Elvira froze.
He still loved Isabeau. Soon, she would be brought back to the palace. Why… then… was he trapping her?
She lowered her eyes, speaking softly, “I wouldn’t dare.”
Alistair gazed at her pale face and frail form, frowning deeply. “Now that you have recovered, from this day forward, you will attend to me day and night.”
In the days that followed, Alistair began to express dissatisfaction with his meals again.
The royal kitchens sent various nourishing dishes, but he would only taste a bite before dismissing them, saying, “Disgusting. I’ll have you finish it.”
Elvira, under his watchful eyes, was forced to eat those dishes, one bite after another.
Slowly, her body began to recover.
During a hunting trip in the autumn, Alistair insisted on having Elvira accompany him.
In the hunting field, Isabeau rode alongside the Fourth Prince, and Alistair’s eyes darkened. He roughly pulled Elvira onto his horse.
“Ah!” Elvira cried out in surprise.
“Be silent!” He gripped her waist tightly and whispered coldly in her ear, “You and Isabeau are sisters, are you not? She is not as cowardly as you. If you speak again, I will throw you off this horse and let the beasts trample you to death!”
Elvira bit her lip tightly, closing her eyes, not daring to look.
Alistair snorted and proceeded to hunt down several creatures.
Suddenly, dozens of men in black appeared from the woods!
“Protect the King!”
The guards drew their swords and engaged in battle.
In the ensuing chaos, Elvira and Isabeau were both captured.
When Elvira regained consciousness, she found herself at the edge of a cliff.
The kidnappers sneered, pressing their knives against Elvira and Isabeau’s throats. “Alistair! You killed my family, and today I will make you suffer the loss of the two women you love most!”
Alistair’s cold gaze met theirs, and then he laughed.
“The two women I love most? The duchess is another man’s used goods.” His gaze slid to Elvira. “But her…she’s mine by right of conquest. Keep the duchess. Return what’s mine.”
Elvira’s pupils shrank.
He… chose her?
But it was in this moment.
He knew that the one the kidnappers would kill was the woman he truly loved.
So, he lied and sacrificed her, all to protect Isabeau…
The kidnappers laughed maniacally. “Good! Then I will take her to the grave, and you will suffer forever!”
Before Elvira could fully comprehend, the kidnapper released Isabeau and dragged Elvira, leaping off the cliff!
At the moment of the fall, Elvira vaguely saw the furious expression on Alistair’s face.
He seemed to be shouting something…
But she could no longer hear him.
Elvira felt her bones shattering as she plummeted.
She thought she was certain to die.
Cold river water flooded her mouth and nose, and the pain consumed her. She sank deeper into the darkness, feeling as though she would never reach the
Chapter 5
