83: Mercenaries 1

Mercenaries 1

"She is well?" Dorothy's expression turned ugly. "Then… what about that snake? Are you certain that the — ehem— that the man could do that?" Until now, she still had doubts about that sorcerer. She had never heard of that man before! Perhaps, he was just trying to trick them into giving them money?0

"Yes," Jeames replied. "I tried to give her flowers but she asked her maid to throw them away even before I could leave the house. I am certain she had the intention to let me see that she disliked the gift that I had brought her."

"She— that woman had changed." Or perhaps, she was just very good at hiding herself. No. Rosalind had no one to teach her. She was alone. She grew up alone and had no friends except for… Jeames only approached her to make Dorothy laugh. She let out a loud sigh.

"This is not going to work," she muttered. They needed something more. Something… that would make the Duke cancel the ceremony and therefore the marriage arrangement. But what could it be?

"I heard that the Duke has already left?" she asked.

"Yes, he had to leave ahead of time because of some problems in the North."

"Have you been to the North?" she continued.

"One time."

"And?"

"It was just as the rumor said. The place is dead. Demonic monsters are everywhere. The northernmost Kingdoms are working together to fight the monsters and not let them pass, but there have been some rumors that the beasts have slowly evolved as they made their way towards the south."

"Towards the south?" Her expression turned ugly. The Empire nearest to the North was the Aster Empire. Therefore, if the North fell then the first ones to suffer is none other than the Aster Empire.

"Young miss, the madam is here to see you," she heard the maid announce.

Dorothy immediately fixed her clothes and waited for her mother to walk in. When her mother, Victoria, saw that Jeames was standing behind her daughter, she froze and then continued walking.

"Why do you keep a knight next to you?" she asked Dorothy.

"I could not see any reason why I should not try to defend myself from people who wanted to harm me," Dorothy answered.

"My— " Instead of sitting opposite her, Victoria chose the vacant spot next to Dorothy. Then she pulled her daughter into a hug. "I did not know that you would— "

"The Duke was able to do that to me in broad daylight. I cannot imagine what he would do once I am alone in my own room."

"Dorothy— "

Dorothy felt her mother shrug, but she ignored it. This was not the first time that her mother came to talk to her, but she knew that in the end, her mother would once again convince her to let Rosalind go to the North. She had grown tired of her mother ignoring the emotional state of her very own daughter!

"Did something happen?" she asked.

"Dorothy, what made you assume that something happened? Am I someone that would only visit you when something happened?"

Dorothy fought the urge to roll her eyes as her mother ended the hug.

"You look thinner," her mother uttered. "How have you been? The maids told me you are not eating well? Dorothy— "

"If you are here to convince me to let her go then, please… you know where the door is."

"Dorothy! How could you say something like that to your own mother?"

"That woman schemed against me! She deliberately ruined my life! And you— "

"Daughter, I wanted her to leave because I wanted to try and kill her while she was on her way to the North. That was the only reason why I— "

"Death is not enough," Dorothy fumed. "I want her to stay. I want her to suffer. You— You are not someone that would just let anyone harm your daughter and yet you are letting her get away with this?"

"Dorothy— "

"Please, mother. Please leave me alone. I want to be alone," Dorothy tried her best not to cry. Because of Rosalind, her relationship with her mother had soured. Since she was a child, her mother never once said no to her or raised an argument against her.

Her mother was the kindest woman that she knew, yet because of Rosalind…

Dorothy closed her eyes and let a tear roll down her cheeks.

She hated Rosalind from the bottom of her heart.

"You must understand, I would never do something that would hurt you."

"You just did mother," Dorothy fired back. "You just did."

"You— " Victoria looked like she had been trying to stop herself from crying too, but Dorothy did not care. She had stopped caring since her mother showed support to that woman who ruined her life!

Victoria cleared her throat then she walked out of the living room without saying another word. Seeing her mother's back made Dorothy cry. She could not stop herself. Despite her anger, she could not deny that she loved her mother and that the betrayal just broke her.

"I heard that Rosalind had been frequenting your mother's quarters," Jeames stated as he handed her a handkerchief. She knew that Jeames must have wanted to hug her but he did not want to create more problems for her. So, she accepted the handkerchief and used it on her face.

"That woman… " Dorothy hissed. She hated Rosalind but… she cannot just die. That woman needed to suffer.

"I believe… I may have an idea," Jeames smiled.

"What is it?" she asked. The sorcerer was also Jeames's idea. The man knew his way outside of these walls because he and his mother grew up poor.

"I know this sounded sinister but I can no longer let you cry like this. Your mother is right, you have lost a lot of weight."

She looked at him. "What is it?" she asked again.

"Have you heard… of putting a bounty on someone?"

"Bounty? Mercenaries?"

"Yes. But there is the dark side of mercenaries. There are two types of adventurers out there: those who are desperate for relics and those who are desperate for money. Guess what would happen to the latter if you dangle a little bit of money their way?"

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