Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 40: Threat (2)

Ophelia prepared for her bed, unaware of what Dante did for her.

Ophelia decided to use chairs to sleep on for the night, as Dante was adamant about lying in bed.

When Dante exited the bathing chamber, he examined all the work Ophelia had done. "You should rest in the bathing chamber. You can lock the door."

"The fire is near the chairs and bed. Not only do you want the bed, but you want to take all the heat as well?" Ophelia asked as she continued to make her makeshift bed.

"Ophelia," Dante said, closing the gap between them as he approached her. "You should sleep in the bathing chamber. We are going to have an unwelcome guest tonight."

Ophelia kept her pillow in her hand. "How do you know? Is it Joel’s doing or Nigel’s for what I did?"

"It is the king’s doing. It is a plot he never gives up," Dante revealed.

"The king? Hasn’t he been speaking of settling the war and having peace? Why would he meddle and try to kill one of his lords?" Ophelia asked, more confused about the war.

Ophelia often heard Joel speaking of the king being on his side, but she did not think it was true.

"The king is not fond of me. Now that he has many guests in the palace, he would strike and blame it on someone else. For now, rest in the bathing chamber, and when it is over, I will give you the bed," Dante said, picking up Ophelia’s blanket to help her.

"You were serious about me lying on the floor to make an intruder stumble over me," Ophelia realised.

"It would have been a good plan. Take the blankets from the bed to keep you warm. Sleep facing the door," Dante instructed.

Ophelia looked up at Dante and asked, "You would allow them to reach the bathing chamber? Are you not a feared hero?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Dante smiled. "They will not reach, but to be safe, face the door. If I call for you, you must come running in case we must leave. If we are attacked tonight, we will leave the palace and go to the home I have here."

Ophelia followed Dante to the bathing chamber and asked, "If you have a home here, why didn’t we just stay there instead of coming to the palace where your enemies are?"

Ophelia found men and their troubles to be even more of a headache. Why was there a murder plot at every corner when she was forced to marry to bring peace?

Why didn’t Dante, Joel, and the king just kill each other, save her from being pulled into a mess?

"The king would have made a fuss if we had not come here. I will use his plans against him so we can get out of here sooner. You’ll only need to come back to the palace to sit with the queen and other ladies in the morning. As I said, Victoria will be with you," Dante repeated.

Ophelia frowned, tired of Dante mentioning Victoria.

Victoria joining Ophelia to sit with the queen posed more of a threat than being a comfort to Ophelia.

"You said that like it should bring me comfort. Victoria and I will never be close. It has nothing to do with the rumours, but the mere fact that she poisoned herself, and I took the blame for it at first. I am right, aren’t I?" Ophelia asked, walking fast so she could see Dante’s face.

"You are."

"I knew it. Then I won’t have to apologise to her. You said you are friends, but there must be some feelings if you are willing to hide her actions, and I am certain she faced no consequences. If there is love for her, I do not mind if you sneak around," Ophelia said.

Ophelia stopped walking before she could collide with Dante. She took a step back and bit her lip, regretting what she said.

Dante did not look pleased.

"I don’t need a wife and a mistress. I don’t care if you know of other men who have a wife and mistresses," Dante said, before Ophelia could make it an excuse. "You are already quite the headache. Go inside."

"Headache? I can’t think of a time I troubled you."

"Should I remind you of how many favours you asked of me?" Dante asked, ready to list each one.

Ophelia stepped into the bathing chamber and said, "Good night."

Dante placed the blankets in Ophelia’s arms and closed the door after.

Ophelia remained still, staring at the door. He was a well-known fighter, but she couldn’t stop wondering if Dante would be well fighting by himself.

Dante was still strange in her eyes, but she surprisingly found herself comfortable in his presence. Ophelia wished she could be more trusting so she wouldn’t be so guarded when it came to Dante. He was helping more than she ever expected.

Ophelia set the blankets and pillow down so she could lock the door as Dante told her. She didn’t mind having to make her bed again since she would be out of danger.

Hours after stepping into the bathing chamber and preparing her bed, Ophelia started to wonder if Dante had lied to her so he could rest alone.

"I cannot sleep," Ophelia whispered whilst staring at the ceiling.

Ophelia turned her head so she could face the door.

The chamber was quiet.

It seemed Dante had guessed wrong.

Ophelia closed her eyes, deciding to rest since morning would come in the blink of an eye.

It didn’t feel long before Ophelia was woken out of her sleep by someone pounding on the door.

Ophelia sat up, fearing there was danger. She waited for Dante’s voice to come, and when it didn’t, she immediately thought he had been killed.

Ophelia looked around for a weapon to protect herself with. She would not die tonight, all because of the conflict between men.

She found nothing to protect herself with and began to quietly back into a corner.

"Ophelia," Dante’s voice finally came.

A weight lifted off Ophelia’s shoulders. She was thrilled to hear Dante’s voice.

Not only did Ophelia not need to protect herself from intruders, but she wouldn’t need to face anyone in the morning without Dante at her side.

Ophelia stood up and rushed to the door to unlock it. She was taken aback by Dante’s bloody state when she opened the door.

"You can come out now," Dante said, since it was now safe.

Ophelia stepped out of the bathing chamber and found not one, but three men lying dead across the chamber.

"How did I not hear any of this? How could you have taken on all three of them and not wake me?" Ophelia asked, staring at Dante in shock.

Ophelia always knew Dante was a skilled knight, but knowing he quietly killed three men without waking her gave her a deeper understanding of how dangerous he could be if he wanted to.