Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 159: Sleeping (1)

Ophelia slid off the horse to go to Dante’s side. His eyes were closed, but it didn’t appear as though he had hit his head. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Ophelia panicked.

They were alone, and she wouldn’t be able to get him back on the horse without help.

"Why must you do this when we aren’t near the castle?" Ophelia muttered as she lifted Dante’s head to place it on her lap.

Ophelia looked back at where they came from Ester’s garden. That was the only place she could drag Dante to.

Ophelia’s attention soon went back to the horse as it ran off, leaving them completely alone.

"As if I needed one more problem. I apologise for this," Ophelia said, deciding to drag Dante back to Ester.

Ophelia gently placed Dante’s head on the ground and held his arms, but she took one look at him and worried about hurting his head by dragging him.

"I can make it," Ophelia whispered, looking back at where they left Ester.

If she ran fast, Dante wouldn’t be alone for long.

"Could you?" Ophelia heard Ester’s voice.

Ophelia jumped, startled by Ester’s voice. "How did you know? Did you know this was going to happen?"

"I didn’t. I followed you both a little to see that you were leaving my home, and I was on my way back when I heard your scream. What happened to this one?" Ester asked, poking Dante with a stick. "What did you do to him?"

"Me? We were speaking, and he fell off the horse. Can you help him?"

"I am not a doctor, and surely you cannot expect the two of us to carry this large man. Perhaps your horse will go back to the castle, and the guards will come looking for you. Or, when you don’t show up by tonight, they will start a search. Just wait," Ester advised Ophelia.

"I cannot keep him in the sun until we are found. Can you please help me drag him to a tree at the very least? I won’t trouble you for more," Ophelia promised.

Ester stooped down to be at Ophelia’s level. "Why aren’t you running? Isn’t this the best time for you to get away? He can’t chase you."

"Can you please stop telling me that I am going to die? I already said that I wasn’t leaving, so why push it? I am already worried about his well-being, so don’t add more to my plate. Can you help me?" Ophelia asked for the last time.

"You, do you love him?" Ester queried.

Ophelia sighed, tired of Ester’s questions. "Does this matter now?"

"Yes, it does. You are upset because you think I didn’t give you the answer, but I did. All of you go searching for the answer in the wrong places when it has always been before you. The curse is quite simple, yet none of you could break it," said Ester.

"To break the curse, I must love him? How can that be it when Cecilia appears to love her husband, and what of the other wives before her?" Ophelia asked, sceptical of Ester’s answer.

"How certain are you that they loved their husbands? Little one, I know more about the Hastings than you do. This curse could have been broken long ago, but I have never seen anyone come close to succeeding. Everyone loves differently. Not everyone loves their partner even with their flaws."

"Forcing yourself to love him won’t break the curse," Ester said as she knew Ophelia would consider it. "I am truthful when I say there is going to be a death in the castle, and I can see it being tied to you."

"I trust that it can be avoided. Thank you for the answer, but now I must focus on keeping him safe. If anything happens to him now, then I am truly dead. Can you find someone to send word to the castle of where we are?" Ophelia asked, hoping Ester would help.

Ester shook her head.

Ophelia let out a frustrated sigh. "What can you do?"

"Dear, I live hidden away not only because I want to, but I must. Look at what they did to the other who showed herself. They killed her, and I will not share that fate. Your husband is kind, but the Hastings only spared me because they sought answers. Your guards will come," Ester said, certain the horse was returning to the castle.

Ester continued to say, "There isn’t any danger around since I got rid of it all, unless the two of you were followed. The good news is he isn’t dead, so he will wake up eventually. Use this time to think of your future and the curse since you are so concerned about it."

"Why didn’t you tell the other wives that falling in love could help their husbands?" Ophelia inquired, curious as to why Ester decided to speak up now.

"Because they wouldn’t listen to me. They all think they love their husbands, even with the curse. If you speak of Cecilia not loving her husband, she would try to have you killed, so I left it alone. Besides, shouldn’t you love your spouses without needing to be told to?" Ester asked.

"There is such a thing as arranged marriages. It is what Dante and I had," Ophelia replied.

"I see. The others didn’t have arranged marriages. They chose each other yet never broke the curse. I have thought for some time now that Cecilia doesn’t love her son as much as she says she does."

Ophelia laughed since Cecilia was out to kill her because of her love for her son. "I am not fond of Cecilia, but I know she loves her son. Ow," she whined after Ester hit her with a stick. "Can you please stop? I don’t like to be hit."

"You have already forgotten what I told you. Man and beast are not the same," Ester reminded Ophelia. "They love the man in your arms, but where are they when the beast shows itself? You haven’t been present for the first full moon, so you haven’t seen who is at his side."

"I may not visit the castle, but I do know that there isn’t a portrait of the late Lord Hastings around the castle. She may claim that seeing her late husband’s face is hard to bear because she misses him, but I know that isn’t the truth," Ester said, certain that Cecilia was afraid.

Ophelia understood more of why Dante would dislike himself if his own mother couldn’t accept him.

"Thank you for sharing this with me. I will keep it all in mind," said Ophelia.

"Don’t share it with others. I don’t need Cecilia coming to find me because of what I said. Now come, let’s lift the brute," Ester said, holding Dante’s arm to help lift him.