en

halt before the towering obsi

rock of the northern mountains, its colossal walls bea

e twin-headed dragon sigil fluttered

stone-faced man who introduced himself as Mr. Price, the castle st

is sunken eyes held the dull resig

s the vast, sil

ory, the fortress now felt hollow, ch

ked, pulling my woolen cloa

murmur. "Lord Carlisle... is in a critical state, my

of the main keep, stopping at the m

reinforced oak door, a suffo

ail of dried blood, festering f

d, her face draining o

anded quietly, keeping my voic

ped in

gloom, its towering windows b

assive four-poster bed carved with archaic drago

d. Boyce

mors had led me to believe-perha

sculpted, with high cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and pale, platinum-bl

wrought upon his b

iled wool blanket, a monstrous, jagged scar tore

edges, oozing foul fluids where primitive ointments had failed, wi

id not turn

n cold with intense,

rn surgery and trauma care, I recognized gro

ophic battlefield injury-this was deliberate,

ysiological indicators: shallow, erratic respirations, cyanotic nail beds in

there was an unmistakable foreign toxin suppressing his ce

Widow'

oxin my mother had detaile

ically destroying neural pathways while mimicking

im micro-doses for months, making sure

't a slow

ulated, cowardl

the motionless

d by our families, judged as worthless by a co

ambition ignite

him alive as a passive shi

rot, flush the venom from his veins, and reco

ad buried a dead beast, I would

Price stood hovering in distress. "Stew

. it is unfit for a noble bride. The smell alone is toxic!

d onward, his life, his room, and his medical care belong entirely to me. Now, listen carefully: bring me the cleanest boiled l

the command in my voice. He swallowe

turned back to the bed and gently pulled

gers lightly testing his faint pulse. "Your executioner