The duke glanced at her question. Soon, the soldiers brought the boy. The boyâs face was covered with bruises. His eyes were red as if he cried.
âSis! Did you read my letter correctly? I warned you! Why did you come here! â The boy with tears in his eyes shouted at her. âDidnât decipher my clue? I told you not to go buy blue hydrangeas. As I felt ominous, I warned you not to come. Oh my God, you are driving me nuts!â
The boy tried to talk to her boastfully as usual, but he couldnât hide his voice trembling from fear.
âBenfork, shut up.â When she rebuked him coldly, he shut up, closing his lips tight. âSince I am here, please set him free.â
The duke nodded at Wendyâs words.
âYeah, I have no intention of killing this young boy.â
He nodded at the soldiers holding the boy. Then, one of them hit the back of Benfolkâs neck ruthlessly. Soon, the childâs body drooped. The soldiers left him on the grass.
âWhat did you do to him?â Wendy shouted.
âDonât be surprised. I just made him go to sleep briefly. I donât want him to run away and tell people what he saw here.â
She stared at the duke. She got infuriated, but she couldnât figure out how to get out of this crisis. She tried to free her tied hands, but no matter how hard I tried, she couldnât move.
She could overcome the crises with the power of her index finger, but this time it was different. In the worst case, even if she was forced to use her index finger in front of them, it didnât seem easy. The only thing that touched the index finger of her right hand was her left hand. She was frustrated.
âYou know I almost missed your true colors,â he said casually.
As she looked at her with a perplexed expression, he shook his head and said, âIs it pumpkin mushroom? Wendy, I mean the mushrooms you grew on the prison wall.â
When he mentioned it unexpectedly, she held her breath. She wished she hadnât shown an embarrassed expression, but she couldnât control her rough breathing. How did that guy detect that! She opened her eyes glaringly.
âThe day when the princeâs palace collapsed⦠â He continued.
The wind from the river swept over their heads. Wendyâs hair scattered.
âI have already heard about everything about you. Was it ironwood? What a wonderful idea!ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âWhat the hell are youâ¦!â
âDid you believe that you could shut the mouths of those knights who you saved on that day?⦠How foolish is a human being? Why is everyone repeating the same mistake? They couldnât be more naive, â he said as if he felt they were pitiable
She felt her heart sinking. One of the knights who pledged an oath of silence on that day must have told the truth to the duke. She felt resentful towards the knight, but at the same time, she thought he did terrible things to the knight like he did to Benfork.
âDonât be so angry. He has already paid the price for betrayal.â
âWhat do you mean? What did you do to him? â Wendy asked in surprise.
The duke replied, as if it was funny, âCan you afford to worry about him in this situation? â¦He crossed a river that he could never come back. It was not an honorable death as a knight. â
Wendyâs shoulders trembled. She was scared about this man who talked about the knightâs murder so easily. The knight was killed for sharing Wendyâs secret with the duke. It was no longer important whether he revealed her secret for a reward or if he was forced to reveal under intimidation. He was already dead.
âHow could youâ¦â Wendy muttered blankly. She couldnât figure out what to do or how to do it.
She couldnât judge whether to accuse the man of killing a person so easily or deny what the dead knight had told him. Her breathing became even more rough.
She went through a myriad of things until now, but it was the first time someone died because of her. She could not easily overcome the shock that weighed heavily on her mind.
If she had experienced this several times, she would have always been in shock and suffered.
She felt fear now. Although she possessed a mysterious power that others did not have, she didnât have the power to stay aloof from everything.
âOh dear, it looks like you are shocked. Donât pity him too much. You, too, will cross the river of no return soon like he did. â
When he said that, Wendy raised her head sharply. She looked at the man with trembling eyes, but she sensed that he meant it. This guy intended to kill her.
âWhy are you doing this to me? â
âWell, the situation is too serious for me to let a threat like you persist.â
He came close to her and lowered her voice.
âYou are a threat to me. Itâs not good for others to know your power. I donât want to allow you to create any more unexpected situations. Iâm very curious what the origin of that power is. â
â⦠â
âIt would have been nice if you had been on my side from the beginning, but itâs already irreversible. Unfortunately, I canât help it.â
The man, who bowed to her with a polite gesture, turned away from her soon.
After that, a knight with a sword moved toward her. It was his bodyguard knight, Sir Burleigh. Her green eyes were terrified.
She instinctively stepped back towards Buttuwat River. However, there seemed to be no way for her to prevent his approach. He pulled out his sword with a shrill noise.
Her hair was standing upright. She couldnât make the horrifying sound signal the end of her life. She, who barely managed to control her shaking knees, tried as hard as to untie the rope that bound her wrists.
âWait, please wait!â
At that moment, a familiar voice was heard among those standing behind the duke.
A man among them stepped forward.
She confirmed the face of the man wearing thin silver armor. Her face turned white as if she couldnât believe it.
â⦠Earl Hazlet, whatâs going on? â
The duke asked Earl Hazellet seriously.
The earl wiped his sweaty forehead and turned his eyes toward the place where she was standing. He saw her stiffened as hard as a stone statue.
âSir, I donât know what crime that woman committed⦠but can you put off punishing her for a moment? â
He then checked the dukeâs countenance, smiling awkwardly.
She gnashed her teeth. She didnât expect Earl Hazlet to be there, but at the same time, she never thought that he came forward to save her. She couldnât believe that he was doing something good for her. Her heart, stricken with fear, pounded hard.
âWe canât delay anymore. Can you step back? â
The duke spoke gently, leaning forward slightly, but his eyes werenât really gentle.
There was coldness in his eyes staring at the earl. Of course, the earl must have sensed it.
He stuttered, wiping his dry lips, âI have some personal things to work out with that woman. Now, can you show some mercy on me? â
âAre you doing this because of Francis? I already promised to you. Donât worry. I canât accept your intervention anymore. So, step back. â
The duke turned his head away from him. She witnessed the dukeâs smiling turning cold as soon as he turned.
The earl was at a loss about what to do, as he could not speak or step back easily.
Several knights approached him and gestured to him to step back. He once saw her face in the distance and stepped back nervously.
She took her eyes off of him. She knew she couldnât expect any more from him.
The duke, who glanced at the knights quickly, shouted to them, âI think you are curious who this woman is.â
When they kept silent, he opened his mouth again. There was a smile on his lips.
âWendy Waltz, she is Lard Schroderâs lover.â
They looked at her all of a sudden when he said that. They examined her carefully.
âAlthough she was talked about a lot in the social circles, I hear nobody knew which family she was from. Do any of you know the status of this woman? â
He talked for a moment. Earl Hazlet blinked both eyes, not hiding his nervousness.
ââ¦She is a commoner. Do you know why Sir Schroder stood on the side of Emperor Isaac and supported his bill? â