[Gideon's POV]

Shane continued, "I mean, just look at Gideon's tent. It's so much bigger than everyone else's, and he even has an adjutant at his beck and call. The way such a handsome young man thrives in a place where women rule supreme… It makes you wonder what he's trading for it…"

The young boy chimed in as well. "Father, doesn't that make him a cheap male prostitute? How shameless and filthy."

At their words, Winona tightened her grip on my arm. "Did you really do something that filthy?"

Her gaze locked onto me, as if she could drag the truth straight out of my bones.

"Calm down, darling. Maybe Gideon had no choice. Still, people will talk if you allow something sullied to be in your presence." Shane pretended to be in a difficult spot, speaking as though he were trying to comfort her.

"That's nonsense. What could possibly force a man to do such a thing? He's just naturally filthy, that's all. He's shameless to the core," Winona said to him.

Then, she turned to me, looking hurt. Her voice shook with grief when she spoke again. "You're truly disgusting, Gideon. I gave you my whole heart, yet in just five short years, you failed to keep your desires in check.

"Tell me—how long have you been sneaking around behind my back? Who's the cheap whore you've been sleeping with? Or is it more than one? Any female officers? And soldiers? What about the slaves and camp prostitutes? Have they pleased you, too?" Her voice rose to a screech.

I couldn't hold back anymore. I gave her a hard slap across the face. But all she did was pull out a handkerchief and wipe her cheek, as if my touch had smeared filth on her.

"I get it now. No wonder you couldn't stop coughing up blood when Shane only hit you a few times." Realization flashed in her eyes. "I thought you were faking an injury to win my sympathy, but it turns out… it's because you caught something dirty."

With that, she flicked her wrist and summoned a young army physician. She commanded, "Strip and examine him. I want to know whether he's carrying a filthy disease."

To be stripped naked in public and handled like an animal was a humiliation beyond anything I could bear. I dragged my blood-soaked body back, desperately trying to back away.

I stared at Winona in disbelief. "You know perfectly well why I coughed up blood, Winona."

Ten years ago, she'd picked a drunken fight with someone. The other party had swung a blade straight down at her, and I'd thrown myself in front of her without a second thought. The strike had shattered three ribs across my chest.

Since then, I'd been left with an internal injury—any heavy jolt would send me into violent fits of coughing up blood.

Winona's gaze flickered, as if the memory had surfaced against her will. Still, she hardened her expression and said, "Don't bring up something that has nothing to do with this. Knowing how cheap and filthy you are… who knows if saving me back then wasn't something you staged?

"You probably planned the whole thing just to get close to me. It was a pretty little act so you could climb your way up the ranks."

The army physician forced me down onto the desk, tearing open what clothes I had left. I was left completely bare under dozens of staring eyes.

Just as his hands were about to touch me, I drove my knee up with full force, aiming straight at his chest. I'd put every last bit of strength into that kick, but Shane suddenly flung scalding tea across my face.

A blaze of pain swallowed my vision. My strength gave out all at once, and the guards seized the opportunity to wrench my arms behind my back.

"He even dares to attack others!" Shane shouted. "Your Highness, look at him. He must've lost his mind out of fear over his disease being exposed!"

I had just opened my mouth to report my rank as a general when he clamped a hand over my mouth. He hissed, "I'd like to see you weasel your way into Her Highness' life now, you wretch."

I was pinned down, naked as the day I was born. I lay there, flipped and handled at their mercy. The crushing humiliation burned my eyes, turning them bloodshot.

"Everyone, turn around!" Winona suddenly shouted. "Anyone who dares look at my husband will have their entire clan wiped out!"

The guards, terrified, hurried out of the tent.

"He shows no signs of disease…" The army physician had just started to speak when he met Shane's murderous stare. He gave me an apologetic glance, then changed his answer. "He… He is sick."

At that, Winona let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. "Is this how you've chosen to get back at me, Gideon?"

[Gideon's POV]

"You know I love you and can't bear to hurt you, so you've done this to humiliate and insult me. Still, I did neglect you for five whole years. I guess… this makes us even now." Winona walked out of the tent, looking exhausted. "I'll have someone bring you medicine later.

"From now on, you're not allowed to be involved with any other women. I do not take lowlifes as husbands. You'll come back to my estate with me in secret, as my kept man."

Before leaving, Shane glanced back at me, his smirk smug.

Once everyone was gone, I couldn't hold on any longer. My vision went black, and I passed out. In my dreams, I was taken back to the day I'd taken that blade for Winona.

"Gideon, how could you be so stupid? I'd rather die than see you hurt, even a little." She'd held me in her arms, sobbing so hard that she could barely breathe.

She'd sent out calls for the most famous physicians in the country and spent a fortune having them treat me. When I'd burned up a high fever and fallen unconscious, she'd prayed day and night for my life.

The day I finally opened my eyes, she'd vowed, "I've found the one person meant for me, and I swear I'll never betray them in this lifetime."

The dream kept going, but a sudden commotion yanked me awake. I thought it was the person bringing me my medicine, but instead, Winona kicked the tent door open. She stormed in and slapped me hard across the face.

"Gideon Ward, who gave you the nerve to lay a hand on my legitimate son?" Her eyes blazed with rage, and she looked like she wanted to tear me apart. "All he did was mess with you a little, and you actually killed him!"

"What? I didn't—"

"Enough!" she roared. "You killed my son, and now Shane is heartbroken. He's ready to throw himself off the city wall. You're going to apologize and atone to him right now!"

Before I could say anything else, she clamped a hand around my arm. She dragged and yanked me along like I was a puppet, hauling me straight onto the city wall.

"Give me back my son, you monster!" The moment Shane saw me, he rushed over, looking crazed and unkempt. Clutching a blade, he stabbed at me over and over in a frenzy. In an instant, my body was soaked in blood.

His son lay in his arms, his face an ugly shade of purple. It was clear that he'd been killed by poison.

My heart lurched. I hadn't expected Shane to be vicious enough to kill his own son.

A thin thread of suspicion coiled up inside me. This didn't feel like just another ploy in some petty fight for favor. Could Shane have some other agenda?

"Get on your knees!"

I was lost in thought and didn't see the kick coming. Winona knocked my knees out from under me, forcing me down. "Apologize to Shane now. If he doesn't forgive you, you can remain kneeling until you die!"

She gripped my neck and slammed my forehead into the ground again and again. Blood ran down my face, but I clamped my jaw shut and refused to make a sound.

Shane wasn't satisfied with what he saw. He leaned in close to Winona's ear and whispered something. She hesitated but ultimately nodded when she met his grief-stricken eyes.

"Guards, hold him down!" she commanded. Then, she sighed. "Shane says that only by cutting off your hands and feet and turning you into a living cripple will he feel any better. I can have another child, but there has to be a limit to how far you go just to fight for favor.

"You've gone way too far this time, and you have to be punished. But don't worry—even after you lose your limbs, you'll still have me and my influence. I'll take good care of you. I won't let you suffer."

As she spoke, her gaze turned cold and ruthless. She grabbed a sword and raised it high, swinging it down.

Not far away, just out of her line of sight, Shane's face twisted into a strange, triumphant smile. The child he'd been cradling like a treasure just moments ago was now tossed aside without a second thought.

Right then, a sharp, ringing voice sounded from below the city wall. "Her Majesty has arrived!"