CHAPTER 98 - HARRIET’S PAST"That woman you call devout has not come here again since everyone knows what she did to her mother to take over the title of the Marchioness Goldlane. How do you think the Late Marchioness suddenly died even though she was young and perfectly healthy right after Harriet Goldlane turned 18 years old?" asked Cecilia.
She added, "And who will benefit the most from her death? Of course, it's her daughter who hates her, who will get her title and wealth once she dies."
"I'm just telling a reasonable truth that no one has dared to say before. Everyone already knew that it was the snake woman who killed her mother, but since the Emperor was on her side…" Cecilia sobbed, saying what she had to say boldly, though her lips trembled pitifully.
Her eyes faltered, staring at Aaron who was not at all impressed by her excellent and flawless acting.
"There's no evidence and everything you've said is just an assumed motive. Gods and Goddesses teach us to maintain the dignity of every creature, even those who are accused, to maintain an innocent until proven guilty mindset until clear evidence is found," Aaron said straight in front of her.
Aaron's iconic jade green eyes and light brown hair shone in the candlelight. Cecilia knew he was a tough opponent to beat, even harder than Ezekiel, because Aaron was a holy man who was immune to magic spells and alchemy tricks. Unless Cecilia had awakened the Saintess spirit within her, the man would not waver for her sake.
"There's no concrete evidence to suggest that Madam Harriet Goldlane killed her mother, and nothing to prove that the former Marchioness was murdered," Aaron waved his hand, signalling Cecilia to leave the hall.
As Cecilia gave up and started walking towards the giant double doors leading out, Aaron added. "And you know why Madam Goldlane doesn't come here anymore. After your accusations? If she had come here as if nothing had happened, this cathedral would have received criticism from other worshipers who believed she was a murderer. And although we had persuaded her to come here again and that she was always welcome in Ayja's presence, she refused for the sake of our reputation."
The main reason why Harriet left the capital and stepped down from her position in the government was also because of those rumors. She didn't want to hurt and affect the lives of others around her with rumors about her.
Cecilia saw the sternness and anger on Aaron's face looking at her.
"You are the one who should be ashamed to come and appear before Ayja and the Gods. Please don't show up here again, Miss Morganite. You are unsightly," the man gave Cecilia a disdainful look.
Cecilia held back her annoyance.
She put on a sad complicated expression. Another tear fell from her cheek again. She whispered in a bitter, suffocating voice, "I hope you won't regret it, Reverend."
So it was true that it was Harriet Goldlane who hindered her process of dominating this world and all the male leads. Just wait. She would awaken her Saintess spirit and become the new goddess in this world. Cecilia would make Aaron the first to kneel to her.
But even though in her heart she was cursing the arrogant and stubborn Aaron, she still kept her pitiful expression perfectly.
Cecilia swore she would destroy Harriet Goldlane completely once she got another chance.
Cecilia's thoughts were cut off when suddenly a man appeared down the Cathedral hallway. A young man with light blue hair ran up to her. "Cecilia!"
GRAB!
Ezekiel hugged her tightly.
"Huh? Zeke, what's wrong?" asked Cecilia.
Ezekiel felt his headache begin to subside as he hugged Cecilia. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Hmm… I don't know…" Ezekiel replied as he realized he was starting to regain his sense.
"Ahh, did that woman give you another headache? What is she doing this time?" Cecilia asked softly.
"You always knew my suffering, Ceci. I really can't live without you," Ezekiel felt the words coming out of his mouth like a fuzzy reflex. He no longer knew what he was feeling or thinking.
"Of course. Have you come up with another plan to destroy that snake woman?" asked Cecilia.
"Hmm? Oh, about that…" Ezekiel backed away, releasing Cecilia from his embrace and holding her shoulders.
"Ah… something wrong happened?" Cecilia asked with a worried face.
Ezekiel was silent. He didn't know how to tell Cecilia that he wanted Harriet too. It seemed strange to explain this to the woman he loved that he was attracted to other women too, physically and mentally. He felt Harriet would complete and fit into his life as Crown Prince perfectly.
"Ceci, I have something to tell you."
***
"–then Arai jumped onto the balcony from the tree and hid under my bed for more than two hours," Harriet finished her story, then burst out laughing.
Liam laughed too. "Two hours? Your mother didn't leave your room for two hours?" he asked, laughing.
"Yeah, my mother used to come to my room and gave random lectures. She also often evaluated if something was wrong in my room, luckily she didn't see Arai. Hehehe, without Arai, my teenage years would have been pretty boring considering how strict my mother was," Harriet spoke at a fast tempo, showing that she was excited to tell the story.
Liam smiled broadly as he watched Harriet's face in the dimly lit carriage. They had just returned from the party, and along the way, Harriet continued Arai's story that was being interrupted at the party because the curvy woman had fallen asleep after drinking too much alcohol.
Harriet's eyes shone lively even in the dark carriage, and there was only light from outside.
"After that, you guys sneaked away?" Liam asked.
Harriet nodded happily. "I jumped from the second-floor balcony into a tree, then we slipped through the low fence in the backyard. After that, we fled on Arai's horse. At that time, Arai always lent me her horses. That's because after I won over her and met her for the first time, she found out that I had won with a rented horse," explained Harriet.
"You won against special breed horses in the Jousting Tournament with a rented horse?" Liam was surprised.
"God forgive me, I was really crazy back then, wasn't I?" Harriet laughed again, which made Liam laugh in disbelief.
Harriet's teenage years weren't really crazy. When it came to crazy, Liam's youth was even crazier. But considering what Heath told him about their mother, Harriet still had a normal youth like everyone else, however she got there. She rebelled and ran away from the house secretly. She did mischief typical of young people that was fun and exciting with her friends.
When the horse carriage stopped in front of the hotel, the two of them got off from there. "How did you meet Axias?" Liam asked at the hotel entrance, realizing maybe that time of her life was when Harriet met the man she called her teacher.
"With His Majesty?" Harriet, who was still enthusiastic, didn't notice Liam calling out the Emperor's name without his honorifics. "It's a very strange and long story, but if you want to hear it, I can tell the story all night."
Liam laughed. "I would love to hear that."
Harriet smiled happily. Even in their room, Harriet was still telling stories in fast words. However, she noticed that Liam's eyes slowly grew heavy, and on purpose, Harriet slowed the tempo of her words and gradually lowered the volume of her voice.
Until Harriet heard Liam's breathing became slow and steady.
In Harriet's arms, Liam was fast asleep. Meanwhile, Harriet was still stroking his long blonde hair that gleamed in the moonlight from the window. She remembered how excited Liam was to hear her story and how he fought his tiredness and sleepiness just to hear her voice for a bit longer.
The longer it went on, the worse Liam's condition got. And as time went on, it hurt more and more for Harriet to maintain a normal attitude as if nothing had happened. She was very worried and very sad. But she couldn't show it to Liam. She must not add to the burden on his heart.
Harriet kissed the top of Liam's head with a pained smile. "I really… really love you, Milord."