Chapter 109 Are You Going to Betray Me?
In tonight's tent, Anne was explaining things seriously, occasionally raising her hands to gesture along with her explanation. Her eyes sparkled with a confidence so bright that Holden could barely look at her.
When tonight's meeting ended and everyone left, the emotions churning inside Holden were still hard to suppress. He quickly caught up with Anne, "Wait a moment."
Anne turned around, looking at Holden coldly, "Is there something else?"
Holden swallowed. Anne's cold yet sacred and noble appearance in the moonlight filled his heart with loss and regret. "I have a question I want to ask you."
Anne nodded, "If there are still issues with the arrangements just now, please say so."
Holden froze. The words he had wanted to say suddenly got stuck in his throat. He held it in for a long time, his face turning red, but couldn't make a sound.
Originally, Holden wanted to ask: if he regretted it, would Anne forgive him?
If she could forgive him, would they still have a chance?
Actually, asking this as a grown man was quite embarrassing, but facing Anne now, Holden felt he could ask it.
Now Holden understood how unreasonable it was when he forced Anne to agree to let Candy marry him. Of course, he didn't stop loving Candy now, but there was a voice in his heart saying: Anne is such a perfect woman, and she was willing to marry you because she had feelings for you, so why not try to win her back?
"I..."
Just as Holden was about to say something, Candy's sharp voice came from not far away, "Holden, what are you doing with her!?"
Startled, he quickly turned toward the sound, only to see Candy charging over aggressively, seemingly heading straight for Anne.
Holden quickly blocked Candy, his voice tired and helpless, "We were discussing coordination for the battle."
Candy clearly didn't believe him, "Oh? Discussing battle tactics not in Friedel's tent, but in the dead of night, a man and a woman standing here discussing battle coordination - if I hadn't come, would you two be finding some empty tent or bushes to discuss with your bodies next!"
Holden said angrily, "Shut up!"
Anne looked at them coldly and turned to leave, not wanting to deal with these two crazy people.
"Wait!"
"Don't go!"
As soon as she turned around, two voices came from behind her, followed by Candy's disbelieving voice, "Holden, you're actually trying to make her stay!"
"It's not what you think."
Anne impatiently glanced back at Holden, "You sort out your domestic issues first, then come discuss tactical matters."
With that, without waiting for Holden to continue speaking, she quickly walked away.
Holden watched Anne's retreating figure, his expression somewhat gloomy.
Candy noticed this too and suddenly looked up at Holden with vicious eyes. "You want to betray me, don't you, Holden?"
"You looking for her is definitely not about tactics, absolutely not. Do you want to get back together with her? Say something, Holden, what did you want from her!"
"Hanks told me you came to discuss important matters, and I believed him, but here you are being unclear with that woman Anne! Are you really going to abandon me!?"
"...No, no, I said no!"
Holden was really tired. Looking at the hysterical Candy before him, he only felt bitter inside.
"Stop making a scene, Candy." Holden's voice was filled with endless frustration. "I promised you I wouldn't abandon you, wouldn't despise you, and wouldn't betray you. Tonight we really were discussing tactics in Friedel's tent. Because our troops need to coordinate, I talked to Anne. Are you satisfied with that explanation?"
"Don't you think you've changed? The Candy I used to know was a strong and brave girl, bold and fearless. But look at you now - every day you just grab onto me, suspecting this and suspecting that. You're driving me crazy!"
Holden closed his eyes wearily, "What exactly do you want from me? You want me to earn military merit, but then you suspect I'm fooling around where you can't see, even having Hanks spy on me. Am I that terrible in your eyes?"
Holden admitted that seeing Anne, who once belonged to him, become so excellent yet have nothing to do with him anymore deeply hurt him, making him both regretful and angry.
He could have been proud of marrying such a perfect wife as Anne, but they divorced. Anne personally petitioned the King, just as Holden had petitioned the King for Candy.
He married a woman who was gradually becoming ordinary, while losing a woman so excellent that Holden couldn't reach her level.
Holden found this reality hard to accept.
Candy stood there in a daze, her eyes filling with tears, but she held them back, not letting a single tear fall.
"You say you don't despise me, but every sentence you speak, every word, is full of disdain."
Candy laughed bitterly in anger and questioned, "What kind of person was I originally, and why did I become like this - shouldn't you ask yourself?"
"Your heart wanders elsewhere, you're so cold to me, yet so attentive to other women it makes me want to laugh. Holden, do you still remember your promises to me? You said you would only love me, that no matter what you would treat me well. But now? Ask yourself, how much of that have you actually done?"
Hearing the word "promises," Holden staggered back a step.
Looking at Candy's painful and sad eyes, he suddenly couldn't say anything.
Two nights later, a soldier "accidentally" dropped a key while delivering Saslov's food. It landed in the hay, and Saslov noticed it.
The soldier walked out the door, smiling and greeting the guard at the entrance, "Come on, let's go drink?"
The guard laughed, "We need to wait another hour until the replacement comes."
"What are you afraid of? The door's locked anyway, and the person inside can't climb out. Come on, let's go. If we don't go drink now, the butter beer they distributed will be gone."
"Hehe, you're right. Let's go!"
The footsteps gradually faded away. The previously closed door was pushed open, revealing Saslov's pale face.
He looked around cautiously, confirming there were no patrol teams, then slid out along the wall and circled to the back of the building.
On the other side, the soldier who had just delivered the food and the guard were hiding behind a tree, their eyes cold as they watched the direction Saslov left.
"Target has left the building."
The person crouching nearby nodded and immediately left quietly to pass on the message.
In the darkness, Friedel waved his hand. Anne placed her hand on the sword hilt at her waist and nodded to him.