Chapter 3

As soon as I returned home, a mug came flying straight at me. Warm blood trickled down along my brow, and the world before my eyes turned scarlet.

Father sat in the hall, his face ashen. "Get down on your knees!"

Mother then rushed forward, pointing at me and shouting until her voice cracked, "Val only went with Her Highness to try out the horses! How dare you harm him! Will you only be happy when you see him dead?"

I stood where I was, my back ramrod straight.

Then, Valerian, pale-faced, was helped in by Eleanor. "Mother, don't say that about Luke. He just couldn't bear to part with that horse, so he lost his head for a moment."

Eleanor's gaze swept across the blood covering my face, and she paused for an instant. But Valerian coughed lightly, and she immediately lowered her head and asked worriedly, "Are you still feeling unwell?"

Mother was heartbroken. When she looked at me again, only loathing remained in her eyes. Then, she barked at the servants, "What are you still standing there for? Get me the whip!"

Several servants rushed over and forcibly pressed me down onto a long bench. The whip whistled through the air and struck heavily across my back. Skin and flesh split open instantly.

I trembled all over from the pain, but I clenched my hands tight.

In my past life, I had blocked an assassin's attack and taken a poisoned blade for Eleanor. The wound had been deep enough to expose bone, but still I hadn't cried out. She held me and wept, "Luke, from now on, I will kill whoever dares to hurt you!"

After 30 lashes, the flesh on my back had already been flayed open.

Valerian finally spoke. "Mother, my wedding is the day after tomorrow. I want Luke to see me off. Stop whipping him."

Only then did Mother wave her hand to stop the servants. "Drag him into the cellar and see that he writes a hundred-page apology letter to Val. He doesn't get to come out until he completes it!"

The cellar was cold and damp. As I sat on a mat, my hand holding the quill shook so badly that I could barely grip it. With every single word I wrote, the wounds on my palm split open a little more. The parchment was soon soaked through with blood.

In the middle of the night, I developed a high fever. In my daze, I felt someone hold my hand and wipe the blood away from it.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Eleanor crouching in front of me. I yanked my hand back at once. "Your Highness, what are you doing here?"

She frowned. "Val has been pleading for you this whole time, so I have decided that after I marry him, I'll bring you into the palace as a male consort. Val's health is frail, so you can take care of the children in the future. That way, you can stay by my side, and Val will have his brother with him too."

A ringing filled my ears. In my past life, when my daughter was gravely ill, I wasn't allowed to visit her. Then, when my son began his education, the first name he wrote was Valerian's. And now, Eleanor was going to humiliate me like this again?

I trembled with rage and grabbed a stack of parchment to hurl at her.

But a voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Valerian stood at the door, his eyes red as he looked at us. "Luke, I'm not even married to Her Highness yet, and you're already so eager to seduce her?"

Then, more hurried footsteps followed. Seconds later, Mother charged in and slapped me across the face. "You vile creature! You're jealous that Val got to marry Her Highness, so you're intent on ruining him?"

My cheek burned with pain, but I suddenly laughed. "Yes. I am jealous."

The cellar went deathly silent in an instant.

"I'm jealous that he was born with your love. He says one word about being cold, and you move every last portion of my coal to his courtyard."

All the grievances of two lifetimes came surging up in that moment.

"When he complained that distributing food to the poor was hard work, I was the one who stood in the scorching sun and ended up with heatstroke while he gained the reputation for being kind and generous.

"When I was too sick to get out of bed, and he wanted pastries from Southvale, you made me brave the snow to buy them."

I looked at Mother and asked, word by word, "Am I not your son too?"

Mother's expression shifted slightly. Eleanor froze too, and for a moment, hesitation flickered in her eyes.

But Valerian went pale and took half a step back, crying, "So this is how much you hate me, Luke? Would it be better if I gave you the position of prince consort and atoned with my death?"

As he spoke, he covered his mouth and coughed heavily before collapsing straight to the ground.

Eleanor's expression changed drastically. She rushed over to support him and yelled, "Summon the royal physician!"

Half an hour later, the royal physician stood before Eleanor, his expression grave.

"Mr. Valerian's heart has always been weak. Now, the shock and anger have further damaged his health. He must take a medicinal brew made with blood drawn from the wrist of his closest kin for three consecutive days. Only then will his condition stabilize."

Mother walked up to me. "Luke, Val is the prince consort. We can't let anything happen to him."

Father also spoke in a heavy voice. "It's only a few goblets of blood. You've always been strong and healthy since you were a child. Just endure it, and it will pass soon enough."

Pain stabbed through my chest. "And if I refuse?"

Eleanor rose, the last trace of warmth vanished from her eyes. "Hold him down."

Her guards rushed forward and pinned my arms down firmly. Then, a dagger sliced my wrist open, and blood flowed into a goblet.

The pain made my vision go black, yet Mother urged from the side, "Take more. Val is weak. We can't dilute the medicine."

At that moment, I finally stopped feeling pain.

After the blood was taken, I was dragged back to my room.

I wasn't aware how much time had passed before a carrier pigeon landed on the windowsill.

I dragged my battered body over and untied the note from its leg. There was only one line on it. "Luke, this is the pill you asked for. It can help you fake your death. I'll be waiting for you to come and marry me two days from now."

Then, a wax-sealed pill rolled into my palm. As I clenched it tightly, tears finally fell.