The Swordswoman’s Revenge Story after Rebirth

Chapter 86: Wounds

89% Finished

Less than two hours after Isolde and Michelle left the estate, Vincenzo appeared at the Inspector High Court of Parliament and asked to see the Duke of Blackmoor.

“What’s the matter?” The Duke of Blackmoor did not see eye to eye with anyone around Isolde. Therefore, he was displeased to see Vincenzo. He was also frustrated. He had arranged for his wife, Matilda, to deliver food to Milton before the latter escaped from prison. Less than four hours after the food was delivered, Milton broke out and even killed two people. Although Lord Garraway and the princess did not suspect him of colluding with Milton, the Duke of Blackmoor was not allowed to participate in the investigation of Milton’s whereabouts.

Vincenzo reported, “I’m here on Miss Langley’s orders. She asked you to bring Harlan to the Church of Wealdir.”

The Duke of Blackmoor waved his hand and flatly rejected the request, “No!”

Vincenzo said indifferently, “I’ve delivered the message. What you choose to do is none of my concern. I’ll take my leave.” He left after saying that.

The Duke of Blackmoor was extremely annoyed. When he turned and saw Harlan looking at him thoughtfully, he asked angrily, “What do you have to say?”

Harlan analyzed, “Miss Langley and you are not on good terms. Yet she summoned you to the Church of Wealdir today. Something significant might have happened.”

The Duke of Blackmoor retorted coldly, “What could have happened? She is not at the Church of Wealdir today, but the Church of Paemis. Michelle brought her there to pray for me. Of course, I don’t think Isolde will pray for me sincerely. Michelle has gone to great lengths to mend my relationship with Isolde.”

Harlan reminded softly, “Duke of Blackmoor, don’t forget about the Wolf Mountain incident.”

The Duke of Blackmoor was stunned. Back then, Isolde had instructed Helena to pass on the message. If not for the butler’s interference, the Duke of Blackmoor would have received much credit for the case. Nevertheless, he could not think of what could have happened at the Church of Wealdir. After a moment’s contemplation, he felt that, at least, Isolde wouldn’t dare to harm him.

“Let’s go,” ordered the Duke of Blackmoor, deciding to check the place out. He and Harlan rode their horses to the Church of Wealdir. When they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw the carriage waiting below.

Harlan quickly approached the coachman and asked, “Where are the ladies?”

The coachman replied, “The Langley ladies have gone up the mountain. They instructed me to wait here.”

The two men hastened up the mountain.

Isolde was standing in front of a pile of ashes. She had burned all the military intelligence Milton had carried with him.

“Miss Langley,” greeted Hattie as she approached Isolde.

Isolde slowly turned and stared at Michelle. Michelle was terrified. She stared blankly at Isolde, whose face was covered in blood. Isolde grabbed Michelle’s hair with one hand and dragged her to Milton’s corpse. With a kick from Isolde, Michelle fell to the ground. Isolde pressed her head close to Milton’s face and said emotionlessly, “You have always reminded me to respect our elders. Alright. Now pay your respects to your dead uncle.”

Milton’s face looked terrifying. Michelle screamed in fear, “Let go of me!”

“Let her go!” The sound of hurried footsteps could be heard.

Isolde looked up and saw the Duke of Blackmoor rushing over in exasperation. Harlan followed behind him. Isolde did not let go of Michelle. She just stared at the Duke of Blackmoor coldly.

Isolde questioned, “Why? Do you think I’m going to kill her? Do you feel sorry for her?”

The Duke of Blackmoor was furious. He thought Isolde had called him to witness her kill Michelle.

Just as the Duke of Blackmoor was about to fly into a rage, he heard Harlan call out, “Isolde, did you kill Milton?”

The Duke of Blackmoor reacted at the mention of Milton’s name. He slowly shifted his gaze to the corpse on the ground. He was stunned to discover that it was Milton’s body. As his rage faded, his mind cleared. Isolde had called him to let him claim credit for Milton’s death. He looked at Isolde with a complicated gaze.

Hattie answered, “By no means could Miss Langley have killed Milton. Milton held Miss Langley hostage. The Duke of Blackmoor was worried sick about her, so he followed us all the way here and killed Milton.”

The Duke of Blackmoor immediately turned when he heard this. The ravine reeked of blood as the wind blew. He felt suffocated.

Harlan had mixed emotions when he heard Hattie’s words. He approached Isolde and asked, “Are you badly injured?”

Isolde shook her head. The blood on her face was already dry. She wiped her face several times but failed to remove the bloodstain. She said, “I’m fine.”

She was wounded in several places, but nothing major. There were sword marks behind her ears, but the bleeding had stopped.

“Father!” After Michelle was free, she immediately grabbed the Duke of Blackmoor and cried, “I had no idea this would happen.”

The Duke of Blackmoor looked at Michelle quietly. This was the daughter he had always been proud of. He admired both her intelligence and personality. However, he had just discovered that she was cruel. Michelle blamed Samiyah for what had happened in Montlins Manor. She claimed she was foolish for falling for Samiyah’s instigation. The Duke of Blackmoor thought Michelle would learn from that lesson. To his dismay, she had lured Isolde here so that Milton could kill her.

The Duke of Blackmoor looked at Isolde and asked, “Did you know that there was an ambush here?” Otherwise, she would not have asked Vincenzo to call him over.

Isolde said coldly, “When we were at the manor, Michelle wanted to kill me. She was divorced because of me. Would I believe she was sincere in reconciling with me? Before Milton escaped from prison, he only met Matilda. Nobody would believe Matilda was unrelated to Milton’s escape. Since Milton was caught because of me, he would surely kill me before he fled. But he couldn’t do so in Argentum. Michelle approached me at such a sensitive time and claimed that she wanted to pray for you. Isn’t this too much of a coincidence?”

Michelle cried, “Father, I wasn’t in cahoots with Uncle Milton. I really came here to pray for you. Perhaps Milton found out about our whereabouts and set up an ambush here.”

Hazel stated, “There are a few corpses in the ravine. One of them is Michelle’s maidservant.”

The Duke of Blackmoor slapped Michelle across the face and roared, “I would be a disgrace if I believed you again.”

Isolde watched this scene indifferently. She thought, If I had framed Michelle, Father would not have stopped at just a slap.

They sent the six corpses back to Argentum on two horses. Hattie and Hazel were in charge of doing so. Harlan and the coachman sat outside the carriage. The Langleys sat in the spacious carriage; however, all of them felt suffocated. Michelle had stopped crying. Since her disguise had been seen through, she saw no reason to continue pretending. However, she was not someone who would admit defeat easily. She was confident that no one could defeat her. She believed she had merely underestimated Isolde.

Isolde rolled up her sleeves, revealing the wounds on her arms. Blood was still seeping slowly from the wounds, but they were not life-threatening injuries. Isolde had brought some medicine with her, provided by Oliver.

She bit her sleeve and skillfully applied the medicine. Then, she took a dagger from her boots and cut off the hem of her clothes to bandage her wounds. After treating her wounds, she swallowed a pill to treat her internal injuries, also given by Oliver.

The Duke of Blackmoor’s heart ached as he watched Isolde do all of this. She seemed very used to bandaging her wounds alone. He wondered if she had suffered many injuries before. He wanted to help her, but he stopped himself when he saw her cold expression. It dawned on the Duke of Blackmoor that his relationship with Isolde was distant. He suddenly felt a little nostalgic. He missed the happy-go-lucky girl who demanded some of his food. He recalled Isolde telling him that she didn’t need him to stand up for her when she was bullied; she would avenge herself. Isolde made it clear that she would not marry William; if forced, she would tie him up and make him sit in the carriage alone. The Duke of Blackmoor felt a tremendous heartache as he recalled Isolde’s words.