The Duke's Unwanted Second Wife

"Sir... Larkin," Mantis gasped, his voice trembling with pain. "It hurts... please... pull the blade out."

Damian’s eyes remained cold as he watched the man struggle. After a moment, he slowly withdrew the blade from Mantis’s side.

Mantis groaned, his body jerking forward from the sudden movement.

Before he could attempt anything else, Maurice stepped in quickly and forced Mantis’s hands behind his back, securing them with a pair of iron cuffs.

Damian leaned closer. With a firm grip, he seized Mantis’s face, his fingers digging into the man’s cheeks and forcing his mouth open. The pressure made Mantis wince.

"Now listen carefully," Damian said in a low, dangerous voice. "You are going to tell the carriage driver to change the route."

Mantis’s eyes widened.

"You will give him the exact direction I tell you," Damian continued, his grip tightening.

Mantis nodded frantically, fear overtaking the pain in his body.

Damian then quietly told him the route they wanted the carriage to take.

"And don’t even think about trying anything clever," Damian warned, his voice barely above a whisper. "Because if you do... I will make sure your death is far from merciful."

"I—I won’t," Mantis stammered quickly. "I swear."

Satisfied, Damian released his grip. He slid open the small window of the carriage.

Mantis leaned toward it immediately.

"Change the route," he called out nervously to the driver. "Take the eastern road instead."

Then, the driver spoke with a puzzled tone, "But we’ve never taken that route before," still facing forward as he guided the horses that galloped at full speed down the road.

"Just do as you’re told," Mantis snapped toward the driver, his voice strained with pain.

The carriage driver said nothing further. After a brief hesitation, he tugged the reins and guided the horses onto the new route as instructed.

Inside the carriage, Maurice leaned toward the small window and glanced outside. Behind them, the second carriage had followed the same turn without question.

He gave Damian a satisfied smile.

"They followed us," Maurice said quietly.

A weak groan came from Mantis.

"I’ll bleed to death like this," he muttered, his voice trembling. "At least... treat my wound."

Damian did not even look at him.

"Give me the full name of the official," he said coldly, ignoring the plea.

Mantis clenched his teeth as pain coursed through him. Beads of sweat gathered along his temples, sliding slowly down his pale face.

"Fabian... Fabian Larkin," he finally forced out.

The effort left him breathing heavily. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Before he could say anything else, Maurice struck sharply at the side of his neck. The blow landed precisely, and Mantis’s body went limp as he collapsed sideways onto the seat, unconscious.

Maurice leaned forward slightly.

"I should at least stop the bleeding from his palm," he said, reaching toward the wounded man.

But Damian stopped him. "Let him suffer."

Maurice withdrew his hand and leaned back against the seat.

"Well," he said with a small breath, "it didn’t take us long to uncover the official involved."

He crossed his arms thoughtfully.

"It’s only the second day, and we’re already this close to the truth."

Damian’s gaze remained fixed on the road ahead.

"Not yet," he said firmly. "We still need to make the arrest tonight before Fabian attempts to flee. Once we hand these men over to the army waiting for us, we move forward."

Maurice nodded slightly.

"This must be finished before word reaches Fabian," Damian continued, "that the carriages never arrived."

After traveling some distance along the deserted route, the carriages finally reached the point Damian and Maurice had planned.

Suddenly, several masked soldiers emerged from the shadows of the trees lining the road. Their movements were swift and disciplined as they surrounded the two carriages before the drivers could react.

The horses were forced to halt.

Within moments, the soldiers had opened the second carriage and pulled out the four men guarding it. The criminals tried to resist, but they were quickly overpowered and bound by the trained soldiers.

The entire operation took only a few minutes.

Damian stepped down from the front carriage and walked toward the one that held the girls.

When he opened the door, the girls inside shrank back in fear. Their faces were pale, their clothes disheveled, and exhaustion was visible in their hollow eyes. Some of them clutched one another tightly, unsure whether the new arrival was friend or foe.

Damian softened his voice.

"You are all safe now," he said calmly.

His eyes carefully moved from one face to another, making sure none of them appeared seriously injured.

"No one has been harmed, have they?" he asked gently.

The girls looked weak and frightened, but none of them seemed to have fresh wounds.

Behind him, the leader of the small group of masked soldiers approached and bowed his head respectfully.

"Your Grace," the man said, "what should we do next?"

Damian turned slightly toward him.

"Take these girls to the cottage, Roshan," he instructed. "If the Duchess asks about me," he added after a moment, "tell her that it may take us two or three days before we return."

"Yes, Your Grace," Roshan said respectfully, bowing his head before turning his attention toward the frightened girls.

Inside the carriage, the girls looked at one another anxiously. One of them, who appeared slightly younger than the others, gathered enough courage to speak.

"We... we want to go home," she pleaded softly, her eyes fixed on Damian. Her voice trembled with both fear and hope.

"You will go home," Damian replied in a calm and reassuring tone. "We brought you away from those men so that you would be safe."

The girls listened quietly, still unsure whether to fully believe what they were hearing.

Maurice stepped closer and smiled gently at them.

"Little ones," he said kindly, "the man standing before you is not an ordinary man."

The girls blinked in confusion.

"He is the Duke of Varos."

They had heard the Duke’s name before, stories about his authority, his power, and the respect he commanded throughout the region. But none of them had ever imagined that the Duke himself would come to rescue them.

Some of them looked at Damian again, their eyes widening with a mixture of surprise and relief.

Just then, a girl sitting at the far left corner of the carriage spoke up. Her voice was weak but urgent.

"There are still many girls trapped in that place, Your Grace," she said. "If they aren’t rescued soon... they will be traded."

Damian’s expression grew serious, but his voice remained steady.

"That will not happen," he said firmly. "I promise you that every single one of them will be brought out safely."