The Princess And The Lord-Chapter 1331: The Last Witness II

Maddy put away her gun then ran towards Samuel and jumped into his arms, "Samuel Albrecht, where have you been!?"

Samuel patted her back gently "Everywhere, hiding" he replied nonchalantly.

"Oh," Maddy broke away from the hug and looked at the man who looked much older than she remembered "I heard what happened to your family... are they?"

"My daughter is still alive, fortunately," he said with a small smile.

Maddy was relief but only for a moment then she asked again "But...Your wife?"

A pain filled Samuel’s eyes "She...uh, she couldn’t make it..."

"Oh Sam" Maddy hung her head in regret "It’s because of us, wasn’t it...If only you don’t—"

"No!" Samuel rebutted, holding Maddy’s shoulder then look directly to her eyes, "It’s not you, it was them! I gave everything for them, I trusted them but they lied to me and they killed my family!....they killed yours too, I cannot save your sister..." a clear bluish veins bulged on his forehead as he held back his anger.

Maddy holds his rough hand and shakes her head "You tried, and because of you I am still alive"

The anger in his eyes subsided a little, and then his eyes started to move from her toes to the top of her head as he carefully sized up the young girl who had completely changed from the little girl he knew, all that was left was the freckles on her face and nose, but that only added to her charm, "Look at you, you’re a Babe, now!" He smiled broadly like a father proud to see his daughter has grown up.

"A hot Babe, to be precise" Maddy lifted her chin proudly.

"I guess so," Samuel laughed.

"...but you look older" her voice was etched with melancholy.

He rubbed his jaw as something troubled him, "Time flies... Honestly, I’m glad you survived the Dark Age War, at that time I tried to look for you but Mary was still so young, I couldn’t leave her and no one I could trust, so I..."

"I understand, it’s not your fault..." Maddy shook her head, although at that time she was a little angry because Samuel was not there for her but in the end, she understood how difficult the situation was at that time.

Samuel lost his wife and he had to be responsible for his daughter who was not yet five years old at the same time he had to escape from Dragxtarn’s pursuit not to mention Nazareth just awakened and turned the world upside down therefore she understood why Samuel couldn’t find her.

"Look at me, Don’t I look fine right?!" Maddy spread her arms to assure Samuel how good her life is now.

Sam knew Maddy was trying to comfort him and he appreciated it. He always felt guilty for not being able to protect her when he had promised Maddy’s older sister that he would keep her safe.

So one can only imagine how relieved he was when he found out that sweet little girl had managed to survive the Dark Age Wars mayhem and grow into a strong and independent woman.

Unfortunately, his visit was not for a simple meeting but for something more urgent, "Well, to be honest, I’ve known where you are for a while now, but I didn’t dare to approach you... I thought it would be better for you and safer that way, but things have changed." Samuel’s voice becomes heavy.

Maddy felt the alarm in his voice, her expression tensed "Changed, how?"

Samuel turned his chin over his shoulder as if worried that someone might see them after that he gently moved Maddy behind a pile of cardboard boxes and spoke in a low voice "Have you seen the news about the emergence of Bael the Saintess, the Paladin and the collaboration between The S.A.I.N.T. and Luxemborough organizations in creating a new weapon to kill the Bael?

Maddy nodded, "Of course, that’s all people have been talking about for weeks."

"Yes, they have begun executing their grand plan, and now they want to tie up all the loose ends." His eyes tense together in concern.

Her heart started pounding, and Maddy unconsciously squeezed her hands together. "They were looking for me. How did they know I was still alive?"

"They don’t but they want to make sure, they cannot leave anyone who is involved in that day alive and they had killed everyone who participated, especially after Alfred Hubert made noise about his missing daughter who was involved in that incident, therefore other than those who later became Paladins or Dragxtarn no one spare, and now they are focusing their efforts on finding us!" free𝑤ebnovel.com

"W...What?" her heart stopped for a moment.

"They nearly caught me, but we were lucky because there happened to be other people who had a falling out with Luxemborough, maybe you know them, Garrof Winfield and Lloyd Bower?"

Maddy’s memories took her back to the conversation between Jack, Garrof, Zhao Li Xin, Lloyd, and Lory at the Beast Slayer’s Guild, "Yes, that’s how I found out you were still alive"

"I know you’ve been living with Jack Quaid, he’s a brute but capable man and most importantly he’s a man of integrity so I’m not worried, I’m glad you found a good man who can take care of you," Samuel said sincerely.

Her cheeks flushed, "Well, he’s alright..." she averted her eyes from Samuel.

Samuel could see Maddy harbored some feelings for the man, which was why it was hard for him to say his next words but it was all for the best.

"Maddy, things have gotten worse since King Lucas was absent. I’m not sure what they did to him, but I’m sure they have something to do with why King Lucas hasn’t been seen in public for the past few months." Samuel pressed his hand on Maddy’s shoulder. "Maddy, you can’t stay here. If I could find you, so were they...."

"What - No!" Maddy reflexively took a step back from Samuel, "I..I can’t go, I have a lot of things to do, My job, the Guild, and I can leave him, he...he’s lazy, and he’ll make a mess, a... and—" she threw out a jumbled excuse.

"Mady - Maddy, I know you care about him, but that’s why you have to go, because when they find you, they’ll come in full force, Dragxtarns, Argus, and most likely the Paladins too, if that happens, do you think he can handle it?"

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, "But... I don’t...I don’t want to..." her voice was full of pleas.

"I know it’s hard to leave everything we love, but we both know what they’re capable of...we’ve seen with our own eyes how much they’re willing to sacrifice and they’ll do anything to make sure nothing ruins their plans, I couldn’t protect you before so please let me protect you now...for Olivia"

Samuel didn’t like doing this to her either, he didn’t mean to ruin the life Maddy had worked so hard to build, but he could feel the claws of the enemy closing in and he knew they wouldn’t let Maddy go, not when she was the last witness of that harrowing night.

Meanwhile, Maddy finds it hard to accept this decision even though her head understands it, but her heart refuses to accept it.

’I don’t want to go!’ the thought of leaving feels like thousands of needles jabbing her skin.

"Wait a minute, what if...what if we talk to the Archknights about this, you see we’ve been interacting with the Archknights for a few weeks now, and they asked for help in finding one of the former Ultima members...maybe we can—"

"Maddy, listen to me, with King Lucas’ situation, I don’t think they have time to care about other things. You have to understand that the Archknights’ priority is their king. Besides, I don’t know what they would think if they knew about our involvement in what happened on Mount Fehrer... they might forgive you since you were still a child at the time, but what about the others? Many people died, some of them irreplaceable like King Marcus and Princess Lorient..."

Maddy clenched her fist, "That’s not fair, it’s not our fault!"

"I know, but we can’t control what other people think... Maddy, please think it over carefully." Samuel took a deep breath then spoke again in a gentle tone, "I’ll see you in two days, think it over carefully, okay?" Samuel patted Maddy’s shoulder gently before leaving and disappearing into the crowd.

Maddy is left alone in a dark alley, feeling lost and conflicted.

Two hours later Maddy finally arrived at the Guild, Jack happened to get out of the elevator and found her, "Where have you been? I thought something happened?" Jack complained but his voice was full of worry.

Maddy was touched by Jack’s concern for her but it only added to her dilemma, "Sorry, I just lost track of time, you know how girls are when they go shopping" She forced a smile.

Of course, Jack noticed that Maddy was hiding something but he didn’t want to probe if she didn’t want to talk about it besides it wasn’t unusual for a girl to have a secret or two.

"Fine, just answer your phone when I call you, okay!" Jack reprimanded her.

Maddy checked her phone and then realized that it was turned off "Oh, the battery was dead, sorry I didn’t realize" she apologized.

"Okay, as long as you’re okay" Jack patted Maddy’s shoulder then walked past her.

"Hey, where are you going?" Maddy asked.

"I have a business to take care of" Jack replied vaguely.

Maddy glanced at the clock on the wall and narrowed her eyes. "Are you going to the red district again?" She looked at him accusingly.

Jack stopped in his tracks and turned around and saw Maddy’s expression, he couldn’t help but tease her. "Why, are you jealous?"

"Who would be jealous of an old man like you?" She looked at him with a look of disdain.

Jack was offended when she brought up his age again, "Hey, I’m still in my prime, look!" He showed off his biceps proudly.

Maddy lifted her chin and snorted. "I think you’re well done!"

"...That’s mean," Jack pointed at her then turned around and waved his hand dismissively, "Don’t worry, this is straight business!"

"That’s always the case in that kind of place!" Maddy rebuke.

Jack burst out laughing as he left the room. Maddy pursed her lips as she watched Jack leave the Guild. Her eyes turn to her cell phone then an inexplicable expression crosses her face, Maddy turns around and goes upstairs.