Chapter 142: Chapter Hundred And Forty One

Damon slowly turned his head. He looked across the dark room at Camilla.

She was lying on the floor. She was snuggling cutely into her pillow. Her red curly hair fell softly over her face. She looked completely innocent, soft, fragile, and entirely harmless.

Damon shook his head slowly. He felt incredibly foolish for not realizing it sooner. She was an absolute master of deception. She had played the part of a weak, crying noblewoman so perfectly that she had fooled the entire kingdom, including him. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

He looked back at the deadly daggers and the fortune in money.

A sudden, intense feeling of deep respect mixed with his shock. She had used raw physical skill and intelligence. She had fought a giant monster just to secure his territory.

Damon knew he had to protect her secret. If General Howe found out that the anonymous fighter was the Lady of the Benson family, Howe would send assassins after her every single day.

He carefully picked everything up. He carried the money and the daggers back to the wardrobe. He put the money and the daggers exactly back where he found them, hiding them securely under the winter dress.

He walked back to the fireplace. He picked up the remaining unburned pieces of black cloth and tossed them completely into the hottest part of the glowing coals. He watched them burn away entirely, ensuring there was absolutely no evidence left behind.

Damon stood in the dark room. He needed answers. He needed to know exactly how she had managed to escape the mansion and reach the military camp without anyone noticing. He needed to know who helped her.

He turned around and walked quietly to the door. He opened it silently and walked out of the bedroom, leaving her to sleep.

He went downstairs, walking smoothly through the dark, silent hallways of the grand mansion. The stone floors were cold against his bare feet, but he did not care.

He walked toward the servants’ quarters on the ground floor. He went directly to Mr. Murry’s private room at the end of the hall.

Damon raised his hand.

"Mr. Murry," Damon whispered quietly, knocking softly on the door.

Knock. Knock.

Inside the room, Murry was deeply asleep. He was having a pleasant dream about the old Duke praising him. He heard the quiet knocking sound. He grumbled softly, confused about who would wake him up at this hour. He got out of his warm bed and put on his slippers.

Murry opened the door, rubbing his tired eyes.

"My Lord?" Murry said. His voice was full of sleepy confusion as he saw Damon’s tall, broad figure standing before him in the dark hallway.

The sleepiness vanished from the old housekeeper’s face instantly. Murry stood up completely straight. He suddenly felt very worried. The General was standing outside his door in the middle of the night, wearing only his sleeping trousers, looking incredibly serious.

"How can I be of service?" Murry asked quickly, his heart beating a little bit faster. He wondered if there was an emergency in the house.

Damon looked at the older man with serious, intense eyes. Damon knew Murry was deeply loyal to the family. Damon knew Murry would never intentionally put Camilla in danger. But Damon also knew Murry was hiding something.

Damon spoke. His voice was low, firm, and commanding.

"What did the Lady do today," Damon asked directly, stepping slightly closer to the housekeeper. "I want the absolute truth, Murry. Where did she go?"

Murry swallowed hard. His throat felt dry. He remembered the promise he had made to Camilla that morning. He had promised to cover up for her absence. He had promised to lie to the messengers.

But Murry could not lie directly to the General’s face. The General looked too intense, too commanding. Murry knew he could not hide the truth anymore.

Murry sighed heavily. He dropped his shoulders, completely surrendering. He decided to tell the truth, but he completely misunderstood the reality of the situation.

Murry thought Camilla had gone to the camp to cheer for her husband from the sidelines, or perhaps to deliver a good luck charm.

"The lady..." Murry began carefully, wringing his old hands together nervously. "The lady said you will definitely get your father’s land back today. She was very confident in your victory. She wanted to be there."

Damon’s eyes narrowed. He interrupted Murry smoothly. He needed to confirm his impossible theory entirely.

"Are you saying my wife participated in the fight to help me get the land back?" Damon asked directly. His eyes bored straight into the housekeeper’s soul.

Murry’s eyes widened in horror.

The blood completely drained from Murry’s wrinkled face. He stared at Damon as if the General had just spoken in a demonic language.

"I didn’t know about that, my lord!" Murry replied loudly, his voice shaking with genuine, fear. He completely panicked. He waved his hands in the air rapidly.

Murry thought the General was telling him that Camilla had somehow stumbled onto the dangerous battlefield by accident.

"I thought she was joking when she spoke so confidently about the land!" Murry cried out softly, his voice full of deep distress. "She told me she wanted to give you a wonderful surprise! She asked me to cover for her so she could sneak out to the camp to support you!"

Murry grabbed the front of his own nightshirt, completely terrified that he had caused the Lady to get hurt.

"If I had known she would do something as dangerous as participating in a death match," Murry pleaded, shaking his head side to side rapidly, "I wouldn’t have hidden her absence from you! I swear it on my life! I thought she was just going to watch from a safe distance!"

Murry bowed his gray head deeply. He bent at the waist, showing regret. He truly thought he had allowed the fragile, delicate Lady to walk right into a deadly trap.

"I am sorry, My Lord," Murry apologized profusely, staring at the floorboards. Tears of guilt formed in his old eyes. "I failed to protect her. I failed my duties."

Damon looked down at the terrified older man. He listened to Murry’s panicked words.

Damon saw the genuine worry and the real tears in Murry’s eyes. Damon immediately realized that Murry was completely innocent. Murry was not part of any dangerous deception. Murry had absolutely no idea that Camilla was a trained assassin. Murry was just a loyal, romantic servant trying to protect the young couple’s marriage by helping the Lady deliver a "surprise."

Damon’s cold, serious expression slowly softened. The intense, interrogating stare left his eyes.

"It is fine," Damon replied softly. His deep voice lost all of its harsh, commanding edges. It sounded understanding and calm.

Damon reached out his large hand. He placed it gently on Murry’s trembling shoulder to comfort the old man.

"Go back to sleep, Murry," Damon instructed him kindly. "She is not hurt. She is safe upstairs in the bedroom. I just wanted to know the truth, that’s all."

Murry slowly raised his head. He looked at Damon’s calm face. He saw that the General was not angry. He saw that the General was not going to execute him for failing his duties.

Murry let out a massive, shuddering breath of absolute relief. He wiped his watery eyes with the back of his hand.

"Thank you so much, my lord," Murry whispered gratefully, bowing his head one last time in deep respect.

Damon gave the housekeeper’s shoulder one final, reassuring pat. He pulled his hand away and turned around in the dark hallway.

Damon walked quietly back up the grand staircase.

As he walked, his mind was racing with a thousand new questions. He thought about the dangerous, terrifying woman currently sleeping on his floor. She was a master of combat. She was a master of disguise. She had saved his brother-in-law, she had saved his land, and she had completely fooled everyone.

Damon smiled a very small, secret smile in the dark. His wife was definitely the most interesting, unpredictable person he had ever met, and he was determined to uncover every single one of her hidden secrets.