Chapter 117: Price Of Resentment [3]

Chapter 117

The two adults had nearly reached the rear entrance when a figure emerged from the shadows.

Before either could react, Chester struck them off balance with a swift kick, sending them stumbling across the snow-covered ground. They scrambled upright, cursing as they searched the darkness for their attacker, but Chester was already upon them. He seized both by their collars and forced them back against the fortress wall, his expression hardening as they struggled in vain to escape his grip.

"Unhand us this instant, you insolent brute!" the man snarled.

"You would do well to hold your tongue," Chester replied coldly. "Your grievances shall be heard in due course, provided you possess the wisdom to cease making matters worse for yourselves."

Footsteps sounded behind them. Sigrid emerged through the rear entrance, her crimson eyes catching the faint light of the half-moon. Her expression was devoid of warmth as she surveyed the pair, taking in their travel-stained clothing and the small leather pouch clutched in the woman’s hand.

"So," she remarked, "you intended to abandon your daughter within my fortress whilst making off with its treasury. How admirable your devotion to your children must be."

The woman glared at her. Neither she nor the man offered an answer.

Sigrid stepped closer. "I find myself wondering what manner of parent would willingly sacrifice their own child for the sake of gold. You dispatched Rosie into my chamber to do your bidding, fully aware that she might never emerge from it alive, and thereafter intended to flee without a backward glance. Pray tell, was that the full extent of your affection for her?"

"You presume to judge us when you know nothing of our circumstances!" the woman shouted. "Do you imagine we wished to abandon her?"

"Your intentions are of little consequence when measured against your deeds. You abandoned her nonetheless."

"Because we were left with no choice!" she shrieked. "And the blame rests entirely upon you!"

Sigrid’s eyes narrowed. "Upon me? Pray, explain how I came to be responsible for the choices you made of your own free will."

"You dismissed us without warning after years of faithful service!" the man snapped. "You arrived here scarcely two months ago and presumed to dismantle everything we had built. Do you truly believe a few bars of gold sufficient recompense for years of our labour?"

"I granted you enough gold to spare you years of hardship," Sigrid replied, her voice growing colder. "You were relieved of your duties, not condemned to destitution. Yet rather than accept your payment and seek employment elsewhere, you chose to plunder the treasury and endanger your own daughter. And you presume to lecture me upon the meaning of loyalty?"

"We served the Duke long before you ever set foot within these walls!" the woman insisted. "We were among his oldest and most faithful servants. We were owed far more than your pitiful compensation, and we merely sought to claim what was rightfully ours."

Sigrid regarded her with profound disbelief. "You profess unwavering allegiance to the Duke whilst conspiring against his lawful wife. You have exploited your daughter, neglected your ailing son, and sought to rob the very household you claim to have served with honour. Tell me, do you possess even the slightest understanding of the disgrace you have brought upon yourselves?"

The woman’s face twisted with fury. "You are no mother! You cannot possibly comprehend the burden of raising children. You and the Duke are bound by little more than an arrangement, so spare us your sanctimonious lectures upon the sanctity of family!"

For a moment, Sigrid felt the full force of her anger threaten to overwhelm her. She thought of Rosie, of the terror in her eyes and the desperate way she had begged for her brother’s life. She thought of the two adults who had placed that burden upon a child and then abandoned her without hesitation.

"If you comprehend the burden of raising children," Sigrid said, her voice trembling with restrained fury, "then why bring them into this world only to treat them as possessions? Why take upon yourselves the responsibility of parenthood if you intend to use your own offspring as instruments of greed? Rosie is thirteen years of age. She ought not to be bargaining with her own safety for the sake of her brother’s life whilst those entrusted with her protection rob her of every semblance of security."

She turned towards Chester. "Take them to the cellar. They shall remain there until I have determined the full measure of their punishment."

The pair immediately began struggling, shouting curses as Chester tightened his hold. "You shall rue the day you crossed us, you wretched duchess!"

Sigrid’s gaze remained fixed upon them. "You have mistaken my generosity for weakness. I assure you, such folly shall not go unanswered."

At her command, Chester loosened his grip to reposition the prisoners. In that brief instant, the two exchanged a glance that Sigrid did not understand until their hands disappeared beneath their clothing. Before Chester could intervene, they each produced a concealed knife and turned the blades upon themselves.

A sudden crack of thunder rolled across the heavens.

Sigrid frowned as Chester released them, their bodies collapsing into the snow. For several seconds, she stood motionless, staring at the scene before her. She had expected resistance, perhaps even an attempt to bargain for their freedom, but not this.

"Pathetic fools," she muttered, her expression hardening. "Even at the very end, they would sooner flee the consequences of their deeds than answer for them."

She turned away before the sight could hold her attention any longer. Whatever consequences their actions might bring, she would not allow them to consume the remainder of her night.

Upon returning to the fortress, Sigrid instructed Chester to see to the bodies and ensure the courtyard was secured. Lilith, who had remained within the chamber, hurried forward as Sigrid entered.

"Your Grace? Has the matter been settled?"

"For tonight," Sigrid answered.

She returned to her bedchamber, where Rosie stood beside the bed with her hands clasped tightly before her. The girl looked up at once, searching Sigrid’s face for an answer she seemed almost afraid to ask for.

"Your Grace... what became of them? Did you find my parents?"

Sigrid approached her. "I did. They shall trouble neither you nor your brother again."

Rosie’s shoulders relaxed, and a shaky breath escaped her. Then Sigrid hesitated, knowing that what followed would hurt the child regardless of how gently it was spoken.

"Rosie, there is something you must know. Your parents chose to take their own lives rather than face the consequences of their actions."

The girl’s eyes widened. Her mouth parted, but no sound emerged. Sigrid watched as the meaning settled over her, saw the fragile hope in her expression give way to disbelief, and felt an ache she could neither name nor dismiss.

"Rosie," she whispered.

The girl’s shoulders began to tremble. Her lower lip quivered, and tears gathered in her eyes before spilling down her cheeks. "So they truly despised us," she choked out. "They never loved us at all. What grievous wrong have we committed to deserve such treatment? Why were we never enough for them?"

Sigrid felt something inside her chest tighten painfully. She had faced executioners without flinching, endured betrayal from those she had once trusted, and learned to bury her grief beneath layers of cold determination. Yet there was something unbearable about watching a child question her own worth because the people who had raised her had failed so utterly to love her.

Without another word, Sigrid drew Rosie into her arms.

The girl clung to her as though the ground had vanished beneath her feet, burying her face against Sigrid’s chest as her sobs grew louder. Sigrid held her firmly, one hand resting against the back of her head, allowing her to weep without demanding that she compose herself.

"Hush now, little one," she murmured, her voice softer than Rosie had ever heard it. "You need not bear the weight of their sins. Whatever wickedness they chose to commit, neither you nor your brother is deserving of such cruelty. Their failures are theirs alone, and you must never mistake them for your own."

Rosie cried harder, releasing years of fear, hurt, and loneliness into the silence of the chamber. Sigrid held her close, staring beyond the lantern-lit windows into the darkness outside.

She had dismissed an entire household to protect herself from hidden enemies, yet she had found something far more troubling within its ranks, a child who had been taught that love must be purchased through obedience and that her brother’s life depended upon her willingness to suffer.

Sigrid lowered her chin, resting it briefly against Rosie’s hair. "Rest now," she whispered. "At first light, we shall send for a physician to attend your brother. And from this night onward, I shall suffer no soul to compel you to barter your safety for another’s mercy. You have endured enough."

For the first time since entering the chamber, Rosie did not attempt to hide her tears. She simply held on to Sigrid and allowed herself to believe, if only for a moment, that perhaps the world had not entirely abandoned her.