Chapter 30

"Yes, tell me. The truth is, I've wondered all along. Why you went back to your birth father. Why you married the old Marquis Oswald. You said it was because you wanted to become nobility, but that's not really it, is it?"

Adele caught her breath for a moment, then forced the words out in a choked voice.

"I wanted... revenge."

"Revenge?"

It was the last thing he'd expected to hear.

"Against the men who did that to her."

"Your mother was killed by a wild animal in the forest. Don't tell me you meant to take revenge on the silver wolf?"

Adele shook her head.

"Do you remember the villa at Garden Lake?"

"I remember. High-ranking nobles used to visit there often."

"After Mother died, I happened to go there and overheard some people talking. The nobles who used to visit the villa were keeping wolves. And for sport,…