Chapter 70: Michael Isn't Dead, He's Back?
Clio nodded: "Let go of Rose and let her speak."
Rose choked up: "Michael once said he wanted to teach Cressida a lesson. He bribed some thugs, one of them named Sean."
"Michael also said that on the night of the Flower Festival, he would have Sean take Cressida out of the city and sell her to a brothel."
Clio's eyes widened: "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"There's no way to get messages out of here. There are people watching everywhere. I had no way to send word to Mother." Rose cried pitifully.
Clio's body swayed as she muttered: "So Michael really did have an accident. He must have been discovered by Cressida when he made his move. With Cressida's skills..."
If Cressida wanted to kill someone, who could say she couldn't do it!
Rose straightened up: "Mother, if you can just find Sean and torture him, you'll be able to find out what really happened."
Easier said than done! If Michael really had an accident, Sean might have been killed by Cressida too.
Rose seemed to see what Clio was thinking.
Rose quickly moved closer, kneeling at Clio's feet, begging desperately.
"Mother, get me out of here. The only reason Cressida dares to be so arrogant is because no one stands up to her. You can promote me, and I'll fight her to the death!"
Clio's tear-filled eyes looked down at Rose.
"Rose, if something happened to my Michael, what good would it do to promote you!"
As Clio spoke, she bent down and hugged Rose's shoulders, crying bitterly.
Clio kept saying she had let a wolf into the house, that she should never have let Cressida return to the estate.
In the evening, Cressida returned from an outing with Mabel's family.
Cressida sat in front of the mirror, removing her earrings.
Verity came in and said quietly: "Ms. Hamilton, Sean hasn't shown up these past few days, but Prince Miguel has already sent people to stake out the places Sean usually appears. Once they find Sean, they'll take his life immediately."
Cressida nodded calmly: "Sean must be hiding. It's fine, he won't hide forever."
Mabel's voice came from outside.
"Cressida, look who's back."
Cressida turned around and saw Mabel enter first, followed by a familiar figure.
With just one glance, Cressida's eyes suddenly reddened.
"Ingrid!" She showed a delighted expression and stepped forward to hug the middle-aged woman tightly.
The visitor was none other than Cressida's wet nurse, Ingrid.
"Ms. Hamilton, my Ms. Hamilton! I never thought I'd live to see you again." Ingrid cried uncontrollably.
Ingrid was only three years older than Clio, but she looked much older than Clio.
Now Ingrid's temples were gray, and she wore a neat cloth shirt with black pants below, her hair pinned up neatly.
Mabel left after bringing Ingrid in, knowing that Cressida and Ingrid had much to talk about.
Cressida pulled Ingrid to sit in the chair by the window.
"Ingrid, where have you been all this time?"
Ingrid glanced around. Emma was serving, but not Verity.
Cressida said: "These are our own people here, feel free to speak."
Only then did Ingrid relax: "The year you left to join the army, not even half a year later, Ms. Rose Hamilton came to the house. Mrs. Clio Hamilton thought I was in the way, so she dismissed all the servants from your courtyard and drove me out of the estate."
From what Ingrid said, Cressida learned that after Clio brought Rose in, she had begun erasing all traces of Cressida from the estate.
Ingrid was Cressida's wet nurse and treated her the best, so naturally Clio drove Ingrid away.
After being driven out, Ingrid returned to her hometown to take care of her daughter's family.
Ingrid's daughter had already had two children when Ingrid was suddenly found by Mabel's people, who said Cressida was looking for her.
Without a second thought, Ingrid said goodbye to her relatives and traveled a thousand miles by carriage to return.
"If Ms. Hamilton is looking for me, she must have suffered some wrong. Even if it were a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, I would come."
Looking at Ingrid, Cressida's tears of grievance fell.
Cressida rarely cried and didn't like to cry, but Ingrid was not just anyone—she was family who had been with Cressida since childhood.
"Ms. Hamilton, don't cry." Ingrid said, but she started crying first.
It turned out Ingrid had seen the faint scars still visible on Cressida's exposed arms.
Ingrid could imagine how much Cressida had suffered at the military fortress.
"Ms. Hamilton, don't worry. Now that I'm back, I'll slowly help you recover. I'll definitely get your health back."
"I'm fine, just some scars that are slow to fade."
"We'll take it slow, no rush." Ingrid said.
Cressida remembered that Ingrid was very good at making medicinal meals.
After they caught up, Cressida explained her current situation, and Ingrid couldn't help but marvel.
"That's just how wonderful Ms. Hamilton is. No matter how difficult things get, you can take root and grow against the wind."
"Ingrid, you're praising me again."
"You are that wonderful!" Ingrid said with pride in her eyes.
Cressida had Emma call all the servants in the courtyard to let Ingrid meet them all.
Ingrid would serve as the housekeeper of the courtyard, which didn't conflict with Emma's role.
Since Ingrid's return, she had been using medicinal meals to help Cressida recover her health without stopping.
In just over half a month, Cressida's complexion became rosy and radiant, her hair glossy, and her lips cherry-red and lustrous.
Combined with Emma's rejuvenating cream, Cressida became even more beautiful, her skin more delicate.
The old injuries Cressida had sustained on the battlefield, which used to ache on cloudy days, had also improved considerably.
Comfortable days always pass quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was March 15th.
Cressida heard that over the past month, the royal court had been in chaos, with Marshall and Yosef's people fighting each other.
In the end, Doyle himself proposed giving Miguel control over the royal guards.
Patrick couldn't find Michael, and these past days he had nearly gone mad.
Patrick now occasionally blamed Cressida for coming back alone that day without bringing Michael back with her.
These days, they had tried everything, but still hadn't found Michael.
Ingrid said: "Mr. Hamilton is becoming somewhat dazed."
Cressida's expression was cold: "Father will gradually get used to it, once he accepts it."
Just then Emma came running over hurriedly.
Her face was completely pale: "Ms. Cressida Hamilton, Mr. Michael Hamilton has returned!"
Cressida's eyes suddenly filled with frost.
When Cressida reached the main hall, before she even entered, she heard Clio's earth-shattering cries.
"Michael, my Michael, how did you become like this!"
Cressida walked in.
Cressida indeed saw Michael being held in Clio's arms. He didn't struggle.
Michael was only playing with a tea lid in his hands, as if very curious about it.
In the hall, Patrick pressed his brow, his face sour, clearly deeply troubled.
Next to Michael stood the ugly-looking Daryl Fields, who showed a fake smile when he saw Cressida.
Just then, Michael saw Cressida.
Michael's gaze immediately fixed on her, and he walked toward her.
When he reached Cressida, he suddenly reached out his hand.