Chapter 71 Don't soil your honor.

Joana

A few hours later, there was an abrupt knock on the door, which instantly snapped me out of the foggy thoughts that had trapped me in an uncertain past. Had the Duke returned to calm my racing heart, or was it just my mind wishing for my beloved's return?

At first, I didn't hear his voice or anyone else's. Then I got up from the end of the bed and walked to the door. Do you agree that my life in the past was pathetic? I feel like a prisoner in my room, when I'm not sitting in a chair combing my hair, I'm lying on the softness of the mattress.

I urgently need to organize some vacation activities with Fernando, all I don't want is a dragged-out, emotionless life next to the duke. As soon as Fernando and I are settled, we'll travel through the glorious Spain of antiquity.

As soon as I opened the door, along with the wind that came in, that determined presence that didn't even look at me properly took me out of the room and dragged me away, those strong hands not even giving me time to understand what was happening. My groom hurried me down the corridor.

"This isn't the comeback I was expecting, Fernando!" I shouted with firmness in my voice and finally managed to free myself from his grip. "What happened? Where are you dragging me so desperately? I'm not a pig to be treated like this."

He promptly straightened up and turned to me, and I could see the mystery in his confused countenance as his beautiful eyes fixed on me. Was the duke happy, or was that charm just an anxious smile?

"Forgive me for the aggressive way I acted, I didn't mean to force you, after all, you have legs to stand on. I'm sorry, Isabela." He spoke gently and smiled, a little awkwardly, perhaps he was embarrassed.

"What did you call me?"

"Your name is Isabela, isn't? So I decided to get used to your real name." He added, and then Fernando Casanova held out his right hand.

"Your Grace can call me whatever you like, I don't mind." I replied and nodded to him, then took his hand. "What's the reason for this change?"

"While I was on my way back here, I had a little chat with myself and came to this conclusion: whether you're Isabela or Joana, I love you just the same."

Soon, we started walking down the corridor towards the mysterious destination, just the two of us.

"Don't waste time thinking about what to call me, my love." I clarified to him, hoping that Fernando would understand me, that we have more concerns than just what he should call me.

"Knowing your real name is not a waste of time, my bride! But come with me, I have some news that will surely bring you some peace."

What did that guy intend to show me? He was very anxious, and his voice gave it away.

"All right, I liked hearing your deep voice calling me Isabela, but now I don't even know if my name is really Isabela. After the events that have happened lately, maybe I'm not the reincarnation of someone else from 2023!"

"Don't worry about that information now, let's see what I have for you!"

"What's more important than my daydreams about who I really am?"

"Have you forgotten my mission in the library alongside Raul?"

"Your excitement made me forget. And to think that just a few minutes ago I was wondering all the time if it would take you longer to get back to our house." I sighed at once, letting out all the air that had accumulated in my heavy breathing. "What happened on your mission? Did you discover something that connects them all?"

"We managed to complete what we went to find out, now Raul is on guard in the courtyard." Fernando replied. "I was right, they were all together, except for Ana and Lucia, who we didn't see."

We soon left the corridor and reached the open area.

"Why is he on guard?"

"He's keeping an eye on those two stupid people who will soon be arrested." Fernando's voice was serious, was he angry? "Before the two of them are taken away to eternity in prison, I want you to watch them."

I cleared my throat, allowing the knot that had formed to subside when I saw them, tied like animals to a log and exposed in the middle of the castle's small square. Some of the free slaves who were working in the cleaning area were astonished by this unusual scene and pointed their fingers in the direction of the two prisoners; after all, they had never seen white men tied up in such a humiliating way.

With slow but precise steps, I approached them. Fernando stopped beside me, while Raul decided to tighten the noose that bound Filipe to the trunk even more.

"Are you satisfied with ruining my family, you asshole?" I heard Filipe's provocative question as he kept his head down.

"Don't do anything, Raul!" I shouted when I realized that my bodyguard was about to hit Fernando's brother. "Don't get your hands dirty with that piece of shit." I looked at the duke, who agreed with me, nodding positively; after all, even though he was his brother, the duke knew that Filipe was a bad man.

"You never had a family, Filipe. And what little was left of it, you ruined. But, you see, I'm very pleased to hear that the two of you will be imprisoned and cut off from everyone in a dark, cold cell, but don't worry, Filipe, the two of you will be companions until the last moment of your mediocre lives without seeing the light of the sun."

"And who are you to decide about us?" He retorted without blinking.

"She's my bride, the future Duchess of Barcelona." Fernando replied, which made me feel even more confident.

I turned my eyes to the other boy, who, unlike Filipe, didn't look away from me.

"Who knew that crying girl from that night was..." Before Jaime could finish his sentence, I slapped him across the face.

"On second thought, maybe your punishment should be more severe. You hurt me a lot."

"That hurt, but go ahead, you bitch!" He smiled at me, and I could see the resentment in his deep eyes, but my anger was infinitely greater.

I wouldn't accept that filthy fellow's affront, who does he think he is to call me a whore? I grabbed the bayonet from Raul's hands and tried to hit Jaime of Orleans in the forehead, but before I could commit this irrational crime, the duke grabbed my wrist and disarmed me.

"Let me go! Let me go, Fernando! I have to do this to this bastard!" I struggled to move forward, but with the duke stopping me, I couldn't.

In the background of the shouting I had started, my ears could hear the murmurs of the others who were crowding around us and Jaime's affronted laughter.

"I won't allow you to soil your honor with that filth of a man, huh! Look at me! Forget he exists, will you?"

"I won't! He tried to kill me, he tried to rape me! He humiliated me in that basement in the middle of nowhere!" I continued to complain.

Suddenly, Fernando's strong arms pulled me toward him, turning me around. His embrace was comforting, as secure as a bunker protecting me from a rain of missiles. My head fit perfectly on his chest. Gently and tenderly, I felt his lips kiss my forehead.

"Calm down, my love. Let's go to our room. We have a lot to talk about, my beloved."

"He, he..."

"Shh!" Fernando stroked my head, asking me to be quiet.

Before turning and leaving the courtyard, the Marquis once again unleashed his venom through words.

"Hey, hey, you know what's tragic, Joana? Instead of staying with me, who really loved you, you chose to give your heart to the man who killed you in another life," said Jaime as he continued to laugh.

Fernando didn't understand anything and looked at me with those surprised eyes.