Although he had miraculously survived, he would not recover as Lizzy feared, unless God himself blessed him with speech.
‘Even if that happens, I can always cut off his tongue.’
So there was no need to worry unnecessarily.
Ariella walked past Lizzy, who was glaring at her, and the busy servants, returning to her room. She lay down on the plush bed and indulged in a long-overdue sleep.
That morning, she slept without a single nightmare. It was the sweetest sleep she had had in years.
The next day.
The Duke, who had been at the Bedford estate, heard about his son and quickly returned to the mansion.
Without even changing his clothes, he rushed to David’s room and found his son lying motionless, wrapped in bandages from head to toe.
David, though conscious, stared blankly at the ceiling. After a while, he finally turned his eyes and recognized his father, his eyes widening. Then, he uttered these words:
“Agh…! Aaaah!”
His inability to even move his head, only moaning, was shocking. Duke Bedford stood frozen, as if turned to stone.
He had vowed to beat his runaway son when he saw him again. He would suppress his spirit so that he would never dare to disobey his orders again, and confine him to his room for a while.
But he had never wished for his heir to be in such a miserable state, unable to leave his bed, let alone his room.
“You…”
A deep voice rumbled, and the old warrior’s large hand trembled.
Duke Bedford, usually so articulate, hesitated for a long time.
“Why…!”
He had given him everything, so why? Why did he return in such a state?
There was no one to answer his question.
“Ah, agh, aaaah!”
David continued to wail, his voice filled with injustice and resentment. He seemed to want to say something.
Unable to bear the sound, the Duke turned away coldly. His blue eyes, resembling his wife’s, followed him, but he ignored them and walked away.
“What’s his condition?”
The Duke asked the doctor, who was bowing his head and watching him carefully.
The doctor swallowed hard before struggling to speak.
“The young master has suffered severe trauma to his head and spinal cord. Unfortunately, the spinal cord damage is quite high… He has lost function in both his upper and lower limbs. Sadly, the prognosis is not good. With damage to this area, the chances of rehabilitation are also very low…”
“Are you saying…”
The Duke interrupted, clenching his large fist.
“That my son, the heir of Bedford, will live like this for the rest of his life? Unable to understand or speak, unable to control his bodily functions, unable to feed himself, just like an animal?”
“He, he can still understand. He must have damaged his language center when he hit his head hard. So he can understand, but he can’t speak…”
“Even animals understand!”
Bang!
The Duke slammed his hand on the bedside table. The sturdy wooden table cracked with a loud noise.
Still not appeased, the Duke took several deep breaths.
His son was crippled. His only heir was ruined beyond repair!
He didn’t know which was more terrible, his son’s ruined life or the loss of his heir, but Duke Bedford was tormented by immense anger and pain.
To alleviate his raging fury, he began to search for the culprit.
Who dared to put David in this state?
The Bedford butlers reported that David had been in good condition when he visited the mansion early in the morning before returning to Salisbury. They added that he had a wound on his face, but it wasn’t as serious as it was now.
Furthermore, the doctor said that the direct impact that had put David in this state wasn’t from the dog attack. He believed that David had already suffered severe trauma to his head and spine before being mauled by the dogs. There was no sign that he had resisted while being bitten.
This meant that David had been attacked in Salisbury, lost sensation in his body, collapsed, and then been mauled by the dogs.
There was a possibility that David had fallen and injured his head and spine on his own, but Duke Bedford dismissed it. He found the sudden appearance of the dogs suspicious.
‘Someone released the dogs to cover up their crime.’
Like the intelligent man he was, it was a fairly accurate guess.
However, thanks to Ariella’s equally clever groundwork, his suspicion flowed smoothly in the direction she desired.
Someone who had a bad relationship with David.
Someone who was in Salisbury that day.
Someone who knew the gambling den ecosystem well enough to secretly release fighting dogs…
All of this pointed to one person.
Baron Griffith.
That day, Baron Griffith happened to be enjoying a card game at a nearby gambling den.
His presence in Salisbury that morning was purely coincidental, but his presence at a gambling den not far from where David had collapsed was the result of Ariella and Milo quickly exchanging information and working together. Since they knew he frequented Salisbury almost every day, it was more of a necessity than a coincidence.
In addition, they received help from an unexpected source.
“Why, someone said they saw Baron Griffith and Duke Bedford fighting in the street again.”
“I heard that too. Some people saw them passing by.”
Duke Bedford and Baron Griffith had a second round in the back alleys of the entertainment district. This rumor, which started in the back alleys of Salisbury, had spread to high society.
This was none other than a rumor created by Lizzy’s thug acquaintance, Jasper.
“Tell Jasper to spread the rumor. Say that Baron Griffith and David had another fistfight, and that some people saw it.”
When Ariella mentioned Baron Griffith, Lizzy looked very flustered. She seemed wary, wondering if Ariella knew he was her informant.
However, despite her suspicion, she couldn’t refuse Ariella’s offer. The conditions were too perfect in many ways.
Someone who had a bad relationship with David and was in Salisbury at that time. There was no better condition to exploit. It was too coincidental to be a mere coincidence.
In the end, after hesitating, she accepted Ariella’s offer.
Jasper did a thorough job this time, and the rumor spread throughout Edinburgh, eventually reaching Duke Bedford’s ears.
As a result, Duke Bedford became convinced. The man who had crippled his heir was Baron Griffith.
“Ronnie Griffith. Bring that bastard before me.”
As he commanded with burning passion, several loyal retainers tried to dissuade him, knowing they could face his wrath.
“But there’s no evidence! There are only rumors, no witnesses. All we have is suspicion.”
“Isn’t suspicion enough?”
And as always, the Duke was not one to listen to such words.
“He dared to ruin my family. I’ll bring him before me and make him kneel, even if I have to fabricate evidence.”
He declared with a fierce look in his eyes, and the Bedford vassals had no choice but to bow their heads.
Now that the Duke had made up his mind, the day Baron Griffith was secretly dragged to the Duke’s mansion, tortured, and executed was not far off.
Ariella imagined what kind of expression the always boastful Baron would make in this mansion, how he would cry and beg for his life.
Perhaps because her hatred for him wasn’t as deep as it was for Aaron or David, imagining his terrible end wasn’t particularly enjoyable.
So she decided to change her mood and do something enjoyable. There was something she had been eagerly anticipating since planning this revenge.
Her first destination was the kitchen.
“Are you going to that room?”
