CH 138

‘Captain…’ Hansen lamented as he exhaled heavily at the sight of his comrades who seemed to have made up their minds to die for Gareth’s sake. ‘I’ll do so as well,’ he decided.

Hansen was about to jump off his horse in haste when Elena spoke softly, “Please help me down, Hansen.”

Stunned, Hansen shook his head. “I can’t do that, Madam. I’ve never seen him like that before. Please return to the castle.”

Elena held Hansen’s hand in hers and spoke with an even more gentle tone, “Hansen, help me down. I need to talk to Gareth.”

“He won’t recognize you, Madam.”

Gareth had gone berserk, having completely lost all sense of reason. Hansen desperately tried to send Elena back, but the woman slid down from the high warhorse without waiting any longer. Hansen managed to reach out and hold her hand so that she wouldn’t fall.

“Don’t stand in my way,” Elena ordered. Although her voice was tender as usual, her firm manner of speaking made it impossible for Hansen to resist her command. Elena soon regained balance and stood upright, her confident aura prompting Hansen to step aside without realizing it. The woman then took a step forward and began to approach Gareth.

It was Giggs who noticed Elena first. “Madam!” he yelled, trying to get out of the dangerous range where Gareth could attack him so that he could protect Elena. However, Gareth’s sword soon blocked him.

“It’s Madam, Boss,” Giggs said, but it seemed that Gareth couldn’t hear him. The man possessed a blank expression, making it seem like he was devoid of life. Realizing how perilous the situation was, Giggs shouted as Elena got closer, “Not now! Don’t come any nearer! He doesn’t recognize anyone right now! You must leave!”

Nevertheless, Elena paid no attention to Giggs’ warnings. Observing her husband who seemed to have lost himself, she continued to approach Gareth. At that instant, Giggs met Gareth’s chilling gaze and saw that his boss was taken aback. Giggs listened to his instincts and took the chance to quickly escape from Gareth’s sword that was threatening him, exposing Elena to the sharp weapon.

‘Damn it!’ Giggs tried to grab Elena in a hurry, then he froze in place when he saw that Gareth’s sword had stopped in midair.

“Gareth,” Elena whispered as she slowly approached the frenzied man, looking into his lifeless eyes. “It’s me, Elena.”

Giggs’ heart pounded uncontrollably as if to burst. Witnessing the frightening sight in front of him almost made him faint. Giggs shot his eyes open when Gareth’s hand that was frozen in midair slowly started moving downward.

“I’m here, Gareth. I’m fine.” Approaching the man who was rooted to the ground, Elena raised her hand and gently stroked Gareth’s face. Blinking, Gareth raised his left hand and felt her face.

In an instant, Elena’s eyes reddened and welled up with hot tears. “Can you feel me?” she whispered, wetting Gareth’s hand with teardrops.

Clang!

Gareth’s let go of his blood-stained sword, letting it fall to the ground. He then stroked Elena’s face with both hands, slowly feeling every feature—her eyebrows, eyes, nose, and mouth. Moving his hands lower, he felt her shoulders.

Elena continued to caress Gareth’s face in response while he checked that she was indeed his wife. After the tense, stifling atmosphere had passed, she realized that hot tears were falling from Gareth’s eyes.

“Elena…” he sighed.

“Yes, Gareth. It’s me, your Elena.”

Gareth felt his vision gradually clear up. His closed ears also opened, allowing him to listen to his surroundings. He could feel that his once-stopped heart was beating again. Gareth sobbed uncontrollably as he hugged Elena dearly, unable to believe that she had come back to him alive.