Chapter 409

Horseshoes crushed the morning mist, and Xander’s black cloak spread out behind him like wings. The cold light reflected the surging waves in his eyes, and the escort cavalry shot out like arrows, instantly covering more than 8 miles.

“Your Highness, the road ahead forks to Ramberg and Northcold!” Ansel reined in his horse and reported, his voice trembling slightly.

No one would have thought that Ray would be so audacious as to abduct Athena. What was more, he left none of the Northcold envoys alive. If this matter were to reach Northcold, it would surely ignite a war between the two nations.

Xander looked up and saw the corpses of the Northcold delegation all over the intersection ahead, and even the bridal sedan chair had been smashed to pieces. His eyes anxiously searched for any trace of Athena, and suddenly, he spotted the gold pendant that belonged to Athena on the bushes ahead.

Almost at the same time, Ansel saw it too. He hurriedly rode his horse forward and picked up the gold pendant. “Your Majesty, Princess Consort must have gone to the left.”

The left leads to Northcold, but Xander slowly shook his head. He looked firmly in the direction of Ramberg and said, “Pursue in the direction of Ramberg.”

Ansel looked puzzled. “But this gold pendant can’t be fake. It must be a clue left for us by Princess Consort.”

Xander held the gold pendant in his hand, his gaze solemn. “Ray is naturally suspicious. He went to so much trouble to kidnap Athena. Do you think he would make such a low-level mistake as to deliberately leave Princess Consort a clue for us?”

Ansel understood. “Ray did it on purpose, but why would he go to Ramberg?”

“He’s probably rebelling.” Xander issued the order. “Order someone to quickly return to the palace and report that Ray has rebelled.”

Ansel gasped. Rebellion was a capital crime. Ray was so brave. He even wanted to take Athena to Ramberg and establish himself as king. Lizzie’s uncle was in Ramberg.

: If he escaped there, no one would be able to do anything to him.

Inside the carriage, Athena was using the jolting to bump against the wooden railing. The welts on her wrists were turning purple and blue, but she ignored them, wanting to force a way out.

Ray gripped her arm tightly, his voice almost begging, “Atheny, why are you doing this? Don’t you really want to be with me?” A look of pain flowed across his face. Everything he had done was for Athena. But her heart was now only with Xander.

Athena stopped moving and looked at him with an icy expression. “Ray, you make me sick.”

That cold, sharp gaze stung Ray’s heart. He looked at Athena somewhat helplessly, revealing his plan in full. “Atheny, please trust me this once. I can protect you. As long as you follow me to Ramberg, you can be free to be yourself. Wouldn’t it be nice for the two of us to be together until we grow old?”

Athena slowly shook her head. “No, Ray, I no longer love you.”

“No, you’re lying. You just think that now that you’re pregnant, I can’t accept you.” Ray seemed to be caught in a trance, trying hard to prove himself. “I love you and naturally can accept everything about you, including your child. Atheny, I will love them as if they were my own children, believe me.”

To win back Athena, Ray couldn’t wait to take his heart out and show it to her. But Athena was always cold to him. “If you continue to make mistakes, you will only make me more disgusted with you. Ray, stop.”

“No, I won’t let you go.” Ray hugged Athena excitedly, wishing he could melt her into his body.

Athena resisted his touch and even slapped him. A red mark appeared on Ray’s fair face. He looked at Athena in disbelief, as if he didn’t expect her to hit him. But then, he smiled in relief. “I should indeed be beaten. I lost you. Even if you kill me, it’s nothing.”

He took out a dagger and put it into Athena’s hand. “As long as you can calm down.” Athena held the dagger and stabbed at Ray’s chest without hesitation.

But just as the tip of the knife was about to touch his chest, a long whip suddenly lashed out and caught Athena’s wrist. It threw her hard against the inner wall of the car. With a bang, Athena’s head hit the car. She felt dizzy, and blood streamed down her forehead.

“Atheny.” Ray hurriedly stepped forward to check on her injuries. Seeing Athena’s injuries, his voice was icy as he said angrily, “Who gave you the guts to hurt her? Drag them down and execute them.”

The guard’s terrified voice came from outside the carriage. “Sir, I will never dare again.” But there was no pity in Ray’s eyes, and soon there were screams from outside.

Athena looked at Ray in surprise and sneered, “You have really changed. You are no longer the Ray you used to be.”

Ray smiled bitterly, “If I weren’t cruel, I would be the one dead. Atheny, others don’t understand me, but why don’t even you understand me? You watched how I was controlled by Arthur and became a pawn in his hands. Many people in the court wanted him dead. Even Arthur didn’t treat him like a human being. Establishing himself as king, he was only trying to find a way out for himself. Anyone could fail to understand him, except Athena.”

Ray wanted to talk to Athena, but she turned her head away, closed her eyes, and ignored him. She didn’t want to talk to him and didn’t even want to see him.

“Get out,” Athena said coldly. Ray didn’t dare to provoke her again; he knew Athena’s temper best.

“Okay, I’ll go out. Please don’t hurt yourself again. It will break my heart.” Ray left the carriage but called two maids in, saying to Athena, “Take good care of her. If anything happens to her, you will both die.”

In his heart, Athena had always been his wife. The maidservant responded with trepidation. Athena opened her eyes in annoyance and watched the scenery outside the window recede rapidly.

Her brow furrowed tightly. ‘Xander, where are you?’

Suddenly, a dark figure flashed across the mountain ridge in the distance, and Athena’s heart skipped a beat. She thought, ‘It’s Xander, it must be him.’ She didn’t expect him to catch up so quickly and so accurately. Ray had set up several routes to confuse Xander.

“Stop. Stop!” Athena suddenly shouted. Ray rode his horse to the carriage window and said to her gently, “Atheny, what’s wrong?”

Athena covered her mouth, looking uncomfortable. “Stop, the jolting of the carriage is making me feel terrible.” Seeing this, Ray felt a little sorry, but he was not out of danger at this time. If they stopped, he was afraid someone would catch up.

“Atheny, can you bear with it? We’ll be safe as long as we pass the mountain in front,” he said.

“No, I can’t bear it. Didn’t you say you would listen to me? Why don’t you listen to me now?” Athena looked at Ray in disappointment. “The carriage is bumping me uncomfortably. You didn’t consider me at all. How can I trust you?”