Chapter 8
Alaric held my hand, his grip both gentle and firm. His gaze briefly swept over Gideon, a flicker of disdain passing through his eyes before he turned away.
At the high table, Percival reacted swiftly, rising to his feet with a thunderous expression. “How dare you! Who do you think you are, to speak to my daughter in such a manner?”
To my astonishment, Gideon actually had the gall to look aggrieved. “My lord, you promised me Isolde’s hand in marriage! How can you go back on your word now? Is this the dignity befitting the Grand Chancellor, the head of the civil officials?”
The moment the words left his lips, the gathered guests erupted in derisive laughter. Even I couldn’t help but regard him
with newfound contempt.
Too young by far.
Without those years of political maneuvering, he couldn’t read the room-and his naivety was almost laughable.
The guests at the Ravenscroft Manor today were no ordinary folk. Even several princes were in attendance.
The Third Prince, Edmond Veyrault, young and blunt, didn’t hold back. “What gives you the right to covet the Grand Chancellor’s daughter? A rootless scholar who still believes minstrels’ tales of peasants wedding nobles?”
He scoffed. “In our dynasty’s history, there have been hundreds of top scholars. One was granted a royal bride. You lack even a court title. By what delusion do you imagine yourself worthy of House Ravenscroft’s daughter?”
Gideon’s face flushed scarlet, then paled. But with the speaker’s status so far above his own, he dared not retort.
Another noble chuckled. “Lord Gideon, didn’t you just take in a beautiful mistress? Shouldn’t you be enjoying your night instead of making a scene here?”
The crowd tittered, and I merely watched, coldly amused.
Gideon had never understood the unbridgeable chasm of class.
Before, he had relied on underhanded tactics, rallying commoners to shame and harass me. But what he didn’t realize was that among the nobility, his antics had long become a laughingstock.
Who among the highborn would want a son-in-law like him?
In my past life, I had been the one to rein him in, to salvage his reputation.
But this time, he had no such luck.
Gideon opened his mouth several times, only to choke back his words under the weight of the nobles’ disdain.
Just as Percival was about to have him thrown out, a panicked shout came from outside. “Lord Gideon! Lord Gideon! Lenora-she’s trying to drown herself in the well!”
That woman truly was a viper.
In my past life, her death had been the catalyst for my suffering. Now, faced with adversity, she was pulling the same trick. Chapter 8
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I glanced at Gideon, curious what he would choose.
To my surprise, after a moment’s hesitation-he ignored it.
This was a twist I hadn’t anticipated.
Then again, in my past life, he had bided his time for years to take revenge for his so-called true love. The man had
patience.
But now, watching him abandon Lenora just as he had once let her die to keep me… perhaps he had never loved either of
us at all.
Percival finally had Gideon dragged out, kicking and protesting. He stumbled onto the street, collapsing in the dirt before
gawking commoners.
But this time, no one pitied him.
“Claims to love Lady Ravenscroft, yet it’s clearly the Grand Chancellor’s power he’s after,” someone sneered.
“Serves him right! Messing around even after his engagement-now that the lady’s cast him off, he’s got no one to blame
but himself!”
“A groundling hare fancying itself worthy of the falcon’s perch. Thinks becoming top scholar makes him special? Wants
to have his cake and eat it too!”
The whispers that had once been his weapon now cut him to ribbons.
Gideon fled in disgrace-only for worse to follow.
Lenora had vanished, taking all her dowry with her.
When the news reached Gideon, he was thunderstruck. She had left a letter, condemning him as heartless-and the
stolen wealth as compensation.
By the time I heard of this farce, three days had passed since my wedding. Rumor had it Gideon had reported the theft to
the magistrates.
But the notes had been his private gifts to her-now converted into dowry and legally registered under her name.
In short, the wealth was hers by right.
The revelation drove Gideon to madness. In a fit of rage, he stabbed Lenora to death.
For this crime, he was sentenced to execution.
When the news reached me, I was sipping tea in the manor’s gardens.
A maid placed freshly picked jasmine blossoms beside me, their delicate fragrance lifting my spirits.
I beckoned her closer. “Take some notes to the madam living next to Gideon’s old home.”
She bowed. “At once, my lady.”
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I smiled faintly.
I hadn’t expected Lenora to be so easily manipulated-just a few whispered words, and she had truly fled with everything.
Nor had I thought Gideon would break so completely.
Pity. I’d hoped to watch them tear each other apart for much longer.
“Darling!” A bright voice snapped me from my thoughts. I looked up to see Alaric striding toward me, cradling a flourishing branch of crabapple blossoms.
“I won this at chess today-the court scholar gave it to me!”
I smiled at him. Though spring was fading, the early summer sun was warm and golden.
And my new life had only just begun.
