CH 107

Realizing this, Lydia soon devised an elaborate plan to carry out after the war. “Logan, I need to let you know that it’s not guaranteed that you’ll have Elena by your side once you’re king,” she stated, then watched as Logan’s expression crumpled once again.

‘Lunatic,’ she thought.

“How come, Lydia? Surely you can pull off something like that?” Logan asked in confusion.

“I don’t think Gareth will let her go. You know how cruel he is; he might even kill Elena with his own hands before you take her away from him.”

This time, Logan’s face turned white. He was still very afraid of Gareth, to the point that he hadn’t attacked the Townsend estate even once after hearing Gareth’s oath. The man was filled with blind love for Elena and blind fear of Gareth, but wasn’t decisive enough to do anything. Lydia let Logan mull over her words for a moment, letting him think of a scenario where he might lose Elena forever. She then waited for him to cling to her once again for an answer.

As expected, Logan spoke again in a quiet voice before long. “I think there will be a way… My wise and clever cousin will find a way for me, won’t she?”

Lydia shook her head in a firm manner. To her reaction, Logan clung to her even more. After a while of coaxing, Lydia finally opened her mouth, pretending as if she couldn’t help it. “Well, there is a way, but I don’t know if you can do it.”

“Say it. I’ll do anything.”

“Attack the Townsend estate and exterminate them if you can,” Lydia whispered in an evil voice.

Logan gasped and looked at Lydia, shuddering without realizing it. “G-Gareth is p-protecting that estate right now—”

“He can’t attack us even if the Townsend estate were to become exterminated. If he does, he would naturally be siding with the king,” Lydia explained with a relaxed smile.

“Doesn’t that mean we should not be doing that?”

Lydia’s smile turned into a merciless one. “No, not at all. Gareth has a clear reason to side against the king, so even if you hit Townsend estate, he has no choice but to remain neutral until the end,” she whispered.

Logan’s face brightened at her words.

“But Count Townsend’s two daughters must be kept alive,” Lydia added.

“How so? You just told me to kill them all.”

Lydia laughed at her oblivious cousin and explained, “They’re the bait. They will be the reason why Elena will give in to you and become yours.”

Logan nodded his head vigorously, then quickly left the room saying that he needed to get ready right away to launch the attack on Townsend estate. Once the door closed, Lydia murmured to herself, “Gareth will never attack us, but he will surely kill you, Logan. He’s a man who cannot stand breaking his vows. You’ll only escape from him once you’re dead. I’ll lead our troops to the capital instead of you, my dear cousin. From now on, I won’t rely on foolish men any longer.”

Act 10.

With teary eyes, Elena looked down at William, who was kneeling in front of her. William had arrived at Gareth’s estate to deliver a lengthy letter from her younger sister, Rowena.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Elena asked, “Is everyone doing well, William?”

“Yes, my lady. Everyone has been fine, since Logan is no longer attacking us.”

Realizing the power of Gareth’s oath, Elena suddenly felt proud of what she had done. She smiled gently and said, “Here, give the letter to me.”

William lifted himself up from the ground and held out Rowena’s letter to her. Elena began reading the letter right away, taking in Rowena’s feminine handwriting pressed onto the rough parchment. Her eyes naturally reddened while reading, and the longing that was buried deep in her heart flowed out of her as tears.

In the letter, Rowena explained the current situation briefly, but with affection. It was as if she had written it to satisfy Elena’s curiosity of what was happening back home. Elena’s heart ached when she read that her father would sometimes look at her room with a regretful expression. She knew that her father would regret his decision; he just didn’t express it with words. The fact that he had sent out William, the chief of the Townsend knights, all the way here was proof enough that he was grieving over her absence.