CH 114

No one could deny that Elena’s body had already endured a lot of stress. Not only had she been physically exhausted, but she had been mentally worn out as well. Elena was feeling sorry for her child, who was desperately struggling to survive in her unhealthy body, when she heard the door open.

“Are you up, Madam?” Madel asked with a bright voice as she entered the room.

Having sat down on the bed again, Elena said, “Help me, Madel.”

Realizing that Elena’s voice was trembling, Madel quickly ran to the bed. “Oh, my goodness,” she exclaimed quietly as she took in the sight of Elena’s lower body soaked with blood. ‘How many times has it been already…?’ Madel wondered, then started blaming herself for Elena’s condition. ‘It’s because I didn’t properly take care of Madam until now… She had to suffer because of me…’

At that moment, Elena muttered, “I don’t know what to do. I’ve been spending most of my days in bed lately…”

“It’s all my fault, Madam. It’s all my fault,” Madel apologized with tears in her eyes as she began cleaning up. Elena watched Madel for a moment, then she began to think about Gareth.

‘If Gareth finds out about this, he’ll blame himself, too. If he finds out…’

Elena spoke quietly, soothing her bewildered thoughts. “I’ll be fine. Just bring me some new clothes and sheets.”

‘If I end up miscarrying this child, it’ll bring a difficult time for everyone, especially Gareth. Madel’s already crying… I must not cause another tragedy. Please hang in there, little one. We can get through this together,’ Elena thought as she held back her tears.

* * *

Act 11.

Gareth spurred his horse, running day and night to the Townsend estate. He planned to stay at the estate until the storm moved away from it. The unending march to the count’s estate dehydrated him, burning his mouth and throat. Nevertheless, he continued.

When he finally arrived at the Townsend estate, Gareth was faced with devastation. He entered the hall filled with the stench of rotting bodies through the broken doors. As Gareth stood amid the corpses, Giggs quickly ran in with the rest of his men, and Hansen left the castle to search for witnesses.

“We’ll check,” Giggs said.

Gareth observed the situation before him with narrowed eyes. His oath had been broken thoroughly. The people here were not only Elena’s family but his as well. Gareth clenched his fists, cracking his knuckles in the process. Soon, Giggs approached him.

“Report what you know,” Gareth muttered.

Giggs gulped dryly when he saw Gareth’s hands fiddling incessantly with his scabbard. It was a sign that his boss was not just angry but infuriated. Giggs inhaled deeply and opened his mouth, forcefully putting on an indifferent expression. He began to report the number of dead and the missing.

“You don’t see Rowena and Marina?” Gareth interrupted him in the middle of his report.

“I can’t find them no matter how hard I look.”

“You said William wasn’t here, either, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

Gareth closed his eyes and thought for a moment. ‘Elena’s beloved family. The knights, soldiers, and even Count Townsend are dead. But William and Elena’s sisters are not here? Did they escape by any chance?’

At that moment, Hansen returned and reported, “It’s Logan. A surviving villager told me that he raided this place at dawn and went through the villages to attack the castle right away.”

“Did that villager see Logan drag women away?”

“No, he said they just attacked the castle and walked away.”

Gareth started fiddling with his scabbard again.

“I think William escaped with the two ladies! There’s something here,” Giggs shouted at that moment, groping for something on the wall.

Gareth turned his head to where Giggs stood and quickly noticed that there was a secret passage.

Giggs and Gote soon opened the stone gate, revealing a long passageway. Gareth walked through the narrow aisle with his men, carefully observing his surroundings until he reached the woods.

“I also think William has escaped,” Gareth agreed.