Chapter 3

"Father!" Cordelia said aloud. "Please punish her according to the rules of the House!"

Alistair was about to give the orders when Mathias suddenly said, "Wait."

Everyone in the family chapel turned silent and looked at him.

"It's bad luck to see blood before the wedding," Mathias said calmly. "Those are just mere jewelry. You may treat it as a gift to the women of the family from me."

Mathias was giving Alistair a chance to let this go. "You should thank His Highness for his generosity."

Seraphina bowed robotically to thank Mathias. "Thank you for your grace, Your Highness."

"No!" Cordelia refused to let this go. "We can't go against the rules of the House. She should at least be whipped 30 times as a warning to others!"

Mathias looked at Cordelia with adoration and said, "If that's what you wish, so be it."

With that, he turned to leave without another word.

Seraphina was forced to kneel as she was whipped in the back. When the first whip came down, she bit hard on her lip as she felt the burning sensation on her back, stubbornly refusing to utter any cries of pain.

As the second whip came down on her, her clothes ripped from where the whip landed. Seraphina clutched her sleeves, digging her nails deep into her palms.

"Five, six, seven…"

Seraphina's back was covered in chilling flesh wounds with blood all over them after suffering whip after whip. The blood from her back dripped to the ground, forming into a pool. She had become numb from the pain, and all she felt was cold.

She tried her best to open her eyes and saw Mathias' blurry figure covering Cordelia's eyes.

"Don't look." His gentle voice sounded sharp to her ear. "You'll have nightmares."

When the last whip landed on her back, Seraphina finally gave out. She fell unconscious to the ground.

When she woke up, her wounds had been bandaged, but it was done badly. She got up with difficulty and saw the two boxes of jewelry that caused the uproar at the end of her bed. There were two extra boxes next to them.

"His Highness sent them over, Ms. Montclair," a maid informed her after choosing her words carefully. "The boxes contain many high-quality medicines for your wounds as well."

Seraphina looked at the shiny jewelry and said hoarsely, "I don't want them. You may return all of them."

The maid hesitated before saying in a low voice, "His Highness knows that you're hurt and got the royal physician to take a look at your wounds. He has asked that you visit his chambers for the treatment."

"No need." Seraphina shook her head. "It's difficult for me to move right now, so I'll have to decline the offer. Such exquisite items that belong to high society are not for an illegitimate daughter like me to enjoy."

The maid tried to convince Seraphina otherwise, but Seraphina was determined, and she had no choice but to sigh and leave with all the boxes.

Seraphina stayed in her room to recuperate for the next few days. When it was late at night, she would hear light movement in the secret passage, and she knew it was Mathias waiting for her. Even so, she pretended not to hear anything and ignored it.

This continued until Seraphina heard that Mireille had gotten sick. She forced herself to get out of bed to pray for her mother in a church outside the city, but after she was done praying, she unexpectedly bumped into Mathias and Cordelia under the tree outside the church.

"You're both a match made in heaven, and I'm sure you'll grow old together," a clergyman from the church gave them his blessing as he handed them a blessed rosary.

Cordelia leaned against Mathias' shoulder shyly as Mathias placed the rosary in her hand.

Serahina turned to leave quietly, but when she got to the stairs of the church, someone grabbed her by the wrist. She looked up and met Mathias' deep eyes.

"Why didn't you come the last few days?" He spoke unhappily in a whisper. "Are you throwing a tantrum with me?"