The Debt Of Fate

Chapter 326: Disappeared

A month passed quickly.

During this time, Ernest paid two visits to the royal palace.

The first was to ask for permission for Anastasia and his sons to remain in the royal palace for two months. The children were too young to travel, and Anastasia was still weak after giving birth.

King Edward agreed without much thought. It made Ernest look obedient and trusting.

The second visit was the day before his departure. Ernest went to inform the king that he would leave at dawn.

Seeing everything move so smoothly, King Edward was pleased.

"You have done well," the king said.

"I only wish for peace in the kingdom," Ernest replied.

The king nodded. A prince who spoke of peace was easier to control.

The day Ernest left the royal city was grand.

The streets were lined with soldiers. Banners flew in the wind. Many citizens came out to see him off. Some truly admired him. Others only came to watch.

A few lords stepped forward quietly.

"Your Highness," one of them said in a low voice, "you have support in the court. If you raise your banner, many will answer."

Ernest’s expression did not change.

"I am loyal to the king," he said firmly. "Nothing matters more than the peace of the kingdom."

The lords fell silent.

At dawn, the gates of the royal city opened.

Ernest rode out calmly, his army following behind him. He did not look back.

The dust of the road slowly swallowed him.

The capital returned to its usual rhythm.

Inside the general’s residence, Anastasia stayed in the residence granted to them. The twins slept often. They were still small and fragile, but they were growing stronger each day.

Two weeks passed.

By now, Ernest should have been close to Lowe Pass.

That night, the wind was strange.

It howled against the palace walls.

The moon was half hidden by dark clouds.

Inside the residence, the lamps burned low. Most servants had gone to rest.

Anastasia was awake.

One of the twins had cried earlier, and she had just settled him back to sleep. She sat beside the cradle, watching them.

She had refused a wet nurse for fear of the children getting poisoned.

Then—

A faint sound.

Metal against stone.

Her eyes lifted. She listened but did not hear any other sound. Her heart, which had risen to her throat, relaxed—just then there was another sound.

A soft thud.

Outside the courtyard wall.

She stood slowly.

The guards at the outer gate suddenly shouted.

"Who goes there?!"

The next moment—

Screams.

Steel clashed against steel.

The quiet night shattered.

Anastasia’s heart dropped.

The door burst open as one of the guards stumbled in, blood staining his shoulder.

"Your Highness!" he gasped. "Assassins!"

Before he could finish—

An arrow shot through the window and pierced his chest.

He fell.

Anastasia froze for only a breath.

Then she moved.

"Lock the doors!" she ordered the maidservants.

"Take the children!"

She turned to Rosa and Grater, who had gotten into the room at some point.

"My lady," Grater said in shock.

"They are here for the children. Follow the hidden passage and leave this place," Anastasia instructed. She and Ernest had already made plans for every possible situation. She had not expected the situation to happen so soon.

"I will not leave you," Rosa said stubbornly, holding one of the children.

"My lady, let us all leave," Grater said.

"No, if I leave, they will chase after us. Keep the little ones safe," Anastasia said.

Outside, dark figures leapt over the courtyard walls. They moved fast and silently, dressed in black.

The remaining guards fought desperately.

Steel rang in the night.

One guard’s head fell to the ground.

Another screamed before going silent.

The attackers were trained.

They did not shout.

They did not hesitate.

They cut down anyone in their way.

Inside, a maid tried to lift one of the twins, but her hands trembled so badly she almost dropped him.

Anastasia grabbed Grater’s hand.

"Go now, or we all perish," she said, though her own voice shook.

The main doors cracked under heavy blows.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Wood splintered.

A blade pushed through the gap.

The door burst open.

Three masked men rushed in.

Their eyes were cold.

One raised his sword toward Anastasia—

Before he could strike, a hidden guard stepped out from the side pillar and blocked the blow.

Steel clashed.

Another assassin lunged forward.

Blood sprayed across the wall, but the hidden guard was skilled. He dodged the attack and killed the first. Blood sprayed across the wall.

One of the cradles overturned.

The sound filled the room.

The assassins’ movements became more urgent.

Their target was clear.

Anastasia picked up a knife and held it tightly.

More assassins rushed in from the inner corridor.

The fight grew fierce.

Blood pooled across the floor.

The air smelled of iron and smoke.

Soon there was just one hidden guard protecting Anastasia, but he was seriously injured.

"My lady, I will clear the path. Run," the guard said.

"No, my children are in the east room. I have to check on them," Anastasia said in a panicked voice.

"The children are not here. Check the east room," the leader of the assassins seemed to have heard Anastasia and instructed his men.

"Go!" the guard said as he killed an assassin who stepped in the way. He was trying to create a bloody path for Anastasia to escape.

While he was dealing with one, another pretended to attack him, but his knife went straight for Anastasia’s heart.

Anastasia was not sure how she moved. Maybe it was pure survival instinct. She moved quickly while raising her hand to block the knife. Because the man had wasted his strength on a fake attack, his strike was not strong, but it cut deep into her palm.

Anastasia cried out in pain. Her scream distracted the guard, who turned. He managed to kill the assassin close to her, but that movement cost him his life.

Anastasia did not wait a moment. She turned on her heels and ran.

"Pursue her! She must die!" the leader of the assassins shouted.

The group started chasing her. Anastasia ran in the opposite direction of the east room, where they expected her to go.

"The children are no longer in the east room. They have escaped," someone announced.

"Forget the children. The lady must die," Anastasia heard that, and her heart missed a beat.

When the children were taken out by Rosa and Grater, she made sure the strongest guards were the ones who left with them. She considered them the main target. She never expected that she would be the one.

As she ran forward, she suddenly met another group of assassins coming toward her. She changed her route, but she realized in despair that she was surrounded.

At that moment, a horn suddenly sounded.

Reinforcements.

The palace night patrol had heard the noise.

The assassins hesitated.

One of them shouted, "Retreat!"

The assassins began to leave the scene. Anastasia breathed a sigh of relief as she watched them.

But in that moment, someone lunged with a knife toward her.

Out of fear, Anastasia tried to block the attack by grabbing his hand to stop the movement, but her strength was no match for the man, and one of her palms was already injured. So although her hand touched his, it did not prevent the strike.

Anastasia felt a sharp pain.

But the man who stabbed her did not look well either.

His open wounds had come into contact with the blood from the cut on Anastasia’s hand, making him feel numb, starting from the hand that had touched her blood until he fell to the ground dead.

Anastasia was tired and could not continue running.

A servant who had somehow survived came to help her.

The royal guards took control of the residence, but by that time Anastasia had already lost consciousness.

...

The next morning, the news of the attack spread throughout the kingdom.

Some said the entire family was killed silently at night.

Others said the family had been kidnapped.

King Edward was furious. He asked the royal guards and everyone involved to investigate the matter thoroughly.

"What is the king putting on an act for? Those assassins are definitely related to him," one lord lowered his voice and whispered.

"You are right. Ernest’s family is so small. Who else would benefit from their death?" another agreed.

"Ernest should never have acted like a coward and obeyed the king," another said.

"Do you think he will accept this outcome?" someone wondered.

"What can he do? How are we sure Ernest was not attacked too? His Majesty can control the news that gets back to the royal city."

The royal city fell into speculation for two days.

In that time, Anastasia was said to be unconscious.

Everyone had different opinions.

Some said the king was innocent and the attack must have been carried out by someone who wanted to cause chaos in the kingdom.

As the debate went on, news arrived from Lowe Pass that Ernest’s team had arrived...

But Ernest had disappeared.