in the bear-like man’s appearance, Madel hurriedly continued, “It’s been bothering me, no matter how much I try to make sense of it. Madam had noticed something strange as well back then and now that I’m thinking about it again, I don’t think it was Princess Lydia’s baby.”

Giggs opened his mouth wide in astonishment, then asked, “What do you mean?”

“It was too small. If the baby was indeed seven months old, she should have been this big,” Madel explained as she held her palm out and showed that the baby should have been at least two handspans bigger than her hand. “But it was only this big…” she said as she pointed a little below the tip of her fingers. She recalled back to the tiny fetus again. She hadn’t thought much of its size at the time given the situation. In fact, she didn’t even want to think about the size, since she was feeling pitiful for her lord. She had believed that it would make her lord more at ease to conclude the situation without any more questions, since the baby had already passed away.

“So, you’re saying that redhead tricked us?”

Madel looked up at Giggs in surprise. ‘Was he always so quick to pick up on things?’

“Why are you looking at me like that? Do you know how quick-witted you have to be to survive in battles? Anyway, so what do you want me to do? You want me to dig up the dead baby and check it out?”