"Huh? What's that one talking about?"
Cole's family felt deeply ashamed because what Aiden said had a big impact on people. His plan to underestimate Aiden too much immediately backfired on him without realizing it.
"Excuse me? What do you mean about the contract?" Felicia asked with a tone of disbelief.
Aiden turned to her and repeated the answer without hesitation.
"I'm breaking the marriage contract," he once again thought of Lord Osric. "I'm only here because of that. I will no longer bother your family after this."
The Lord just looked at him hard and wondered if Aiden was telling the truth or just showing off.
The whispers of people throughout the room erupted again and it seemed that they began to judge Aiden's personality again.
"Is he crazy?"
"Who would try to break the contract with such a big connection to the Lucius family?"
"He's gone crazy!"
"Maybe he's just pretending or just making Lord Osric pitty to make him more accommodating?"
"It can! Maybe that's because no one has done it before..."
"He also had the courage to do that, didn't he? It should have been Lady Livia who must have broken or closed their contract..."
Lord Osric and Aiden had heard all that but they were already used to such matters that it was inevitable that people would comment even if they knew nothing.
"If you haven't any more complaints about it, I will leave, thank you very much and goodbye..." Aiden said, silencing the crowd.
He was about to leave but the Lord of the family stopped him when he reached the door.
"Hold up!" pure authority promised by Lord Osric.
Aiden was stunned by the opening of the door and turned to where Lord Osric was sitting. He sighed and walked closer to the Lord.
"Before you leave, I would like to offer you a job. I can now understand why you break the contract even though I'm totally fine with it. So, I don't wanna feel bad for not helping you out knowing that you don't have nowhere to go..." Aiden slightly frowned at what the Lord said. "I know it's hard to live for the past years on your own, without having support from your family and I'm so proud of you for surviving throughout the years. What do you say?"
Aiden was completely surprised. Suddenly it occurred to him that Lord Osric might have said that because all he knew was that he was poor. That the Lord had mercy on him when his family kicked him out. He was about to open his mouth and say a word to reject the Lord's offer then something pop-out in his mind, another reason why he is here...
It's because of his next target.
Eventually, nobody must know about that kind of thing. Aiden didn't only want to see Lord Osric and talk to him about the marriage contract but also he needed to protect the Lucius Family because when Aiden was kicked out from his family, the Lord of the family helped him a lot. After a few minutes of thinking, Aiden let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll accept your offer."
"That's great!" Lord Osric snapped to him happily. "I'm glad that you consider this one and accept my offer. Don't worry, you'll be working for our family..."
"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Osric." Aiden shows his gratitude and bows to the Lord.
Suddenly, Cole's loud laughter erupted throughout the room. He gets everybody's attention, they wonder why but Cole pointed to Aiden.
"You gotta be kidding me?!" Cole muttered. "After saying that you want to break the marriage contract to Livia, you'll be working for our family and accepted our father's offer?!"
Aiden just simply shrugged. "Hmm, is there something wrong with that?"
"Plenty!" Cole blurted back and mocked Aiden. "Sorry for bothering you but I'm not here to perform the contract. I'm here to break it."
"Sorry?" Aiden didn't like how rude Cole made him feel and it made him even more embarrassed.
"Everyone!" Cole called and managed to make everyone turn to him.
"What's up?"
"See this guy over here!" Cole pointed to Aiden who was in front of him. "His name is Aiden Turstin. Hear me? A Turstin! Who got kicked out from his family and has been missing for years!"
Aiden felt ashamed and looked down when people's eyes fell on him.
"Can you believe it? After all these years, he will just show up here like nothing happened and tell my father to break the marriage contract that links us to our family? Isn't that too ironic, right? A useless man is too brave and proud..." Cole continued and used his ability to influence people.
He got her guts and sympathized. He got everyone on board effortlessly with what he wanted to happen.
"Oh yeah! Master Cole is right. That Aiden is only after the wealth of Lucius..."
"He just wants to win Lord Osric's heart and turn it..."
"Maybe he was just pretending earlier about breaking the contract. Don't you—"
"Enough!" Lord Osric exclaimed to stop them. "I have enough for today. If I hear another word from any of you? You'll be kicked out of this place and never come back!"
Everyone stopped and did not attempt to speak again. They know Lord Osric well, he has a word and will do exactly what he says so he has been successful in leadership.
Lord Osric stood up from his bed and came to Aiden and went to the surprise of the crowd, especially Cole.
"F-Father..."
"I'm the one asking for forgiveness for what my eldest son did to shame you and as for the people who judge you, I will talk to all of them about the behavior they have shown," Lord Osric apologized sincerely, touching Aiden's heart.
"Lord Osric..." Aiden was too speechless.
"What do you think you're doing, Father?! You're the Lord of our family and you're —"
Cole stopped what he was going to say when he was met with a cold look from the Lord.
"I didn't raise you to be bad to others, Cole. I can't get over what you did so as the Lord of this family I will make sure you are taught a lesson," Lord Osric said briefly. "You know what? You're even more embarrassing than Aiden."
Cole's jaw dropped and glared at Aiden who didn't react.
"Don't worry about it, Lord Osric. It's okay to me, I'm used to this kind of situation that's why it's not a big deal if all I hear from them is insults," Aiden insisted.
Lord Osric shook his head. "No, you must not let others judge you. They don't know what you've been through. As compensation and extra help to you in exchange for what they did, please don't back down from the job I offered you... "
Aiden smiled. "You don't have to worry about that anymore because I have one word."
"Here," Lord Osric handed Aiden a piece of paper. "Go to that address tomorrow morning and just introduce yourself. Tell them it was me who asked you to go there and you'll definitely get your job."
Aiden accepted that and thanked him wholeheartedly. "I will see it through the good things you have done for me. Thank you very much, Lord Osric. I will be leaving."
"Hmm, see you there."