Chapter 28: I Want To Live
"Knight number 20." a loud voice reverberated in the cold room. A young man flinched and gulped.
Wiping the sweat from his hands, he walked out of the crowd and stood in front of Damon. Damon's eyes flickered and narrowed. His lips curled into a disdainful smile.
"Get in the line there." he nodded at the knight. The knight bowed and walked in the separate line.
Ten knights had already been standing there. These were the knights given to him to go to baroders and protect it.
His team of knights, the men he had trained everyday, were standing behind him, feeling helpless.
"My lord, we should go with you. We are your team." Raymond could not help but plead as his anxiety grew.
Damon sighed. He could feel a headache not by looking at his new team. But by the grumbling of his old team.
"And I have already told you, Raymond. My mother is worried that the barbarians might harm the palace. You are assigned to protect her and her kids. You have more responsibilities than me." the man wanted to spat on the ground at the insult.
Protecting the duchess and lord with the barbarians? How could barbarians attack them in the first place when they were living in the capital, not even at their estate. The borders of their estate were not even connected with the capital.
"Her team could protect them. We must.."
"That is enough." The voice was cold and domineering. The knights stopped at once and shut their mouths.
"What if we complain about this new team from his grace? I am sure he would not let his son suffer. He will…" before Chester could continue, he felt the cold touch of iron on his neck and froze.
He bowed his head at once when Damon met his eyes.
"One more word and you will lose your life. Then you can complain to God for all the injustice you have suffered." His mocking voice made everyone shiver.
His new team was sweating tears and blood. They could not believe they were chosen to work with this monster.
Once his team was silent, Damon finally faced the twelve knights selected by his precious young step mother.
Chester wanted to complain about injustice? Has there ever been justice in the world? The strong eat weak and the weak.. He scoffed.
Not only that, this team was not only weak. There were three strong and perfectly trained knights. But Damon was more wary of them than the weak knights. He could feel their desire to kill.
"We will leave in three hours." looking at their stunned faces, he nodded. "I know you have been told that we will leave tomorrow. But I want to reach there early to investigate the matter. Time is money! And here time costs lives. When you hear the bell, you will collect her or I will leave you behind."He did not wait for their reactions. He stared at them coldly and turned to leave.
The members were collected on the second floor of the manor. After dismissing them, Damon walked to the kitchen personally to check their rations.
He paused when he noticed Olivia working in the kitchens. The girl smiled at him, as if she knew he would come.
She whispered something in her friend's ears and then walked to him.
"I have checked the rations personally. This is the list." Damon hesitated. He knew it was not her duty. She was not assigned any duty in the palace.
She was not a maid there though she was treated like one. The rare worry and warmth she showed him would be nothing but a trap. He was sure of it. This woman wanted something. And he had nothing to offer.
"I will arrange my rations myself." he retorted as he did not take the list from her. Olviia smiled with a helpless look as if she had expected this reply.
"Of course, you can make a new list then," he frowned. He did not bring the liste with him. Looking at his frowning face, she smiled slightly and signalled him to follow her.
He felt many gazes on her. But he could not move. He could not follow her.
As she went to the attached storage room while he stood there, a maid came forward.
"The lady had been here all night. She had personally checked the rations. You can check them first. If there are any changes required, I will do them myself." when Damon still did not move, the maid sighed. "Your assigned maid is Agatha, my lord. She is.. She is busy with other tasks. Olivia is only trying to help."
If it was Agatha.. She would not pack anything and they had to go empty handed. But the fact that Olivia was preparing for them the whole time. A strange frustration welled up in his chest.
He followed Olivia to the storage room. A maid was there with Olivia but when she noticed Damon, she left bowing her head.
"If it is a trick Olivia Witherland, i will kill you here no matter what." he warned in a cold voice full of hatred but Olivia only smiled helplessly. She turned to face him with an eerily calm look on her face.
"I am selling my soul. How could it be a trick, my lord?"
"What do you want from me?" his grip tightened and he pressed the sword deeper on her skin. A wound must have formed under her dress and A trail of blood must have leaked as a small stain of blood showed even in the darkness.
Damon was too sensitive when it came to blood. He was hoping that it would scare the girl and she would speak the truth. But she did not move an inch as if she could not feel the pain at all.
He had seen the girl for a decade, yet it felt like he was seeing her for the first time.
"I want to live, my lord. Just like you. Though you may have bigger dreams."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone