Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 125: Feelings (1)

"You are not going to win, so I suggest you accept that I will be there. I have to see for myself what this beast is to think of a way to help you. You have helped me plenty, so please, allow me to help you. Deal?" Ophelia asked, offering her hand for Dante to shake.

"Even if you send me out of the castle by force, I will find my way back inside, even if I need to dig a tunnel using a spoon. I am determined," Ophelia said, trying to sway Dante.

"You are throwing yourself into great danger. You must remember that I tried to help you by sending you away. Promise me," Dante said, needing to hear it before he shook Ophelia’s hand.

"I promise not to be upset with you if I find myself in danger or harmed. I have told you before that I will not forget, haven’t I?" Ophelia said, shaking Dante’s hand.

"You have."

"Good. Then it is settled between us. During my outings, I will try to find answers. There must be a clue that you have not found. That will be my gift to you," said Ophelia.

Ophelia had her answer to what to give the man who had everything.

"No matter how long it takes, I will find the answer," Ophelia promised.

This intrigued Dante.

"What if it turns out that you must stay in the castle for a lifetime to find the answer?" Dante asked.

"I do not break my promises. I will be here for as long as I need to find the answer. Do you doubt me?" Ophelia inquired, eager to prove Dante wrong.

"No, I do not," Dante replied, turning away from Ophelia. "I have faith you can do the impossible."

Ophelia looked at the rock again and this time, noticed the writing. "It was foolish of your great-grandfather to kill her. I would have enjoyed learning how to curse men."

"Ophelia."

"I jest," Ophelia said.

"No, you are not. You shouldn’t know how to curse anyone, or we would all be doomed."

"Not everyone. Mostly, my enemies and I are kind enough to curse your enemies. I suppose I should tell you one of my secrets," Ophelia said as she started to walk back to the castle. "I fear Nigel because his interest lies in more than just torturing me."

"You don’t have to share it," Dante said, knowing it wasn’t easy.

"It’ll be easier to share it if I do it in pieces. I’m sure you have noticed the way Nigel behaves. He never viewed me as his sister, but unlike Freya, it was for a different reason. I fear him because he views me as a woman," Ophelia shared.

Ophelia could still remember the day she realised why Nigel tormented her. Though they were not related, it should never crossed his mind.

"I never laid with him, so you don’t need to worry about such a sinful act. He was always teasing, as he would call it. He once kissed me and bit my lip until it bled. I slapped him and ended up being punished by standing in a small, dark room. Perhaps this marriage was needed," Ophelia said.

If she stayed in the Valthorn castle any longer, Ophelia hated to think what would have become of her.

"I would have hated to be claimed by him or to be present in the castle when he became Lord Valthorn. Between Joel striking me and Nigel tormenting me with his ideas of fun, that castle was hell for me. That doesn’t include what Freya did to get me in trouble, or how the servants acted towards me," Ophelia said, having many stories to share.

"I once thought I was being punished to be selected to marry you, but it saved me. I got away from the castle, and soon, Theo will be away from it. See, I hated the idea of getting married to you at first, but once I accepted it, I saw the good in it. That is how you should be with this curse," Ophelia advised Dante.

"Must I be burdened with your words of motivation to make me like myself?" Dante asked.

"Yes," Ophelia nodded her head. "I shall help you to think highly of yourself. If you work to control this beast, you can do wonders. You must have the strength to take down an entire army by yourself. Does it give you any talents? If I cut you, would you bleed?" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"I bleed just like everyone else," Dante answered.

"But I have heard tales that there aren’t any scratches on you after the war. Many people believe that you have a good doctor to heal you. I do not recall seeing any scars on you those nights. Show me a scar," Ophelia demanded, wanting to test her theory.

"If you want me to strip out of my clothing, you only need to ask politely. You don’t need the excuse of wanting to see scars," said Dante.

"Nevermind. I shall keep the thought that you heal faster than others. It is exciting to think of it that way. I apologise if I am being so excited about something you hate," Ophelia apologised.

"I am not bothered by your excitement. You are reacting better than I thought you would, but it is because you aren’t faced with what I spoke of. I expected you to laugh at least to be told of beasts," said Dante.

"I would have laughed if not for how afraid everyone acts when I ask about you. That, and you have sent Edith away or killed her. Also, on our wedding night and once after, I saw your eyes be a different colour. I thought it was all in my head, but it turns out it wasn’t. Thank goodness," Ophelia sighed in relief.

Ophelia continued to say, "I am happy I was not losing my mind. The way you killed the men in our chamber in the palace was also suspicious, but I didn’t want to question you and end up being killed. I had my suspicions, but never did I think of you being a beast."

"I didn’t know about my eyes. It has never done that before," Dante said, concerned that he was losing more control of himself.

"Don’t worry. I have never witnessed them change when we were in the market or in the palace. I would have pulled you to the side and helped you hide if I saw it," Ophelia assured Dante.

"You would help me despite not knowing what was the cause of it?"

"What else was I to do? Have everyone see it, and let you be placed in danger? I could never just stand by," Ophelia answered, unknowingly walking ahead of Dante.

"Ophelia."

"Yes?" Ophelia turned around.

"I believe my feelings for you have grown."