CH 113

At that moment, the hall doors began to break open. Count Townsend straightened his back even more and glared at the cracks made on the door. ‘Forgive me, Elena, and please… please… be happy.’

The door opened up completely, and Logan’s knights came rushing in.

Clang!

The deafening sound of metal hitting metal filled the hall. Count Townsend frantically tried to fight the overwhelming number of knights.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Count Townsend felt his vision go black despite not having closed his eyes. With the sound of something breaking, his heart began to burn as if it was thrown into a fire pit. He began to feel something gushing out of him.

‘My beautiful daughters… Please be safe.’

* * *

Horrible screams reached the ears of William, Rowena, and Marina, who were running through the narrow passageway. Rowena could not stop crying, and suddenly, she felt that running away from everyone just for her own life was considered cowardly. She stopped running, thinking that if some people in her home were to die, she should die as well.

“Hurry, my lady. We must keep going,” William urged.

“I can’t do this. I need to go back to my father.”

“Rowena!” Marina shouted, clinging to her.

“You go with William, Marina. I’ll go back alone.”

At that moment, William lifted Rowena off the ground by the waist and hung her on his shoulder. He also grabbed Marina’s arm by force and said, “I’ll pay for this with my life later, but for now, I have to fulfill my final duty to protect both you and Lady Marina. So, please cooperate with me.”

Tears continuously fell from William’s eyes. He had been born and raised in the Townsend territory and also had been knighted here. He had defended this estate for all his life, and the place was filled with memories. Although Count Townsend had never been a good lord, Elena had filled his shortcomings.

‘Elena, my little lord. I don’t know how I can even inform you of this great sin…’

“William, let go of me. William!”

William did not even pretend to listen to the ladies’ cries. Shedding tears, he ran without looking back. Once he finally made it out of the secret passage and into the forest, he was greeted by an unfamiliar woman.

“I can’t believe you’ve done this,” she said, her voice condescending.

William quickly hid Rowena and Marina behind him and pulled out his sword.

“Don’t be foolish. This is probably why you’ve lived such a crappy life until now,” the lady continued, approaching them. The reddish sun colored the forest and lit the ground, its illumination even more intense on her.

“I’ve never seen a lord’s family so disrespected by their people. No one will come to save you. I wonder what you have to do to lose the people’s trust like this.”

The woman continued to approach William, the crimson dawn shining from behind her like a halo. William swallowed dryly, hugging Rowena and Marina’s shoulders.

“I don’t intend to kill you, but don’t make me angry. If you do, I might throw you all to Logan. And you know what he will do? He will rape the girls and throw them to his knights for them to do as they please. So, don’t make me angry.”

* * *

Elena woke up in the middle of the night gasping. Her heart was pounding uncontrollably, and cold sweat had drenched her whole body. It seemed that she had woken up from a nightmare. Elena took a deep breath, pressing down her quivering heart with one hand. Multiple similar episodes had happened ever since Gareth had left, continuously reminding her of the pain of waiting alone with one’s husband on the battlefield.

Once her harsh breathing became even, Elena got out of bed and pulled the blanket back. Her face darkened at an instant when she saw the ruddy color that had stained her lower body as well as the sheets.

“Oh, not again…” Elena wrapped her hands around her face. She had been suffering from bloody discharge for a while now, which—according to Madel—meant that her child had not settled properly inside her. Blaming herself for this unfortunate situation, Elena wrapped her hands around her belly.

“You can endure it. Please do.”