Chapter 245: The Bargain
Chapter 244: The Bargain
Kathryn had no idea what was going through the Duke’s head. She simply stared at him, her hands clasped tightly before her, her posture rigid with uncertainty. Baron Redwick stood motionless beside the Duke, his spectacles catching the dim glow, his expression unreadable. The dust in the air seemed to hang suspended, as though the room itself was holding its breath.
"I am very certain you have no hearing ailment," Duke Valenridge said calmly. "And even if you did, I am equally certain you would have treated it already, given that you are a physician."
Kathryn’s hands tightened in front of her.
"I am merely asking a question," the Duke continued, his voice unhurried. "It is obvious that you have been hurt. Something was done to you. Something that made you remove yourself from court and hide yourself away in the infirmary, treating few others while refusing to let anyone treat you."
Kathryn looked down at the dusty floor. Her shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath, and when she spoke, her voice was quiet.
"Your Grace," she said, "you cannot understand what was done to me. You do not live here. You are not from the capital. When this competition concludes, you will return to your territory, and I will remain. I will still be here, surrounded by the same people, the same dangers, the same... everything. You cannot help me."
Duke Valenridge nodded slowly. The gesture was measured, thoughtful, as though he had expected this answer and was already preparing his response.
"That is true," he said. "I will leave when the competition ends. I do not deny that. But before I leave, I promise you this—I will help you."
Kathryn’s head lifted, and though no commoner was supposed to look a noble directly in the eyes, she searched the Duke’s face, looking for deception, for mockery, for any sign that he was not sincere. She found none.
"Your Grace—"
"Who do you want to get revenge on?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
Kathryn’s breath caught once more, shocked by the Duke’s words.
"Your Grace," she whispered at last, "you cannot—the person who destroyed me, who destroyed my family—you cannot get revenge on them. No one can."
Duke Valenridge’s expression did not change. His pale green eyes remained fixed on her face, patient and unblinking.
"Is it the Queen?" he asked calmly.
The silence that followed was quite deafening.
Baron Redwick turned to look at Duke Valenridge. The Duke had spoken without fear, without hesitation, without any of the careful deference that usually accompanied mentions of the Queen. He had simply asked the question, as though he were asking about the weather or the time of day.
Kathryn swallowed. Her throat felt dry, and she could feel her heart beating against her ribs.
"The Queen may be evil," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "but she is nothing compared to the one who ruined me."
Duke Valenridge smiled faintly. It was not a smile of amusement, but rather one of recognition.
"Then there is only one person I can think of who is more twisted than the Queen herself," he said.
Kathryn’s throat tightened. She could feel the weight of his gaze, the weight of the question that was about to come.
He asked softly, "Was it the King?"
Kathryn was silent. She did not need to answer. Her stillness, her trembling hands, the way she looked away as though she could not bear to meet his gaze any longer—all of it was answer enough.
"Your Grace," Kathryn said, her voice shaking despite her efforts to steady it, "why are you so daring? Yes, the King is the one who hurt me. He is the one who destroyed my family. But how do you expect to fight him? He is the King. He has guards, armies, the entire court at his disposal. You are one man."
Duke Valenridge smiled again, though this time there was something softer in it.
"That," he said, "is for me to discover."
He stepped closer, his voice dropping.
"I will help you. I swear it on my life. I will help you seek the revenge you deserve. But only if you help us in return."
Kathryn looked at him, then at Baron Redwick, then back at the Duke. Her hands were trembling now, and she could feel tears threatening at the corners of her eyes, though she refused to let them fall.
"Becoming Princess Lyria’s private physician will not do anything," she said. "It will not change what has already happened. It will not undo the wounds I saw on her. It will not—"
"Contrary to what you think," Baron Redwick interrupted quietly, "it will. At the very least, the Princess will have someone she can depend on. Someone who is not beholden to the Queen. Someone who will not look away when they see what is being done to her."
Duke Valenridge nodded.
Kathryn was silent.
"Cases regarding the Princess," he said, "serious ones that require outside help—I am certain you know what I mean when I speak of that—should be reported to us."
Kathryn’s brow furrowed. She understood what the Duke was speaking of. Cases like the one the Princess was currently going through.
She shook her head slowly in disbelief.
"Why?" she asked. "Why are you doing this? You barely know the Princess. You have no stake in this competition beyond the title that comes with winning. Why risk the Queen’s wrath, the King’s anger, for a woman who—"
"Because she deserves it," Baron Redwick said simply.
Kathryn looked at him.
The Duke did not speak. He had a faraway look in his eyes. Then he turned to Kathryn, his expression clearing.
"I must not waste your time," he said. "Lest the Queen grows suspicious. But she will come to you, Kathryn. I am certain of it. That is why I wanted to reach you first."
Kathryn frowned.
"Really?" she asked him.
Duke Valenridge chuckled in disbelief at the woman’s expression.
"Surely you are not delusional enough to think that the King is the only enemy you have, and that the Queen—though a lesser evil—is not still evil?"
