Chapter 135 Are You Still Worth My Kindness?
"Yes, I deliberately left that kid on the battlefield. I wanted him dead. Why should he get to live? "
"That little bastard screamed the moment he saw me, accusing me of being lowly and unworthy of touching him, a superior noble. What gave him the right to be so arrogant? Just because of his bloodline? And that Frol, he called me a sneaky, conniving bitch, said I'd stop at nothing. Well, I showed him what happens when you insult me. What did I do wrong!?"
Hearing Candy's words, Holden glared at her through gritted teeth, his voice seeming to squeeze out from between his clenched jaw.
"You're a member of the Dawn Knight Order. You ignored the rules of war and triggered a conflict that got so many people killed, and you have the nerve to say it doesn't matter, that you did nothing wrong. You even dare to say those dead soldiers were just incompetent. Doesn't your heart hurt at all? Or has a demon taken over your body, turning you evil and vicious... That's right, are you even human anymore? You're not—you're a devil, a demon. Even the hateful witches are better than you!"
"If he insulted you, you should have fought back on the battlefield. Why hurt innocent people? Why do you think it's justified to call this revenge? Don't you even have the courage to go to war?"
Holden remembered Candy never charged to the front lines after becoming Knight Commander and laughed bitterly at himself. "Right, you don't even dare go to the front to fight. Where would you get that kind of courage?"
"Candy, how dare you call yourself a member of the Dawn Knight Order? How dare you feel comfortable being Knight Commander? Tell me, what the hell are you thinking?"
Candy raised her hand to wipe away tears, but the more she wiped, the more they flowed. "I earned our military achievements. I was praised by His Majesty the King and Queen Mother Smith, praised by all the common people of the Soth Empire. That's enough to prove I was right. Besides, they're just enemy lives. Go ask those citizens, especially the ones near the battlefield—ask them what they'd do if they caught someone from Zotfort. They'd be even more decisive than me, even less concerned whether the dead Zotfort person was a commoner or a noble."
"Holden, I don't understand. Why are you asking me all this right now? I've been locked up in the Drogo Mountains all these days, suffered so much torture, and instead of comforting me or caring about me, you keep accusing me for the sake of others. How can you accuse me? I'm your wife!"
Holden stood up shakily. "Yes, wife, but originally..."
Candy didn't catch Holden's last few words. Through her tears, she watched his figure, feeling it was frighteningly distant.
Without realizing it, Holden had grown so far away from her.
Candy suddenly felt very scared. She thought about those days in the Drogo Mountains—one man after another pressing down on her, venting their animal lust, using knives to leave marks on her body. They kept fucking her relentlessly. Even now, Candy could still feel her opening gaping wide below, used so much it couldn't close anymore.
Heartbroken, she wondered if Holden wanted to abandon her because of this, but none of it was what she wanted!
"Holden, do you despise me now?"
Holden didn't speak.
Candy had been so focused on propping herself up to look at him that she didn't notice the cloak had slipped completely off, exposing the marks all over her body from being used. Holden thought again of how Candy looked in the cave—on her body, her face, even around her mouth, all covered in semen. On her arms and inner thighs, someone had carved words like "whore" and "slut."
Holden didn't dare ask how many men had slept with Candy—she probably didn't know herself. Men lined up during the day and groped their way over at night. Candy had stopped resisting long ago; she just wanted to survive, and what was wrong with enduring this to stay alive?
Candy had considered that Holden might not be able to accept it, but she'd already thought of a strategy. She would make Holden understand that all of this was Zotfort's doing, that she was just a victim. From a victim's perspective, she was the most wronged one. Given Holden's male ego and sense of responsibility, even if he despised her, he wouldn't divorce easily.
As long as they didn't divorce, Candy was confident she could coax Holden into accepting her.
Thinking this, Candy couldn't help but ask, "You promised before to treat me well. Now I've suffered this torture for no reason. You won't abandon me, right?"
Holden finally spoke, but his words made Candy's heart turn cold. "Do you really still deserve my kindness?"
"I do mind your infidelity, but more importantly, you're completely not the Candy I liked anymore."
Candy looked at Holden in confusion. "Just because I indirectly caused that child's death, you still think I shouldn't have disposed of him so casually, even though he was from an enemy country?"
"But I did earn military achievements for us, and I contributed to our union. Holden, are you regretting marrying me? Or are you regretting divorcing Anne?"
Candy shook her head, knowing that even if Holden and Anne regretted it, their divorce was ordered by the King himself and remarriage would be impossible.
"We're already husband and wife, bound in honor and shame. There's no need to keep arguing about things that have passed, much less think about people who can't come back. We've already fought over other people before. Let's not let unimportant people affect our relationship again, okay?"
Holden shook his head. "Even now you don't understand what I'm saying... Forget it. Maybe our union was a mistake from the start. Rest for now. I'm leaving."
Candy watched Holden's back as he turned and left without hesitation, shouting in disbelief, "What do you mean a mistake? Holden, come back! What gives you the right to say this was wrong? Have you really changed your heart? Come back!"
Holden never looked back at Candy, afraid he'd reveal his disgust and hatred or lose control and kill her with his sword.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Anne sat in Friedel's tent, lazily leaning back in her chair holding a cup of hot tea. She'd just eaten two biscuits and washed them down with water, feeling a bit full, but this sensation made Anne feel very happy.
Seeing Anne like this, Friedel couldn't help but chuckle softly. "I'm really surprised you were able to accept Zotfort's request."
Anne turned her head to look at Friedel. "Isn't this what you arranged from the start? Even if I refused, it would just be a grudge between the Virlet family and the Clapton family. It wouldn't affect relations between the Soth Empire and Zotfort."
Friedel pressed his lips together and sighed. "I didn't mean to force you to accept."