The Devil's Betrothed novel Chapter 611

Chapter 611: Alex And Nathan’s Sad Past

"Aaron Wynter?" Oriana repeated. "Why would Sir Perryl change his name?"

"To protect him," Arlan answered. "To shield him from the Mortimers and the so called rule in any kingdom that every member of a traitor’s family should be executed."

"That’s some worse rule which I dearly hate," Oriana commented.

"Every rule has pros and cons. It instil fear in hearts that others won’t think about betraying the King," Arlan explained, "but since my grandfather’s rule we have stopped following such rule. It was changed to, men in the family would be imprisoned and then exiled to farthest land to work in the mines and women and kids would be exiled out of their home after confiscating their homes and wealth and they could go to any part of the kingdom and continue living."

"That’s brutal as well for the women and kids who have never seen poverty and don’t know how to survive in the outside world."

"When one wants to live, they can find their ways to survive. Better than killing them mercilessly."

"Well, can’t deny this," Oriana spoke, "My grandfather and I lived poor but happy life. So it’s not bad either." She returned to the previous topic. "His family was labeled as traitors? Why?"

Arlan decided to start from the beginning. "Before the Mortimers, the northeast territory was controlled by two families. The Wynters ruled the north, and the Rainiers ruled the east."

"Oh, Ana told me about this. These two families were overthrown by Luis Mortimer, who then became the lord of the northeast," Oriana added, recalling Ana’s story. Suddenly, realization struck her. "If Sir Perryl’s family name is Wynter, then... he’s the son of the Wynter family?"

Arlan hummed, "Alex’s aunt married into the Rainier family, and the two families were close, managing the northeast together for a long time. They had my father’s support because their territory shared a border with three kingdoms. My father trusted them completely and knew they wouldn’t betray the King. But Luis Mortimer, along with other envious nobles, plotted against them. They also took advantage of my mother’s death, and before my father could intervene, it was too late. All the evidence pointed against the two families, and they were annihilated. My father never believed they were guilty, but he could do nothing."

"How did Sir Perryl escape?" Oriana asked. "He must have been so young."

"Nathan saved him," Arlan answered. "Nathan’s father is one of the lords from the north, and they had ties with Alex’s family. Nathan and Alex were childhood friends. The night the two families were to be annihilated, Nathan overheard his father’s spy informing him what Luis and other nobles were planning. He was barely seven or eight years old, but he wanted to save his dear friend. With the help of his bodyguard, he went to the Wynters’ residence and rescued Alex from the slaughter. Alex was injured but survived. Nathan hid Alex in his home, but his father eventually found out."

"Did his father kick Sir Perryl out?" Oriana asked.

"He was going to, as sheltering a traitor’s blood was not an option. But Nathan begged, and his father agreed."

"Just like that?" Oriana was surprised. "It seems Lord Nathan’s father loves him to risk sheltering the traitor’s son."

Arlan chuckled. "It’s quite the opposite. To his father, Nathan is nothing more than an heir, an asset to continue his legacy. To Nathan, his father is nothing but a monster. He always hated his father, even as a child, and constantly disobeyed him."

"Any strong reason to hate his own father? Every noble family parent discipline their child, especially the heir."

"It’s about the demise of Nathan’s mother," Arlan replied, avoiding further details. "Nathan, always a rebel, promised his father he would obey him if he let him protect Alex. His father found it a perfect opportunity to control his rebel son and agreed, but only until Alex turned an adult. Alex’s identity was changed, and he was kept hidden. They grew up and trained together.

"When Alex became an adult, he had to leave, so Nathan entrusted him to me, believing he’d be safer under the Crown Prince’s protection. Despite both of them being a few years older than me, we got along well.

"When I returned from the academy, the first task my father gave me was to investigate the northeast matters, as he trusted no one else. Alex and I had same goal. We formed the dark forces working undercover for me, with Alex as its leader."

"I didn’t see him around these days?" Oriana wondered.

"Luis is here and I fear Alex might be reckless and kill Luis, so, Nathan has taken him away. We will let Alex kill that bastard Luis but before that we need to clear his family’s name and restore what rightfully belongs to him."

"What about the Rainier family?" Oriana inquired.

"No one survived."

Oriana let out a helpless sigh. "That’s really unfortunate and cruel."

"It truly was."

"Was Nathan’s father involved with Luis, being one of the lords from the north?"

Arlan chuckled. "You wish. You don’t know Nathan’s father." _{fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm}