♦Chapter 82: A Ghostly Woman's Misery♦
[]Third Person's POV []
The nobles from the audience seat were astounded at the sight of the woman that was introduced before their eyes.
"Hey, is that really-?"
"Yes. It sure has been ages since I last saw her appearance."
The Marchioness of House Aubetré, Olivia Derek y Aubetré. She was renown to be one of the 'ghosts' among social circles. Ghosts by means of those that doesn't frequent in social activities or interactions within aristocratic families, due to certain personal reasons.
In the Marchioness' case, she had a frail constitution since birth, resulting her to be unable to partake in events that often. It would be once in a blue moon that she'd come and make her entrance, even at parties that were hosted by the Imperial Family.
"Marchioness, is it true that the defendant was not your child, by blood?", the magistrate questioned.
The lavender-haired woman slowly opened her mouth and answered.
"Yes."
It was a short response yet it has been a convincing one from the tone of her speech. Then again, the nobles that watched the show from afar caused an uproar from what they've heard.
"Illegitimate children aren't received well in the noble society, most of the time. That was also the case when the Marchioness has gotten wind of the fact that the Marquis took in the defendant so suddenly. It's just that-"
"They had a specific agreement."
The moment the defense attorney's words reached the jurors' ears, the judge voiced out another question.
"What might that agreement be?"
"If you'd allow, Marchioness Olivia would be the best person to explain what exactly it is."
Taking that upon consideration, the magistrate set his gaze toward the mentioned person and said;
"You may speak."
After hearing the judge's decision, the Marchioness was supposed to explain the details of the agreement there but, no one assumed that they would face a momentary silence before things could be thoroughly clarified.
The magistrate, himself, was mystified of this seemingly-suspicious tranquility. Thus, he had no other choice but to wonder the precise reason for the woman's odd actions.
"Marchioness?"
"...... Before that, may I borrow some of your time to talk about the past?"
"As long as it has something to do with this matter."
As soon as the Marchioness perceived the judge's decision, she carefully took a deep breath as if she was about to release herself from a very heavy burden that she's been carrying for a very long time.
Then, she began to speak of a story of herself; A story that began from one point where she was still at a marriageable age, and when her engagement was just about to be set by her parents.
Marchioness Olivia Derek y Aubetré was a weak-bodied person, as defined earlier. The fact that she had no choice but to stay indoors a lot more than going outside to participate in social gatherings concerned her parents a lot, specially because it could affect her future sooner or later.
The previous Marquis and Marchioness couldn't bear to spare another moment of planning about giving birth to another child to be the successor of the Aubetré Household, just to waste any second of keeping watch of the well-being of their first child. Furthermore, Olivia's health caused their anxiety to rise just by thinking about what would happen to the infant.
At first, they set the matter that involved the future of their territory aside, knowing that they still had a lot of time to ponder about it. But that didn't last as long as expected.
Misfortune struck down their family issues. Olivia's father was diagnosed just to hear that he possessed a chronic disease that threatened his life span. Additionally, it was a heart disease which made things worse. There couldn't be any cure to that, with how poor medical solutions were when it came to heart issues back in the day. All the doctors could do was to prescribe a medication that could alleviate the patient's suffering.
That's why, they had to begin to consider about an heir. With that in mind, they thought about adopting a child, discarding the idea of keeping their bloodline since there was also the case where the current illness of the Marquis would be passed down to their children, while their daughter was a sickly one as well. Knowing that Olivia's physique was in a bad condition, they were aware enough of the fact that no one would like to be a widower in case their spouse met an early death. Thus, it wasn't even worth considering a situation where they'd push their daughter to an engagement, where it was likely that her partner would pretend to love her for the sake of the heritage.
The Marquis and Marchioness were good people that genuinely cared and showered their only daughter with a truthful affection. Though, the main cause of their kindness might've been because of nothing else but their mindfulness toward their child's constitution. But even then, it didn't change the fact that they truly devoted themselves for the sake of Olivia's well-being. That's why, they didn't want to act thoughtlessly just to see her dispirited profile as a result.
Thereafter, as if someone from above has responded to their needs, a man showed up before their presence. A man whose face was young, which could be an ideal marriage partner to their daughter. He was capable of the means to be a successor to a territory, and possessed outstanding talents that caught the Marquis and the Marchioness' attention. And more that anything else, he showed the couple that he sincerely harbored a deep, affectionate emotion toward their one and only child.
The man chased after the lavender-haired lady. As soon as their eyes met one another, his gaze would soften at the sight of her. The lady thoroughly fell for his devotedness and loyalty. And there, at last, the man's love has been reciprocated.
The couple that led the house during those times approved of their marriage as soon as they saw the two's hands, holding each other tightly yet gently. Despite the fact that their daughter's spouse was a person of lower rank, they tied the two to each other, having Olivia's happiness as their priority. With that, the matter that revolved around an heir apparent was also resolved since the couple's marriage was like killing two birds in one stone.
Nevertheless, the downfall didn't just end there.
Heavy rain fell down the continent for a while. As the lavender-haired woman stared at droplets of water that fell from the clouds, through the casements beside her bed, she had a grim look on her face.
That day was the funeral ceremony of her dear parents. And yet, here she was, being bedridden because of the bad weather that dwelled down the Empire. All because of her weak body, she couldn't even send off her mother and father to the afterlife properly. She couldn't cry, but the clouds mourned in her stead.
And as she closed her eyes, she recalled the words that were reported to her, the day her parents met their end.
They were slain by bandits on their way to the capital. Fate couldn't even bear to let them live for any longer, even when the couple just needed to wait for their deaths as they age. In the end, her father's heart disease wasn't even the main cause of his passing.
It was quite laughable yet it wasn't amusing at all. The situation, itself, couldn't afford to lose at keeping the poor lady's misery.
Since that day, her husband stopped caring for her. If she were to confront him, his attitude would be indifference. It was as if there was nothing between them. No love, no concern, and more than anything else, there was no kindness.
Olivia thought of this strange. Her beloved husband's behavior and attitude has changed in just one day. He felt like a stranger to her since they officially became the next Marquis and Marchioness of Aubetré.
Since she doesn't come out of her room that often, they didn't have a chance to have a proper talk. Even if she requested the servants under her manor to retail this to her husband, he wouldn't give her a response. She wasn't even given a chance to talk to him since he would ignore her when she tries to call out to him. He would silently leave her at a long hallway where they crossed paths, without gazing at her for at least once.
"It was then that I had doubts."
"What if, there wasn't really any love in his actions..."
Before she could say her next phrase, she firstly looked at the red-haired man's profile that shifted his stare away from her with a peculiar expression.
"What if-"
"Everything was all a lie, from the very start."
The two remained silent, being stuck at the same posture. Not long after, the Marchioness closed her eyes and continued to speak of the next occurrences.
"My suspicions have been more or less proven right."
What happened right after that was a rumor that was exclusive only at the mansion of Aubetré. It wasn't unnatural that even the Marchioness got wind of it despite being locked up in her room most of the time.
News came out among the servants that the Marquis has been recruiting people of common origins, much worse slaves or individuals from the slums, as his attendants. And among those bunch, Olivia was more than surprised the moment she heard that a maid took advantage of her husband's modesty and fled as soon as it happened to keep herself out of the pursuers' sight.
To her who still had a lingering attachment toward her married partner, she didn't know how to react to a situation like this, especially because she wasn't knowledgeable at this kind of genre. Because of that, she came to have the more reason to avoid herself from casually going out of her room.
It became her final decision to intentionally seal her own appearance away from her husband's sight.