Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Margaery turned around, looking at the stern–faced man who was nearly fifty. Her eyes were cold. “Father, do you have anything else to say?”
“You and Dominic should get married sooner.” After trying to persuade her with all his might and seeing that she wouldn’t budge, Raul finally made up his mind.
He said in a deep voice, “It’s a good day two weeks from now. I’ll make sure everything is ready for your wedding. On that day, I’ll have Dominic come over to propose. You’re not exactly young anymore; it’s not right to keep you with us.”
He then used his authority as a father to pressure her. “This isn’t something we’re discussing; it’s an order.”
Margaery understood immediately.
Raul wanted to cut off Dashnell’s relationship with her by having Dominic destroy her first so that Dashnell would give up on her.
But everyone knew that Tessa and Dominic were in love with each other.
Tessa would definitely try to destroy the marriage.
Margaery sneered and looked at him with a hint of sarcasm in her eyes. “Father, you’re right; Dominic should marry me sooner. But will he agree? The person he wants to marry is Tessa.
“These days, they’ve been openly hugging and kissing in front of me… and he often stays overnight at Tessa’s place.
“Do you think it’s appropriate for me to marry Dominic now?
“Or does he even deserve me?”
After saying this, Margaery ignored the livid face of Raul and walked away, her head held high.
Raul clenched his fist as he watched her leave.
Initially, since both Margaery and Tessa were his daughters, he didn’t care who would marry Dominic.
He had already agreed with Tessa that when the time was right, he would tell Margaery about giving up the engagement.
But now things had gotten complicated because Dashnell was interested in Margaery, forcing him to get her married off quickly to cut off Dashnell’s hopes.
However, Margaery wasn’t going along with it.
Thinking about these issues made him feel like everything was going wrong lately; all sorts of bad things seemed to be happening together at once.
Avery saw Margaery’s reaction and got tense too. “Father, what should we do now?
“She’s like being possessed. She won’t listen! And with Dashnell and Lady Serena mixed up in this situation, we can’t just force her into marrying Dominic.”
After all, Margaery got the late King’s personally bestowed hairpin on her head.
If it got messed up somehow, they’d really be in hot water.
But if Margaery didn’t go to the palace to clear things up, Avery wouldn’t be able to go back to the Royal Medical Hall.
‘What then? I can’t just open a small clinic or something, right?‘ Avery couldn’t help but think about how Margaery used to fawn over him.
Feeling kinda bitter, he said to Raul, “Dad, why don’t we get the High Priest over here?
“Think about it, she was fine when she was locked in the lumber room that night. How come two days later, she’s like a different person?
“She must be possessed by some kind of evil spirit. Otherwise, there’s no way she’d talk to you like that.”
Hearing this, Raul frowned and thought back to what happened a few days ago.
Back then, Margaery was kneeling in the snow and begging him to cancel Tessa’s reunion party. She stayed in the cold snow for so long that she caught a cold.
Compared to the old Margaery, she definitely seemed off now.
Thinking this over, Raul nodded. “You’ve got a point. I’ll head over to the Hall of Divinity myself later.
“If she is possessed, then what she said at the Royal Medical Hall can’t be taken seriously. We can tell the King that she’s just spouting nonsense.
“The King hates all that spooky stuff. Even if he doesn’t believe me, he’ll believe the High Priest. That way, you can go back to the Royal Medical Hall!”
Raul feit more and more convinced that getting the High Priest to label Margaery as “possessed” was the best way to turn things around.
He got excited. “Alright, call Dominic over here first. Their wedding can’t be delayed any longer. I’ll head to the Hall of Divinity soon, and we’ll sort this out as quickly as possible.
“Once word gets out that Margaery is possessed and has already slept with Dominic, even if Prince Dashnell wants to protect her, he won’t stand a chance.”
“Got it!” Avery saw a glimmer of hope and turned around quickly.
Meanwhile, Raul stood up and pushed open the window, looking at the snow outside with mixed feelings.
Prince Dashnell might not be involved in politics, but he commanded the King’s most trusted Dragon Guard. No matter which prince ascended the throne in the future, they’d need his support.
‘If he stood behind us, whoever we say should inherit the throne will inherit it,‘ he murmured inwardly.
Before this mess started, he would have been thrilled for Prince Dashnell to take a liking to Margaery.
But now? It just wouldn’t work.
Margaery’s heart was no longer with this family. If Prince Dashnell were to take a stance against the Chancellor’s residence…
He wouldn’t even dare think about it.
So, he needed to make sure Prince Dashnell dropped that idea ASAP.
That hairpin might be confusing for others, but not him.
He saw right through it. Back then, the late King favored his daughter–in–law, Serena, so much that he gave her this pin as a royal heirloom.
Since it was an heirloom, only someone from the imperial family should have it. Lady Serena sent this pin to Margaery. It was pretty clear they were telling him Prince Dashnell wanted to marry Margaery.
“If not for that, would they adopt a daughter?‘ Thinking about all this made Raul feel heavy–hearted.
Meanwhile, in Gracewind Garden, Margaery took off her hairpin and held it in her hand, feeling conflicted.
Amber was happy, though.
She gazed at the exquisite and luxurious hairpin, carefully fiddled with the lumber in the fireplace, her voice light and cheerful. “Miss, thanks to Prince Dashnell sending over this hairpin.
“Otherwise, you’d suffer in that cold cellar. From now on, if anyone tries to bully you again, they’ll have to step over Prince Dashnell.
“After all, this hairpin was given by the late King to Lady Serena. If anything happens to it, even the chancellor can’t afford to take on the charge of disrespect.”
But Margaery wasn’t as optimistic as Amber. She shook her head and said, “It’s not that simple. They won’t give up after one plan fails; there will be more tricks coming their way.
“Besides, Avery’s position at Royal Medical Hall isn’t as straightforward as it seems; there’s also Lady Alicia and Prince Marcus involved.
“Here’s what we’ll do: You find an opportunity to let Tessa know that Dominic will
marry
me
half a month later.”
If Tessa found out about this, she definitely wouldn’t just let it go.
“Huh?” Amber was wide–eyed. “Lord Dominic wants to marry you? Hasn’t he been pursuing Lady Tessa recently? How come? Could it be because he saw how well Prince Dashnell treats you and got jealous?”
She added reluctantly while looking down, “To me, I think Prince Dashnell is better. Lady Serena likes you; he treats you well too; plus he doesn’t like women much, so no one will bully you there.
“But if it’s Lord Dominic? We’d spend our days begging for scraps at his feet. And that’s just the start-
carries
on,
who knows how many
concubines he’ll take in…”
