Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 248: Victory (2)

Ophelia kept close to the castle guards, patiently awaiting news from the border. She continued to look out into the distance at where Nigel would march from should he succeed in getting past the border.

It was calm, but it didn’t help to stop Ophelia from worrying.

Ophelia’s attention was split between worrying about the border and Dante’s time in the palace.

"I think we shall be fine. Joel has never defeated Lord Hastings, and while your husband isn’t present, I trust his men can do well. I have seen them train, and they are talented."

Ophelia looked back at where Theo sat with Alice behind him. "I still worry. If anything happens, it is all on my shoulders to get everyone to safety. I do believe Nigel will fall."

Despite how much Ophelia thought of Joel as a fool, he was wiser than Nigel when it came to battle. If Joel couldn’t beat Dante’s army, there was no way Nigel could beat them unless he had other support.

"Once I receive the announcement that they have captured Nigel, then I can relax. Until then, I will be nervous. I hope there won’t be another war for many years after this," Ophelia said, unable to bear it a second time.

"That shows how much you love your husband. You should tell him when he returns. Tell him that you love him and miss him dearly," Theo suggested.

"I intend to. The distance and worry are making me realise new feelings about our marriage and what I want. I do love him, and I plan to be with him forever. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt for us to have a family," Ophelia considered, but she wasn’t completely sold on having children.

"If he heard you say this, he would be thrilled. Ophelia, I want to apologise to you," Theo said, unable to hold in his feelings. "I haven’t been the most pleasant and considerate to you. Of all people in your life who owe you, I have the most to repay."

"What has brought this on?" Ophelia asked, drawing closer to Theo.

"A little voice helped me," Theo said, referring to Alice. "It was wrong of me to lead you on for all those years. I knew that I wanted to die, and instead of going through with it so you would be free, I helped keep you in the Valthorn castle as a prisoner."

"I sat there and listened to your plans for us to have a future whilst knowing I wanted to die. You were so eager when I arrived here, and I spoiled it by speaking of dying. I am sorry for all of it. For not being honest with you from the start and for how I acted as of late," Theo apologised.

"Well," Ophelia said, taking a moment to dwell on the apology. "I am grateful you have spoken to me."

"I am going to do better," Theo promised. "I don’t want to worry you anymore, and I don’t want to give you any heartache. I don’t want you to be burdened with thoughts that I could die at any moment. For you, I could live a little longer, even in this state."

Ophelia’s eyes widened. "You, you don’t want to die anymore?"

"Part of me still does, but I will fight it. You have kept me alive for so long with limited resources. Someone told me that there must be a reason I have lasted so long, so I will enjoy this life for as long as this body allows me-"

Theo was interrupted by Ophelia hugging him.

"Thank you," Ophelia said, thrilled Theo wouldn’t leave her. "This is the greatest gift I have ever received. There is so much left for you to do in this lifetime, and I don’t know what I would do without you. You will not regret it." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"No, I won’t," Theo said, finding comfort in Ophelia’s embrace. "To calm your nerves, why don’t we send a message to the border asking for a report? Also, when this is all over, would you be willing to teach me to read and write?"

Ophelia wiped her tears before she backed away and answered, "Gladly. We can send out the message now. I will move him," she said, taking over from Alice.

Theo’s news helped to distract Ophelia for a moment, but in the palace, Sebastian was still stuck in the tower.

"Why haven’t those two come back again to give me a report?" Sebastian questioned, looking in the direction he sent off the two knights.

Sebastian stood up, sensing something was wrong. He looked to another knight and said, "You, go see what is happening out there. See if they have run away."

"What is that smell?" Sebastian asked, covering his nose. "Am I the only one smelling it?"

Sebastian looked around the tower walls, trying to find where the smell was coming from. He grabbed his sword and moved higher up the tower to check if the smell was coming from there, but he ran into a bigger problem.

There was smoke filling the top of the tower, creeping in from the windows.

"They knew we were here," Sebastian muttered, realising what the plan was. "They’re smoking us out."

Sebastian moved to go down, but knew the fire had to start from there. If he went down, he would either meet a fire or be ambushed by Kaden and Dante. He was stuck inside a burning tower with no water.

Sebastian covered his nose and mouth with his arm. He had to act fast to find a way out of the tower, or he would be burned alive.

Sebastian walked to the top of the tower and met the knight he sent to see if the others were still present.

"Your Majesty, the path is covered in flames," the knight reported.

Sebastian ignored the knight and walked to a window to look out. It would be a long fall, and there was no water or grass below to give a safe landing.

The only option was to run out of the tower and fight to the death.

Sebastian gritted his teeth.

Where were all of his father’s allies when he needed them?

Where were his allies when he needed them?

Where was Nigel?

The chances of surviving didn’t seem to work in Sebastian’s favour. No one was coming to save him.

"I won’t give them the satisfaction," Sebastian said, eyeing the window.

Sebastian would rather kill himself than be taken as a prisoner and made a fool of. That was not how his reign was going to end. He would die a king who decided his ending.