Chapter 64
Chapter 64
The captain of the Royal Guard smacked his lips. Dizziness washed over me. The worst part was, it all sounded so… reasonable. If I died, no one would care. They’d just think another woman had fallen victim to the cursed prince. My survival was the anomaly. My disappearance, the natural order of things.
The cursed prince had simply claimed another victim, as he always did. That’s what everyone would believe. I had no family searching for me. No one would bat an eye. No action would be taken. No one would know, no one would wonder. Hadn’t I come here with that same wish? To die, yes, but with a semblance of nobility?
I knew it. A tremor ran through me. The men watching me smirked. The White Rose Crusaders. Every single one a nobleman, their titles inherited. To them, I, the bastard daughter of a duke, was nothing.
“Or are you trying to vanish without a trace?”
His cold eyes spoke volumes. This was no idle threat. The sheer size of the men surrounding me felt truly menacing.
“Grrrr….”
Cesar growled, stepping between me and the knights. He was so wary, his fur bristled like a cat. No, that didn’t do him justice. Cesar’s presence was far more intimidating.
There was always a tension between Cesar and the White Rose Crusaders, a thin sheet of ice threatening to crack. Now, I heard the telltale splintering. The air crackled. Clink. The knights reached for their swords.
“No, stop!”
Before I could intervene, it happened. Cesar sprang, a blur of motion, leaping from my arms. Everyone reacted, shifting, bracing. Metal clashed against metal.
But Cesar was faster. A blink, and he was upon the captain, pinning him, his hands tightening around the man’s throat.
The knights swarmed Cesar, but even their combined strength couldn’t dislodge him.
“Krrrr!”
“Get him off!”
They punched, clawed, and wrestled, but Cesar’s grip remained unyielding.
“Ugh… guh…!”
The captain’s face turned a dark, plum purple. His tongue lolled, frothy spittle dribbling down his arm.
“Cesar!”
He was going to kill him. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to do something. I limped forward, pushing through the tangle of bodies, and threw my arms around Cesar’s waist.
“Cesar, no!”
I didn’t know what possessed me, but I didn’t want to see him kill a man.
Cesar’s head snapped towards me. Our eyes met. I shook my head fiercely. His eyes, bloodshot, burned with a primal fury. This was a Cesar I didn’t know. The wildness I had always sensed, the blank space I kept at arm’s length, was now on full display.
I thought I understood him. But a chilling fear whispered that my confidence was nothing but arrogance, a terrible misjudgment. Doubts I had buried resurfaced, but there was no time for second-guessing.
I looked into his eyes again, pleading silently. Please don’t. Don’t kill him. I didn’t want to see him become the monster they all claimed he was.
“Don’t!”
But Cesar’s murderous gaze didn’t waver. The tension was suffocating, a chilling wave washing over me.
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