To The Traitor in My Bed - Chapter 22

Even when his ten-year-younger sister fell several times, he patiently helped her up and waited with unwavering patience until she could balance on her own.

Deirdre couldn’t understand why she was thinking about Daymond at a time like this.

Daymond had been found floating lifeless in the Montrey River, which ran through Swinton, on a bright spring morning. The coroner confirmed that the cause of death was a deep wound on his back.

With his valuables and wallet missing, the police concluded it was a common robbery-murder and closed the case. They didn’t even pay much attention to the fact that Daymond’s swordsmanship and combat skills were better than most of the royal guards.

[If the opponent was that skilled, it must have been quite a fight.]

The investigator had said, and then he kicked her father and her out, which infuriated Dorian.

Deirdre couldn’t believe that her older brother had died so unjustly. Robbery and murder…

Swinton was one of the safest cities in the kingdom, and Daymond Havisham was only twenty-six. The following year, their father passed away, devastated by the anger and sorrow caused by Daymond’s death.

“Deirdre, don’t rush it. If you do, you’ll lose your balance.”

Daymond had said when she first put on her skates. But Deirdre was impatient.

The military police had given her no help in finding Daymond’s murderer. What about her father? He had died because of those who suddenly set the forest on fire and pressured Marquis Havisham like they were hunting rats.

That’s why she had to get away from all things frightening and hateful as quickly as possible.

The snowflakes hit her face. Her hair had already started freezing at the tips, and the blizzard showed no signs of letting up.

‘…Where am I?’

She gasped and looked around. In the distant sky, a crescent moon briefly peeked through thick clouds. Above her, snow-covered fir trees stretched their branches. She realized she had wandered into Rochepolie Forest.

There had to be a forest on the path from Edelweiss Heights to the Count’s residence, so she wasn’t sure if she had taken the wrong path or not. A lone snow deer walked out from between the trees, looking at her.

She stopped, straining her ears to listen for the sound of sleigh bells mixing with the harsh wind. She thought that if she was on the right path, she should be meeting the guards by now.

And indeed, there was a sound. A sharp scrape, like ice being scratched.

But sleighs made a much rougher sound than that.

Deirdre hesitated when she was about to whistle. The deer quickly turned and darted back into the shadows of the trees. Startled, Deirdre rushed off.

In her panic, she completely lost her sense of direction, and before she knew it, she found herself leaping into the arms of someone coming from the opposite direction.

A firm arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her effortlessly.

“Let go!”

Deirdre struggled for the second time that night. However, her body that was frozen by both fear and cold, didn’t obey her commands, and her limbs wouldn’t move as she wished.

Then, she remembered she still had a weapon. She raised one foot and struck the man’s shin with the edge of her skate, then began pounding his arm that was wrapped around her body.

“Let go! I said let go, you bastard!”

“Deirdre!”

She blinked.

The voice was so familiar.

She never expected to hear a man’s voice in this situation.

“Deirdre, it’s me, Frederick.”

He said. As she struggled again, he seemed flustered.

“Hold still. You might not be able to get up if you fall.”

“…Frederick?”

Only then did he carefully set her down on the ice. She looked up at her husband, still holding his arm. In the dim moonlight, his pale golden hair gleamed, and he had a sheepish smile on his face.

It was Frederick Fairchild, her husband.

“How, how did you…?”

“I came home, and when I heard you had gone to Landyke, I thought maybe I could meet you along the way. I thought I could practice skating too.”

He spoke so leisurely that it almost made Deirdre believe that the man from the annex, Lysander Cottenham, and the military police from Edelweiss Heights were all just part of a dream.

Her husband, still blissfully unaware, continued asking casual questions.

“But why are you here alone? Where’s Rex?”

Deirdre vigorously shook her head, then pointed at his skates.

“You… you know how to skate?”

He shrugged and smiled.

“Skating is a survival skill in Rochepolie, Madam.”

That was true. Most of the houses in Rochepolie were built near rivers, and in winter, people used sleds or skates to get around on the frozen river. Not knowing how to skate severely limits mobility.

Still, she couldn’t believe that the man who hated physical activity so much had effortlessly glided across the ice and lifted her with such ease.

Her lips trembled.

“How, how did, did you lift me…?”

“If you’re asking about the laws of physics, I learned them at the academy, but I’ve forgotten most of it. I suppose it’s possible because I’m bigger and stronger than you. Now, stop standing around and let’s go.”