Chapter 100. How Should I Deal With You?

The wolf beside Althea perked up at her sudden tension, its glowing fur shimmering faintly.

“My Lady?” Melva asked, setting down the tray of tea. “What is it? What do you see?”

Althea’s breath hitched. She rushed to the window and pressed her hand against the frame, her heart pounding. A man stood in the courtyard below. He turned slightly, and the sunlight fell across his profile. That face—sharp, familiar, unforgettable.

“It’s him,” she whispered, her chest tightening.

Melva hurried to her side, straining to follow her line of sight. “Who? Do you know that man?”

Althea didn’t answer right away. Her lashes fluttered as if trying to blink away a mirage. She had told herself it was impossible, that her memory was only clinging to ghosts. Yet her lips trembled as the words slipped out.

“He’s alive…”

Without hesitation, Althea snatched a coat, throwing it over her gown. She rushed for the door, Melva and the wolf trailing after he