Page 41 of Is It Wrong to Escape My Fate? (Dealing With Fate #1)
The bastard, now known as Lord Compton, scoffed as he relaxed in his seat. “Right. The baron’s daughter. Havenglow, was it?”
Theodore tensed in his spot right next to the invisible barrier where this room separated from the other. One step, and it would easily reveal there was only an illusion of a wall. I didn’t think Theodore cared as knives appeared in each of his hands.
He held himself back, though. Good for him.
Winston similarly held his gentle smile. “Lady Beatrix Havenglow, yes.”
“Whore of a girl,” Lord Compton continued while a few of the men stood up; Theodore lifted an arm to signal them to stop whatever they were planning to do.
Personally, I wasn’t offended — the bastard didn’t know me at all.
“Prince, I had a report of her walking around half-naked in front of professors. Surely that’s cause for expulsion. ”
What? When the hell did that happen?
“That day a fireball hit you,” Uriel reminded me of the memory, and informed the truth to the rest of the group. “That strange event where the fire only burned through your dress.”
“You have Fire immunity?” Amos asked, curious.
“I don’t think so,” I mumbled. I thought the same, but everybody else said it was impossible unless it was my Unique.
“Ah, yes, I remember a report of a group of second years mishandling Fire magic and almost hurting a new student, burning her dress in the process,” Winston replied smoothly, as Compton looked uncomfortable. “Those students weren’t expelled, but they were punished.”
“She also likes to pick fights with other students, even those in higher years. Like Lady Cecilia,” Compton proudly exclaimed as if it was a gotcha moment. I could kind of understand; Lady Cecilia Valonde was, for a time, the would-be Crown Princess. Surely Winston had a soft spot for her.
“On the contrary, I have reliable reports telling me it was the other way around. The dining hall has many eyes and ears,” Winston countered, and I knew immediately Samuel reported that incident to him after all. The man beside me muttered “amateur” with a low, chiding laugh.
I laid my head on his chest, and he froze. Heh. Still winning.
“Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?” Winston spoke again when Compton lost his composure with the previous statement. “I will once again ask: why did I receive news that you had ordered to have this lady taken out of the academy?”
“I only wanted to scare her so she stops her foolishness,” Compton returned to acting smug. He really did believe he was the bigger man here, didn’t he? “I thought I was doing you a favor, Your Highness.”
Even from this distance, I could see Winston clenching and unclenching his hands on his lap. Interesting. “And what favor might that be, Lord Compton?” His smile was sweeter than ever.
“She’s tarnishing your name and the Champions’ for gallivanting with so many men. It’s disgraceful and shameless. Disgusting.”
Oh.
It wasn’t the first time someone had called me disgusting, and I suspected it wouldn’t be the last, too. Wasn’t the first to shame me for my preferences and interests. Wasn’t the first to make me feel wrong for my life choices.
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Amos growled as he paced the room, burning his restless energy.
“Can’t kill a noble or there will be questions,” Uriel responded evenly, and if not for the slight narrowing of his eyes would I be able to tell he was having some kind of emotion.
“I would’ve scared her good so she’ll be nice and pliant,” Compton continued when Winston just stared at him. “And then she’ll be a proper lady, worthy to serve the Champions. I can take care of her for you, Your Highness.”
Now what the hell was this dude saying?
Winston remained calm. “Elaborate.”
Compton was quiet for a while, running a hand over his jaw anxiously.
He was contemplating something , as I was sure some men here were contemplating killing him.
Then he reached a decision, relaxing, and once again, arrogantly smug.
“My Unique. I can make someone lose their memories for the last ten seconds. It’s how I caught her off-guard.
“I used it on her while she’s on her way to the dining hall. When she was disoriented, we took her out of the grounds. Anybody who saw us had their memories erased. Flawless, honestly.”
Holy shit. That was why I couldn’t remember. Combined with the other bastard who could make people sleep, they would be unstoppable.
“If you let me handle her, Your Highness, that girl would be tamed within a week,” he proclaimed, with a grin wide enough to flash every perfect tooth, like everything else about him; unblemished skin, sculpted features.
Signs of a noble birth. Except for his terrible, rotten mind.
“I’ll punish her every time she strays and make her forget it.
Repeat as necessary until she realizes that every unacceptable behavior makes her body hurt, without knowing it was by me.
And by extension, yours.” He was giggling now, as if he already imagined doing it to me .
“I’ll reward her good behavior, too. That I won’t erase. ”
I could only imagine what that reward would be.
More importantly, this creep was a complete psychopath. I remembered my kidnappers talking about delivering me untouched to this Lord, but what he had planned for me was so much worse. What the fuck did I ever do to him to deserve it?
“He didn’t answer it,” I whispered, Samuel holding me tighter. “Should I believe he planned all of that to curry favor with the Prince?” It seemed too shallow compared to the crime. But then again, I had no idea how his mind worked.
The men in the room with me were barely holding it together. Even though I couldn’t imagine what went through their heads, the aura around us was so thick and heavy, I didn’t need to be a mind reader to tell they were all itching to punch this guy at least once. It made me feel a little better.
Theodore tipped his head to Uriel, who nodded in response. Moments later, Winston addressed Compton again. “That’s an interesting plan.”
“Why, thank you, Your Highness —”
“What’s the real reason then, Lord Compton?” Winston cut him off, and my heart sped up as the Prince confronted him with my words. “Surely, this plan is too elaborate to earn my favor.”
“You’re as insightful as they say, Prince,” Compton laughed, and was it just me, or was he slowly going unhinged? I didn’t like how he was unsettling me so much. “I want to earn your favor, of course. But more than that, she belongs to me, and I didn’t want her to embarrass the Champions.”
“I don’t fucking know you!” I yelled before I could stop myself. What the hell was wrong with this guy? Why would he think that I belonged to him?
Claude knelt at my feet as Samuel took his hand off my shoulder and rubbed my back. “Baby girl, it’s okay,” he cooed, massaging my calf. “We’ll get him soon, don’t worry.”
Vincent sat down on my other side. “He’s a dead man walking, I promise you that.”
Without prompting, Compton continued, standing up from his seat.
“I’ve claimed her since the first time I saw her.
Prince Winston, you understand that, right?
I saw her first. Before you did. I saw her and claimed her.
But I’m willing to let her serve the Champions.
It’s honorable. But she belongs to me. She’s disgraceful, but it’s easily rectifiable. ”
Holy fucking hell. The man was certifiably insane.
Every word that came out of his mouth was like poison coating my lungs, my breaths growing shallower as more men surrounded our couch. “Give her room to breathe,” one of them said, while another massaged the back of my neck.
“It’s unfortunate that she escaped, but I’ll get more opportunities in the future.” Compton grinned. “She didn’t even dare go to the security since she already knew no one would believe her. She’s wonderful. But mine, Prince. Let me take care of her.”
“You don’t have to keep reminding me you think she’s yours,” Winston snapped, and for a moment I thought he’d completely break character, but he was still the Prince and was known for his good decorum.
Compton though? He laughed, then laughed some more. Almost cartoonishly. “Because you understand, Prince. That’s why I have to keep reminding you. You understand me. The girl is mine. I claimed her first.”
“We’ll talk again soon.” Winston had had enough as he left the fake sitting room, leaving Compton chuckling to himself even when he was alone.
Before I could ask what was next, Winston entered the room we were in, looking composed as if he hadn't just had a conversation with an unhinged psychopath. “That was very enlightening,” he muttered. “In any case, here’s where I need your opinion, Bea.”
“Let’s just kill him right now,” Theodore suggested, flipping his knife in his hand. “While Bea’s here to witness it. It’s perfect.”
“You told us you don’t want your kidnapping incident to be public information,” Winston exclaimed, ignoring Theo.
“Julian Compton is the first son and heir of Marquis Compton, whose territories are next to Grimwald’s, fighting against the Demon Lord.
If news of his heir getting murdered unlawfully reaches him, a civil war will be inevitable.
The Kingdom’s relationship with them is already tenuous at best. The Marquis needs only a valid reason to rally against the Kingdom.
” He stood straight, losing his usual smile.
“Do you understand what this means, Bea?”
I might not be of this world; I might only be a silly, modern girl thrust into a world of nobles and politics, but I at least knew something . Thank you, strategy video games. “He’ll get away with it.” I said it loud and clear.
“What the fuck?” Claude growled, angry for the first time I’d seen him. “After everything that monster had done and said, he’ll get away with it ?”