Chapter 293: He Knows

Isolde looked at Oliver, deciding against further speculation. She asked, “Oliver, tell me the truth. What did you see after the incident in Zloimond? Or did someone tell you something? You can’t lie to me. If you tell me, I’ll share everything in my heart with you, too.”

Oliver’s eyes flickered with unease, but his voice remained firm. “I didn’t see anything. I just feel that we must have a child. Only with a child will your life feel complete, and you won’t be sad anymore.”

Isolde was suddenly shocked. “Oliver, let’s make things clear today. I don’t want to live with doubts,” Isolde insisted, staring at him.

Oliver sighed helplessly. “Do you think I’m hiding something from you?”

“You are!” Isolde grabbed his hands, the coldness of his left hand sending a shiver through her, jolting her awake. “Oliver, tell me everything. What do you know? What did you see? I want to know it all.”

Oliver looked into her desperate eyes, unsure how to proceed. Those events, as far as she was concerned, had never happened. But when he mentioned children earlier, he had seen pain in her eyes. He had instinctively apologized, which had only made her more suspicious. He didn’t know if she had dreamed those things. What he had witnessed was so cruel. How could he put it into words? If she didn’t know, it was better not to tell her. If she did know, wouldn’t bringing it up only cause her more pain?

Oliver’s thoughts were a tangled mess, but deep down, he had his doubts. Ever since he learned of those events, he felt that she had truly experienced them. She gave him that impression. Though he found it absurd, he couldn’t shake the feeling. Perhaps today was the day to unravel the mystery, but he couldn’t bear to do it.

Isolde walked over, closed the door, and then turned to face him, step by step. “If you don’t say it, I will.”

Oliver looked at her in surprise.

“If such things happened, I believe it went like this: My marriage to William wasn’t called off. We got married. I helped him build his career, while he devoted himself to Eleanor. You and I fought side by side on the battlefield. You died saving me, and Pablo also died in battle. William inherited the title of Marquis of Valen. My mother-in-law, who hated me to the bone, plotted against me when I was pregnant and about to give birth. She accused me of treason, causing the defeat at the Battle of Blackmere. She even claimed I was a curse and that the child in my womb was a demon that needed to be purged by fire. So he cut open my belly, took out my child, and threw it into the fire…”

Her words were filled with anguish, each syllable dripping with blood and tears. She trembled as she spoke, from both pain and cold. The events of that snowy day were etched into her memory, never to be forgotten.

Oliver’s heart ached as he listened. He pulled her into his arms, his voice filled with pain and pity. “Don’t say… The people around you aren’t those vicious, heartless monsters. It’s me, Oliver. As long as I’m here, no one will ever harm you.”

“You saw it, didn’t you? When the incident happened in Zloimond, you saw all of this,” Isolde murmured into his chest, the coldness in her heart slowly fading.

“I saw it, exactly as you described,” Oliver said through gritted teeth, swallowing his hatred and rage. This was why, after returning, he had shown no kindness to his stepmother and brother, not even bothering to pretend. He knew how happy they had been after his death in his previous life, and how William had slandered his name. None of that mattered to him. What pained him was the woman who had stood by William, helping him build his career and earning the loyalty of countless soldiers, only to meet such a tragic end.

“And after that? What you saw couldn’t have ended there. What happened after I died?” Isolde gently pushed him away, her eyes still desperate. Though her tears had dried, a faint fire burned in her gaze.

Oliver no longer hid anything. He helped her sit down and held her hand tightly. “After your death, William took your remains to the palace, claiming you had confessed to treason, which led to the defeat at the Battle of Blackmere. Your remains were hung on the city gates for three days as a warning. William was promoted, and Eleanor was granted the title of First-Rank Noblewoman.”

Isolde’s eyes were dry, filled only with hatred. “They used my death to climb the ranks. They truly are bloodsuckers.”

Oliver cupped her face in his hands. “Did you experience those things? Or was it just a dream?”

“Every detail, I lived through it. After I was thrown into the fire and died, I don’t know why, but I returned to the Langley residence, back to the time before I was married.”

Oliver’s eyes filled with pain and shock. He had witnessed it all and could treat it as a dream, but hearing that she had lived through it made his heart ache to the core. He held her tightly, vowing, “Those people will pay for what they did in this lifetime.”

“The only regret is that I experienced those things and remember them, but they don’t.”

“They will. Everything leaves a mark. What changed wasn’t them, so the marks they should have will remain. It’s just a matter of when,” Oliver said. These were the words the Grand King Emeritus had told him when he woke up. He relayed them honestly to Isolde, “The Grand King said this.”

Isolde was stunned. “The Grand King?”

“Yes, I was unconscious for a long time, long enough to live another lifetime. Though I’ve only been awake for a little over a month, I witnessed everything. The suffering you endured, I saw it with my own eyes.”

Isolde’s heart surged with emotion. “What did you mean earlier when you said I need a child to feel complete?”

Oliver whispered, “I don’t know. The Grand King said that what you lost in your past life will be returned to you in this one. The most important things won’t be missing.”

Isolde took a deep breath, trying to contain the overwhelming emotions swelling in her chest. Her blood rushed to her head, and her lips trembled slightly. “Did he really say that?”

“You can ask the Queen Dowager. The Grand King said she knows everything.”

Isolde bit her lip and nodded firmly. “I will ask. I’ll do whatever it takes to find out. If that child can come back with me, I’ll be willing to die for it.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. You died once, and I died once. We’re both alive now, which means there’s something important we need to do together,” Oliver said, convinced of this. He had thought about it before. He believed all of this had been arranged by the Grand King. After all, he was sure he had died in Zloimond, but somehow, he had come back to life. Coupled with everything he had seen while unconscious and meeting the Grand King upon waking, he was certain of it.

Outside the door, under the window, Esme stood alone, holding a jar of candied fruit that had just been delivered. Tears streamed down her face, and her hands trembled.