Chapter 279 I Choose to Stay Here First
"Actually, you don't need to be so resistant to having your master come see me. I'm not calling her here to punish anyone. I just want to figure some things out. Once I get to the bottom of this, naturally I won't make things difficult for you."
"What do you want to figure out?" Isabella asked.
"Why is my signet ring in your master's hands? I think only she can give me an explanation for this. And I don't believe anyone has the ability to steal the signet ring from me. This ring was probably a gift I gave to your master. Since I could give her something so important, I'm guessing either I needed her help with something, or we had a very close relationship."
Either way, it meant that Isabella's master must know her and must know about her past.
As Gwyneth spoke, Isabella kept staring intently at her.
She felt that Gwyneth didn't seem to be lying, and besides, given Gwyneth's status, there should be no need for her to lie.
If this signet ring really was a gift from Gwyneth to her master, wouldn't that prove that Gwyneth and her master knew each other?
So Isabella eagerly asked her, "Since you already gave the signet ring to my master, do you know who she is? Do you remember what she looks like?"
Gwyneth: "..."
After a moment, she raised an eyebrow. "You're asking me?"
"That's right." Isabella nodded repeatedly, looking at her. "Didn't you say my master had a good relationship with you? Otherwise you couldn't have given her something so important, so you must know who my master is, right? Maybe you can help me find my master!"
Gwyneth: "..."
"What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?" Isabella looked at her, puzzled.
Gwyneth laughed in exasperation. "Even you don't know who your master is, how would I know? This is ridiculous. You're actually hoping I'll help you find your master. For someone so young, you're pretty good at using people."
"I don't know because I lost my memory!" Isabella explained anxiously. "I'm not lying to you."
"Well, what a coincidence. I also lost my memory."
Gwyneth paused, then added, "And I'm not lying to you either."
Isabella: "..."
Isabella blinked, suddenly understanding.
"You're looking for my master because you think she's connected to the part of your memory you lost, right?"
Gwyneth nodded slightly. "That's right."
"Then when you get your memory back, will you be able to remember my master too?"
"If I had a relationship with her, I should be able to remember."
"When will you get your memory back?" Isabella asked.
Gwyneth didn't know how the conversation had suddenly gone off track, but honestly she felt a certain warmth toward Isabella, so she said frankly, "I've been seeing doctors about it. I finally found one who seems pretty reliable. He prescribed me some medicine, and maybe I can gradually recover my memory. But how it'll turn out in the end, I can't say for sure."
After speaking, Gwyneth tossed the signet ring to Isabella.
Isabella caught the ring, surprised. "You're giving it back to me?"
"Don't you want it?" Gwyneth raised an eyebrow. "I can temporarily give it back to you, but while you have this signet ring, you can't leave this castle for a while."
"Why?"
"You should know how much power this signet ring holds, right? Holding this ring gives you the same authority as the elders of the Powell family. I don't know who you are or how the ring ended up in your hands. No one can guarantee what you'll do with it if you leave. So you have to stay where I can see you!"
"When can I leave here?" Isabella asked.
"When I recover my memory and confirm that you're not a threat to the Powell family," Gwyneth said. "And even after you leave, I need to know what you're doing at all times."
After all, the Powell family's signet ring couldn't just be casually left with some girl. Even if she didn't do anything bad, if it got stolen or taken from her, it could threaten the entire Powell family's security.
"So you have two choices: either leave the signet ring here and you can go, or you and the signet ring stay together."
Isabella clutched the signet ring in her palm, troubled.
The Powell family...
Did her master really have a connection with Gwyneth?
If she left, given her status, she probably wouldn't be able to see Gwyneth again, and wouldn't be able to learn anything about her master from her.
If she stayed here for now and waited for Gwyneth to recover her memory, maybe Gwyneth could help her find her master.
After thinking it over carefully, Isabella made her decision. "I choose to stay here for now."
Gwyneth wasn't at all surprised by Isabella's answer, though she was well aware that Isabella's reason for choosing to stay was probably to use her to find her missing master.
But Gwyneth didn't mind. She could tell Isabella cared deeply about her master. If she and Isabella's master really were old friends, then Isabella could be considered her student too. There was no harm in helping her find the person.
Gwyneth looked at Isabella and narrowed her eyes. "In that case, you'll stay in the castle. Without my permission, you can't leave on your own."
With that, Gwyneth walked straight into the castle.
Isabella followed behind Gwyneth into the castle.
Knox went back to the main gate to check on Ollie.
Ollie had just been severely whipped ten times, and now his entire back was a mess.
He lay on the ground, unable to move, while several guards stood nearby comforting him and applying medicine.
Ollie grimaced in pain.
Seeing this, Knox hurried over and asked worriedly, "Ollie, are you okay?"
Ollie complained bitterly, "Knox! That whip hurt like hell! How could you just say ten lashes like that? I've lost half my life! "
Knox said helplessly, "You did something wrong. If I couldn't get Ms. Powell to calm down, she really would have made you pack up and leave. You don't want to leave here, do you? I had no choice. Anyway, at least now Ms. Powell won't kick you out."
Ollie sucked in a few more breaths from the pain and asked, "Did they figure out which elder lost the signet ring?"
Knox shook his head. "The signet ring doesn't belong to any elder. It belongs to Ms. Powell."
"How dare she! She actually stole from Ms. Powell!" Ollie said through gritted teeth. "How does Ms. Powell plan to deal with her?"
"Ms. Powell doesn't plan to do anything to her, because she said the ring wasn't stolen—it was given to her by a master."
"What?! She dares to lie on top of it?" Ollie could hardly believe it. He was furious. "How can Ms. Powell believe such nonsense? She definitely stole it!"
Knox didn't understand why Gwyneth, who was usually so suspicious, had a different attitude toward Isabella specifically. He just said, "Ms. Powell naturally has her own judgment. This isn't for you or me to worry about."
"Besides, Ms. Powell has already let that girl stay in the castle. For the time being, she'll be living here."
Hearing this, Ollie's face immediately darkened. "How can this be? She stole something, and not only does Ms. Powell not punish her, she lets her stay here? What does this mean?"