Awakening Love Reborn to Be His Duchess (Elowen Hale) novel Chapter 824

Chapter 824 Mask of Ice

Staring at her, Thomas barely heard a sound around him.

She had grown terribly thin.

Once, her laugh lit up her entire face, eyes curving like the brightest moon over the river.

Now, covered by white silk, she stood eerily still, her face numb with flat despair.

A lump of glowing iron seemed wedged in Thomas’s throat, searing him silent with pain.

Sensing eyes on her, Samantha tilted her head slightly. “Didn’t you say I committed a terrible crime and would be executed in a few days? Why bring me out to serve another noble?”

Ursula’s face darkened, stepping up to deliver a heavy kick. “Is that how you address a lord?!”

Samantha crashed to the floor unprepared, a sharp cry of agony breaking from her lips.

Thomas wanted to surge forward, using every shred of will to suppress the impulse. His fingernails dug deep into his palm, drawing blood.

Ursula spat on the ground. “Spill everything about last night, and keep it honest!”

Struggling back onto her feet, Samantha ground out word by word. “I’ve told you-I’m blind. I don’t know who escaped.”

Ursula’s face twisted, raising her boot again. Thomas broke the silence with a cold snap. “Come here.”

Samantha’s entire body went rigid.

That voice… Could it be Thomas?

She turned her head toward the sound. Yet having been blinded, only a vast, empty gray filled her sight. She saw nothing at all.

Then another thought crossed Samantha’s mind, Perhaps being blind is a blessing.

Trapped in a place like this, ruined and broken, how could I ever face him again?

Thomas dropped his pitch, “I said, come here. Must I drag you myself?”

Ursula barked, “Move it!”

Uncertain who stood before her or what was unfolding, Samantha trembled as she shuffled two steps toward the voice.

Thomas calculated the distance, ensuring he could shield her instantly if necessary.

Only then did he ease up, stating coldly, “Someone escaped the Moonlit Pavilion last night, and you aided

her.

Samantha answered instantly, “I did not.”

15:18 Sat, Aug

Chapter 824 Mask of Ice

Ursula sneered, “Still stubborn.”

Thomas shot her a sidelong glance, “With a mouth that loud, perhaps you should take the Heir’s seat instead?”

Samantha gripped her oak stick tight.

The Archduke’s Heir? But…

She had encountered the Heir before, and his voice sounded nothing like this.

Ursula stammered nervously. “Forgive me, my Lord… I meant no offense…”

Thomas sneered. “I merely asked for the blind girl, yet before I could speak, you took it upon yourself to abuse her. It seems years in this brothel have given you grand ideas, making you think you can walk all over a newly returned heir!”

Ursula gasped in horror, dropping to her knees with a loud thud.

“Forgive me, my Lord! I wouldn’t dare, not in a thousand years!”

Thomas glared down at her, the memory of her boot landing on Samantha stoking a roaring fire in his chest.

The woman he treasured above his life-how dared this scum brutalize her!

He wanted nothing more than to flay her alive and burn this cursed brothel to ash!

Just then, the confidant assigned by Archduke Malkor spoke up. “If you wish to discipline Ursula, you can do so anytime. Why bring the blind courtesan here?”

Thomas froze for a beat. Blinded by rage, he had almost forgotten the handler watching his every breath.

The confidant paused, his tone turning suspicious, “Unless you hold some special interest in her, My Lord?”

It was hard to tell if he had sniffed out a clue.

Thomas’s heart thudded hard in his chest. If he blew his cover now, his death wouldn’t matter, but Samantha would suffer unimaginable horror.

Fortunately, having served beside the Duchess of Duskmoor in Avenlor, he had absorbed a thing or two about playing mind games.

Showing zero panic, Thomas let out a cold laugh, “Even if your heart still bleeds for Ronan, I am the only son standing beside the Archduke right now.”

The confidant’s expression flickered instantly.

Reversing the pressure, Thomas smoothed his sleeves, “Bringing her here is for interrogation. Did you think I intended to take her as my bride?”

The confidant fell silent, unable to counter.

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