Goblin Attack

Amelia looked at him as if he had suddenly grown another head. She could not believe her ears, did he genuinely want her to be his wife? Or was he lying for the sake of some ulterior motive? Perhaps he was mocking her, thinking that she had yet to learn of his engagement to the princess.

Increasingly distressing thoughts tore through her mind. “I may be a man of low birth, but I hold the vows of marriage sacred,” Ryder snapped in frustration.

“It astounds me that the daughter of a lord would show such contempt for our vows.”

“C-Contempt?”

“If not contempt, then what is it? You married me, yet you’ve disregarded my existence all this time but do not expect me to tolerate that any longer.”

Dismayed, Amelia stared at him. How could he accuse her of such a thing? He was the one who had left without a word the morning after their wedding!

“I’ve…I’ve never disregarded y-you! You’re th-the one who…who…”

“Enough! As my wife, you should have left for my estate immediately after our wedding night but for three years, you chose to remain in your father’s castle!”

Ryder snorted. “Then again, how can I expect the daughter of a lord to give up her high standing for the life of a near-widow, forced to await the return of either her husband or his corpse?”

Taken aback, Amelia could not think of a reply to his accusations because his words were utterly incomprehensible to her. “H-How c-could I have left for your estate? I d-didn’t know w-where it was. You d-didn’t t-tell me anything…!”

“Enough with the lies! Before I left for the campaign, I made every preparation I could for you to come and live on my land. A lord daughter may not care for such a paltry piece of land, but it’s a place I hold dear. It was your duty to be there, but you neglected it.”

His eyes blazed with anger and he did not seem to be lying. There was no reason for him to invent such a tall tale. Amelia swallowed hard against her nerves. “I-I d-d-didn’t know…Y-You d-d-didn’t s-say a w-w-w—anything.”

“My men told me you refused to leave,” he said, his voice bitter.

“So spare me the excuses. For three years, I’ve known precisely what you think of me and why are you trembling, damn it? Are you afraid I might beat you?”

“I’m…I’m s-sorry. T-Truly, I knew n-nothing of it. I awoke th-that m-morning to find you gone….N-No one ever t-told me.”

He narrowed his eyes, as if to assess the veracity of her words and like a prisoner awaiting judgment, she braced herself for his reply but when he spoke again a few moments later, it was in softer tones. “Even if that were true, you should have left for my land. A wife’s duty is to take care of her husband’s house. If that didn’t occur to you, I can only assume that this marriage is worthless to you.”

Again, she could think of no reply because their marriage was not as meaningless to her as Ryder imagined. Still, it was true that she had not wholeheartedly accepted the arrangement.

She had simply thought of them both as victims of her father, and their marriage an unavoidable sacrifice, had he been sincere about their marriage all along?

“What were you going to do if you were pregnant?”

“P-P-Pregnant?” Amelia raised her head, jarred by the unexpected word.

The corners of Ryder mouth twisted. “It was a possibility. I performed my duties to the fullest that night, didn’t I?”

His sardonic tone drained her face of blood. To her, the events of their wedding night remained a harrowing and shameful memory.

She was now aware that every marriage required consummation, but that did not change anything for her. She still trembled when she recalled what he had done to her.

Ryder, however, spoke casually of their wedding night as if it had all been a trivial affair. Amelia shuddered with renewed dread.

Ryder face contorted into a scowl, and he slammed his fist into the wall of the carriage. “Don’t make that face! As if the thought of having my child sickens you! I....”

Something cut him short and drew his attention away from her to the window and with one hand on the hilt of his sword, he leaped out of the carriage, his fierce growls morphing into action.

Amelia screamed as a knight in their escort bellowed a warning. “Commander!”

“I know! Cast a shield around the carriage!”

After shouting his orders, Ryder turned his attention back to Amelia, his face leaving no room for argument. “Whatever happens, do not come out!”

Before she could respond, he seized the carriage door and slammed it shut, cutting her off from him and the chaos unfolding beyond the vehicle.

A thunderous roar suddenly tore through the air, so powerful that it seemed to shake the very land beneath them.

Amelia instinctively clapped both hands over her ears, shrinking away from the terrible sound as her heart began pounding violently against her ribs.

The ground trembled beneath the carriage, and with every violent shudder, the entire carriage rocked with it.

Amelia could feel the vibrations beneath her hands and feet, making it impossible to forget that something enormous and dangerous was moving nearby.

Overcome with fear, she curled herself into a tight ball on the floor and deliberately turned her face away from the window, unable to bear the thought of looking outside and seeing whatever had caused such devastation.

She had heard rumors of monstrous creatures being sighted in the surrounding lands but never had she imagined that she would encounter one herself and certainly not within an hour of leaving her parents’ house.

The reality of it was far more terrifying than any rumor, especially now that she was trapped inside the carriage with no idea what was happening beyond its walls.

Fear seized her completely as she imagined one of those creatures turning its attention toward the carriage and attacking her.

She could do nothing but remain where she was, trembling as the noise and shaking continued around her then, cutting through the confusion outside, a commanding voice rang out above the chaos. “Stop that Goblin at once!”