A Barbaric Proposal Chapter 88

※Something Left Behind※

[Liene] "That makes no sense. Why would she go to such a dangerous place? There are plenty of people there who still bear a grudge against her."

The news was baffling. Liene couldn't wrap her head around it.

[Black] "It’s only a hunch, but I can’t think of anywhere else she’d go. If she really is at the Kleinfelter estate, we don’t need to worry too much. Fermos is already there."

[Liene] "She worked there for so long... maybe she left something behind."

[Black] "Perhaps."

[Liene] "..."

The thought hung heavy in the air. If there was something she had to retrieve—something she had kept secret until now—it meant a piece of the past was still haunting her.

[Liene] "I’m coming with you."

Liene felt a knot of anxiety tighten in her chest.

Madam Henton was only beginning to claw her way out of her grief. If she were forced to face those scars again, Liene didn't know if the woman would survive it.

[Black] "I don't think that’s a good idea. Riding a horse will only make your back ache more."

[Liene] "It’s not that bad."

Black arched a skeptical eyebrow, his gaze lingering on her.

Liene shook her head firmly.

[Liene] "If something has happened to her, I need to know."

[Black] "Fine. But promise me one thing: when we get back, you’re allowed to complain about the soreness as much as you want."

[Liene] "That’s an odd thing to say... Considering you were the one ignoring my complaints just a moment ago."

[Black] "That’s exactly why you should do it. So I don’t lose my self-control and do the same thing again."

Madam Flambard hadn't been in the room for the earlier "festivities," but she was astute enough to catch the drift of their conversation.

[Flambard] "I will personally see to it that Her Highness does not overexert herself. For now, we must move."

And so, Madam Flambard joined the party heading toward the Kleinfelter estate, while the castle guards began a systematic search of the grounds.

---

[Fermos] "Ugh... I thought we agreed you were staying behind?"

They arrived just in time. Fermos and his men had only just succeeded in splintering the massive front gates when Black and Liene pulled up.

[Black] "Plans changed. Any resistance?"

[Fermos] "Yes. For some reason, they refuse to open up. Things might get a bit messy if we force our way in."

[Black] "Which only proves they have something worth hiding."

Liene and Madam Flambard exchanged worried glances, their faces pale.

[Liene] "Fermos, have you seen Madam Henton?"

[Fermos] "Hm? What was that, Your Highness? Madam Henton?"

[Liene] "So you haven't seen her. That means either she isn't here, or she found a way inside without being noticed."

The thought was chilling. Madam Henton could be anywhere inside that silent, fortress-like manor.

[Fermos] "If that’s true, this just got complicated. They might try to use her as a hostage. Is that why they're holding out?"

[Black] "Don't jump to conclusions. It might not be the Madam they're hiding. That family had plenty of skeletons in their closet."

[Fermos] "True enough. Priority is getting those doors open. If they have a hostage, they’ll try to bargain soon enough. We’ll deal with it then."

Before he could finish, Klima came sprinting toward them, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

[Klima] "My... my mother is in there? Why? How?"

He looked completely blindsided by the news of her disappearance.

[Liene] "We aren't certain yet, Klima. The guards are searching elsewhere as well. Try to stay calm."

[Klima] "But... inside there... why would she..."

Despite his hulking frame, Klima looked small as he paced.

Now that the shadows had lifted from his face, his natural kindness was plain to see. He looked like a completely different man from the hunched, miserable soul Liene had first met.

To think a man like this lived such a life... It’s barbaric.

The weight of the past pricked at Liene’s heart again. She reached out and patted Klima’s arm.

[Liene] "It’s going to be alright. It has to be."

She wouldn't let the past bleed into the present ever again. She wouldn't allow it.

[Klima] "If... if my mother is really in there, she probably used 'the path.'"

[Liene] "The path? You mean a secret entrance?"

[Klima] "Yes. The one I used... when I ran errands. She knows it too."

[Liene] "Oh..."

[Klima] "But it’s narrow. You have to go one by one... and keep your head low."

Fermos’ eyes lit up with sudden interest.

[Fermos] "What? If you knew about a secret entrance, you should have led with that!"

[Klima] "Nobody asked..."

[Fermos] "Because we didn't know it existed! Fine, we’ll use the path. We’ll keep their attention on the front gates while a team slips inside. My Lord, will you lead them?"

[Black] "No. Send Randall."

Fermos blinked, clearly surprised.

[Fermos] "Unexpected. I thought for sure you’d want to go yourself... Ah, I see. The Princess. Understood."

Liene caught Black’s sleeve, her eyes pleading.

[Liene] "Let me go too. If it means finding her faster—"

[Black] "Absolutely not. This is exactly why I said I was staying behind. It’s out of the question."

[Liene] "It won't be dangerous if you’re with me."

[Black] "Even if there were ten of me, it wouldn't matter. Not until we know what’s waiting on the other side of those walls."

[Liene] "But—"

Fermos rolled his eyes at their bickering, while Madam Flambard gave a knowing nod.

[Fermos] "I’ll send Randall. Let’s not waste time arguing. It was my fault for asking in the first place."

Randall and three other mercenaries followed Klima toward the secret entrance.

What they found inside was a hollow, tomb-like silence.

Madam Henton was found in a room in the annex, slumped on the floor in a pool of her own blood.

---

[Liene] "Madam? Madam, can you hear me? Please, wake up!"

[Henton] "...Prin...cess?"

It took half a day back at the castle for Madam Henton to finally drift back to consciousness.

[Liene] "Oh, thank goodness..."

Seeing the woman open her eyes, Liene sank to the floor in sheer exhaustion.

Across the bed, Klima held his mother’s hand, tears streaming silently down his face.

[Flambard] "Oh, heavens!"

Madam Flambard, who had been bringing in a fresh pitcher of water, rushed to Liene’s side. True to her nature, she didn't spill a single drop despite her haste.

[Flambard] "She’s awake! She’s finally awake!"

In her excitement to help Liene up and check on her friend, the unflappable Madam Flambard finally lost her footing and upended the pitcher.

[Flambard] "Oh, blast it!"

Water soaked the floor, drenching the hems of their skirts.

Usually, the Madam would have cleaned the mess with surgical precision, but now she just hovered there, looking uncharacteristically frazzled.

[Henton] "Stop fussing... and hold the pitcher properly. I’m not dead yet."

Ironically, the woman who had just stared death in the face seemed the most composed of them all.

Once they regained their senses, Liene and Madam Flambard tidied the room and called for the physician.

In this case, the physician was Fermos. He claimed to know more about stab wounds than any physician in Nauk.

[Fermos] "Move your hands, lad."

He nudged Klima, who was still gripping his mother’s hand like a weeping statue.

[Fermos] "I told you she’d pull through. Just let go and give us some space. I can't work with a mountain hovering over me."

[Klima] "..."

Klima reluctantly pulled away. He was now the sole apprentice of the Arsak Guardian Knights. He’d told them he wanted to protect people instead of killing them.

There had been some friction about him serving the Arsak line, but he’d eventually found his place within the Tiwakan.

Tiwakan were thrilled to have their first apprentice. If anything, they were a bit too enthusiastic about his training.

Because of his grueling schedule, Klima had been completely unaware of his mother’s distress.

That guilt would likely weigh on him for a long time.

[Fermos] "Let’s have a look, Madam. It was here, wasn't it?"

With practiced ease, Fermos unraveled the bandages to inspect the wound.

The blade had slipped between her left ribs; an inch in either direction, and she would have been a corpse.

[Fermos] "The cut is clean but deep. This wasn't done with a kitchen knife. It was a well-honed blade. Was it a soldier?"

[Henton] "..."

Madam Henton’s face clouded over. She looked like someone who wanted to speak but found the words stuck in her throat.

[Fermos] "I’m only asking because I suspect the answer. If you don't feel like talking, don't. Either way, you were lucky. The wound is clean, and the disinfection took place. All that’s left is for you to be lazy and take your medicine. Stay put for a month, and you’ll be as good as new."

It was a massive relief. After confirming there was no infection, Fermos reapplied the salve and re-bandaged her.

[Fermos] "That’s plenty of ointment. We’ll change it again in two days. To keep the wound from reopening, don't laugh too hard and make sure you sleep flat on your back. Understood?"

[Henton] "The... room..."

[Liene] "Madam? What was that?"

[Henton] "The room where I was stabbed... it was his room."

[Liene] "His? Whose room?"

The Madam’s eyes snapped open. The pain of her injury seemed to burn in her gaze.

[Henton] "That man... Ternan Kleinfelter."

---

Ternan Kleinfelter had been the head of the house twenty-one years ago.

His death had been sudden. His eldest son—Laffit’s father and the heir—had died around the same time.

Everything had aligned perfectly with the rebellion two decades ago. It was too clean to be a coincidence.

[Henton] "In that house... I was tasked with caring for the man who refused to die."

Ternan Kleinfelter wasn't dead. He had suffered a massive stroke. The only thing he could move were his eyes.

[Henton] "Because the head of the house had fallen so ill, they chose to tell the world he was dead instead."

Today, it would be called an illness. Back then, a mysterious ailment was seen as a divine curse. No noble family wanted their name associated with a curse.

[Henton] "For twenty years, I fed, clothed, and washed a slab of meat."

Madam Henton had never forgotten he was her enemy. But the surveillance was too tight for her to act.

For two decades, the only rebellion she could manage was secretly dumping his medicine or mixing in things he shouldn't eat.

[Henton] "He was so stubborn. He was still breathing when I left that house. The reason I went back today..."

Her face contorted with bitterness.

[Henton] "I thought I should finish it with my own hands."

Ternan hadn't been the one who personally beheaded her husband. He hadn't personally pierced her second son’s heart or held her eldest child hostage.

But she needed someone to blame. Someone to hate.

That person was Ternan.

[Henton] "I went there to kill him. But... he was awake. He was leaning on a cane, but he was standing on his own two feet... glaring at me."

The butler assisting Ternan had ordered a soldier to kill her. As she collapsed from the blade, the last thing she saw was Ternan’s back as he walked away.

That was her greatest regret—letting her enemy escape while she lay helpless.

That was why the mansion was empty. Once Ternan regained his mobility, he must have scrambled to gather the remaining assets and fled.

Just as Nauk Castle had its secret tunnels, so did the Kleinfelter estate.

He had vanished into the shadows, right under the Tiwakan’s nose.

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