Chapter 114 The Guards Are Here?
The guards came to Cressida's courtyard with an aggressive air.
Sure enough, the courtyard was dim, with only faint candlelight inside the house.
The lead guard quickened his pace and pushed the door open.
Inside, a single candle flickered, the light dim.
But it was enough for everyone to see Cressida standing at the desk behind the curtain, practicing calligraphy by the window.
Hearing the commotion, she looked up, a trace of displeasure crossing her handsome, refined face.
"Don't you know the rules? How dare you barge into my private chambers?"
The lead guard froze.
Rodolfo had told him to search the entire Hamilton Mansion—Cressida definitely hadn't returned.
But what was going on now?
Clio and Rose were both stunned.
They saw Cressida sitting at her desk practicing calligraphy, dressed in dry clothes.
"Ms. Hamilton, we're under orders to search for a fugitive. The servants at the Hamilton Mansion said you weren't in your room, so I came to check out of suspicion. Please forgive the intrusion."
Cressida put down her brush, her expression cool: "Who said I wasn't here?"
Nanny stammered: "Just, just now when I came, there was no one in the courtyard."
Just then, a voice came from behind them.
"What are you doing?"
Everyone turned to see Emma and Verity walking in wearing raincoats.
Clio, as if catching them in something, immediately demanded: "Where did you go? You're soaking wet—did you just go out?"
Emma replied: "The rain was too heavy. Ms. Hamilton was worried her prize orchid would be damaged, so she had Verity and me put a rain cover over it."
The orchid was now in Jessica's courtyard, so this could easily be verified.
Clio was at a loss for words, then asked: "If you weren't here, where's Ingrid?"
"She's in the kitchen preparing Ms. Hamilton's evening tea."
Clio still wouldn't give up, pressing about the whereabouts of Dione, Nia, and the other maids.
Cressida's tone was calm: "They're maids. At this hour, I don't need them on night duty, so naturally they've gone to rest. If you want to see them, shall I call them here for you?"
Clio knew she hadn't caught Cressida in anything this time, and regret filled her heart!
"That won't be necessary. As long as you're in your room."
The guards were about to bow and leave.
But Cressida spoke slowly: "Wait."
She looked at the lead guard: "What you said earlier was strange. If you're searching for a fugitive, you should be checking whether there are strangers hiding in the estate. But when you heard I wasn't in my room, you rashly barged in. Does that mean you suspect I'm the fugitive? What kind of logic is that?"
The guard was taken aback: "Ms. Hamilton, you misunderstand. We're just doing our duty—all areas need to be searched."
Cressida laughed coldly: "Really? Verity, go file a report with the local court. This guard's words are vague. Just based on searching for a fugitive, he dares to barge into my private chambers. If I let this slide today, who knows what might happen in the future."
The guard panicked: "Ms. Hamilton, we meant no offense! Besides, we're public guards—who would you even report us to?"
Cressida stood tall, her eyes cold.
"If the local court won't handle it, I'll appeal to the city magistrate. If the magistrate won't handle it, I'll appeal to the Privy Council. If even the Privy Council won't handle it, I'll strike the petition drum at the palace and seek an audience with His Majesty. You offended me first. I won't suffer this injustice."
The guard's face turned pale: "Ms. Hamilton, we apologize!"
Cressida shut the door directly, her firm voice coming from inside.
"There's nothing to discuss."
The guard's expression darkened.
This was Yosef's private matter to begin with. If it escalated through all these levels and disturbed Doyle, if Doyle started asking questions...
Seeing that Verity was really about to file a report, Rose nudged Clio.
Clio immediately stepped forward to stop Verity, but Emma blocked her way.
"Mrs. Clio Hamilton, what are you doing? Ms. Cressida Hamilton isn't even married yet, and these people dare to barge in. You should stand up for Ms. Cressida Hamilton!"
Clio's face was ashen, unable to tell if it was the thunderstorm that made her look so disheveled.
"Emma, if this gets blown out of proportion, it'll hurt Cressida's reputation."
"Impossible," Emma was firm. "Only swallowing this insult would hurt Ms. Cressida Hamilton's reputation."
The guard glanced at Clio, thinking to himself how useless these people were!
"We're leaving!" He turned and walked away.
The urgent matter now was to get word to Rodolfo quickly, or if this really reached Doyle, they'd be completely unprepared.
Patrick arrived last. Hearing that Cressida had already returned, and seeing the guards' defeated expressions, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness! Thank goodness she was alright.
He wanted to find Cressida and ask if tonight's situation had been resolved, but Emma stopped him, saying: "Ms. Hamilton is tired and has already gone to bed."
Patrick could only leave.
Inside the room, Cressida removed her outer clothes that only appeared dry.
She'd returned in such a hurry that she hadn't had time to change out of her wet inner clothes.
Fortunately, before leaving, she'd told Jade that if the rain got heavy, to put a cover over the prize orchid.
This gave her a proper excuse to explain why Emma and Verity were both absent.
Cressida gathered her hair—dry on the outside, still wet inside.
On the way back earlier, Miguel had lent her a warming brazier so she could manage temporarily.
Thinking of Miguel's words, Cressida pondered quietly.
He said he would find the right opportunity to ask Doyle to grant them a marriage.
After three years, once he secured the throne, he would return her freedom and honor.
Before that, to prevent Cressida from betraying him, he wanted her to be his queen—their fates bound together, so neither could betray the other.
Though Cressida didn't entirely agree with this method, she also understood that without it, Miguel wouldn't trust her.
So she simply agreed.
Cressida handed Mark's body to Miguel, asking him to find someone to bury it in a place with green mountains and clear waters.
She closed her eyes and could still see Mark's expression before he died.
He knelt on the ground, hunched over, blood pouring from his mouth.
When Cressida told him she hadn't killed his mother Kaida, Mark finally said: "I'm sorry, General Hamilton."
After Mark closed his eyes, his body still shed bloody tears.
Though Cressida was moved by the sight, she had no regrets.
This was a life-or-death situation. Mark was a pawn used by others. Reaching this point, the pawn had to die, or she would be the one implicated.
She went to find Kaida because she'd guessed early on that with Yosef's personality, how could he not hold Mark's family hostage?
When she got there, sure enough, as soon as she entered, she saw several hidden guards concealed behind the door.
Not only did she not kill Kaida, she hid her for the time being.
To prevent Yosef from using Kaida's name to pin another crime on Cressida.
Cressida slept lightly that night.
The next morning, Patrick called her to breakfast and asked about last night.
Cressida answered casually: "Already killed him."
Patrick stiffened: "You still dare to kill people!"
Cressida looked at him coldly: "What else—should Father die in his place?"
Perhaps her tone was too cold, because Patrick took half a step back.
He muttered "ungrateful daughter," then seemed to convince himself.
After all, he knew that dead men never talk.
After breakfast, Cressida was about to visit Mabel.
But just then, Noah came running in a panic.
"Mr. Patrick Hamilton, Ms. Cressida Hamilton, something terrible! Mrs. Mabel Hamilton was stabbed by bandits in the mountains. She's lost a lot of blood and is in critical condition. Mr. Donny Hamilton is asking Mr. Patrick Hamilton for the family crest—he needs to go to the palace to request the royal physician!"
Cressida's eyes flickered.
Mabel was attacked?