Said No to the Prince and Yes to the King novel Chapter 75

“Shameless!”

Margaret clenched her jaw, fury coursing through her veins.

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She longed to strike every last one of them down right then–but facing two or three hundred villagers, even she couldn’t be sure of winning.

Besides, neither she nor Theodore had slept all night. Their strength was nearly spent.

Yet if she did nothing, it wasn’t just the local women who would suffer.

Even those four from neighboring hamlets would soon be broken by these brutes.

Margaret’s heart swelled with rage and helpless sorrow.

In that moment, she truly wished she could poison every single person in sight.

Theodore was right–these weren’t people anymore.

They were a pack of wolves.

The villagers grew restless, their expressions darkening, as if ready to swarm forward at any second.

Theodore, too, seemed to have reached his limit. Were it not for their numbers–and the fact they were ordinary folk–he would have drawn his blade already.

But drawing it now would mean slaughtering the whole village.

And if word ever spread, the consequences would be severe.

“Miss, please don’t trouble yourself over us,” one of the captive women spoke up suddenly.

She lifted her tear–streaked face. “It’s a mercy the leader is letting you leave. Those bandits truly have powerful allies. Once more of them arrive, you won’t have a chance.”

As she finished, the woman called Lisa added through trembling lips, “Julie speaks truth. You must go. Thank you… for trying to save us. We are strangers to you, yet you risked your lives. We will never forget such kindness.”

Her voice broke. “You’ve shown us what our own families are really like. I… I thought I was happy. Yes, my father sometimes struck my mother, but so did every husband here. I believed that was how life was. I even thought mine was a loving home–my father always gave me the best portion of bread, the ripest apple…

“It’s the same for me,” another whispered, wiping her eyes. “I have brothers who truly cared for me. bought me ribbons, sewed me dresses. If selling me now gives them a better chance, I… I am willing.”

The other two wept quietly, breaths hitching.

They

“My family is poor. My grandfather’s leg never healed right, and my mother… her mind is frail. All these

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Chapter 75 The Willing Sacrifice

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years, my father raised me and my little brother alone. If my price can secure a bride for him, how can I refuse?”

“I’ve made my peace as well,” the last one murmured. “I’ll stay. If it helps my family, it will have been worth

it.”

One after another, they spoke–each word full of resignation.

Yet to Margaret, their acceptance only deepened the sorrow.

This way of thinking–putting family above oneself, always–was so ingrained. What kind of life had taught them this?

Julie, especially, looked heartbroken.

She turned toward the crowd, gaze seeking out a weathered man. “Father, you could have told me. You didn’t have to arrange the sale behind my back. I would have listened. I know my brother is still young. I know our cottage is falling apart. If you had only said that marrying me off would bring silver, I would have agreed.

“I understand–you wanted us healthy, so we’d fetch a higher price. That’s why you all kept silent. But you forgot… my heart has always been with this family. How could I ever turn away from you?”

In the crowd, the father she addressed turned his face aside, shame written in his stiff posture.

And behind him, several women mothers, sisters–quietly brushed away tears.

They were their daughters. Of course it hurt.

But they themselves had been traded here once.

What right did they have to protest?

Lisa sobbed openly now. “Please… you must leave. Dawn is near. Do not worry over us. Go, before the leader changes his mind.”

“This is our lot,” Julie said softly. “No outsider needs share it. Please… just go.”

“Yes. And miss… stop pretending to be a noblewoman. If you’re found out, it could cost you your head. Forget about us.”

Their voices were thick with despair.

When they looked at Margaret, their eyes held gratitude–and the bleak acceptance of those who see no

escape.

Margaret drew a steadying breath. “You say we are strangers.

“You say it yourselves–we are strangers. And yet here you are, drowning in your own sorrow, still worrying whether we live or die. You who have such kindness in your hearts… how could I walk away coldly?”

She glanced at Theodore. Seeing his slight nod, she stepped forward, voice clear and firm. “I know you

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Chapter 25 The Willing Sacrifice

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have not accepted this fate. You simply see no way out. To be sold by your own blood, to have no future- what woman would willingly embrace that? If there truly were another path, would any of you choose this?

“You are good, loyal souls. That is why, when you learned your families treated you like chattel, you thought not of rebellion, but of sacrifice. You treat them as family. But what are you to them? In their eyes, you are livestock–to be traded when convenient, with no more thought than one gives to a bushel of grain.”

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