Feli had no idea that her conversation with the red-robed man had been overheard by Ron, word for word.
Ron walked through the corridor with an expressionless face, feeling a chill run down his spine, as if someone had doused him with a bucket of ice water in the middle of a scorching summer day.
He couldn't quite explain why, but just a few words exchanged with that woman had drained him more than days of relentless battle on the front lines. With a weary body and heavy heart, Ron followed the maid to the room the Moore family had prepared for him.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Christie sitting quietly by the bed, seemingly waiting for him.
"My dear, you're back!" Christie exclaimed as she jumped off the bed and ran to greet Ron.
At that moment, Ron felt a sudden sense of relief. It was as if a woman was waiting at home for him, someone who might not have the best reputation, but who greeted him with genuine joy, without any malice.
It was like coming home after a long, exhausting day and finding your wife waiting by the door, with slippers and dinner ready—a warm, indescribable feeling of comfort.
"What are you doing here?" Ron's tone and gaze softened considerably.
"Didn't you say you were going to stand up for me and teach those old men in the family a lesson?" Christie beamed, taking Ron's arm. "I'm so happy, I wanted to reward you!"
Two sisters born to the same parents, yet one was frighteningly shrewd and cold-blooded, while the other was as innocent as a child, believing even a simple joke. Ron couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
He began to ponder how the personalities and treatment of these two sisters could be so different. In a flash, memories of his interactions with the two sisters played like a slideshow in his mind.
Suddenly, he seemed to understand everything.
In a family, if a genius is born, that genius is bound to be pampered and protected. But her siblings are likely to suffer, especially in a noble family where strength is paramount, and interests reign supreme.
A girl of average talent would surely be neglected when standing next to an extraordinary sister.
Thinking along these lines, Ron began to understand why Christie constantly sought out strong men. Perhaps it wasn't lust or a desire for sex; maybe she was simply searching for protection, for someone to rely on.
She probably had a desperate need for security, the kind that comes from being tightly held and protected. And there was no hidden meaning in this—just the literal sense of the words.
The coldness and disdain from her family had left this noble lady with an intense, almost pathological, lack of security, driving her to seek safety in the arms of strong men.
Of course, her behavior was wrong, but she wasn't entirely to blame. She was merely a pitiful soul, a pawn in the family's transactions.
Many people don't understand how much a toxic upbringing can affect a child. No matter how good their external circumstances may seem, these children are often hollow inside.
Fear, inferiority, sensitivity, fragility, and a lack of self-confidence become the defining features of their lives.
But Ron could understand all of this because he had grown up in a similar family.
The real Ron's memories before the age of eight were all about his younger brother. Even though Ron was a different person after eight, those early memories left him with a deep sense of empathy.
In those memories, whenever his younger brother fell, Ron would be punished and beaten because he hadn't taken good enough care of him.
If his brother refused to eat, Ron wouldn't get any food either, sometimes going hungry for three days straight. The reasoning was that if the younger brother hadn't eaten, how could the elder brother have the face to eat?
If his brother cried, Ron had to rush over to comfort him. If he was even a little slow, the maids would beat him more harshly than his father, Baron.
Yes, it was the maids. And whenever his brother wanted something, Ron had to give it to him immediately. Whatever his brother wanted him to do, he had to do it.
Once, when his brother dropped a toy into a pond, even though there were adults all around, he insisted that Ron retrieve it.
The pond wasn't large, but it was deep. Fortunately, Ron knew how to swim and managed to retrieve the toy.
To avoid being beaten, he had to risk going into the water.
But just as he finally got the toy, his brother threw a stone at him from the shore.
It hit Ron's forehead, knocking him unconscious, and he slowly began to sink into the water.
After swallowing some water, he woke up and tried to surface, only to find his feet stuck in the mud.
At that moment… he felt utter despair.
There were many adults standing by the pond, but they just stood there, watching coldly as Ron struggled in the water until there were no more ripples on the surface.
In the end, it was the old butler, who had served the estate for 30 years, who rushed over after hearing what had happened and pulled Ron's body out of the water.
In Ron's memories, his life before the age of eight was filled with nothing but fear, hunger, flattery, and terror—nothing else. He couldn't even remember his mother's face.
These memories caused Ron immense pain, leading to moments of suffocation in his sleep, waking up in terror time and time again.
It took him many years to find strength within himself. And many more years to rebuild his inner world, but it was all in vain.
Until one day, he suddenly figured it out.
He shouldn't fight against these experiences; he should accept them because they were a part of him, a part of the old Ron who had died.
He couldn't change the past or others. The only thing he could do was accept himself, embrace reality, let go of the past, and keep working hard to achieve something for himself.
Because of his tragic upbringing, Ron felt deep empathy for Christie.
No wonder a knight dared to give orders to Christie in front of outsiders.
No wonder Christie, even after being mistreated, would still try to please others. She was afraid of losing her sense of security and protection.
No wonder a woman with such a loose reputation could speak with such childlike innocence.
Because she really was just a child. Her body might have grown up, but her mind hadn't. Perhaps it was still stuck at some terrifying moment from her childhood.
Just like the real Ron, who would always be stuck in that moment of drowning despair!
In that moment, how desperately he wished someone would reach out and hold onto him, but…
Understanding everything now, Ron forced a smile and gave Christie a tight hug.
Christie was startled by the sudden embrace, unsure of what to do.
"Ron, why are you being so passionate all of a sudden? Do you want me to serve you?"
"Ah… I knew it! I guessed right, didn't I? Don't worry! I'll make you feel great! You know my reputation—I'm very good at these things!"
Hearing this, Ron felt a deep pain in his heart for some reason.
At that moment, he made a decision.
Ron released the hug but kept his hands firmly on Christie's shoulders, pressing his forehead against hers as he spoke gently:
"Alright, my dear fiancée, you don't need to please anyone, including me. I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say because it's very important!"
"What's gotten into you?" Christie asked, smiling awkwardly, looking like a startled fawn.
Ron slowly began to speak:
"Don't you want to teach all those elders who look down on you a lesson?"
"I promise you, I'll make sure it happens! This time, I'm not joking."
Upon hearing these words, Christie's eyes turned red, and she bit her lip, staring at Ron in disbelief.
Ron continued, "From now on, if anyone dares to speak ill of you, whether in front of me or anyone else, it won't be tolerated."
"If anyone dares to badmouth you, no matter who they are, I'll rip their head off. You are my fiancée, my future wife. Insulting you is the same as insulting me, and I have a bad temper. If anyone dares to make us unhappy, they'll pay the price."
"Pfft!" Christie, her eyes still red, couldn't help but laugh.
"Ron, are you serious?"
"Of course! We've already had our ceremony; you are the only and rightful wife I'll ever have. I don't want you to feel the need to please anyone else, and I won't hold your past against you."
"What's done is done. Let the past stay in the past. We should live in the present and look to the future. I promise you, no matter what dangers we face, no matter how powerful the enemies are, or how fierce the storms may be, I'll always stand in front of you, shielding you from harm. And anyone who dares to bully you—I'll rip their head off and use it as a football!"
"So, will you come with me to the North?"
"Waaah…" Christie suddenly burst into tears, throwing herself onto Ron's shoulder, crying her heart out.
Ron was stunned for a moment, but he didn't say anything more. He simply patted Christie's back gently…