Chapter 90
The mountain continued to groan.
A deafening rumble echoed through the valley as another cloud of dust erupted from the northern shaft.
People screamed.
Women clutched their children.
Several miners stumbled from the entrance, coughing violently, their faces blackened with soot and streaked with blood.
"Help!"
"My brother is still inside!"
"My husband!"
"My son is down there!"
The entire area dissolved into chaos.
Aurora stood frozen for only a heartbeat. Then the doctor within her took over.
"Emily!"
Emily immediately rushed to her side, "Yes, My Lady!"
"Turn the medical tent into an emergency station. Separate the wounded into groups. Minor injuries on the left. Anyone unconscious or bleeding heavily comes to me first."
Emily nodded without hesitation.
"Anne!"
Anne hurried over, "My Lady! Boil every pot of water we have. Tear every spare bedsheet into bandages. If we run out, use curtains."
Anne's eyes widened, "...Even the curtains?"
Aurora looked at her, "I'd rather explain missing curtains than missing lives."
Anne didn't waste another second, "Yes, My Lady!"
Turner stepped beside Aurora, "What do you need from me?"
Aurora looked toward the mine.
"Organize the knights. No one enters unless you approve it....... The mountain isn't stable."
Turner nodded, "It'll be done."
Within minutes, the orderly knight had transformed frightened guards into a disciplined rescue team.
"Ropes!"
"Lanterns!"
"Stretchers!"
"Move!"
Watching from nearby, Duke Owen couldn't help but notice something.
His daughter wasn't panicking.
She wasn't hesitating.
She wasn't behaving like an eighteen-year-old noblewoman.
She looked...Experienced.......... Far too experienced.
Almost as though she'd lived through disasters before.
A strange thought crossed his mind.
Where had she learned this?
A young miner carrying another man stumbled into the medical tent.
"My Lady...He won't wake up..."
Aurora immediately knelt.
She checked his breathing.
Weak.
His pulse.
Rapid.
His pupils.
One side was larger than the other.
Her heart sank.
"Head trauma."
Emily looked confused, "My Lady?"
Aurora quickly explained while working.
"The blow caused pressure inside his skull. We need to reduce the swelling."
Emily listened carefully.
She had become surprisingly skilled over the past two years.
Aurora handed her several herbs, "Prepare this mixture."
Emily immediately began grinding the herbs.
The miner looked at Aurora with desperate eyes.
"Will he live?"
Aurora hesitated, "...I'll do everything I can."
The man nodded.
It wasn't the answer he'd hoped for.
But it was an honest one.
Outside...The cries grew louder.
An elderly woman grabbed Owen's sleeve, "Your Grace! My two grandsons...They're still down there..."
Owen gently took both of her trembling hands, "We're bringing everyone home."
Tears rolled down her weathered face.
"You promise?"
Owen's heart twisted.
No duke should ever make promises he couldn't guarantee.
But today...
He simply nodded, "We won't stop trying."
The woman broke into tears.
Several rescue workers approached Turner, "Captain, The entrance is unstable. We're afraid another collapse could happen."
Turner looked toward the opening.
Darkness.
Silence.
Then...
Very faintly...
Knocking.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
One of the miners gasped, "They're alive!"
Hope spread through the crowd like wildfire.
"They're alive!"
"They're alive!"
People began crying with relief.
Aurora looked toward Turner, "Our people are still fighting."
Turner gave a firm nod, "And we'll fight with them."
Meanwhile...
Owen quietly walked away from the crowd.
Years of governing had taught him something.
Disasters often revealed truths.
He slowly examined the collapsed entrance.
Broken beams.
Shattered supports.
Loose rock.
He crouched beside one of the main timber pillars.
His fingers brushed against the wood.
He frowned. Something...was wrong.
He leaned closer.
The beam hadn't snapped. It had been weakened. Deliberately.
His thumb traced several clean grooves.
Not cracks.
Not age.
Cut marks.
Very shallow.
Almost impossible to notice. Someone had sliced through the timber little by little over time.
Enough that eventually...it would fail under pressure.
Owen's expression hardened, "Turner."
Turner immediately walked over, "My Lord?"
Without speaking, Owen pointed toward the timber.
Turner knelt beside him.
His eyes narrowed, "Those......aren't natural."
"No. They're blade marks."
Turner looked around instinctively.
Someone nearby had done this. Someone who understood mining. Someone patient. Someone dangerous.
Owen lowered his voice, "Say nothing."
Turner nodded, "My Lord? This wasn't an accident."
Silence settled between them. Both men slowly looked toward the mountain. Hundreds of innocent people had nearly died. Not because of fate. Because someone wanted them to.
Owen clenched his jaw, "I want every foreman questioned...Quietly. I don't want panic. I especially don't want Aurora finding out."
Turner frowned, "Why not?"
Owen looked toward his daughter.
She was kneeling beside an injured child, smiling gently despite the blood covering her hands.
"Because she'll blame herself."
Turner followed Owen's gaze.
Aurora was kneeling beside a frightened young man , gently cleaning the blood from his forehead. Her own hands were stained crimson.
Strands of hair had escaped her braid and clung to her face, damp with sweat. Dust covered the hem of her dress, and exhaustion was beginning to show in the slight tremble of her hands.
Yet when she smiled at the man ...
It was as though the chaos around them no longer existed.
She spoke softly, patiently, offering comfort before treatment.
Turner watched in silence.
He had seen Aurora stand before king without fear.
He had watched her negotiate with foreign merchants, outwit seasoned nobles, and transform an entire duchy through nothing more than intelligence and determination.
But this...This was different.
There were no grand speeches.
No applause.
No audience.
No reward.
Only frightened people...
And a young woman who refused to let them face their suffering alone.
A quiet sense of awe settled over him.
Respect.
Admiration.
And something deeper—something he had carried in silence for years—tightened painfully in his chest.
He had fallen in love with Aurora long ago.
Today...
He found himself falling for her all over again.
Not because she was brilliant.
Not because she was beautiful.
But because, in the midst of fear and despair, she still chose compassion.
Turner lowered his gaze for a moment, a faint smile touching his lips.
How could anyone not love her?
Then, without another word, he turned back toward the rescue effort.
There were still people waiting to be saved.
High above the mine...
Hidden among the trees...
A lone horse stood waiting.
Its rider watched the confusion below.
Smoke drifted upward from the collapsed shaft.
People ran in every direction.
Perfect.
The hooded man smiled coldly, "So, The great Duke Owen Ambrose......let's see how long it takes you."
He pulled the reins.
The horse turned away from the cliff.
Neither Owen...
Nor Aurora...
Nor anyone below...
Realized someone had been watching them from the very beginning.
Far from the chaos...
The rider disappeared into the forest.
A single name echoed through his thoughts.
Bracken.
And this...
Was only the beginning.
Please vote