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“Stop lying!” The duke’s indifference irked her. She palmed her face and glared at her father with flaming eyes. “I don’t mind marrying anyone, but Lucius? Are you serious? How could you do this! You shouldn’t have accepted this marriage in the first place! Remember what you did when I promised to marry him then? You made him so miserable he couldn’t show his face in the community, and even in his own home. Lucius lost his status and was sent out to the battlefields. Now you’re telling me to marry him?”
“What should I have done then? Go on, tell me. It is what the emperor wanted, and I had no choice but to accept it.”
“But you should have at least tried telling him about what happened…”
“What? Tell him that you and Elliot were previously engaged? Did you really think the emperor didn’t know that? The emperor doesn’t care about such trivial things.” The duke waved her off.
Tears pooled her eyes from her father’s words. It was true. The emperor doesn’t care about that. No one cares about her previous engagement. Feeling defeated, she continuously sobbed on her seat, not bothering to wipe her tears away.
Seeing Deatrice, who plumped down on the sofa and started bawling, the duke could imagine her marriage and the insults she would receive after. He had great sympathy for her and wanted to comfort her poor daughter. ‘Oh, Deatrice.’
But there were already too many poor souls left behind by the duke for him to be crushed by such compassion. After pulling himself together, he put his hand on Deatrice’s shoulder and said,
“Elliot will be visiting soon. He will come for the marriage proposal and will see you. So be prepared.”
Then, he left the big office, leaving her alone. Deatrice didn’t move and shed more tears. She felt as if everything that was happening was staged and she’s been made the show’s laughingstock. She felt exhausted of it all.
She got up, wiped her tears, and fixed her wrinkled gown. The blue sapphire on her fourth finger was shining transparently as if it contained tears.
It’s all a thing of the past, but there was certainly a time when Lucius Elliot was her lover. He was a sweet and passionate young man, and above all, he made her feel that she was truly loved. Although a lot of time has passed since then, his soft gaze and the warmth of his palm touching her were few of the things she could remember until now. His soft golden hair, his gentle eyes, and the tenderness held within. But most of the good memories were ruined at the last minute by a messy breakup.
The duke severely ruined Lucius for wanting Deatrice, and Lucius was pushed to the battlefield after losing everything he had. He eventually gave up on her when she refused to run away with him. Amidst his downfall, she left him to fend for himself.
Now, she didn’t know how to deal with the situation in which they must be reunited after their hearts had been broken into pieces.
Deatrice stared blankly at the window with a pale face. As if all the failures of rebellion that occurred during the winter were buried in the greenery, it looked fresh and serene outside. Her hair, wavy, ran down her shoulders, gracing the back of her empire gown.
When she was lost in thoughts, the door opened, and a maid made her way in haste.
“Miss! Sir Elliot is here.”
The maid was visibly out of breath as she delivered the urgent news. Upon hearing this, Deatrice’s face turned more ashen, if that was even possible. Although she was told that Lucius will visit ‘soon’, it had been only four days since this information was disclosed to her. It was a courtesy to proceed with anything related to the marriage slowly under the excuse of being cautious. But he came without telling her in advance.
“Did father know about this already?”
“No. Sir Elliot said that he just stopped by. He apologized for not letting you know beforehand—” The maid couldn’t even finish her words. It was probably the first time in her life seeing someone visiting the duke’s mansion discourteously. Left without a choice, Deatrice frowned and got up to get ready.
Rosalynn, the maid who delivered the news, quickly followed her and added that Lucius had now gone to speak with the duke, and he politely asked to see Lady Deatrice after that.
Of course, Deatrice, Lucius, and even Rosalynn all knew that the request was not polite at all. It was a command. Even if she felt disrespected, the duke had accepted him and therefore Deatrice had to do the same.
Since there wasn’t enough time to get changed, she only put her hair up and pat a little rouge on her cheeks. But that alone took quite some time. By the time she was ready, Lucius was already escorted to the greenhouse.
As soon as he arrived, Lucius demanded that the servants leave without further comment. As if it were his natural right. She understood in her head that it was because of the emperor’s order to keep the engagement secret, but on the other hand, she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he was taking advantage of their now weakness. They needed him, not the other way ‘round.
The duke must be feeling the same. The tables had been turned indeed—the duke was now on the verge of collapse, while Lucius became the one and only knight trusted by the emperor.