Chapter 220 â Unexpected Savior (1)
Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan
âYou dare suggest interrogating my loyal servants?â The King shouted. âAre you unsatisfied with merely killing innocent people? You must brutalize the survivors? Your face is shameless!â
His voice was angry, but there was a strange underlying nervousness.
âBut Your Majesty, they are not your loyal men,â Annette corrected in her most submissive tone. âThese men cruelly turned their swords against innocent, unarmed people. My only sin was to accept the protection of my husband, who stopped them from killing me. Only that.â
Celestine nodded behind her, and Raphael laid his hand protectively on her shoulder. Selgratisâs face quivered.
âI assure you my men are loyal to me. They have served me for many years. And you think you can prove them guilty of being unscrupulous killers?â
Annette bit her lip. Honestly, there was no way to prove it. The King could easy claim that Celestine and Annetteâs father had been hurt because they had attacked his men, rather than the other way around.
Her hesitation only emboldened the King.
âHow abominable, daughter of Bavaria,â he spat. âSee how you twist, trying to deceive us. You plan to frame my men for your crime? Do you have no shame, even as they lie dead?â
Desperately, Annette tried to think. If she couldnât prove she had acted in self-defense, the King would triumph. Somehow, she had to stop him.
The reason she had been prepared to dispute the accusation of causing the explosion was simple: she had been prepared, and caught the King off guard. He was scrambling now to adjust, and confused to find himself at a disadvantage. He had brought the noblemen as witnesses because he had not expected to have a conversation with her. Annette had seized the opportunity to defend herself.
It would all be over if he arrested her now. No doubt he would provide unimpeachable evidence later. He was used to accusing others of his own crimes.
If only Father was awake right nowâŠ
Annette glanced back at the unconscious Duke of Bavaria. He was a skilled politician. If he were conscious, there was no doubt she wouldnât be in this situation.
But he was unconscious because he had protected her, despite his already-weakened body. Now, she must protect him.
How could she prove her actions were in self-defense? Her fists turned white as they clenched at her sides. After everything she had done to change this life, was she destined to die at this manâs hands again?
Her desperation must have shown in her eyes. Raphaelâs jaw clenched and his hand went to the scabbard of his sword. If anyone tried to take her, he would escape with her and her father. No one here could stop him.
He didnât care if he lost everything in Deltium.
Only a little while ago, it would have been unimaginable. But Raphael knew exactly what was important to him now. A life of luxury was meaningless if she was not there to share it. In a world without her, a diamond was just another stone.
He could be happy as a farmer, if he was with her. The only downside was his annoying father-in-law. But so long as he had Annette, he was willing to bear even that burden.
Just as he was reaching for his power, an unexpected savior emerged from the bushes.