The Hero's Forsaken Princess
Chapter 21: Strike Back

Chapter 21: Strike Back

’A deal? Fulfilling his wish. I have a bad feeling about this.’ Eve gazed at Gavin suspiciously.

She scribbled on her pad.

[ Stop! Don’t come closer. Just tell me what you want in exchange. ]

Gavin halted on his steps. He could tell that Eve was very cautious of him.

"I have only one wish, Princess Eve." He smirked, staring at her with his hungry eyes. "Sleep with me once."

Eve’s stomach churned upon hearing that. She had the urge to vomit. Gavin had never changed. He was still lusting over her.

’I won’t let him touch me ever again. I’ll make him pay for what he did to me. I will use his obsession with me as his weakness.’

Eve vowed revenge against the people who mistreated her and made her suffer. She would start collecting debts.

Instead of running away, she would rather confront them and outwit them at their own game. She might be weak physically but she wasn’t dumb. She would use her brain to outsmart her enemies.

Eve knew she had to rely on herself to survive. She was now alone. She couldn’t expect anyone to protect her.

[ Fine. I agree. But you have to prove my innocence first. If the queen punishes me then this deal is off. ]

Gavin’s eyes sparkled with delight upon reading her response.

"Don’t worry, Milady. The queen won’t be able to punish you. I’ll prove your innocence in front of the court and the royal family." He reassured her.

"I have to go now before your husband sees me here."

Gavin was about to leave but Eve stopped him. She still had something to ask him.

[ Do you know what happened to the hunter who saved me from the bandits? ]

Eve was curious about Gideon’s whereabouts. She didn’t know what happened after she passed out. The last person who was with her was Gideon. She wondered if Gideon was the one who brought her back to the palace.

Meanwhile, Gavin didn’t know whom she was referring to. However, he remembered the new prisoner he ran into in Palace Gaol earlier.

"Are you referring to a man in a black robe... with blue eyes?"

Eve bobbed her head frantically to confirm it. ’Yes, that’s definitely him.’

"Your husband captured that man and he was brought to the stockade as a prisoner."

Eve gasped upon hearing that. Her anger toward Alaric intensified further.

’He didn’t capture the bandits. Instead, he captured the man who rescued me, treating him as a criminal! This is so unfair!’ Eve gritted her teeth as she clenched her fists. She was enraged.

"My lord, General Alaric has arrived. You have to leave now!" The servant informed Gavin. He bribed the servant that’s why he managed to sneak into the Lotus Pavilion.

Gavin looked at Princess Eve one last time.

"Milady, I’ll arrange the time and meeting place for you to fulfill your end of the deal. I hope you’ll allow me to see your real face again."

After saying those words, Gavin turned around to leave. The servant escorted him to the backdoor to avoid being seen by Alaric.

When Eve was left alone in her chamber, her body tensed up. She feared Alaric. This man wanted her dead.

’Is he going to kill me now?’ A chill ran down her spine at that thought. Her body trembled.

She kept pacing back and forth across her room, biting her nails. ’What should I do?’

Her eyes caught a glimpse of the dagger. She immediately grabbed it. Without hesitation, Eve approached the door. She hid behind the door as she waited for Alaric to arrive.

She made up her mind. She would attack Alaric using the dagger in her hand. As she waited, her heart pounded wildly against her chest. She was anxious, gripping the dagger tightly. She didn’t know if she could really kill a person.

’I have to do something. My savior is in danger because of me. Gideon was not supposed to be in prison. I have to help him escape. I have to threaten Alaric.’

From her current position, she could hear the approaching footsteps. Then the sound stopped by the door.

"How’s my wife? Is she awake now?" Alaric’s deep voice was heard as he asked the servant who was guarding the chambers.

"I haven’t checked on her yet, my Lord," the servant promptly responded.

Alaric narrowed his eyes when he heard that.

"You are not doing your duties! You were supposed to take care of my sick wife. Have you prepared her meal? She has to take her medicine for her fever to go down." Alaric reprimanded the servant for neglecting Eve.

"Forgive me, my Lord. I shall retrieve her dinner at once." The servant promptly curtsied and departed to fetch Eve’s meal.

’A hypocrite. He is good at pretending he cares about me. But in truth, all he wants is for me to die so that he can marry Thalia.’ Eve became more enraged thinking Alaric was not sincere about his concern for her.

It did not take long before Alaric entered the chambers. Eve took a deep breath when Alaric’s figure came into her view. His back was facing her.

Tightening her hold on the dagger, Eve charged forward, aiming to stab Alaric’s neck.

’Annie died because of you... so you have to die!’ Eve screamed in her mind.

Alaric sensed her movement behind so he quickly turned around. With his quick reaction, he managed to block Eve’s attack. He caught the blade of the dagger using his bare hand.

"Eve?" Alaric was stunned for a moment when he recognized his attacker. He could see the murderous intent in Eve’s emerald eyes.

Eve tried her best to push the dagger further but Alaric was so strong. Despite his bleeding hand, his grip on the blade of the dagger was so tight.

’Damn! He caught me. He is so strong. I can’t kill him like this.’ Eve panicked when she met Alaric’s sharp gaze. Her hands grew weak and her legs trembled.

’Is he going to hit me?’ Eve reflexively shut her eyes when she saw Alaric raising his other hand. She thought he was going to hit her.

Before she knew it, the dagger slipped out of her grasp, falling to the floor. Then she just found herself being pushed back, trapped between the cold wall and Alaric’s large figure.