Saving My Evil Winter King

Chapter 15

Lily’s POV

It took us another half an hour to come back to the huge castle from Louis’s home.

When our carriage stopped at the front door, the wind was howling and the sky started to snow heavily.

Two maids rushed out the door to bring me a thick cloak to prevent the wind and snow. I trotted into the castle with Anne holding the red velvet clock over my head.

When I finally stepped into the castle, the sudden warmth hit my face and released my shivering body from the freezing coldness instantly. I breathed a sigh of relief, then stood at the entrance waiting for the maids to sweep the snow off of my clothes.

That’s when I heard a string of annoying heavy steps approaching me. I lifted up my head and saw a middle-aged man stop in front of me. Behind him, there stood five strong guards who were armed heavily as if they were preparing to join an official war.

Cora reminded me the middle-aged man was the butler of the castle named Reid. His abrupt appearance gave me a really bad feeling. I looked at him with my brows furrowed.

“What happened? What are the guards doing here in the castle?”

“I beg your pardon, Your Highness.” The butler bowed to me humbly, “But I am afraid I have to take your husband away for a while.”

I clenched my jaw at his words, then turned my head to look for Aries. He’s standing at the entrance of the gate, a few steps away from me. Hearing the butler’s words, he did nothing and spoke nothing, just standing there silently with his eyes fixed on the transparent air in front of him, as if none of this was his business.

I looked back at the butler and asked him, “Why? Why do you want to take him away?”

The butler answered quickly, “There’s a small investigation was carried while you visiting Miss Anna, Your Highness. We now have evidence to prove that your husband, Mr Winter, has been planning to poison you for a while.”

“What?!” Cora and I were both shocked. That’s definitely the stupidest thing I’d ever heard. I mean, Aries is the future Winter King! Though he pretended to be weak and pathetic in front of all of us. But back in the carriage he’d showed me how much he’s capable of. If he wanted me to be dead, there must be a thousand ways for him to kill me. And poison was definitely not his option.

I know it might sound weird but I knew it from all the wars with him as Lily. Poisoning someone to death was so not his style. He liked his killing to be b****y and messy. That frightened people more.

I looked at Aries to seek his self-vindication. But he’s just staring at the air in front of him silently just like he didn’t hear anything from us. I was so sure it would go in vain to ask him about the poison thing.

The butler rushed me, “Your Highness, I had to arrest him for your safety.” He said that then motioned the guards to take Aries.

I stood in front of him involuntarily to prevent the guards from taking him, “Wait! You haven’t told me what evidence you have. You can’t take him without evidence.”

“The evidence has been presented to your father, Your Highness, and The King had permitted me to arrest your husband.” He said that, then snapped his fingers. The guards quickly bypassed me from both my sides, then cuffed Aries with a pair of heavy shackles.

Aries didn’t speak nor resist, just letting the guards cuff him, then push him towards the direction of the underground dungeon.

I glared at the butler, then quickly went upstairs to find the King. Like I had said before, Aries might be the devil himself, but I won’t allow anyone to blame him for things he never did. At least not when he’s still my nominal husband.

“Where is the King?” At the entrance of the second floor, I grabbed a maid and asked her hastily.

The maid stuttered to answer me, “In..in his office, Your Highness.”

I loosened my grip on her arms then rushed to the King’s office on the same floor.

“Dad, can I see you now?” I knocked at the heavy wooden door.

The king’s thick voice answered me instantly, “Yeah, come in, dear.”

His voice was different from usual, with a bit of nasal as if he was crying. I opened the door then stepped in. The scene inside caught my intention instantly.

In the middle of the King’s huge office lay an enormous golden retriever. His lush golden fur was smooth and shining like high-grade silk and his body was muscular and strong like a great warrior. However, the moment I stepped into the office, I had realized he had already died for a while. His eyes were shut tight and his body was stiff. I saw white foam at the corner of his mouth. I knew instantly the poor dog was poisoned to death.

That’s Tom. The King’s favorite pet. He had the dog around for almost ten years. The king must be devastated. Cora filled me in with the dog’s information.

I saw the King was sitting on a chair beside the dog with both his hands covering his face. His shoulder twitched once in a while. There’s no sound came from him, but I knew he was crying.

Lucy’s mother, the Queen, was standing beside him with one hand on his shoulder, comforting him gently.

“What happened, Mum?” I asked her softly.

The Queen sighed sadly, “This morning, after you left, Reid found Tom lying in your little garden. He took Tom back to the castle and called the doctor. The doctor checked Tom but it was too late. Tom was poisoned to death by that disgusting Aries.”

How did she get to the conclusion? Cora frowned.

I asked her carefully, “Reid just told me that he found Aries had been planning to poison me. Are the two things related?”

The Queen nodded elegantly, “Yes. After Tom died, we ordered the guards to search the castle for the suspect. And they found the exact poison which was used to poison Tom in your bedroom.”

That’s a total false accusation. Cora groaned in my head. Only the stupidest person in the world would leave the tool for criminal purpose at his own bedroom. And Aries has been staying with us most of the time since last night. Did the doctor say when the dog was poisoned? That’s crucial to find the real suspect.

I totally agreed with Cora, but I can’t say that to King and the Queen bluntly. With all the prejudices they already had towards Aries, I strongly doubted if they would listen to me.

“I’ll ask Aries about that.” I said cautiously, “Did the doctor say when Tom was poisoned?”

“Well, he said about 9 o’clock after you left…”

“Did you just say Aries? Where is that bastard?!” The Queen’s answer was interrupted by the angry King.

His growl was intimidating. I flinched a little bit and answered him involuntarily, “He was brought to the dungeon by the guards, Your Majesty.”

The King stood up from the chair instantly and then walked towards the wall beside the door. My gaze followed his steps and then saw a huge whip hanging on the wall. The whip was made of black leather and was as thick as a baby’s arm. On the surface of the leather there were sharp sliver spikes all over it. My stomach twitched the moment I saw it. The King took it down from the wall then walked out of the door furiously.

I instantly realized what he was going to do and rushed out of the door to stop him.