Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 76: Caught (2)

Nigel fidgeted for his bow and arrows, but the bow was on the ground from when he fell.

Nigel laughed, trying to hide his nervousness. "Be wise. If you hurt a single hair on my head, you will get in trouble with the king. You already know he isn’t on your side. Release me, and I won’t mention this to anyone."

Dante grabbed Nigel by his chest plate and dragged him to a tree.

Nigel’s body was small compared to Dante so it was easy for him to be tossed around like a doll.

Dante pushed Nigel’s back against a tree, hard enough for leaves to fall and Nigel to groan.

It angered Dante that this was the man Ophelia was so afraid of. A coward who couldn’t do anything when his father’s guards weren’t around.

"So, it’s true. You love her," Nigel said, a smile reaching his lips, but he didn’t like any bit of what he found out.

Ophelia wasn’t to be shared.

Nigel had a greater need to get Ophelia out of Dante’s hands sooner.

"I- You!" Nigel exclaimed as Dante’s fist came toward his face.

The world went back for Nigel, and his body slumped to the side when Dante released him.

Dante stared at Nigel’s body on the ground. He hoped that some wild animal would come along and finish the job.

As fun as it would be to kill Nigel now, Dante had a plan for when the Valthorns would die, and it wasn’t to be started here for the king to join forces with Joel’s army.

Dante picked up his bow and arrow before walking to the boar he had struck in the distance. It was still alive, but the arrow stuck in its head provided a great deal of pain.

The smell of blood filled Dante’s nostrils and led him to have animalistic thoughts for a moment.

Dante fought a growing urge. The bow and arrow slipped from his hands as his nails dug into his thigh.

He created a path of blood with every animal he killed, and it greatly affected his state.

Dante remained still, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He needed his cigars, but they were back with Rick.

Dante stood still until he no longer felt the urge to attack the dying animal before him. He picked up an arrow from the ground and drove it into the side of the boar.

The animal’s cries filled the air, and all around him, Dante heard other animals scatter, running fast to get away from where the danger lingered.

Dante picked up the animal with one hand and proceeded to make his way back to his guards. He stumbled upon the guards still arguing with each other.

"Lord Hastings!"

Rick turned his attention to Dante. "Get the boar!" He ordered the order men. "Are you injured?" He questioned Dante.

"No. It is time for us to head out," Dante announced.

"Is the boar enough?" Rick asked, examining the decently sized animal. "Two of his guards tried to steal your kills, but we protected them."

"The noise scared the other animals. We would have to push further to hunt them, and I will not waste the last hour in here," Dante said, looking up at the sky.

The hunt was going to end soon, so rather than wait around to be approached by other men who would do anything to steal an animal, Dante wanted to leave.

Rick watched as Nigel’s guards ran off to search for him. "I was close to knocking them out. Is Nigel alive?"

"Unfortunately," Dante answered. "If we are ever alone again, I am going to kill him."

"Patience, Dante. The time to get rid of him will come, but while you are in the king’s presence and there is a crowd watching, you should play nice. I didn’t see any of his guards with animals. Either Nigel is confident he is going to get a big catch at the last moment, or he was planning to steal," said Rick.

"His plans are not my concern. Getting out of here and returning to my wife is my concern. Take the animals to the judge when we get out and give me a cigar," Dante said, still weak from the smell of blood.

"I told you that we shouldn’t have come. It’s too close to a full moon," Rick said, rummaging through a sack he had hanging to his side. "I don’t like what’s become of you these last days. You wouldn’t have been this careless before. That woman-"

"Is my wife. You should hold your opinions before I send you home right now," Dante said, taking the cigar from Rick’s hand. "You don’t have the status or power to speak ill of her name. Do not overstep because you are my friend."

"I’m sorry," Rick apologised.

Dante didn’t care for apologies lately since the ones apologising kept repeating their actions.

"When we depart, you are to go to the border to join the lookout," Dante said, deciding to punish Rick.

Rick’s eyes widened. "There is already someone leading the lookout. I am always by your side."

"Until you can reflect on your actions and respect my wife, the border of my land is where you belong. She cannot trust you, and quite frankly, I cannot trust you," said Dante.

Ophelia wasn’t going to trouble Rick, but Dante knew Rick was also going to have some hatred toward her.

Rick had some influence over the other men, so if he disrespected Ophelia in secret, the others would follow suit.

"It is final," Dante said, cementing Rick’s fate.

Rick didn’t like Dante’s order, but he could not disobey.

Rick couldn’t suddenly like Ophelia because Dante had started to like her. It was hard to trust a Valthorn when they were nothing but convincing murderers. Dante was going to learn it the hard way one day, and when that day came, Rick trusted Dante would send for him.

’If she saw the real you, she would run,’ Rick thought.