Reborn To Change My Fate-Chapter 301 - Three Hundred

"After I have handled some urgent matters here in the city," Liam promised, "I will visit your father. I will go to the Reed estate and pay my respects. We can discuss the military movements then."

He reached out slightly, as if to touch the wood of the carriage, but kept his distance.

Dahlia stared at him. She looked at his bruised face, at his lying eyes, and felt nothing but disgust. She had spent years supporting this man, managing his messes, turning a blind eye to his minor flaws because she believed he would be a good King. But last night had broken the illusion completely. He was not a King. He was a selfish, reckless fool who couldn’t even control his own lust.

She stepped up into the carriage. She settled onto the plush velvet seat, arranging her burgundy skirts around her.

She looked at the footman.

"Close the door," she ordered.

The footman immediately obeyed. He grabbed the heavy door and swung it shut.

SLAM.

The loud noise made Liam flinch. He jumped back slightly, his shoulders twitching. The sound reminded him of the door bursting open at the Golden Swan. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Dahlia leaned forward, looking at him through the open window of the carriage door. Her face was framed by the dark wood.

"Mind your business, Liam," Dahlia warned him. Her voice was a low, deadly threat.

She leaned closer to the window, making sure he heard every single word.

"If you dare cause more trouble," Dahlia hissed, "if you dare drag my name or my father’s name into your filthy scandals again... I will not just withdraw my spies."

She glared at him, her eyes promising destruction.

"I will raze your residence to the ground," she promised. "I will burn it until there is nothing left but ash."

Liam stared at her, his breath catching in his throat. He knew she wasn’t joking. She had the power, and the troops, to do exactly what she said.

"If you want to disgrace yourself," Dahlia continued, her voice filled with absolute disdain, "that is your choice. Go ahead and roll in the mud with whoever you please. But I will have to make sure my family isn’t part of that."

She sat back in her seat, withdrawing into the shadows of the carriage interior.

She looked ahead, toward the open gates of the courtyard.

"Drive," Dahlia commanded the coachman.

The coachman cracked his whip. "Hiyah!"

The horses whinnied and surged forward. The heavy wooden wheels crunched against the gravel. The carriage rolled past Liam.

Liam stood frozen in the courtyard. He watched the carriage turn out of the gates and disappear down the street, heading toward the road to Reed family estate.

He stood there for a long minute. The silence in the courtyard was deafening. The footman stood stiffly by the steps. The guards at the gate stared straight ahead, pretending they hadn’t seen their Prince humiliated by his wife.

Slowly, the sound of the horses vanished.

As the carriage vanished from his sight, the fake, apologetic smile on Liam’s face melted away.

His face hardened. His jaw clenched so tight his teeth ground together. The muscles in his neck jumped. The panic he had felt moments ago was swallowed completely by a rising tide of dark, boiling rage.

He had lost his spies. He had lost his wife’s respect. He had lost his dignity. And it was all because of a stupid, reckless mistake.

But his mind, twisted by pride, refused to blame himself. He didn’t blame his own lust. He didn’t blame his own decision to go to the golden swan.

He blamed the woman who was in the bed.

He blamed Ashlyn.

She had set him up. She had forged the letter. She had lured him there and distracted him while Dahlia was brought to the room. She was Carlos’s wife, a Thompson. It had to be a plot by the Thompson family to destroy his marriage. Marissa had probably planned it with her.

They thought they could play him for a fool. They thought they could embarrass the Crown Prince and walk away unpunished.

Liam’s chest heaved. His hands curled into tight, shaking fists. His fingernails dug into his own palms. The bruise on his cheek pulsed with a hot, angry pain.

He turned around to face the courtyard. His eyes were wide and manic.

"Guards!!!" Liam shouted.

His voice was a roar of absolute fury. It echoed off the stone walls of the manor, startling the birds in the nearby trees.

Instantly, the heavy thud of boots hitting the gravel filled the air.

A dozen heavily armed men in royal blue armor ran forward from their posts at the gate and the doors. They moved with desperate speed, terrified of the rage in the Prince’s voice. Their swords clanked against their metal thigh armor.

They rushed to the center of the courtyard and dropped to one knee in a semi-circle around him. They bowed their heads, not daring to look him in the eye.

"Yes, Your Highness!" the captain of the guard responded, his voice respectful and fearful.

Liam glared down at them. He felt his power returning as they knelt before him. Dahlia might command the spies, but he still commanded the royal guards. He still had teeth.

Liam stepped closer to the kneeling captain.

"Bring me Ashlyn and Carlos Thompson," Liam commanded. His voice shook with anger.

He paced back and forth in front of the kneeling men, his boots crunching loudly on the gravel.

"Wherever they are," Liam continued, his voice rising in volume with every word. "Whatever they are doing. I don’t care if they are eating, sleeping, or praying in the grand church. Find them."

He stopped and pointed a shaking finger at the captain.

"Drag them here if you have to!" Liam yelled, spit flying from his lips. "Tie them in ropes! Throw them in the back of a cart! I do not care! I want them here. In my dungeon. Before the sun goes down."

He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He imagined Ashlyn’s face. He imagined Carlos’s stupid, cowardly face. He wanted to break them both. He wanted to make them pay for the pain in his cheek and the damage to his marriage.

"Do not fail me," Liam growled, a deadly threat hanging in the air.

The guards did not hesitate. They felt the murderous intent radiating from the Prince.

The men roared in unison, their voices echoing across the courtyard like thunder.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

They scrambled to their feet. The courtyard erupted into organized chaos. The captain barked orders, dividing the men into squads.

They ran toward the stables to saddle their horses. They ran toward the gates to march into the city. The clatter of armor, the shouting of men, and the neighing of horses filled the once-quiet afternoon.

Prince Liam stood alone on the steps, watching his men scatter to do as they were told. His face was a mask of cold, hard vengeance.