qFrancesca was stunned for a while before she returned to her senses. “Why?”
Federico's actions utterly befuddled her. I thought we were supposed to deal with William's
castle, where he and his eighty-three subordinates were poisoned. So why am I suddenly
brought into focus? Not only that, I'm forced to stay in the castle for half a year?
“I was very confused too.” William frowned with a serious expression. “I kept telling him
that you're a free woman and you have the ability not to be restrained. After that, I even
stopped beating around the bush. I said that your medical skills are impressive and you
have plenty of incredible talents. Many important and influential figures' lives were saved
because of you, so if anything happens to you, those people won't just sit by and watch.
However, that wasn't enough to convince Federico. He insisted on executing his decision.
Not only did he use the investigation of the poisoning incident to threaten me, but he also
said something even nastier...”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“What did he say?” Francesca asked.
“He said...” His eyebrows furrowed even more tightly with a darkened expression. “If I
refuse to agree to his request, he'll ask my cousins to do it instead.”
“He's asking them to lock me up? Huh, do they even have the capability to do that?” Her
fury flared as she gritted her teeth. “That old bat! I thought he understood when I saw the
guilt on his face after I said those things. I thought he regretted his actions and would be
willing to investigate the matter properly to ensure you get the justice you deserve. To my
surprise, he had other plans!”
“I thought so...” A bitter smile was visible on William's face. “Well, I was too naïve.”
“This doesn't seem right...” Francesca was still confused. “Why does Federico want me to
stay in Danontand? What is his goal?”
“Initially, I was confused too. However, after I did some digging myself, I got the answer.”
He frowned. “I think someone approached him to cooperate with him and asked him to
force you to stay here, preventing you from meeting L.”
“Who?” Francesca was anxious. “Is it Hazel?”
“Probably not. The Atkinson family isn't that powerful,” he theorized. “Based on what I
know about Federico, whoever's working with him is probably someone of a similar status
to him. Either that or someone's offering him an extremely beneficial offer. Those two
reasons are the only ones I can see him working with that other person.”
“I don't understand...” Matters like those greatly irritated Francesca, who was unwilling to
spend more time thinking about them. “But why is that person doing this? Why does that
person refuse to let me leave Danontand and meet Danrique? What are they getting out
of this arrangement?”
“I don't know the details.” William sighed. “I really shouldn't have gotten you involved. At
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmfirst, it was just the poisoning incident at my castle, but now you're getting locked up... If
things continue in this trajectory, it'll only get more complicated. I thought about it for a
long time before I eventually decided to tell you the truth. You should leave before they
start taking action and notice anything.”
When he finished his sentence, he turned to the outside and shouted, “Someone—”
“Wait.” Francesca promptly stopped him. “What are you going to do if I leave? What's
going to happen to the people in the castle? I can't just stand by and do nothing.”
“You aren't responsible for our lives.” William's voice was calm. “I'll find a way to save
them. Worst-case scenario, I'll sway public opinion to apply pressure on Federico to force
him to hire a doctor. As long as he agrees to save them, I'm willing to stop investigating
the poisoning incident for the moment.”
“Why are you always so weak, William?” That enraged her. “Do you think they'll let you go
just because you don't look into the matter? They're trying to kill you! What do you mean
by getting a doctor to save your people? Right now, you can't even buy medicine outside!
If I leave, all of you will die here really quickly. Don't you know that?”