The Princess's Revenge Chapter 123

Valencia’s POV

"I asked him to move into the castle," Delphine continued. "So I could take better care of him, and so he'd be closer to the library for work. He said..." Her voice broke completely. "He said, 'Let me practice with the wheelchair for a few more days, then I'll move in.' I agreed. I thought... I thought everything was finally getting better."

"What happened?" I asked gently.

Delphine took a shuddering breath. "Two days ago, I went to bring him lunch. I'd made his favorite—beef stew with herbs. I was so happy. I was thinking about how we could practice using the wheelchair together after he ate."

"But when I pushed open the door..." Her voice became completely empty. "The wheelchair was destroyed. Smashed to pieces. The wheels were bent, the frame was twisted, parts were scattered everywhere across the floor."

My blood ran cold.

"And Isaiah..." She paused, forcing herself to continue. "There was a knife. Stuck in the ground, blade pointing up. And the table... he'd climbed onto the table. And then he..."

"No," I whispered, my stomach twisting with horror.

"He fell backward," Delphine's voice was barely audible now. "Onto the knife. It went through his chest."

I couldn't breathe. The image was too terrible. Isaiah, so desperate to escape his pain that he'd chosen such a brutal end.

"Oh gods," I choked out. "Delphine, I'm so sorry—"

"It was one of the villagers!" Sudden rage flooded her voice. "A man from the village. He'd always been jealous of Isaiah—jealous that Isaiah had been a popular minstrel before the attack, jealous that people had loved his stories."

Her hands clenched into fists. "When he saw Isaiah getting better, saw him with the wheelchair, saw him starting to hope again—he couldn't stand it. So he broke into Isaiah's cottage and smashed the wheelchair right in front of him!"

"What?" Fury ignited in my chest like wildfire.

"He destroyed it while Isaiah watched," Delphine said, her voice shaking with rage. "And he laughed at him. He said, 'A cripple like you thinks you can live a normal life? Dream on!' He mocked Isaiah's disabilities, mocked his hope, mocked everything—"

"Where is he?" I demanded, my own hands curling into fists. "Where is this bastard now?"

"Dr. Vance locked him in the dungeons," Delphine said flatly. "He's waiting for the elder council's judgment. But what does it matter? Isaiah is dead! No punishment will bring him back!"

She was right, but the injustice of it burned through me. Isaiah had survived losing his legs, losing his hand, surviving month of agony and despair. He'd finally found a thread of hope to cling to. And then some cruel, jealous monster had ripped it away from him.

We sat there in the mud and rain as the storm raged around us. The wind howled like a wounded animal. Lightning split the sky again and again. It felt like the whole world was mourning this tragedy.

"Isaiah isn't suffering anymore," I said finally, my voice thick with tears. "He's with the Moon Goddess now. He's at peace. No more pain, no more cruelty, no more struggling just to survive each day."

"But I'm still here," Delphine sobbed. "And it hurts so much, Valencia. It hurts so much."

"I know." I stroked her wet hair. "But you have to keep living, Delphine. Not for me, not for anyone else. For yourself. Because somewhere inside you, beneath all this pain, there's still a person who wants to see tomorrow. Who wants to laugh again someday. Who deserves happiness."

"I don't know if I can," she whispered.

"You don't have to know right now. You just have to take it one breath at a time. One moment at a time. And I'll be right here beside you."

Through the bond, I felt Logan's presence, worried and urgent. Valencia? Are you alright? Did you find her?

Yes, I sent back. Call off the search. We're okay. We just... we need some time.

Take all the time you need, Logan responded immediately. I'm here if you need me.

Slowly, I helped Delphine to her feet. She leaned heavily against me, her legs barely able to support her weight. We stood there for a moment and she was shivering in the cold wind.

"Can you walk?" I asked gently.

She nodded weakly.

By the time we reached the castle gates, the rain had lessened to a steady drizzle. Guards rushed forward to help us, but I waved them back.

"We're fine," I said quietly. "Just... give us space."

I led Delphine not to the servants' quarters, but to one of the guest rooms on the third floor. She needed privacy, comfort, a place where she could grieve without dozens of eyes watching her.

Maya appeared with dry clothes and towels. I helped Delphine change out of her soaked dress, then tucked her into the soft bed. She looked so small and fragile against the white linens.

"Sleep," I said softly, brushing her damp hair back from her face. "I'll be right here when you wake up."

Delphine's eyes were already closing, exhaustion finally overtaking her. Within moments, she was asleep, though even in sleep, tears leaked from beneath her closed eyelids.

I pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down, watching her breathe. The door opened quietly, and Logan slipped inside. He was soaked too.

"Is she...?" he asked quietly.

"She's alive," I said.

Logan crossed to where I sat and knelt beside my chair. His hand found mine, warm and solid. "You saved her."

"Barely." My voice shook. "Logan, it was so close. Another few seconds and I would have been too late."

"But you weren't." He squeezed my hand. "You found her, and you brought her back. That's what matters."

I looked at Delphine's sleeping face. "The man who destroyed Isaiah's wheelchair—where is he?"

"In the dungeons. Dr. Vance is preparing a report for the elder council."

"I want to attend that council meeting," I said, my voice hardening.

Logan nodded. "You will. I'll make sure of it."

We sat in silence for a while, listening to the rain outside the window gradually fade to nothing. The storm was passing, leaving everything washed clean and new.

But some stains, I knew, would take much longer to wash away.

Through the window, I could see the first hints of dawn beginning to lighten the eastern sky. A new day was coming, whether we were ready for it or not.

"Isaiah," I whispered to the growing light, "rest in peace. Your suffering is over."

How many people like Isaiah existed in this world? How many had been crushed by war, by cruelty, by fate's merciless hand? I thought of the refugees in King's Fang's slums, the orphaned children with hollow eyes, the disabled warriors cast aside once they could no longer fight.

The injustice of it all burned in my chest.

I looked at Delphine's sleeping face, still marked by tears. She was alive because I'd reached her in time. But how many others had I failed to reach? How many had already been lost to despair?

A core of steel forming in my heart. I needed to become stronger. Not just physically, but in every way that mattered. Strong enough to protect the people I loved. Strong enough to stand against the cruelty and indifference that plagued this world.

And someday, somehow, I would change things. I would create a world where people like Isaiah didn't have to suffer alone. Where hope couldn't be so easily destroyed.

It was a impossible dream, perhaps. But it was mine to carry.