Conquering His Cold Heart
Chapter 471 - 471: Defensive

The carriage that Anastasia was traveling in reached the Warmane Mansion without any hitch. The coachman parked the carriage and placed the footstool on the ground before opening the carriage door.

Although uncomfortable about facing Vincent, Anastasia quickly stepped out of the carriage. After placing her feet on the ground, she lifted her head to see that the mansion was well-guarded now.

There were guards patrolling the area, and also those who were taking their posts at various places of the mansion.

'What is this all about?' Anastasia wondered to herself while growing increasingly uncomfortable.

'Caspian didn't come here to threaten Tilla, right?' She nervously began to think about false scenarios where Tilla was hurt by Caspian.

"Good morning, Your Majesty."

Anastasia was jerked back to reality when she was greeted by a courteous voice. She looked ahead towards the entrance of the mansion to see Penelope hastily walking in her direction.

Anastasia gave her a smile and apologized first. "I'm sorry for dropping by without notifying anyone beforehand."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Your Majesty." Penelope nervously waved her hand and added while gesturing to Anastasia to head inside the mansion, "You are welcome here at any time. His Lordship and the Mistress will be happy to have you here."

Anastasia let out an awkward chuckle and mumbled, "I'm not really sure about that but I have nowhere else to go."

Penelope caught a glimpse of sadness seeping from the Queen's face before it vanished in a flash and got replaced by a sweet smile.

"Will you go ahead and inform both Vincent and Tilla that I am here?" Anastasia asked. "I will make myself comfortable in the living room till then."

Penelope bowed her head and immediately agreed to the Queen's request. "I will do as you say. I will send someone else to lead you to the living room."

Penelope instantly picked up her speed and disappeared from Anastasia's view.

Anastasia sighed and wandered her gaze around the mansion once again. There was no doubt that all that security was arranged by Vincent for Tilla's protection. She was at least happy that Vincent was keeping his promise. Though she was sad that because of her, both Vincent and Tilla were in trouble.

When she walked inside the mansion she was greeted by a maid who began to lead her towards the grand living room.

Anastasia recognized the path they were taking. She was heading for the same living room where she had been the last time she was here. It made her feel even more uncomfortable.

The maid opened the door and then after Anastasia settled down on the sofa, she informed the Queen, "Please wait here, Your Majesty. Lord Vincent will join you shortly."

Anastasia nodded and followed the maid with her gaze as she walked out of the living room. Her eyes then fell on John and Isaac who were standing guard at the door.

"Oh!" She was a little surprised because, unlike the last time, those two had followed her inside the mansion.

She furrowed her brows and asked them while clasping her hands tightly, "Do you need to stand there like that?"

John looked at the Queen and replied in an unbothered tone, "Given the current situation, I think yes."

Anastasia scoffed and got up from her seat to stand face-to-face with her guards. She then pressed her palms together in front of her chin and whispered to her guards, "You two look… intimidating. I don't want to give a wrong impression to Vincent. With you two standing here like that, he might think I am here to fight him or something."

"Hahahaha…"

Anastasia almost jumped when she suddenly heard Vincent's laughter from outside.

He stood at the door and then said after bowing his head to Anastasia, "If you were Caspian then I would probably think that you were here to fight me. But since you are not, I believe you are here for… a little chat? With Tilla, probably?"

Anastasia forced a smile at Vincent and nodded her head. "Yes. I am here to meet Tilla. I needed someone to talk to. I needed a friend."

Vincent looked to his right to check the end of the corridor and then looked back at Anastasia again to say, "Tilla was still asleep. She will be here after getting ready."

"Oh!" Anastasia pursed her lips thinking that she was being a nuisance to Tilla so early in the morning. Then she mumbled guiltily, "I hope I didn't disturb you too."

"Oh, no. I was already up and about." Vincent pointed at the sofa that was near the window and asked, "May I give you some company till Tilla arrives?"

"Sure." Anastasia turned around and walked in front of Vincent. She took her seat where she had sat the last time.

As soon as she sat down, she couldn't help but ask Vincent, "Did some altercation occur between you and Caspian? I told him everything on the same night I came here. I hope he didn't… come here and take out his anger on Tilla or you."

"No, no. He didn't come here." Vincent was quick to deny it.

And Anastasia was quick to ask. "I saw a lot of guards here and I was worried. Are you sure he didn't come and threaten either of you?"

Vincent's face suddenly turned solemn. He heaved a sigh and slowly answered Anastasia, "Actually I had some misunderstanding with Caspian. He thought that I already knew about your condition and he happened to blast me and Zenon at the wall."

"Oh, dear god!" Anastasia covered her mouth with both of her palms.

Vincent shook his hands and quickly said, "I wasn't injured. You don't have to worry about me. I just added the extra security in case Caspian tried to do something in his rage. He doesn't use his ears and his head when he is angry."

Anastasia could only heave a sigh upon hearing that.

Vincent could tell from Anastasia's facial expression and slouched body posture that she was also having a difficult time dealing with Caspian.

So, he softly asked, "He hasn't done anything dramatic with you, right?"

"N-Not really…" Anastasia didn't know what else to say. She simply pursed her lips and looked down. And she subconsciously began to break her already short nails.

Vincent could clearly see that Anastasia was at a breaking point. But there was nothing he could do about the situation. All he could do was apologize to Anastasia.

"I would have loved to help you in any way I can. I had even thought about taking you and Tilla back to Orsenia, or somewhere far from Caspian's sight."

Anastasia instantly looked up at Vincent with a stunned look on her face. She was surprised that Vincent would think of going to such lengths.

Vincent kept on explaining how helpless he was. "However, I didn't dare to do that. Caspian is the King. If I had tried to sneak you both out of the Kingdom, his soldiers would have eventually caught us. I couldn't risk making Caspian even angrier than he already is."

"But if it's getting unbearable for you…" Vincent took a pause and said word by word, "I will do whatever I can to take you and Tilla away."

Anastasia violently shook her head and denied, "No! I don't want to run away! I would never do that. If I wanted to run away then I would have jumped at the opportunity when Caspian said he would arrange a carriage for me to return to Orsenia."

"What?" Vincent was surprised to hear that. "He said he would send you back and you didn't agree? Why not?"

Anastasia covered her eyes with one of her palms and mumbled, "Because I didn't want to leave him alone. Especially not when he is angry and vulnerable."

"Exactly!" Vincent grunted and clutched his fists as if he was trying to control his frustration.

And he almost yelled at Anastasia for being stupid and emotional, "I have seen how enraged Caspian is right now. So enraged that he could kill us all. You, me, Tilla, Zenon… Hell, he would have killed Zenon if I hadn't interrupted in time. Why would you risk your life like this when you had a way out?"

Anastasia frowned at Vincent for even thinking like that. But deep down, even she had thought the same.

Still, she tried to defend Caspian. "He is very angry, yes. But he would never kill us. Why are you being so pessimistic?"

"And why are you being so optimistic?" Vincent raised his voice a little but immediately apologized. "I am sorry for my outburst but I have never seen Caspian behaving this irrationally before."

Vincent glared back at the guards who were glaring back at him. He looked back at Anastasia when the guards looked away from him and continued in a soft voice, "I had thought that Caspian would eventually forgive you but I can see how wrong I was. I know you can see it too."

Vincent rested his elbows on his knees and asked while leaning forward, "That's why you are here, aren't you, Your Majesty? To seek suggestions from us?"