Chapter 3

3、

I never imagined I would reunite with my closest friend under these circumstances.

"Claire, it was an emergency. I… had no other choice."

The King looked at me with guilt.

I burst out laughing on the spot.

Everyone claimed they had no choice.

Everyone refused to sacrifice their own lives to save someone else.

"So you all decided my life was the one to throw away?"

"Does my life mean nothing to you?!"

I screamed out my fury, but my shattered body could not take the strain anymore.

My vision faded, bringing a hollow end to more than a year of relentless agony.

After returning to the ducal estate, an endless supply of priceless herbs was forced down my throat.

The King sent court physicians multiple times, but none of them could do anything.

Austin grabbed Dr. Miller by the collar.

"What do you mean she cannot be saved?!"

"That procedure was only supposed to take half her life!"

Was half a life nothing to him?

He said it so casually.

The white-bearded physician trembled in terror.

"Her Grace suffered severe trauma in her earlier years that permanently damaged her vitality. With proper care, she could have lived a long life, but…"

But she was drained dry as a living cure.

Austin walked slowly to my bedside and took my hand.

"Is there really no other hope?"

His head hung low, hiding his expression.

"If Your Grace can locate Doctor Clara Mercer, there might still be a sliver of hope."

The physician's words instantly rekindled the fire in Austin's eyes.

"Claire, I swear I will find Dr. Mercer to save you!"

Another worthless promise.

"You will never find her."

"I will! I know where she is!"

How could he possibly know? I stared at him with cold amusement.

In this entire world, I was the only person who knew Dr. Clara Mercer's whereabouts.

The next day, we entered the royal palace again.

"Sister-in-law, please save Claire."

I watched Queen Cynthia with great interest, curious to see how she planned to heal me.

Predictably, panic flickered across her face.

"Austin, let Lady Claire stay in my palace. I will do my best to look after her."

I watched Austin let out a sigh of relief with pure mockery.

He actually believed this fake Queen could cure me.

I could not fathom how I had ever fallen for such a foolish man.

That night, I was settled into the side hall of the Queen's palace.

Austin did not leave as I expected; instead, he stayed in the room with me.

"Since you cannot bear to leave the Queen, why did you not fight your brother for the throne back then?"

"Claire, you are the only woman I have ever loved in my life."

The moment he brought up love, I lost all interest in talking.

I pulled up the blanket and went to sleep.

The next morning, while Austin was attending the royal court assembly, I slipped out of the palace.

I had no reason to stay by his side anymore. I had to get away.

Yet, just a single step away from the palace gates, my crippled leg gave out, and the Queen's guards caught me.

"Lady Claire, thank you for saving my life, but you can never be allowed near Austin again."

My fate took a dark turn at that exact moment.

The Queen handed me over to the most notorious, ruthless minister in the empire―Lord Chancellor Logan Hayes.

That became the most agonizing night of my entire existence.

In that single night, I was stripped of every ounce of my dignity and pride.

At dawn, I pulled my torn clothes back over my battered body and walked out into the courtyard.

"You aren't planning to throw yourself into the pond, are you?"

Logan Hayes leaned against the pillar behind me, his voice dripping with mockery.

I stood by the water, looking up at the morning sun.

"Not at all."

"I just want revenge."

"I will help you."

Even though I knew he only wanted to use me for his own ambitions, those words still sparked a tiny glimmer of hope in my frozen heart.