The Baroness Misbehaves
Chapter 265: He Promised Me

Chapter 265: He Promised Me

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Madeline’s exhausted knees limply dropped to the ground as a surge of relief and satisfaction filled her palpitating heart. Her whole body shuddered from the after-effects of the barrier spell, her insides burned like someone had lit a matches in her system, and she could barely get her limbs to move, but in spite of those effects that could leave her falling unconscious any minute from now, a sweet smile subconsciously broke against her trembling lips as she watched the dark clouds disappear from the sky, immediately replaced with a new one that signaled the beginning of a wonderful twilight.

She watched the barrier, imbued with her own essence make its way to Whitebridge, and it wasn’t going to stop till it covered the whole of Carmarthen, ready to ward off all of Abbot’s impending danger including those of the Ekiminus. The grass beneath her feet swayed gently in response to this mystical force, and it had thrown Madeline off-guard as the grasses she was seeing now, weren’t here before.

The circle had been covered in greenery, burying the amulet as if to shelter it from ever being discovered. The amulet had been created from her own essence, if anything terrible were to happen to it, her own life would be gravely endangered, but it was a sacrifice she was willing to keep as long as it ensured the safety of everyone who mattered dearly to her.

’Was the battle finally over?’

Silently asking herself this question, Madeline’s eyes pooled with tears as though she couldn’t believe it.

"Am I..... dreaming??"

"Monica." Hearing Napoleon call out to Monica made Madeline turn around to see he had freed her. The disoriented Monica placed a palm to the side of her head as her wobbly feet dropped to the ground as well. Napoleon worriedly crouched beside the confused Monica, hoping she was well, and the first thing he heard her say was....

"Did we win?"

"......."

Napoleon and Madeline exchanged a look, and for no particular reason, they laughed and chuckled. It was all they could do since they had no response to give, as though the reality was unbelievable for them to grasp as well. Napoleon gently helped Monica to her feet whilst Madeline weakly stepped away from the greenery and went to meet Monica.

"How are you feeling now?" She asked, placing her palm to the side of Monica’s cheek, and Monica, who eventually understood that the barrier had been created, grinned before nodding her head assuringly, and she checked herself with unhidden expectation in her eyes.

"Does that mean.... The Demon ghost?"

"It’s gone." Napoleon answered for her, "the barrier was going to get rid of everything. Whitebridge will finally be free from those horrible creatures." He assured Monica whose brows arched in stupefaction, and she barely knew when she threw herself against the stiff Napoleon, hugging him tightly with sudden tears brimming against her closed eyelids.

"Osvaldo and Cas will be so happy to know about this." She pulled back from the cringed Napoleon, feeling undeniably overwhelmed, and then she looked at Madeline with her eyes glistening with genuine appreciation. "Thank you for helping me. I owe you my life." She wanted to kneel but Madeline was quick to stop her from doing so.

"You don’t kneel before your family. You’ve helped me too." Madeline shook her head gently before holding Monica’s hands in hers. "We helped ourselves, so let’s not owe each other anything." She assured the teary-eyed Monica who smiled in pure admiration.

"Cas is indeed lucky." She mused to herself.

Speaking about Cassian, Madeline’s eyes lit-up instantly. "I need to see Cas, everyone must be waiting and I’m...." Without completing her phrase, Madeline turned around and hurriedly went down the stairs.

"Be careful down there." Napoleon, who sensed the level of her energy deteriorating from her system slowly, immediately warned before she ended up losing consciousness on the way, and they followed her.

Madeline was far too gone to listen to Napoleon as she made it for the exit. She had succeeded in creating a formidable barrier, a testament to her skill and determination. She couldn’t wait to check on everyone and make sure they were alright, she hoped everyone was doing fine, she hoped Cassian was fine too.

Stepping out while exhaling a harsh breath, the twilight sky was the first thing Madeline’s hazy eyes spotted, and she smiled broadly. But that was until she heard someone scream her name.

"Maddie!"

Glancing ahead, Madeline’s eyes widened when she saw Inna running towards her in tears. She wasn’t given the chance to ask a single question as Inna suddenly enveloped her in a tight embrace. At first, Madeline assumed it was because of what had happened, and she too was overwhelmed, but the way she cried sent shivers down Madeline’s spine.

Regardless of what she felt, she comforted Inna by reciprocating her hug.

"Maddie," pulling back from her, Inna looked pleadingly into the eyes of Madeline and begged. "Please bring Cassian back from wherever he went. My brother can’t be dead, he can’t possibly die after his promises can he? He won’t listen to anyone but... but he’ll listen to you, so please bring him back....please."

"Bring him back?" Madeline could barely get the word out herself. "I don’t understand what you’re saying to me, is Cas not with you? Where are the others?"

Looking past Inna, Madeline’s gaze shifted to Elian who was busy helping Orson after he sustained the fatal wound in his chest.

"Orson?!" Moving away from Inna, Madeline hurried to Orson’s side as she examined the wound. "Are you alright?" She knew it was a stupid question, but she couldn’t help but ask anyway. "You’re losing blood, why isn’t anyone...."

"He’ll be fine." Elian answered almost gravely, and Madeline, who wasn’t expecting this sort of reaction, wondered what happened.

"The barrier was created. Where’s.. where’s Cassian?" Looking behind the two of them in the hopes that she might see Cassian coming as well, her heart weighed in apprehension when she saw no one. Returning her gaze to Elian who hesitated, Madeline chose to ask him instead.

"Why’s no one answering me? Your silence is scaring me. Why isn’t he here? And where’s Osvaldo??"

At the mention of Osvaldo, the young man apparently showed up. He was drenched from head to toe since he had gone into the river to find Cassian. His once lively hazel eyes now looked dull as he shook his head despondently at Elian, Orson and Inna.

"I’m so sorry." He lowered his head, unable to bear the melancholy on their faces.

Inna’s knees dropped to the ground as if she had lost the ability to move, and Orson’s red-rimmed eyes glanced at Madeline who seemed to have guessed why Cassian was absent, whilst she shook her head.

"He promised me, it’s unlike Cassian to break a promise. He can’t...."

"He wasn’t human." Elian weakly explained to Madeline who still carried doubts, "he.... never turned human, Maddie, he took Abbot with him, they fell off a cliff and..."

"A Cli... Cliff?

Madeline’s heart shattered into a million pieces when her ears grasped Elian’s words, the grief overwhelming her. The air felt thick, and her surroundings blurred as a wave of disbelief crashed over her.

Reaching out for support, she gripped the nearest person, but her entire being trembled with the weight of the truth.

"It’s not true."

Tears welled up in her eyes, flowing freely down her cheeks as she tried to make sense of the cruel reality that had just been thrust upon her. The world seemed to fade into an indistinguishable haze, her focus consumed by the image of her beloved Cassian, and she still remembered his promise, he promised he’d stay alive so...

"He promised me... Cassian..." and to everyone’s shock, Madeline dropped unconscious to the ground.