novelMemories are beautified and faded (6)
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Chapter 79: Chapter 79 Memories are beautified and faded (6)
Wendy bit her lips, as if she was dumbfounded by his reply. Her eyes glowed dangerously.
"Dylan Lennox, don't you remember I warned you clearly on that day? ...I warned you that I would behead you if I saw you again."
Spitting out her words coldly, she took the sword that he was wearing. The sword gleamed bright and cold between them. Dylan did not stop her. He stood still like a criminal waiting for his execution.
Their trembling eyes met in the air. She bit her lip, pointing the blade of the sword at his neck. The flashing blade touched the standing collar covering his neck, cutting off a piece of it.
"The Dylan Lennox I used to know is dead. Olivia Hazlet, she also died a long time ago."
Wendy spoke with a firm tone. Her words turned into a weapon stabbing him in his chest.
"... Dylan and Olivia are dead. My affection towards you and the time I shared with you are all gone. Don't interfere with my life anymore! I won't let you destroy my life again. This is my last warning."
She gave him a stern look as if she was sentencing him. He stood still, just looking at her with a pale face. Staring at him sharply, she dropped the sword on the grass.
Some dry petals scattered at that moment.
She turned away from him as if their relationship could never be reversed and walked away as if nothing could ever make her come back to him.
"Francis showed me the marriage certificate between you and Earl Duoldran."
She suddenly stopped walking.
Dylan continued with a subdued voice as if he gave up a will to survive.
"I had to choose between the two options of sending you to him or betraying you."
"Why? Olivia is only the child of a dirty mistress, and she has never been loved by anyone. Why did Dylan choose Olivia, not me?"
Francis buried her face in her arms, crying. Her attractive red hair fell down around her shoulders. Although the wind blew the fragrance of flowers through the open window, the atmosphere inside the room was gloomy.
"Oh Francis, my sweetheart. You don't have to cry. The Lennox family's second son Dylan is an immature child. He just got carried away with her by a casual encounter. So, don't worry, Francis. Children are supposed to grow old enough to be mature one day. If you want him, let me make him your sweetheart."
"You can't do it, mom! Dylan loves Olivia. He confessed it to me, as if to humiliate me!"
Francis raised her head and shouted hysterically. The countess wiped her tears tenderly.
"Without your father's and my permission, Olivia can't marry him. We will never let her marry him. She doesn't deserve such a good marriage. Oh, it's almost gonna be a big disgrace to our family. I've been looking for a suitable mate for her for a long time. There's nothing you need to worry about. You can rest assured you can trust me. Dylan, that immature man, will soon wake up from his vain love fever, " said Mrs. Hazlet with a cold look.
It was four days later that Francis recovered her offended pride.
Everything proceeded very fast. A matchmaker from Dolsang, a territory famous for producing horses, began to visit the Hazlet family. Earl Duoldran, the lord of Dolsang, was a middle-aged man whose wife died three years ago. He had no reason to reject Olivia. He said he would send a hundred horses as a gift in honor of his friendship with the Hazlet family.
What a wonderful marriage! Countess Hazlet cheered it. Although there were ominous rumors that his violence was linked to his late wife's death, Mrs. Hazlet didn't believe such rumors.
Earl Hazlet had been troubled by the lack of horses in his territory and expressed subtle expectations as if he hoped to solve the problem through the marriage.
This allowed Mrs. Hazlet to proceed with Olivia's marriage without a problem.
The marriage certificate, signed by Earl Duoldran, was delivered to Marquis Zaksen Bahar, his long acquaintance, through the matchmaker.
According to the law of the Benyahan Empire, the marquis became the witness appointed by the bridegroom and signed the marriage certificate. The certificate, signed by the Marquis, was handed to Earl Hazlet by the marquis's knights. The family of the witness who signed the certificate were obligated to keep it before the wedding ceremony because the witness's signature was a promise to defend the marriage of the bridegroom and his bride.
"I certify that this certificate of marriage is valid under my honor, kept under Nicholas, and under my name, recorded under the Benyahan Empire. Zaksen Bahar..."
Francis murmured with a low voice, appreciating the marquis's handwriting on the certificate. Pacing up and down the study, holding the certificate of marriage in her hand, she was silent for a moment, as if she was lost in thought. Only the rustling sound of her dress was heard in the study.
Earl Hazelet watched her with a nervous expression and opened his mouth in spite of himself, "Francis, give me that marriage certificate."
"Daddy, why are you so worried? I am just holding the marriage certificate briefly because it is meaningful to me, " Francis said, sitting on the sofa in the study. She looks innocent when she smiled at him, but he shook his head as if he didn't like her stubbornness.
"Who is the man you designated as your witness?"
"... Earl Nias Hartman."
Earl Hazlet named the bride's witness with a sigh. With a frown, he put a functional thank-you letter to the marquis in an envelope and sealed it with a seal of his family. He didn't feel good when he pushed a spoon of melted wax into the corner of his desk.
"The certificate will be complete as soon as you get his signature, right?"
Pretending not to know her father's unhappy mood, Francis humed with satisfaction.
She touched the marquis's handwriting on the certificate with her finger. She felt the fine nib used to produce his handwriting on the smooth texture of the high-quality paper.
"... Honey, put the certificate in its place. I don't want to get the stigma that I've ridiculed the honor of Marquis Bahar."
"Wasn't he already ridiculed when he swore his honor to certify Olivia's marriage? I think it's an undeserved honor to her that the marquis stood as the witness for her marriage."
Francis laughed at that.
The witness system was created to prevent indiscriminate unions of noble families and check each other in the midst of power struggles. The witness to the marriage was usually of a higher or similar level than that of the marriage partners. The witness formally honored his family by signing the marriage certificate and protecting the marriage. Accordingly, the destruction of the marriage certificate meant the nullifying the marriage as well as disgracing the two families.
"I'm afraid somebody will hear you, Francis. You should not act frivolously while the marquise's guests are staying in our mansion. If you don't want to ruin Olivia's marriage, give me that certificate. If the certificate is damaged, this marriage you want will be nullified, as you know, " he said, scolding her.
"You're right, daddy. If I have to pick one of the most precious things for me right now, let me pick this certificate of marriage until Earl Hartman signs here under your signature on his honor, " she said, standing up.
"Okay, let me go and check if the guests of the marquis are being treated well. As they are responsible for delivering this certificate to Earl Hartman, I'll have to make sure they are treated very well."
Francis placed the certificate of marriage on his desk and smiled cutely at him.
Coming out of her father's study, she walked toward Olivia's room instead of going to the guest room where the marquis's guests were staying. While walking through the long hallway, there was a serious look on her face. She approached Olivia's room and nodded slowly as if she decided on something.
Knock knock.
Light knocking echoed through the hallway, but there was no human movement inside the room. Francis opened the door as if she did not expect any reaction from the owner of the room from the beginning. As soon as she entered, she noticed that the balcony door was open.
"Are you deaf now? Didn't you hear me knocking on the door?" Francis spoke bluntly, stepping out onto the balcony.
"I don't remember allowing you to enter my room."
Olivia sat on a chair on the balcony with her face buried in a book and spoke without raising her head. Olivia's dark blonde, basking in the bright sunlight, shone with the wind.
Francis saw her sweeping her messy hair as a nuisance.
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