"My Lady?"
Calista's train of thought was interrupted when she heard someone calling her.
She clenched her fists looking at the man she chose as her future husband. She wanted to turn back the time and change her ways but it was already too late. She would not be Calista La Forte if she took back her words.
"My Lady? Are you feeling under the weather? You look pale," Damian said as he looked at her with genuine concern, "Let's get you somewhere away from the crowd first."
The young duke was about to escort Calista to the balcony when someone blocked his way.
"Excuse me, Duke Crown. Please allow me to escort the lady to the waiting room," Troy said with his head down. He knew something like this would happen but since Calista wanted to proceed as she planned, he couldn't do much to stop her.
"It's okay," Damian replied in a blunt tone, "She's my fiance now and this is the least I can do as her betrothed
Calista's vision turned blurry as she struggled to grasp the situation. She was expecting someone handsome and noble when she saw Damian Crown's back but seeing the scar on his face only brought back memories she didn't want to remember.
"T-Troy…It's fine. I need to t-talk to him." Calista smiled at her knight and held onto Damian's arms. "I know you hate me but please do me a favor and carry me like you did before. My knees are about to give up," she whispered.
Damian stared at the young lady's face for a moment before giving her what she wanted. "I can't believe you still remember what happened in the past, My Lady. It seems like I left you a deep impression," he said, flashing her a smile he spent years practicing in front of the mirror.
Calista felt something tugging in her chest as she looked at the young duke's smiling face. The familiar feeling was no different from what she experienced ten years ago when they first met.
"Excuse me, My Lady." Damian carried Calista in his arms just like she wanted. "I'm surprised. You're so light."
Calista rolled her eyes and pinched him on the chest. "Shut up and get me out of here," she mumbled.
"Calista La Forte!"
Duke La Forte walked toward his daughter with a frowning face. He knew Calista loved causing trouble but not to the extent of randomly choosing her fiance…for real! He thought she was only trying to burn all his remaining patience.
The Duke couldn't also believe his daughter picked Damian Crown—his armor against him.
"It's my pleasure to see you again, Duke La Forte," Damian greeted Cyrus as soon as he caught up with them. The young duke turned to the woman behind and smiled. "You're getting more gorgeous since the last time I saw you, Dutchess La Fort."
"My!" Melissa clung to her arm with her husband and smiled. "You're a sweet talker as always, Damian. Is this how you flatter my daughter?"
"Dear, our daughter was born heartless. She must have used black magic to seduce the young duke," Cyrus told his wife before looking at his daughter who just got comfortable in a man's arm.
"Get down and face me, young lady. I can't allow this engagement party to happen," Cyrus said in a serious tone. He decided to cut his daughter's growing horns before she got out of hand.
Calista pursed her lips. She was tempted to agree with her father to get away from Damian but everybody was watching them. "No, Dad. I-I already announced that he's going to be my husband. Besides…You should have come earlier if you wanted to stop me," she said, hiding her face on Damian's chest.
"What are you still doing? Let's go," Calista urged the young duke who just shrugged.
"It is not polite to leave when your parents still want to talk to you, My Lady. Please understand that I want to look good in front of my future in-laws," Damian explained. He was having so much fun watching Calista's reaction when she could no longer get out of the mess she created.
"Dear, did you hear that? Having him as our son-in-law isn't so bad, right?" Melissa, who understood how Damian's thoughts were, joined his side. "If it's from the Crown family, there shouldn't be a problem. Right, dear?"
Cyrus had no problem whether Calista married a commoner or a knight. The problem lies in the fact that Calista chose Damian instantly. He was not sure if his daughter had taken her time to think through all this beforehand or if all she did was a random picking just to piss him off.
Damian Crown was an ideal husband for a noble lady when it comes to his achievements and status. He deserved a good wife and Cyrus couldn't help but feel bad for him if ever he was going to marry his daughter.
"There's a problem," Cyrus blurted out. "He's marrying our daughter. It's Calista, dear."
"Dad!" Calista jumped off Damian's arms and faced her father. Everything was already a mess and she didn't want to add more. "Why are you so against it? You were the one who introduced the young duke to me, Dad."
At that moment, Cyrus regretted using Damian Crown to scare his daughter. He couldn't understand why she chose him at first but after reminiscing how he threatened the young Calista into marrying Damian, the Duke thought that maybe this caused his daughter to develop a sort of obsession toward Damian.
"You always want to marry me off to the young duke. There should be no problem if I marry him in my will," Calista continued. She was not expecting Damian's back to get her attention and make her choose him among the others, but Calista thought there must be a reason behind it.
"I will now resign to my fate and marry this man, Father. Please don't change my mind," Calista said in a loud voice to let everybody hear it. "I expect everyone to respect my decision. Please enjoy the rest of the party," she added, grabbed Damian's hand, and dragged him away from the crowd.
"Whoa!"
Everybody cheered when they saw how Calista bravely stood by her words. Not anyone could do the same as she did, especially when the other man involved was the ugly duke.
"Lady La Forte! Wait…"
Calista halted when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her. She turned her head and saw Edmund Hayes, her first potential husband, who turned her down.
"Lord Hayes. You came," Calista said with a smile. "Well, I hope you enjoy the party."
"Please wait a moment," Edmund held the lady's arm to stop her.
Damian didn't like the bit of it and glared at the young lord. "Get your hands off her," he said quietly.
Edmund hesitantly let go of Calista. "I have a question for the lady, Duke. I hope you don't mind," he said, staring into Calista's eyes. "Lady La Forte, may I ask where Lady Zara is?"
Calista frowned at the question. She would usually ignore someone if they asked her questions like that, but sensing how serious Edmund was, she answered him.
"No. Did she attend the party? You can ask the guards to help you find her," Calista suggested.
Edmund's expression turned dark at the lady's response. "She didn't attend the party, My Lady. The last time she was seen was four days ago. Lady Zara went to visit you that day…but she never came back."
Calista's frown deepened. She couldn't believe that Edmund would accuse her when his lover was missing. Was it because she used to want him as her husband and refused her because he had Evangeline in his heart?
"That's impossible, Lord Edmund. When the lady returned after visiting me unannounced, I made sure to have my knight send her home safely. If she disappeared on that day, it must be because of other reasons," Calista retorted. "You should have come to ask the Imperial knights for help in investigating this case instead."
Edmund scoffed. "Are you going to deny the fact that you did something to the poor lady just because I rejected your wedding proposal?"
Calista lost it when Edmund publicly announced the very reason why she had to endure being with Damian just to prove she could marry anyone she wanted and save her shattered pride.
"Don't talk to me sounding like I did something to your lover because you know what? I don't have time for shits and you just made me furious right now, Edmund Hayes," Calista whispered while her body shook.
Damian noticed the tension and was about to step in when a shrilling cry caught everyone's attention.
"What's going on?" Calista hurried to follow where the voice was coming from. Her mood was already ruined and she couldn't stand another surprise, but she got to know what was happening at her party.
"My Lady." Troy stopped Calista from heading to the balcony where the commotion started. "Duke Crown, please get the lady away from here. I will handle the rest," the knight said while looking at the young duke with begging eyes.
Damian didn't ask anything and nodded his head. He held Calista's hand and pulled her in the opposite direction. They were a few steps away when Edmund's voice filled the entire hall.
"Evangeline! No!"
Calista stopped and pulled away from Damian. "I need to see what's happening," she said and ran to the balcony, pushing through the crowd.
"Just what is going on here—" She couldn't continue what she was saying when presented with a view she never expected to see on her supposedly special day.
A lump of humanoid rotted meat wrapped in a used-to-be fancy but now tattered dress emitting a foul odor was lying on the floor on the balcony. The face was hardly recognizable, but the corpse's hand surprisingly remained clean. There were no wounds on the body, but one thing was for sure, whoever it was, the person had been dead for days.
"W-Who is it?" Calista asked in the middle of Edmund's mourning. She heard him call the body Evangeline earlier, but how did he even know it was Evangeline when the body was unrecognizable?
Edmund hugged the decaying corpse and glared at Calista. "It was you," he said in a hoarse voice.
'What is he saying?' Calista thought, fearing the worst outcome she could ever imagine.
"You killed Evangeline Zara!"