Chapter 3

For a moment, I thought I'd heard him wrong.

"W-What did you say?" Before he could say another word, I screamed, "Dream on! Gideon Hale, Amelia is your daughter! You want to hurt her to save that bastard?"

"He isn't a bastard!" he shouted before realizing something was wrong.

His tone quickly softened again. "Clara has already accepted Arthur as her own son. You two have always been so close. Can you really bear to make her suffer because of this?

"Besides, if it hadn't been for her during the battle last month, I'd already be dead. We only need a little of our daughter's blood. Consider it repayment for saving my life. You can't even agree to that?"

I kept shaking my head. My eyes reddened again as I listened to his lies. "As long as I'm alive, you won't lay a finger on Amelia."

Gideon sighed, then turned and waved his hand.

The guards behind him immediately stepped forward.

"What are you doing?"

Margaret and I rushed to stop them, only for the guards to shove us to the ground again.

Another warm stream spread beneath me as blood soaked through my skirt.

"My Lady! My Lady!" Margaret screamed. She rushed over to help me up, but I shook off her hand and crawled forward.

My fingernails dug into the cracks between the floorboards until they broke, but I couldn't feel the pain.

"Penelope... Penelope, stop making a fuss!" The sight of me frightened Gideon, and his voice trembled. "Physician! Get the physician!"

By then, the guards had already picked Amelia up. One of them drew a dagger and pressed it against her delicate arm.

"No!" A dull pain seized my heart, and I spat out a large mouthful of blood.

Gideon's eyes reddened, and he immediately ordered them to stop.

Just then, Clara rushed in with Arthur in her arms. Her voice choked with tears. "Gideon... Gideon, Arthur isn't going to make it!"

"Quick! Take the blood!" he ordered without hesitation, then hurried to Clara's side.

I could only watch as bright red blood trickled from Amelia's tiny wrist. All the strength drained from my body.

"Gideon, she's your daughter!"

He remained unmoved. Only after he made sure Arthur had taken the blood and recovered did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Only then did Clara remember me and come over to help.

I shoved her away, and she burst into tears again. "I remember my aunt suffered from a heart condition too. Penelope, you must know how to care for someone with a heart condition. Please, I'm begging you. Take good care of Arthur, will you?"

Gideon remembered this as well and immediately agreed. "Arthur is in your care. I'll take Amelia away. If he doesn't get better, we'll take more blood. You wouldn't want to see that happen, would you?"

His words made every hair on my body stand on end.

I didn't even know how my daughter had died in my previous life. If Amelia fell into their hands again, would she have any chance of surviving?

"No! Don't take Amelia away! Don't—" Before I could finish, the pain intensified until I lost consciousness.

…

When I woke again, Arthur was lying beside me.

Margaret helped me sit up. Tears filled her eyes as she fed me medicine. "My Lady, you haven't even finished your confinement yet. You can't keep pushing yourself like this."

I pushed the medicine away, tears streaming down my face.

Only one thought consumed me: Amelia.

I was terrified that the next time I saw her, she would be nothing more than a lifeless corpse.

My heart twisted with pain as I grabbed Margaret's hand. "Margaret, there will be many people at the victory banquet three days from now. Take Arthur and leave.

"I'll go find Amelia myself. As long as we have Arthur, they won't dare hurt Amelia."

Margaret considered my words for a moment before nodding in agreement.

…

On the day of the victory banquet, before dawn, I escorted Margaret out through the side gate.

I reminded her of everything again and again. Unease gnawed at my heart, and I could only pray that nothing would go wrong.

Afterward, I carefully searched every corner of the estate for any sign of Amelia.

But when I finally reached the banquet hall and saw what was happening inside, the blood in my veins turned to ice.