Married To Darkness-Chapter 454: Pardoned For An Unknown Price

She walked tall beside him, even as sweat kissed her spine and unease curled in her stomach.

Behind them, Sebastian kept his distance but watched everything. The courtiers hiding behind pillars. The scribes pretending not to record. The maids who whispered and crossed themselves at the sight of him.

He smirked.

"Let them wonder if I’m their death sentence or their savior. I’ll keep the truth to myself until it’s useful."

The long, exhausting walk ended at the inner marble stair.

The air inside the great marble corridor was too still. As if the castle itself held its breath.

They’d barely taken five steps in the opposite direction when the voice of a knight called from behind, stiff and formal.

"The king is this way."

The group paused.

Alaric didn’t even turn. "My wife needs—"

But Salviana reached for his arm, gently. "No, Alaric," she said softly, shaking her head. "Let’s go."

Their eyes met. Hers, calm but steel-edged. His, reluctant, stormy. They stood like that a beat too long, as if their hearts were whispering things their mouths couldn’t yet say.

Then he nodded. And followed.

They descended down the carpeted hall, torches burning along the columns like sentries made of flame. Their footsteps echoed—Lucius’s boots, Jeanie’s gown trailing, Sebastian’s staff tapping the stone like an impatient metronome.

When the doors to the throne room creaked open, they were met not by a court full of nobles or knights, but by three figures:

King Gideon, stern as stone, draped in black and crimson, his silver beard sharp enough to slice.

Queen Sansa, elegant and unreadable, her eyes more sword than jewel.

And Prince Embrez Velthorne, leaning with forced ease against a pillar, his grin half-wilted and eyes unreadable.

Without being prompted, Salviana stepped forward and bowed gracefully, her hand briefly tightening in Alaric’s before she dropped it.

Lucius followed suit, curt and elegant. Jeanie dropped low with a flutter of her cloak. Even Sebastian gave an exaggerated bow, arms sweeping like a theater performer, his head dramatically bowed. "To House Wyfn-Garde," he said with a mischievous lilt.

Only Alaric stood still.

His chin lifted.

He met his uncle’s eyes with a stare that could shatter glass.

He didn’t bow.

Didn’t even blink.

Just... glared.

"You ordered me dead." Alaric started, "And now you sit high like you don’t deserve to die by my blade?" he had meant to think this but ended up saying it out loud.

The silence throbbed for a moment, and then the king stood.

His voice echoed, thick with gravity and condemnation.

"The crime you committed, Alaric, should have ended with you hanging by your neck before the hourglass emptied. You murdered your own blood. You left my son, Jaron, rotting in a cell like an animal. And you dared to flee this castle with weapons, women, and knights without an explantion. The shame you brought upon your lineage is so great, the walls of Wyfkeep themselves weep in agony."

Alaric didn’t flinch.

But Salviana’s breath hitched. Her fingers twitched. What? She wanted to say he didn’t but throughout their travel she has started to think of the possibilities of how he could indeed be guilty.

Lucius’s jaw clenched. Jeanie glanced anxiously between them.

Sebastian arched an eyebrow. "Dramatic," he whispered under his breath.

The king’s voice rose louder, pounding like war drums.

"You were born a prince. A protector. A son of Wyfn-Garde. And you brought us disgrace and blood! What you did, what you are, deserves death—for you and all who rode with you!"

Alaric took a step forward, eyes narrowed, voice calm—but dangerous. "I didn’t expect you to find Jaron that soon," he said evenly.

A ripple of murmurs stilled. Even Embrez looked up sharply.

"So he did it" Salviana thought as she shivered.

Alaric’s gaze flicked to her. "I left him in the dungeon. We told the guards and all of you that he would remain there until his crimes were reviewed—until my wife, his victim, said otherwise."

He looked at King Gideon again.

"What’s more telling is that you tried to retrieve him. Even after Princess Salviana told you the truth. What does that say about your justice, King?"

Silence fell like a stone.

Gideon’s jaw ticked. For a moment, the king seemed poised to order an execution. But then Embrez, still leaning against the pillar, cleared his throat.

"Father," Embrez said smoothly, "let us not turn this room into a battlefield. Blood’s been spilled already. Pride’s been shattered. But the people—" he gestured vaguely toward the city walls "—they’re celebrating. They believe their prince has returned."

The king scowled, but his breath slowed.

Queen Sansa folded her hands. "And yet, we are not a kingdom without laws."

"No," Embrez agreed. "But perhaps, we are a kingdom that knows when to bend. Or break... for survival."

There was a long pause.

Then the king exhaled sharply, as if spitting something sour from his soul.

"Fine. Regretfully—regretfully—you have been... pardoned." he said.

Alaric’s lip curled down slightly. But he said nothing.

"None of your subordinates shall be executed either," the king added darkly, as if the words scraped his throat.

Alaric’s gaze flicked to Embrez.

The prince of the road, of charm and riddles, gave a small, tight smile. Barely there.

"What did you trade for this?" Alaric wondered. "What price did you pay for our lives?"

But for now, he could only nod—grudgingly grateful, though the taste of it sat bitter on his tongue.

"At least we won’t have to spill more blood just to prove we deserve to breathe. To stand."

His jaw clenched. The war inside him never stopped—protector, warrior, fugitive, prince. Titles that weighed heavier than any crown. Every inch of this castle reeked of betrayal and memory, and yet here they were... walking back in like ghosts too stubborn to die.

He turned to Salviana.

And as his gaze met hers—soft, fiery, unwavering—it was like the world momentarily silenced. Her presence had always been his anchor, his reason to hold back the storm in his chest.

"At least... I still have you."

Even if the walls crumbled, even if the crown turned on him again, as long as she was beside him, he could keep walking. He could keep bleeding for this future.

And maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t have to bleed alone anymore.

She nodded once.

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