Chapter 3
"I know," I said.
"So why did you still help?" Dad asked.
I looked out the window.
The sky over the Talley family was gray, heavy with the promise of snow.
"Because the Schwartz family didn't deserve to die," I said. "They weren't the traitors. And I'm just trying to live without regrets."
My father looked at me, his eyes rimmed with tears.
"That's my girl," he said. "Good child."
For the next two weeks, I hardly caught a wink of sleep.
Disguised as a man, with my father's token in hand, I headed north. I tracked down merchants who dealt with the Northern Tribes and outlaws scraping by on the borderlands.
I went from person to person, showing them Cullen's portrait and asking, "Have you seen this man? Has he ever met with the Northern Tribes?"
Some people ignored me. Some tried to cheat me out of my money. Others even tried to kidnap me and sell me into slavery across the frontier.
But I didn't back down.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the Schwartz family—all three hundred of them—old men, children, women, even babies. They'd be dragged to the execution ground, their heads chopped off, all for a crime they never committed.
Triston had let me down.
But those people never wronged me.
On the thirteenth day, I finally found what I was looking for in a smuggler's secret ledger—proof of Cullen's dealings with the Northern Tribes.
It was right there in black and white, stamped with his personal seal.
The smuggler looked at me like I was crazy.
"Miss, are you really going up against Cullen? He's the head of the Cabinet, you know," he said.
I slipped the ledger inside my coat. "I know."
"Aren't you afraid of dying?" he asked.
I hesitated for a moment. "Yeah, I'm scared. But some things are worth more than my life."
I returned home.
On the fifteenth day, I brought the evidence before the King.
Cullen had already made arrangements, setting up a scapegoat to take the fall. But even so, the King was furious and sent him home in disgrace to reflect on his actions. The Schwartz family was cleared of all charges.
The whole court was in an uproar.
That night, I was in my room packing up, getting ready to head out to the country estate for a while.
I was dead tired. All I wanted was to find somewhere to just sleep for three days and nights.
Suddenly, my maid rushed in, her face pale.
"Miss, Mr. Schwartz is here," she gasped.
My hands froze for a moment.
"I'm not seeing him," I said.
"But... but he's already barged in!" she stammered.
Before she could finish, the door was pushed open.
There Triston was, standing right in the doorway.
It had been two years since I last saw him, and he'd changed a lot.
He was thinner, his skin darker, weathered by the elements.
That aloof, out-of-this-world vibe he used to carry was gone, replaced by something I couldn't quite grasp—like scorched earth after a wildfire, or maybe something about to burst out from deep inside him.
He looked at me, his eyes burned with a wild light.
"Vanessa," he said.
I met his gaze, calm and steady.
"What are you here for, Mr. Schwartz?" I asked.
Triston suddenly smiled, but there was something strange in that smile. It made my heart skip a beat.
"I've come back to the world," he said. "I'm here to marry you."
I just stood there, stunned.
"What?" I asked.
He took a step closer.
"Vanessa, I'm here to marry you. You saved my whole family. From now on, my life belongs to you. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you. Whatever you ask, I'll do it. Please, marry me," he said.
I stared at him, and this weird feeling just bubbled up inside me.
It wasn't happiness, and it definitely wasn't me feeling touched.
It was, honestly, I was just stunned.
'Who does he think he is?' I thought.
After everything he had done—betraying me, hurting me, making me the butt of every joke in the city—he thought he could just waltz in, say "I'll marry you," and I was supposed to just say yes like nothing ever happened?
And why did he think I saved the Schwartz family for him? So he'd come crawling back and ask to marry me?
"Triston," I said, keeping my voice steady. "You're mistaken. I didn't save the Schwartz family for you. I did it because they didn't deserve to die."
His smile faltered.
"Vanessa..." he started.
"Call me Miss Talley," I cut him off. "Whatever was between us is over."
His face darkened.
"Vanessa," his voice was rough. "I know I let you down. I know I hurt you back then. But for the past two years, not a day has gone by that I haven't regretted it.
"I left everything behind and went to the monastery because... because I didn't know how to face you. I thought if I hid away, maybe I'd forget. But I couldn't let you go."
He stepped closer, now just a breath away.
"I thought about you every single day. The way you looked at me in that alley, the words you said, and the scented pouches you made for me. Vanessa, I regret everything. I truly do," he said.