A shiver ran down Luis’s spine at Aaron’s words. After what had been done to Elrod, Luis couldn’t fathom the depths of madness in this young man.
"You’re the one responsible for the death of my entire family. There’s no one left among the Wynters. So do you now plan for your daughter to pay the price for it or what?" Aaron’s mocking tone pierced the air. "How about I use your daughter to continue the Wynter bloodline? Turn her into a breeding cow—force her to give birth, child after child, won’t be able to take it anymore and she dies while giving birth to one of the Wynters?"
Luis swallowed hard, his entire body trembling as tears of regret rolled down his closed eyes. His two sons, who had overheard everything, could only weep for their young sister, powerless to change her fate.
"Did you take it seriously?" Aaron chuckled darkly, the mockery in his voice stinging like venom. But then, his gaze turned icy cold. "Did you really think I would use your filthy blood to continue my lineage? I would rather let the Wynter bloodline die with ."
Luis opened his eyes but had no words. All he could do was accept his fate in helpless silence, the weight of Aaron’s hatred pressing down on him.
Lucian watched Aaron, noticing how deeply his mind was consud by cruelty when it ca to exacting revenge. Lucian decided it was ti to be rciful, to send the Mortirs away to die on their own, before Aaron lost himself completely to his rage and did sothing irreversible.
Punishnt was necessary, but Lucian understood that preserving Aaron’s sanity was equally important. He couldn’t allow his brother to lose sight of who he truly was, consud by cruelty. Aaron was a good man, and Lucian didn’t want revenge to be the only thing that defined him.
The Mortirs, along with the other prisoners, were transported to the extre north. Luis held his daughter, Grace, in his arms inside the carriage.
For the first ti in days, she seed to recognize his embrace and hugged him tightly in return. His two sons sat nearby, their faces drawn with sorrow, but they gently patted their sister’s head in comfort.
"Don’t worry, Grace," one of her brothers said softly. "Your two brothers will protect you there."
----
Lucian returned ho, visibly disturbed, his thoughts once again consud with worry about Aaron. As they sat in the drawing room, Gwen brought him tea.
Lucian told her about the events of the day, and he watched as a subtle sadness crept across his mother’s face.
"What are you thinking, Mother?" Lucian asked, noticing her expression.
"I was thinking about Grace," she replied softly, looking at him. "When I saw her, she reminded of her mother, Lady Isabella. She was a good woman and a close friend of Aaron’s mother, Lady Evelyn. Though Luis is a monster, I can’t help but feel bad for Grace... for her mother’s sake."
"Were they close, Aaron’s mother and Lady Isabella?" Lucian asked.
"Very much like sisters," Gwen answered. "They used to joke about marrying Isabella’s future daughter to Aaron. Those were good tis," Gwen paused before explaining more, "From the old servants here, I learned that after what Luis did, Isabella’s health began to deteriorate. She never recovered and eventually lost her life giving birth to Grace. She blad Luis for his cruelty until her last breath."
Lucian didn’t know what to say about the tragedy of the past but felt compelled to reassure his mother, even though she hadn’t directly asked for anything. "Mother, I’ll make sure soone looks after her and she won’t fall into harms way."
Gwen’s face brightened, and she held his hand gently. "Lucian, you’re truly kind. She’s just a young woman, and that place... it’s filled with criminals. Anything could happen to her."
"I understand, Mother."
-----
anwhile, at Wynters, Aaron dismounted his horse and was about to head inside the residence. His mind was in turmoil after his visit to the Mortirs, leaving him uncertain about how to cope with everything.
Unknown to him, a small figure ca running toward him and stopped just in front, almost causing him to lose his balance. He quickly steadied himself.
"Brother Aaron!" a cheerful voice called out, and he looked down to see Rina, a twelve-year-old girl, holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers in her hands.
Aaron gazed at her innocent, smiling face and then at the colorful flowers she held.
"Brother, I made this for you," she extended the bouquet toward him.
Caught off guard, Aaron took the bouquet from her, realizing it was probably the first ti in two decades that he had held flowers in his hands. In the past, he had barely even noticed them.
"Did you like it?" she asked eagerly.
Aaron silently nodded, his thoughts drifting away from the chaos that had consud his mind just monts before.
"I knew you would like it!" Rina exclaid happily. "You’re not a an and cold-hearted person like Brother Lucian—you’re sweet and kind! Since you liked it, I’ll make one for you every day. I’m learning to arrange flowers in different ways. By the way, what color flowers do you like the most, so I can use them next ti and—" she continued, her words flowing endlessly without giving him a chance to respond.
Aaron watched her, amused, as she chattered on like a delightful, talking parrot.
"Brother, tell —what flower or color do you like the most?" she asked again.
For Aaron, the only color that ca to mind was darkness, but how could he say that to her? "I’m not sure."
"Hmm, then how about I choose whatever flowers I like? I’m sure you’ll love them too. Okay?"
He humd in agreent.
"As I brought you flowers and you liked them, how about you take to the market now?" Rina asked, her face lighting up with the widest smile, her eyes full of hopeful expectation.
Aaron imdiately understood why the flowers had appeared, but he didn’t point it out. Instead, he agreed to her request. "Alright."
"See, I’m already ready! Shall we leave right away?" she added, her excitent obvious.
A light smile tugged at Aaron’s lips at her cleverness, deciding to let himself be fooled by her.
"Gary, prepare the carriage for us," Aaron instructed.
"It’s already prepared," Gary replied, gesturing toward the carriage waiting nearby.
Aaron realized even Gary had been roped into Rina’s plan.
"Well, I told Gary to get it ready so we wouldn’t be late," Rina explained with an innocent expression.
Aaron simply patted her head. "You did well. Let’s go," he said, leading her to the carriage.
The butler watched the pair, their conversation bringing a smile to his lips.
"Wait, do you have coins with you?" Rina suddenly asked.
"I do," Aaron replied.
"But we might need a lot," she added seriously.
"Don’t worry. I have a lot."
"Girls shop so much that you might end up spending more than you think."
"You can shop as much as you want," Aaron assured her. "I won’t mind if you spend every penny I have."
"Great! Lady Erin is so lucky to be marrying you. We’ll both spend your money together," Rina said with a playful grin.
The butler almost chuckled aloud, thinking, ’This young lady’s presence certainly brings life to this ho.’
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