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Chapter 7: Flarance
ELLIOT…?
He stepped out unexpectedly, and Olivia looked at him with surprise. She couldn’t believe what he was doing and wasn’t able to get any words out.
He gave her a gentle smile as if to say everything was all right, then his expression changed to an unreadable smile as he looked steadily at Lord Perigord.
“It has been a long time, Lord Perigord. I’m glad to see you seem to be doing as well as ever,” he projected.
An older butler shouted, a vein throbbing in his temple, “How dare you speak to His Lordship that way!”
W ёb̄ n̈ ō v̈ěl Е̇ n̄ u ṁ á
Elliot cast the angry butler one disinterested glance as his lips curled up in a cold sneer. “It seems your servants lack education in etiquette. Oh, but,” he said, like he’d only just remembered. He took off his glasses and brushed his hair up with the other hand. “My apologies. I suppose you might not recognize me with these on.”
The viscount stared at Elliot with a furrowed brow, then gasped in realization. “Y-you! You’re Lord Elliot Flarance!”
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The hall burst into chatter.
“Did he just say Flarance?”
“As in Duke Flarance?”
Eǹ ù m̃ а̌.і̌d̊
Olivia’s eyes grew wide.
Duke Flarance was one of the Four Great Dukes. Even Olivia, who knew next to nothing about the nobility, knew about House Flarance.
“M-my apologies, my lord! Please forgive me!” howled the butler, his face pale as he bowed.
Elliot didn’t even look at the butler. He smiled and spoke to Lord Perigord, who was frozen in shock. “I believe the last time we met was at that ball in the royal castle last year.”
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“Th-that is correct. I must apologize. If I’d known you were coming, I would have prepared a retinue to greet you.” Viscount Perigord gave a pandering smile and bowed lower than Olivia had ever seen him bow.
Elliot waved his hand elegantly as if to say it was nothing to worry about. “I’m only here today to accompany Olivia. There’s no need for you to go out of your way for me.”
Е̃ń u m̈ а̌
Lord Perigord grimaced. “Pardon me for asking, but are you close with Miss Olivia?”
“Yes. Very,” he replied with a beautiful smile on his handsome features.
“A-and if I might inquire, what exactly is the nature of your relationship?”
“Quite an insensitive thing to inquire about. Can you not tell?” Elliot placed his large hand around Olivia’s waist and drew her close as if to protect her. She couldn’t keep up with what was happening, but let him have his way. Elliot smiled when he saw the viscount’s grimace. “But at any rate, that was a very amusing show you put on. Making your son marry the older sister, whom he’d broken off his engagement with after false accusations were made against her, only because you couldn’t use the younger sister. Very amusing indeed.”
Lord Perigord tried to explain himself, but Elliot was of such a higher rank that he was overwhelmed by it all. Elliot had complete control of the room.
Elliot smiled and continued, “However, if this wasn’t a show and was in fact true, I imagine Duke Justine might not be pleased. He is famously devoted to his family and hates such boorish behavior. He may even cite that disgraceful conduct as a reason to retract any offers of titles.”
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A look of rage appeared on the viscount’s face, but it quickly disappeared and returned to his previous pleasing expression and glowing smile. “Hahaha! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Of course, it was a show.”
“That’s good. I’d come as a witness and was beginning to worry I’d made the trip for nothing. That wouldn’t possibly be the case, would it?” Elliot’s eyes were sharp, but the smile never left his face.
“Of course not.” Lord Perigord nodded cheerfully, then smiled at the guests and called, “And that marks the end of the entertainment. Now we will continue to the ceremony of joining my son Henry in marriage to Miss Catherine.”
Snapped back to their senses, everyone began breathing and blinking again. It was like time had stopped in its tracks and started to move again.
Viscount Perigord glared at his butler, who then snapped to attention and called, “Please continue to the garden for the ceremony.”
The guests began to drift in that direction as if they’d just woken from a dream.
En̄ ùm а̂ . іd
Elliot looked into Olivia’s eyes with concern, his expression soft. “Are you all right?”
“Y-yeah.” She nodded, barely able to get the word out.
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“I’ll explain everything later, I promise,” he insisted. Olivia’s mind was completely blank after the unbelievable series of events.
She knew she should thank him for helping her, but she still couldn’t get the words out. His expression was pained as he looked at her, still in shock. He opened his mouth to say something, but the viscount came over with a huge smile plastered on his face, and Elliot closed it again.
“Lord Flarance, this way please!”
Viscount Perigord led her and Elliot into the garden, and the wedding began. The bride and groom entered, Catherine so pale she barely looked alive, and Henry with his head hanging and practically looking like he’d taken a beating. The priest had no idea what was going on and smiled as he guided the ceremony along.
Е ň ü m ä
Olivia’s aunt and uncle sat in the seats reserved for family, their faces so pale they almost looked like someone had thrown a bucket of paint over them. Their trembling was visible even from a distance. The guests watched them all with bewilderment and curiosity as they whispered amongst themselves. It was like watching them lie on a bed of nails.
While all that was happening, Olivia simply sat there, her mind filled with the unbelievable events she’d witnessed.
Elliot is part of House Flarance…?
She desperately tried to make her brain process everything, but it was like it’d been paralyzed. The one thing she could barely wrap her head around was that there was no such person as Elliot Dicks. She also understood that Elliot was so high above her as the daughter of a baronet, like someone living in a castle in the clouds, that someone like him rarely ever spoke to someone like her.
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Gah…
Her heart ached so much that she pressed her hand over her chest. It was taking everything she had to keep her expression neutral.
W е̇b n о v́ё l En u m̄ӓ
Once the ceremony was finished, she and Elliot signed the marriage paperwork as witnesses. Lord Perigord thanked Elliot excessively (“It’s such an honor to have someone such as yourself act as a witness for my son’s wedding.”), but none of it made it into Olivia’s head.
Once they were done signing, the ceremony was officially over, and the guests surged toward the dining hall in the main building. Olivia and Elliot were led to a particularly lavish table set up in the center of the resplendent hall. The food they were served was obviously more luxurious than what was served to the other guests, but to Olivia, it tasted like she was eating sand. She nearly managed to maintain control of her expressions, but she imagined her face would twist into something horrible if she let go for even a second.
Elliot looked at her with concern. “Olivia, are you all right?”
She put everything she had into making a smile that showed she was. “I’m just so surprised I’m having a hard time processing everything. That’s all.”
“I see.” He looked down with a pained expression. He tried several times to say something else to her, but he was too busy dealing with the stream of people coming over to greet him that they couldn’t find a moment to have a real conversation.
Once the long, drawn-out meal finished, they were free to mingle. Mira came over with a worried expression and asked, “Are you doing all right, Olivia?”
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“I’m managing. Did you want something?”
“I thought I’d ask if you wanted to come to the powder room with me. I’m sure it’s going to be absolutely packed soon, so it’s best to get in now while we can.”
It was typical at gatherings like this to include a moment for the women to visit the powder room after they finished eating to touch up their makeup, while the men went to the salon to chat and wait for them.
Elliot nodded. “That’s a good idea. I’ll wait in the salon.”
“See you in a few minutes,” Mira replied.
“Be careful,” he told Olivia as she stood. She could feel his eyes on her back as she and Mira went toward the powder room.
Е ń û m̃ а.і d
I can’t do this. I can’t think. I’m shaking.
The floor seemed to wobble beneath her, and she could barely keep her footing.
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She’d thought nothing too abnormal would happen at the wedding, but she ended up arguing with Catherine, nearly married to Henry, and even learned that Elliot was the son of a duke—she couldn’t keep up at all.
She focused on making it look like she was walking normally, and, trying to help, Mira tried to chat.
“That was a real surprise, wasn’t it? I never imagined something like that would happen.”
“Me neither.”
W̄ѐb̈ n̄о v ӗ_l̂ Ѐn.um̈_ă
Mira giggled. “But I feel so much better now that your name has been cleared of those fake accusations. I do feel a little bad for the bride and groom, but, you reap what you sow, I suppose. They’ve done all sorts of terrible things.”
“Yeah…”
They arrived at the powder room, and Mira frowned. “It’s this crowded already?”
It was already filled with women fixing their makeup in the mirrors on all four walls. They resigned themselves to waiting, but then a maid called to them, “There’s another room in the back. Please, come through.”
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Several of the waiting women began to move, with Olivia and Mira following them into a room further in. This one was luxuriously decorated and partitioned into stalls with curtains over the entrances. It was a bit like a dressing room in a store.
The maid started showing the women to the different stalls. Olivia was led to the last one in the row, and as she was about to enter, the maid said, “I’ll take your things. There’s nowhere to place them inside.”
Wӗ b̌ń о̊v.ӗľ Én̆_ûm̊.ā
“Oh, thank you.”
Olivia didn’t think anything of it as she took her makeup pouch from her purse and handed it to the maid. She then closed the curtain and sighed.
I’m exhausted… My mind is completely boggled…
She had been hit with so many unexpected things one after another that she didn’t even know what to think about. The only thought in her head was, “I want to go home.”
But she decided she might as well fix her makeup, so she sat at the vanity and looked at her pouch.
And that’s when something struck her.
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“Agh!”
Her vision rapidly went dark, and her body went limp.
That’s when she realized the mistake she’d made. Her defensive magic item was in her purse, but regretting it now changed nothing.
She heard two men talking in low voices.
“It went well.”
“Hurry up and get her out of here.”
W̆ е b̄ n о̃ v̆еl En u m а
And then she lost consciousness.
💎💎💎
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“SHE’S taking a while…”
Not long after Olivia had been secretly stolen away, Mira was waiting in the hallway outside the powder room with a look of concern on her face.
I didn’t miss her, did I?
Mira had been shown to a stall before Olivia. By the time she was done and out, Olivia was being led into the last stall in the row. Mira then waited in the hall the entire time, so there was no way she could have missed Olivia.
Ĕn ǔmа̄ .іd̀
And the curtain on the last stall was closed the whole time. Maybe she’s not feeling well?
Mira slipped back inside the powder room and went to stand in front of the curtain for that stall. In a low voice, she called, “Olivia?” but there was no response.
Thinking Olivia may have collapsed, Mira reached for the curtain and called, “Olivia, I’m opening the curtain.”
She opened up to see the vanity with a makeup pouch she assumed was Olivia’s, but no sign of Olivia herself.
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Oh, this can’t be!
“Olivia! If you can hear me, say something!” shouted Mira as loudly as she could. She didn’t care if the others looked at her like she was crazy, but Olivia didn’t respond. She went to each of the stalls and called out, but they all had someone else inside.
Е́ n̂u m̀ а
Mira dashed out into the hallway and asked a maid passing by if she’d seen Olivia, but the maid merely shook her head, looking bewildered.
Realizing Olivia was no longer there, Mira ran. She didn’t care that she surprised people as she darted down the hall.
She burst into the salon where the men were sitting, chatting. She found Elliot, who was being monopolized by Lord Perigord, and shouted, “Olivia’s gone!”
A look of complete surprise appeared on the viscount’s face.
Registering the events, Elliot sat Mira down, who was agitated and gasping for breath. In a low voice, he asked, “What do you mean she’s gone?”
“I-I was waiting for her to come out of the powder room, but she never did. I grew concerned, so I searched the entire place and she’s nowhere!”
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“Lord Perigord,” began Elliot, turning to the viscount. “May I have permission to search your manor?”
“O-of course. And I’ll have all my servants search as well.” Viscount Perigord called over the butler, who was waiting in the corner, and ordered him to start a search for Olivia. As he did, Elliot and Mira ran to the powder room.
“This is where she disappeared from?” he asked.
“Y-yes. She was in the stall at the end, the one with the open curtain. I’m certain I saw her go in there.”
Elliot stepped into the powder room as he called to the surprised-looking women, “I apologize, but I need to look for someone.” He looked into the last stall and found the makeup pouch. He’d seen it before. “I’m sure Olivia had a purse with her as well. Where did that go?”
“I don’t know. But I think she only had the makeup pouch with her when she went into the stall.”
Е̄ n u̇m̆ а̊
Elliot looked grim.
Elliot, Mira and her family, the viscount, and all his servants joined forces to scour the manor for Olivia, but they found no sign of her.
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