Chapter 235
William’s POV
“Are you certain there was nothing?” William asked again, his tone tight as he stared at the pack doctor.
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The man looked uncomfortable under his gaze, but he did not waver. He adjusted the cloth around his hands and shook his head. “I am certain,” the doctor replied. “I checked twice. There are no traces of poison in either of you. In fact…” He hesitated, then added carefully. “Your condition is better than it was before the attack. Your pulse is steady. Your circulation is clean. You are healthier than you were this morning.”
That only made William’s expression darken.
Healthier.
The word scraped against his nerves. He turned away sharply, pacing a few steps before stopping again, his hands clenching at his sides. Nothing about this situation made sense, and that was what unsettled him the most.
Did Atasha really heal them?
The thought came uninvited, and he hated it immediately. Did she check their pulse earlier because she wanted to make sure that they were telling the truth about the attack?
He knew exactly what he had done to himself. The substance he took earlier had never been meant to harm him. It was a distortion, a controlled alteration meant to change his pulse just enough to confuse a healer and sell the illusion of poisoning. Renan’s case had been more convincing, but even that had not been fatal. It was a trap meant to force Atasha’s hand and rescue Celeste.
And yet, after drinking that vial, there was nothing.
William narrowed his eyes as the question pressed harder in his mind. Was it possible that Atasha had not healed them directly, but instead given them something that neutralized anything foreign in their systems? An antidote broad enough to wipe out traces before anyone could study them?
If that was the case, then it was worse than he had anticipated.
Renan shifted nearby, his injury already wrapped, his color noticeably better than it had been an ho doctor, then leaned closer to William, lowering his voice.
lanced at the
“I have heard things,” Renan said cautiously. “In the North, poison is common. It is not treated like an exception. It is expected.”
William did not look at him, but he listened.
“They fight wars differently there,” Renan continued. “They encounter new toxins often enough that their healers do not wait to identify every single one. They develop antidotes as they go. Broad solutions. Counteragents meant to suppress entire categories of poison, not just one strain.”
He paused, clearly choosing his words carefully.
“Perhaps…. what she gave us was not meant to heal,” Renan said. “Perhaps it was meant to remove everything that could harm our health? Or… or this was a slow acting poison that’s meant to harm us if… if we dare betray her!”
He did not finish the thought, but he did not need to.
William’s jaw tightened.
If that was true, then Atasha had not acted on instinct or emotion. She had acted with preparation. She had known exactly
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Chapter 235
what she was doing when she forced that vial into their hands. She had cornered them withot raising her ve had done it in front of the North, where refusal was not an option.
And worse, she had done it while pretending to be merciful.
William closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, his thoughts sharpening instead of calming.
This was no longer about whether Atasha was dangerous.
It was about how much further ahead she already was.
“We need to be careful…” William said. “Have you prepared everything based on the Young Miss’s instructions?”
“Yes,” Renan said as he gestured to the pack doctor to leave. Once alone, Renan added. “But I am doubtful. Do you think they noticed the problem?”
William exhaled through his nose and shook his head slowly. “It can’t be,” he said, his voice low but firm. “If she had truly seen through it, she would not have healed us at all, or she would have turned it against us. Atasha is not the type to quietly fix a problem if she understands what it means. She would have made it hurt.”
Renan studied his face, searching for hesitation, but William’s expression stayed controlled. “Just make sure everything was done exactly as instructed,” William added.
Renan nodded once. “Everything was prepared according to Young Miss Celeste’s instructions. Every step.”
Before William could respond, hurried footsteps echoed outside the tent. The fabric shifted, and a northern soldier stepped in, his posture straight, his presence sharp enough to change the air in the room.
“Everything is ready,” the man reported. “We have located a nearby Demon Fang base. The strike team is assembling now. We are moving to retrieve Lady Celeste.”
William’s eyes flicked up instantly. “Now?” he asked. That was really quick. They were able to find a base in just three hours?
“Yes,” the soldier replied. “Orders came directly from Her Highness.”
William and Renan exchanged a brief look before following the man out. The moment they stepped beyond perimeter, William felt it. The camp they were led into was not the same one he had memorized over formations were tighter. The guards moved differently. The soldiers stationed here wore northern ins before, and there were more of them than there should have been.
So it was true.
Atasha had hidden soldiers here all along.
e familiar
The
not seen
They moved through rows of armored northerners who did not glance at William or Renan, their attention fixed forward, their discipline sharp. This was not a reaction force thrown together out of panic. This was a unit that had been waiting.
William’s mouth tightened. Earlier, Atasha had asked for a few hours to think. This was what those hours had produced.
He felt a flicker of something close to admiration twist inside him, cold and unwilling. Celeste really was his blood. She had moved the board the moment she realized she was threatened, and Atasha had answered in kind, faster than expected.
They reached the central command tent, where Atasha stood with Grace at her side. Her posture was steady, her expression unreadable, but the atmosphere around her had shifted. This was not the woman who had sat quietly earlier, weighing whether she would heal or wait. This was someone who had already chosen.
Before anyone could speak, another soldier rushed in and dropped to one knee.
“Your Highness,” he said. “We found something near the perimeter. It was placed intentionally.”
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Chapter 235
He held out a small box.
Grace took it first. The moment she opened the lid, her face hardened. Meanwhile, William’s breath c
lay inside.
A finger.
Small. Pale. Severed cleanly enough that there was no mistaking what it was meant to be. His expression turned uglier when he realized that the scent on the finger seemed to belong to…. his daughter!
Grace’s hand tightened around the box. “Your Highness-” she began, then stopped.
Atasha was already reaching for it.
The moment her fingers closed around the edge, her body swayed, and she took an unsteady step back. Grace moved instantly, catching her before she could fall, one arm braced firmly around her shoulders.
The tent went silent.
Atasha stared at the contents for a long second too long. Then she lifted her head, and whatever restraint she had been holding shattered. “They dared,” she said, her voice low and shaking with fury she did not bother to hide. “They dared send me a finger of my sister!?”
Her gaze lifted slowly, sweeping the tent, and when her eyes settled, there was nothing soft left in them.
“There is a message with it…” Grace said as she opened a piece of paper and read its contents. “They- How dare they want you in exchange for your sister!? Did they-
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“The Demon Fangs wanted a message,” Atasha continued as she grabbed the note. “Then they have delivered it.” Atasha straightened fully, the box still clenched in her hand. “They die,” she said, clearly and without hesitation. “Every last one of them will die… tonight!”
田
