Chapter 139: Betrayal and Doubt
"What’s going on? Where is the injured maid?" the duke hurried as soon as he got down from the horse. He looked tired but didn’t go to his chamber. Instead, he moved forward to the maid’s chamber, finding her unconscious on the bed with non-stop bleeding from her stomach.
"How did this happen? I was away for a short while," he raged in anger, looking at everyone with fury.
"We don’t know, Lord! When we reached the spot, the knife was already on the ground, and the maid was with the duchess, drenched in blood. Her hand was on the wound, covered in it," the maid spoke.
"The duchess tried to commit this crime while you were away."
"We want justice, my lord! If you let it go this time, the next time it could be either of us. We will all die here by her hand," the maid said, falling on the duke’s leg, forcing him into a dilemma.
"The wound is too deep. I can’t say about her life. Her bleeding isn’t stopping even after so long, so she has lost a lot of blood, making her already weak. I think she has injured an internal organ with the knife, and her internal body is infected because of the metal," the doctor stated.
"Save her! Try to save her at any cost! She is the prime proof I have left to prove what happened there. If she doesn’t survive, so many innocent lives will be lost," the duke said.
"My lord, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but she’s not innocent," the head maid came forward.
"From the moment she arrived, so many problems started in the mansion. You had to leave for the war for so many years, while the mansion and the state suffered from food shortages. And now, again, she has committed a serious crime. How can you say she’s not a criminal when the picture is right in front of us? We saw her with blood. She even tried to keep her own personal maid who she stabbed hidden in her room, but we wouldn’t let her. What if she killed her while disguising herself as a helper? We can’t let it happen. Please, do justice to her," the maid said.
"You are all in the dark. She could never do such a thing. I will investigate this. I will go to any lengths to find the truth. Believe me!" the duke said.
"No, my lord! You need no investigation. We want her dead. She committed this crime," they all shouted,demanding Duchess Bernice’s execution.
At that moment, the princess entered the room, holding a cream in her hand.