The Swordswoman's Revenge Story after Rebirth

Chapter 26 Let You Off

The Duke of Blackmoor’s eyes flared with anger. “Are you so unwilling to call me father?”

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Isolde’s voice was icy, her gaze unyielding. “Why must we keep up this pretense? Before I was thirteen, I had no father or mother, and I managed just fine. Why take me back now, only for appearances? You’re uncomfortable looking at me, and I’m disappointed in you.”

She added, “It would’ve been better to leave things as they were at least then I’d have a fond memory to hold on to. Tearing it open only reveals blood and cruelty, nothing more.”

The Duke stiffened. That one beating had shattered her trust completely, driving an insurmountable wedge between them.

“I know nothing I say will matter,” he admitted heavily. But if you still wish to marry into the Marquis’s household. I will fight for you. If nothing else, I can ensure you the position of the first wife.”

Isolde let out a cold, scornful laugh. “No, I won’t take what isn’t mine. I’ll only reclaim what is.”

The Duke frowned, taken aback. “What is yours?”

A sharp glint flickered in her eyes. “My mother’s dowry

His brows drew together in thought. “Your mother’s dowry is yours by right. But part of it lies with your stepmother, Matilda. The rest remains with your grandmother.

“I want Matilda’s share back now,” Isolde replied evenly. As for that old woman Prudence… If you have any regard for my mother’s memory, then stand aside. Do nothing.”

Her unrelenting tone and her refusal to even call Prudence politely unsettled him. The bitterness in her words was unmistakable.

“If you don’t overstep your bounds, I won’t intervene,” he said at last. “But if you take things too far…”

Tll only take back what is mine,” she cut him off, a chilling smile on her lips. “If they give it willingly. I won’t harm a hair on their heads. If not…” She trailed off, but the menace in her voice was clear.

The Duke’s expression hardened. “I’ll see that Matilda returns what’s due. As for your grandmother, she’s far off in Caelmont-

interrupted, her gaze sharp and calculating. “And when she returns,

darkening. “Your grandmother would never covet such a thing. She’s merely keeping it in trust. When you marry, it will all be returned to you.”

much faith in kinship, Isolde said with quiet disdain. “Especially where there’s no blood. Even those with blood

patience wore thin. “You’re speaking madness.

if anyone bullied me, do you

26 Let You Off

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wouldn’t stand up for me. Since I was a child. I’ve learned to rely on no one but

cutting deeper than he cared to ad

last, his voice strained.

speak like this,

smile, full of cynicism. They all despise me for my harsh words, yet no one questions the

away, searching for a change in topic. “How did you

of a crime and summoned me to the courts,” Isolde explained calmly. “But once I entered the carriage, I was drugged and taken away. I told Helena to send word to you, but the housekeeper intercepted her. He kidnapped her brother to force her to

Duke roared,

you’d be celebrated as the hero who brought down the bandits. But the housekeeper

in his temples standing out. The

an informant. I trusted Helena would reach you. 1 thought you’d come to rescue me, and we’d win a victory together. I hoped that, perhaps, you’d finally look- upon me kindly. Maybe then my days in this house wouldn’t be

expression remained calm. “But what did it come to? I fought, I bled… and for what?” She gave a bitter, empty laugh. “Forget

frosty. “With Marshal Blackwell and his wife at his back, how could he not act with such gall? If I were gone, Eleanor would step into the Marquis’s household without a single hindrance. A marriage like that would raise the Blackwells from river–dwellers to lords of the land.”

silent, his blood running cold. Beneath each layer, the truth unraveled,

courted Milton’s favor, only to be met with aloof indifference. Now the truth was plain: Milton had always set

for the talk of love yielding a child? Nonsense. A calculated maneuver, meant to force the Marchioness’s hand and hasten Eleanor’s place in

flushed, and his temper seared through him. He spared

retreat, so consumed by fury, Isolde felt her own tension case, like taut

it worth it? The answer evaded her. Her path had always been

Blood and tears

Let