Free Web NovelChapter 397: Chapter 397
He paused for a moment before finishing quietly. "From this moment forward, you are dead to me, Azul. And I wish you nothing good in this life."
With that, Ragnar released him.
Azul stumbled forward slightly as Ragnar shoved him away one final time before turning on his heel and storming out of the palace. There was somewhere else his presence was needed far more.
Moments later, Ragnar mounted his horse and rode hard through the streets, heading straight toward his next destination. By the time he reached Lord Tomar’s home, the sun had already begun its slow descent toward the horizon.
Ragnar swung down from his horse the moment he arrived and strode toward the grand entrance with long, purposeful steps. His jaw was set, his expression grim.
Two armed guards stood stationed beside the doors, but neither of them made any move to stop him as he pushed his way inside without so much as a word.
But he had barely stepped past the grand foyer when someone blocked his path.
Ragnar looked up to find a furious man standing before him.
Gavril. Falein’s eldest son and heir. The anger in his eyes was unmistakable.
"Leave," Gavril said the moment he saw Ragnar. His voice was sharp and cold. "You are not welcome here anymore."
Ragnar slowly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Please," he said quietly. "I only wish to speak with your father." freeweɓnovel.cøm
Gavril’s scowl deepened.
"No. You may not," he replied firmly. "Your family has already taken more than enough from us. What else could you possibly want now? We are mourning. My father is mourning. I doubt he is in any state to receive visitors."
"I believe that is my choice to make." The voice came from deeper within the hall.
Both men turned.
Falein stood several paces away, watching them.
Ragnar’s attention immediately shifted toward him. Without another word, he stepped around Gavril and walked toward the lord.
"I wanted to apologize sincerely," Ragnar said earnestly. "The things that happened today... it was heartbreaking. I can’t even begin to imagine how much you and your family must be hurting because of it. Arik was merely fighting for his sister. He didn’t deserve what happened to him."
Falein said nothing at first. He merely studied Ragnar with an unwavering stare, his expression hard and unreadable, as though he were weighing every word that had just been said.
"You knew, didn’t you?" Falein accused at last, his voice low but sharp. "You knew what Arik had been planning to do."
"No, not everything," Ragnar answered truthfully. "He sent a messenger to Amris to inform me that he had found one of Luria’s killers, but that was the extent of what he divulged. I had no idea that he planned to publicly accuse the queen. If I had known, I would have tried to stop him."
Ragnar paused for a moment before continuing, his voice softer now, tempered by the heaviness of the day. "I wish things hadn’t ended the way they did. I understand that you want to avenge your children, and I want to help you however I can. But I fear that challenging Azul to a duel will only create more problems. I beg you to reconsider."
"No." Falein said firmly and without hesitation. "I will not reconsider, and I will not let Prince Azul get away with what he has done. He accused my son of treason! Which means your family plans to take away everything valuable that belonged to him. And if the queen has her way, they will strip my family of everything we have." His hands curled slowly into fists at his sides. "I will not allow that to happen. I would rather fall on my own sword than let them take what belongs to my family. It is the only way to stop your family from ruining mine any further."
"Thank you for your offer to help, but I will have to decline."Falein glanced away from Ragnar then, turning as though to leave. But he paused halfway through the motion, his back now facing him.
"Today brought back so many old memories that I wasn’t prepared for, and it makes even looking at you painful."
He turned his head slightly, just enough for Ragnar to see the rigid line of his profile.
"It reminded me of when Luria first told me about the affection she had for you. About how the two of you planned to wed. I hated the idea of my daughter being with you. You being a bastard would only complicate her life. There were many nobles she could have formed far more advantageous matches with, and yet she chose you. Marrying you was the worst decision she ever made, and I should have fought harder against it. Perhaps if I had... then my children would still be here with me." freeweɓnovel.cѳm
Ragnar felt a bone-deep ache settle into his chest as he stood there, silently absorbing the man’s words as they fell against him like stones. He couldn’t even fault Falein for them. The tragedy of the day had carved raw wounds into the man, and grief had a way of turning pain into cruelty. Whatever he said most likely came from a place of unbearable hurt. Still, that understanding did little to soften the sting.
"I loved her," Ragnar said quietly.
Falein did not turn around.
"Your love wasn’t enough," he replied.
Even Ragnar knew he was right. His love had not been enough to protect her that night eleven years ago. His love had not been enough to shield her from the queen’s cruelty. In the end, his love had done nothing to stop the blade that had taken her life. For a long time after her death, Ragnar had carried that failure like a brand on his soul.
In the time since he had been with Circe, he had worked hard to push past many of those feelings. The gnawing sense of incompetence whenever an attempt was made on her life.
