Chapter 77: The Devil Is Watching Pt2
The carriage continued moving slowly through the thick snow. The sky was growing darker, and the wind was colder now. Snowflakes fell heavier and faster, covering the road like a white blanket. The horses were tired, and the guards and servants were wrapped tightly in their cloaks, trying to keep warm as they rode in front and behind the carriage. The wheels creaked softly under the weight, and the trees lining the road swayed gently in the wind, their bare branches coated with frost.
Inside the carriage, Ivan sat completely still. He hadn’t moved in a while. His eyes stayed fixed on Lydia, who was still fast asleep beside him.
Her face was calm now. Peaceful. She had cried herself into that sleep, and even though he hated that she had cried at all, a part of him was relieved she could finally rest.
He watched her chest rise and fall gently, like the quiet rhythm of a sleeping child. Her hands were tucked under the blanket he had pulled over her earlier. She looked so fragile like this. So small. But at the same time, she carried a pain bigger than any wound he could see. A pain she wore like invisible armor, always there—always silent.
Ivan’s heart was heavy.
He wanted to protect her. To keep her warm. Safe. But it wasn’t that simple. Not with someone following them. Not with a past that refused to die. Not with ghosts still breathing down their necks.
A knock came at the window.
Ivan turned his head quickly and opened it.
It was one of the guards. The same one he had instructed earlier.
"Your Highness," the guard said in a low voice, "I’ve been watching all this time. I haven’t seen anyone following us. Nothing strange at all."
Ivan nodded slowly. "Alright. You may go."