All Chapters of A Warm Solace in Winter's Frost: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Seraphina Montclair's voice was trembling. "Is this what I mean to you? A quiet shadow meant only for the dark?" "What else could you be to me?" Mathias Cavendish looked at her with a small smile, but the look in his eyes was chilling, as if he was ridiculing her for not knowing her place. "What more do you want, Seraphina?" Mathias leaned over her, brushing his thumb gently over her lips. "I've told you before that Cordelia is the only woman I love, but I do enjoy your body immensely. I can give you anything except my love and a legitimate place by my side. "We'll still see each other and meet through the secret passage after Cordelia and I are married."His tone suddenly turned cold. "Remember that Cordelia can never know about us. If she gets her heart broken after finding out about us, you'll pay the price for it."Seraphina was stunned. It had never dawned upon her that Mathias never planned to marry her and that she was nothing but a secret plaything to him, never to be s

"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 li

Mathias' voice was cold as ice, and it scared Mireille so much that she trembled while trying to pull Seraphina along with her to kneel. Seraphina tolerated the pain as she knelt with her mother and quickly said, "My mother and I were talking about Cordelia's wedding."Mathias frowned as he swept glances at Mireille and Seraphina, but he did not ask any more questions as he carried Cordelia in his arms and headed to her room.Mireille quickly helped Seraphina to her room. She carefully cleaned Seraphina's wounds under the candlelight while tears streamed down her face. "Do you hate me, Seraphina?" She sobbed. "I'm forcing you to marry so far away…"Seraphina shook her head. "Why would I hate you? I accepted this marriage proposal willingly." "Really?" Mireille's hand paused. "Can you really forget about that man?"Seraphina froze. She remembered how she had told Mireille three years ago that she was in love with a man who had promised to marry her. Mireille had believed her the

Mathias frowned as he swept a glance at the unconscious Cordelia in bed. He replied impatiently. "All right."The old physician passed a silver blade to Seraphina right away. She took a deep breath before taking the blade and aiming it at her heart. When the sharp blade sliced into her skin, she nearly passed out from the intense pain, but she bit her lip and refused to call out in pain.Her blood dripped from the silver blade and down her hand. One drop, two drops… Seraphina's sight started to blur. She had no idea how much time had passed before she heard the physician call out in delight, "Lady Cordelia is awake!"Mathias lunged toward the bed and hugged Cordelia tight in his arms. His voice was incredibly soft as he uttered, "You're finally awake, Cordelia…"Meanwhile, Seraphina struggled to stand. She used the last of her strength to bite the tip of her finger to write on a white handkerchief with her blood—'Mathias Cavendish, the crown prince, agrees that Seraphina Montclair

That was impossible! Mathias had seen Seraphina the day before and even gifted her a mansion. Mathias looked around and realized everyone knew about this except for him, as their expressions informed him that this was not a surprise to them. He asked with slight anger, "Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"His question sounded like a joke to Cordelia. "Seraphina is just the daughter of a mistress. This isn't important news to Your Highness, which was why no one ever mentioned this."Mathias was speechless. Cordelia was right. Seraphina was just the daughter of a mistress. Why should her marriage be considered important news to be reported to the crown prince? However, even if no one knew to tell him about it, Seraphina should have known better.He was reminded of how Seraphina had been acting toward him recently, and he finally realized that she had been planning to marry herself off to the borders for quite some time, refraining from telling him anything about it.Mathias had