Chapter 3
As soon as I finished speaking, everyone in the courtyard went dead silent.
Halbert stopped in his tracks.
He didn't turn around.
But his arm around Unity tightened instinctively.
Unity stopped crying in his arms and stared at me in terror.
The maids and servants around us all went pale, barely daring to breathe.
They looked at me like I was a demon straight out of hell.
Halbert's back went ramrod straight.
After what felt like an eternity,
Halbert gritted his teeth and spat out a few words. "Lock her up.
"Don't let her out unless I say so."
Two sturdy women immediately stepped forward.
They didn't dare touch me, just stood at my door like two gatekeepers.
Halbert, clutching Unity, hurried away.
His retreating figure carried a hint of panic, as if he was escaping in haste.
The door was shut tight from the outside.
Then I heard the lock click.
The room grew dark.
I sat in the chair, motionless.
The dead calm inside me finally broke.
It hurt.
A relentless pain spread through me, like a thousand needles piercing my heart.
I thought I'd stopped caring.
But when he looked at me like that, when he threatened me because of another woman, it still hurt.
After ten years of being married to him and waiting for him to return from the frontier, all I got was that he wouldn't hesitate to make me a mute for life.
Halbert had left me no choice.
I was locked up all day long.
Not a single soul brought me food or water.
They probably thought starving me would make me give in and return to that quiet, obedient Lizzie who never dared to speak.
Darkness settled in.
I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face.
My stomach started to ache with hunger.
And my throat was dry with thirst.
But I didn't move.
I just sat there, waiting quietly.
I was waiting for my words to come true.
Late at night, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.
Women screamed, men shouted in panic.
I heard hurried footsteps.
A person said, "Oh no.
"Someone died.
"Report to the general now!"
Their voices echoed through the quiet night.
I smiled.
It happened just like I said.
Soon enough, the lock on my door clicked open.
Two house guards burst in, torches blazing in their hands.
The flickering firelight made their faces look ghostly pale.
"General Fowler wants you brought over," one of them announced.
I got up and followed them outside.
As we walked through the manor, every servant who saw me scrambled out of the way, like I was some kind of curse.
Something happened in Unity's residence.
It was already packed with people.
Halbert stood right in the middle of the crowd.
His expression was gloomier than the night itself.
On the ground lay a body, with a white sheet draped over it.
Beneath the sheet, I could barely make out the outline of a woman.
Unity was propped up by someone, standing next to Halbert, trembling from head to toe. Her uninjured hand gripped his sleeve, knuckles white with tension.
Unity caught sight of me and let out a startled, piercing scream.
Halbert's gaze fixed on me, as tangled and impenetrable as a spider's web.
He said, "This afternoon, you said that there'd be a funeral in the manor tomorrow."
Halbert's voice came out hoarse, heavy with emotion.
I nodded. "Yes."
He pointed at the body lying on the ground.
"Go and see who it is," Halbert said.
I walked over, crouched down, and reached out and peeled back the sheet.
Under the sheet was a young face I knew all too well.
It was Lane Castillo, Unity's closest maid.
Earlier this afternoon, she was supporting Unity and glaring at me with pure hatred.
Now, her eyes were frozen wide open, her skin bluish-purple, and a thin streak of black blood stained the corner of her mouth.
Those were classic signs of poisoning.
I glanced at the shards of porcelain lying on the ground nearby.
That was the bowl of childless brew Unity had knocked over earlier this afternoon.
Lane must've thought it was a shame to waste those expensive herbs, so she secretly scooped them up and drank them.
I got to my feet and shot Halbert a look over my shoulder.
"Guess it's time to start prepping that coffin," I said.
Unity couldn't hold back anymore. She broke down completely, screaming at the top of her lungs.
She said, "It was you. You killed Lane. You did this, you damned witch!"
Halbert didn't say a word.
He just stared at me.
His gaze held shock, suspicion, fear, and even a bit of bewilderment he himself probably didn't notice.
It was as if I'd become a stranger to him.
I looked at him.
I said, "General, do you believe me now?
"You know every word I speak will come true."
My words hit everyone like a sledgehammer, shaking them to their core.
The crowd all stepped back at once, as if fear had suddenly taken hold of them.
There was no contempt or pity left in their eyes anymore.
All that remained was bone-deep terror.
Halbert's lips moved, like he was about to say something.
He looked torn, struggling for words.
But in the end, he stayed silent.
I took a step closer to him.
I asked, "So, are you still planning to hold your grand wedding?
"Or maybe you want me to send another gift for your big day?
"How about I turn your wedding into a funeral?"