Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 176: You Are A Great Warrior, Lord Giggles

Chapter 176: You Are A Great Warrior, Lord Giggles

Safie paced back and forth in front of the back entrance of the castle, nervously biting her nails. Duke Valentine and Sir Stanis were supposed to return any minute now.

No matter how hard she tried to remain busy and not think about Bella venturing outside to get the healing tea, the maid could not help but feel anxious and restless. Pausing for a moment before the thin, tall window, she took a quick look outside and let out a long, nervous exhale.

"It has begun to snow... Look how dark it is out there! Goodness, Bella, where are you now?"

At last, her pacing was interrupted when the door to the castle was swung open, inviting Tillian and Stanis inside. The moment they both entered, the young woman jumped right in front of them, nervously grabbing the duke by his arms as she exclaimed,

"Your Grace! Thank goodness, I am about to jump out of my skin!"

"Safie? What are you doing here?"

Both the duke and his aide raised their eyebrows in surprise. Safie explained,

"It’s Bella, Your Grace! She went to the chapel to get some tea for Lady Aideen, and she was alone! Please, someone has to go after her. I have a very bad feeling that something might happen!"

Stanis furrowed his thick brown eyebrows and nodded at Tillian,

"I will go, Your Grace. You take care of things here for now."

The duke nodded too, and once Sir Nygard disappeared behind the door, Tillian shifted his eyes back to the maid and asked,

"What is going on? Why did she go alone?"

"She only took the dogs with her, Your Grace. She said she didn’t want to bother Lady Aideen because the guardian knights need her permission to leave the post," Safie replied in a trembling voice.

The man released an exhausted sigh and wiped his face with both hands, thinking,

’We didn’t see any signs of the beasts going in the direction of the chapel. She should be fine...’

Turning back to Safie, he added reassuringly,

"Alright, don’t panic. Stanis is on his way already; he will bring her back safely."

Safie only nodded quietly, while Tillian asked,

"Does Aideen know about this?"

"No, Your Grace, she doesn’t."

"Good. No need to worry her needlessly."

"Your Grace..." the maid said quietly, "I can feel that something is wrong. I can’t help it. I’m so worried..."

The duke gently patted her back and tried to offer her some comfort,

"Bella is native to The North; she was born and raised here. I’m sure she will be fine."

***

Stanis’s horse galloped through the snow, its hooves drowning in the soft carpet of the freshly fallen snow. His hands trembled as he tugged the leather reins.

The snowfall was already letting up, and it was easier to see; the skies were clearing up as well, and the sun was soon to rise.

The man was confident that he was taking the right route to find the maid. All the shortcuts Bella knew were told to her by Stanis; thus, he knew that he was on the right route. Yet, considering that it was about time they crossed paths, there was still no sign of Bella anywhere.

Tossing all the negative thoughts away, the knight chose to cling to the only hope he could accept.

’She probably got caught in the snowfall while she was not far away from the chapel and decided to go back and wait until it eased off. It would have been too reckless of her to continue going, all things considered.’

Suddenly, his eyes caught a glimpse of something farther ahead, and while it was still too soon to tell what exactly he was looking at, Sir Nygard felt his heart beating faster, ringing loudly in his ears.

Nudging his horse on the side, he drew nearer and finally was able to see it all—three massive bodies of the black wolf beasts, their long messy fur soaked in blood, the motionless bodies of the Doberman siblings, and lastly... the body of a woman covered with a light layer of white snow, a large pool of red blood underneath her, blooming like an ominous flower.

Without even realizing it, Stanis jumped off his horse and rushed towards the scene, his blood running cold. Allowing no hesitation for his actions, he drew his massive sword and stabbed the bodies of the wolf beasts one by one, ensuring that they were indeed dead. Then, he tossed the bloodied sword aside and fell down on his knees next to the woman, turning her around, his eyes widening as he witnessed her state.

He wiped her white face with his trembling hands and called out her name,

"Bella? Bella, wake up... Bella, please... Wake up, please... Bella, I’m begging you... Please..."

But Bella did not respond.

The man knew it instantly. Her body was stiff and frozen, her lips were blue, and there was not an ounce of life left in her veins. She was gone.

Stanis felt tears streaming down his face. He hugged the maid’s body closer, burying his face in her long messy hair. It was strange. He could still smell the scent of winter flowers in her locks—she always had that scent around her. And she forever will.

As he continued to greedily inhale that comforting smell, the knight suddenly heard a quiet whimpering coming from his right. He instantly turned around and saw Lord Giggles crawling desperately towards him, leaving a trace of blood as he moved forward.

"Lord Giggles... Goodness, buddy, you’re still alive."

Wiping his tears, Stanis quickly took off his long cape and carefully wrapped Bella’s lifeless body inside it. Then, he removed the soft, dark brown scarf knitted for him by the maid, leaned over the sniveling dog, and started enveloping it around the Doberman’s wounded sides and back, both his hands and voice shaking as he whispered,

"You will be alright, buddy, everything will be alright. You are a great warrior, Lord Giggles... You defeated them all. Good job... Good job, buddy... You are going to be alright now..."

He kept repeating these words over and over as if they were actually directed to him and not the dog, while tears streamed down his face, leaving long, sparkling traces as the rising sun touched with its morning rays.