Chapter 76: The Devil Is Watching Pt1
Ivan helped Lydia back into the carriage, his hand gently supporting her as she stepped up. Her body was still trembling. She didn’t say anything. Her eyes were red, her lips pale, and tears still ran silently down her cheeks. She looked so small, so vulnerable.
He helped her sit. She slumped into the corner of the seat and held her arms tightly around herself. Her face was turned away from him, pressed against the velvet cushion of the carriage wall. Her breathing was shaky, uneven, as if her chest couldn’t decide whether to hold it in or let everything pour out.
"It’s alright," Ivan said softly, kneeling beside her. His hand touched her shoulder carefully, not wanting to startle her. "You’re safe now. I promise you, nothing will happen to you. I won’t let anything happen to you."
Lydia didn’t respond. She just nodded weakly and wiped her face again. Her fingers shook as they moved across her cheeks.
Ivan stood and stepped out of the carriage. His heart was pounding. Something was off. Very off. The way Lydia had reacted—it didn’t feel like imagination or fear. It felt real. Too real. Like a memory crashing into the present.
He turned to the guards standing nearby.
"Stay close to the carriage," he ordered. "And keep watch over her. Don’t take your eyes off her for even one second."
"Yes, Your Highness," the guards answered firmly.
Ivan didn’t wait. He turned toward the lake, walking carefully.
His boots crunched on the snow as he moved. The wind was quiet now, but it was bitterly cold. He pulled his coat tighter. His eyes moved sharply from one tree to another. The sky above was heavy, gray, like it was holding its breath too.
He walked to the same spot where Lydia had fallen.