The force of the blow drove Maria a step backward, her heel scraping against the cold stone as she struggled to keep her balance. For a second, everything inside her rang. Not just the pain on her cheek, but the weight behind it. The meaning. The finality of it.
Edmond did not step away. He moved closer instead, closing whatever space remained between them, as though distance itself offended him.
"You should be ashamed," he said, his voice low but burning underneath, "confessing your love for another man when you are already engaged to Robert."
Maria did not answer immediately. Her hand rose slowly to her face, fingers trembling slightly as they rested against the spot he had struck. The sting spread deeper now, settling into her bones, but she did not flinch away from it.
"Yes," she said at last, her voice steady in a way that did not match the chaos in her chest. "I am despicable."
She lifted her eyes to him, and there was no attempt to hide anymore. No defense left to build.
"I am engaged to Robert Rendell," she continued, each word landing heavier than the last, "yet I have shared my bed with Drexo, more than once."
For a heartbeat, the room went still..Then something in Edmond broke.
His hand rose again before reason could catch it, and this time the strike came harder, faster, driven by something raw and uncontrolled.
CRACK!
Maria's head snapped to the side, her body staggering under the force as the world tilted for a moment. She sucked in a sharp breath, her knees threatening to give way, but she forced herself upright again, even as the taste of iron crept into her mouth.
"You have turned yourself into a prostitute," Edmond groaned, the words dragging out of him like something bitter and poisonous.
His jaw tightened so hard it seemed as though it might shatter. He could not even look at her properly now, his gaze shifting and returning as though torn between fury and disbelief.
"You broke your oath to Robert," he continued, his voice rising despite himself. His fists clenched at his sides, knuckles whitening under the strain. "You have brought shame to this household."
Maria said nothing. There was nothing left to say. He turned away from her then, sharply, almost as though the sight of her face burned him. His shoulders were stiff, his back rigid, as if holding himself together required every ounce of strength he had.
"You are no longer worthy of the Woodland name," he said, his voice colder now, stripped of the earlier fire but somehow more cutting. "A Woodland does not break their vow."
The words lingered in the air, heavy and suffocating.
Maria's hand dropped slowly from her face. The pain was still there, pulsing, but it no longer felt like the center of anything. Something deeper had taken its place.
Something quieter. Something final. Edmond did not look at her again.
Instead, he moved toward the door with sharp, deliberate steps, as though every second spent in that room was now unbearable.
"Guards!" he called out, his voice echoing through the chamber with authority that left no room for hesitation.
The doors opened almost immediately. Armed men surged in, their movements quick but uncertain as their eyes flickered between Edmond and Maria, trying to understand what they had just walked into.
"Arrest her," Edmond ordered without turning back. "Throw her into the dungeon."
The guards hesitated. It was brief. Just a flicker. But it was there. Maria noticed it. Of course she did.
These were men who had seen her walk these halls since she was a child. Men who had bowed to her. Protected her.
Now their hands hovered uncertainly, caught between duty and something else they could not quite ignore.
"Do it!" Edmond roared, spinning toward them, the force of his voice shattering whatever doubt remained.
That was enough. They moved. Two of them stepped forward, their grips firm but careful as they took hold of Maria's arms. There was no roughness in it, no cruelty, but there was no room for refusal either.
Maria did not struggle. She did not pull away. Did not resist. Did not even look at them.
Instead, her gaze returned to Edmond. "What now?" she asked, her voice quieter than before but no less steady. "Are you going to execute me for treason, or for breaking my vows to my fiancé?"
The guards paused for half a breath, as though the question itself had weight.
Edmond turned to face her again. For a moment, something flickered in his eyes. Something that almost resembled conflict.
But it did not stay. "I will not judge you for treason," he said at last. His tone was controlled now. Too controlled.
"I will allow Robert to decide your fate for breaking your vow to him."
Maria held his gaze for a second longer, searching for something. Anything. She found nothing.
Edmond exhaled sharply, as though even speaking those words had taken something out of him.
"Take her out of my presence."
That was all. The guards began to move, guiding her toward the door. Their grip remained respectful, but firm enough to remind her of what she had become in this moment.
A prisoner.
Maria did not resist. She walked with them. Each step felt strangely distant, as though she were watching herself from somewhere else, detached from the weight of her own body.
The halls they passed through were familiar. Every turn, every stone, every flicker of torchlight. Yet none of it felt the same now.
Servants stepped aside quickly, lowering their heads, but not fast enough to hide the confusion in their eyes.
A Warden's sister, being led away like a criminal.
When they reached the dungeon, the air shifted. It grew colder, heavier, carrying the scent of damp stone and iron.
The guards slowed slightly, exchanging brief glances with one another, as though silently questioning how far this would go.
But orders were orders. They led her to an empty cell. The door creaked open, the sound echoing in the narrow corridor.
Maria stepped inside without being pushed. The chains on the wall rattled faintly as she moved, though no one reached for them. Not yet.
One of the guards hesitated before stepping back. Then the door slammed shut. The sound echoed longer than it should have.
Maria stood there for a moment, staring at nothing in particular, her hand slowly rising again to touch her cheek.
It still burned. But it was fading. Everything was fading.
Bianca saw them before anyone said a word. She had been walking down the corridor, her thoughts elsewhere, when the sight of Maria surrounded by guards stopped her mid-step.
For a moment, she simply watched. Then confusion took hold. She turned sharply and made her way toward Edmond's chamber, her pace quickening with each step.
She did not knock. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. "I saw the guards taking Maria away," she said immediately, her voice carrying both urgency and disbelief. "What has she done to warrant such ill treatment?"
Edmond did not answer at once..He stood with his back partially turned, his gaze lowered, as though the floor held something worth studying.
His chest rose and fell slowly, but there was tension in every movement. "She has broken her engagement vows," he said finally.
Bianca's brows drew together.."What are you talking about?"
Edmond exhaled sharply, the sound rough, as though forcing the words out of him required effort he did not want to give.
"She has lain with Drexo Dragarian," he said. "More than once."
The words landed hard. Bianca felt it. Like something striking against her chest, leaving her momentarily unable to breathe.
But Edmond did not stop. "She claims she is in love with him."
Silence followed. Heavy. Suffocating.
Bianca's gaze dropped to the floor, her mind struggling to catch up with what she had just heard. For a while, she said nothing, her thoughts moving in slow, uneven circles.
Then she lifted her head again. "What are you planning to do?" she asked, her voice quieter now but no less firm. "You cannot possibly execute your own sister."
Edmond did not look at her.
Silence stretched again, longer this time.
Then he gave a small nod. "I must admit," he said, his tone lacking the earlier fire, replaced now with something more strained, "I do not have the courage to place her head on a spike."
The words came slowly, each one weighed down by something he refused to name.
"I will deliver her to Robert," he continued. "He will decide what to do with her."
Bianca's expression tightened immediately. "You know he will kill her," she said, stepping closer. "A man whose fiancée betrayed him with his enemy, he will not show restraint."
Edmond's fists clenched again. "Maybe," he said. The word came out flat. "But I have no choice."
Bianca closed the distance between them, her hands reaching for his shoulders, holding him firmly as if grounding him might change something.
"You do have a choice," she said, her voice softer now, almost pleading.
He did not respond.
She lifted one hand, placing it gently against his cheek, forcing him to meet her eyes.
"We can keep this within us," she continued. "No one else needs to know. Robert does not need to hear of this. If he does not know, he cannot act."
For a moment, Edmond did not move..The idea lingered between them.
Tempting, and dangerous.
Then he pulled away. Not violently. But firmly enough to make his stance clear. "I will not do that," he said. His voice was steady again.
Resolved.
"Robert is my friend," he continued. "And honour demands that I inform him of what has happened."
Bianca opened her mouth, but he did not give her the chance. "I can only beg on her behalf," he added. "If there is mercy to be given, it will come from him."
"But…" She tried again, but Edmond was already moving.
He turned and walked past her, heading for the door without hesitation, as though staying even a second longer would weaken something he was holding together by force.
The door opened. Then closed behind him. And Bianca was left standing alone in the silence he had abandoned.