Two Swords and the Angel’s Feather - Chapter 45

“What’s all this fuss about?”

Everyone’s movement stopped due to a calm and determined voice. Walking with soldiers from the end of the hall were Ced the Wise King and Ryder Pelbrook, the Duke of Madison.

Countess Bryson was the first to act. She burst into tears and ran in front of the king, and threw herself to the floor.

“Your Majesty, you can’t do this. I don’t know how this insulting and horrible thing can happen inside the palace. I really hope that you will take care of this, believing in His Majesty’s impartiality.”

“Your Majesty, Ellen just doesn’t know the propriety of the royal palace. She was just trying to protect her fiancé, and the result was a little too much.”

Margaret said, bending her knees quickly and bowing her head. River rolled his eyes and looked at Ced and his brother. Ced’s thin eyes looked at Ellen’s tangled hair, disheveled clothes, and cheek wounds one by one and then moved toward Mrs. Bryson.

“Who wants to explain to me what happened? No, not you two, Lady Ellen maybe?”

Mrs. Bryson and Margaret tried to open their mouths simultaneously, but Ced cut firmly and looked at Ellen. Ellen blinked and tried to answer, but her voice cracked, and she had to cough several times.

“Well, I hit Mrs. Bryson.”

“Well, it’s like a mutual assault. What was the reason?”

Mrs. Bryson tried to refute, but Ced raised one hand and looked down at Mrs. Bryson.

“I would feel awful if I opened my mouth before I told you to speak, Countess Bryson. Do you understand?”

Countess Bryson bit her lips so tightly that she looked pained; Margaret blinked her eyelashes at Duke Madison. But the Duke was looking at Ellen.

“So, Lady Ellen?”

“She said something bad about Lord River’s scar.”

“I’ve never done that. Your Majesty, you misunderstand me! I was just trying to disabuse her of her presumptuous remarks about the Duke of Madison!”

“Ellen is right. Your Majesty, Mrs. Bryson is…”

“Silence!”

The hallway was quiet again when Ced yelled. Ced’s sculptural face hardened coldly towards the women.

“One more time, if anyone opens their mouth without my permission has no intention of staying in this palace, and I ask the soldiers to lead them to the door. Do you understand?”

The women all shut up again. Perhaps because of the loud noise, people gathered one by one near the hallway to watch, and Mrs. Bryson quickly trimmed her hair a little as if she were trying to use it to her advantage and then began to shed tears prettily. However, tears flowed like black stains because of the charcoal makeup that she spread all over her eyes.

“Ellen, what have you done? I knew it would be a mistake to send you to the palace. You idiot…”

Count Southhorn, who is coming forward with a reddened face through people, when he looked at Ced, he then stopped there and knelt down urgently. Ced looked around the crowd and slowly opened his mouth.

“Now, can I point out who this body they are going to talk to?”

His voice was icy. When no one opened their mouths, he looked at River holding Ellen, to be exact.

“Did you witness the situation, Lord River?”

“Yes, I am. Your Majesty.”

Mrs. Bryson’s eyes widened. She stopped crying and looked at him with an anxious look.

“What happened?”

“Mrs. Bryson called me a crumb and insulted Lady Ellen.

Ellen was just trying to protect my honor.”

“Your Majesty, please listen to me.”

Mrs. Bryson sobbed in a grief-stricken tone. Ced raised his eyebrows.

“All right, let me tell you, Countess Bryson.”

“It’s hard to say in my own words, but I think it’s my duty to let Lady Ellen know if she has any other intentions as she serves the Queen. She is a loyal noblewoman serving Her Majesty Queen…”

Mrs. Bryson swallowed her sob and spoke sharply to Ced’s calm tone.

“Lady Ellen has a relationship with Lord River Pelbrook and says she has insidious plans for the Duke of Madison. I was just trying to let you know it wasn’t acceptable, and Lady Ellen landed me a slap.”

The people around them chattered lowly. It is no secret that all kinds of affairs took place in the royal palace, but it was completely different that the story came out in public. Countess Bryson looked pleased to hear people chattering, and Margaret’s head was beside her.

“Your Majesty, I want to talk to you about the situation.”

Ced nodded with a slightly unmotivated look, and Margaret said with a worried look on her perfectly cremated face as if she knew it or just oblivious as she is.

“Ellen never had an insidious plan for the Duke. I just wanted to see the Duke once as an older brother. That’s how brothers do. Mrs. Bryson misunderstood this, and this is just what happened. Please view Ellen’s impetuous temper in your heart like a family.”

Count Southhorn stared at Ellen, who River cuddled in thin eyes. Ced raised his eyebrows.

“Do you have something to say, Count?”

The Count hurriedly looked up.

“If that’s what my daughter would say. Then I believe in my daughter.”

“Which one are you talking about?”

“What?”

The Count looked up and looked at Ced.

“I have two daughters. I asked which side you believed.”

The Count looked at him for a moment as if he didn’t understand what he was saying, then turned to Margaret.

“Of course, Margaret is right. She’s always cared about her sister since she was a child.”

Ced looked at Duke Madison.

“I think this is a family problem. The exact problem is that she’s still single despite her age. This problem is happening because the only duke in this country is not getting married. Every unmarried woman fights over him. I think I’ll throw all these women into the arena and give him to the winner as a gift.”

“You don’t have to do that. I’ll sort things out.”

“That’s a good idea. The queen may have a headache thinking about explaining why she had a scar on her precious maid’s face, or the queen may come forward and try to solve it herself, and also she has already kicked a maid out of the palace who insulted Lady Ellen. Now that she’s had it hard.”