Chapter 401
All the maids and matrons in the room were shocked. Never before had they seen a groom so impatient.
“Your Highness, this violates protocol,” the maidservant hastily stepped forward, gesturing for Evander to leave first. Evander, however, was spellbound. Natasha, in her wedding gown, with her rosy cheeks, was radiant beyond words. Her features, usually bold and almost heroic, were now softened by the dress, which tempered her usual striking presence. Even so, she remained gorgeous.
Snapping out of his brief daze, Evander strode directly toward Natasha. Without giving her a chance to utter a word, he swiftly swept her up in his arms and marched out. The wedding matron and the maidservants were utterly dumbfounded, trailing timidly behind, torn between wanting to intervene and not daring.
Outside the door, Alfred’s eyes welled up with tears of overwhelming emotion. ‘My daughter is finally married,’ he thought happily. But when he saw Evander personally carrying Natasha out, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Almost everyone present was utterly stunned.
Amid the stunned gazes of the onlookers, Evander carried Natasha out of the mansion with perfect composure and settled her into his sedan.
“Let’s go back to the manor!” At the sound of the sedan attendant, the wedding procession set off.
Natasha was utterly dumbfounded. ‘Did Evander just carry me out in such a dashing manner?’ Though shocked, she couldn’t deny the secret delight fluttering in her chest.
Upon reaching the crossroads, they encountered Fermin’s wedding procession. As the other party was a secondary consort, who by custom was expected to yield the way to the primary consort, their sedan attendants halted and waited respectfully by the roadside.
Inside the sedan, Viola frowned in annoyance. “Why have we stopped?” she asked a matron.
“Your Grace,” the matron replied respectfully, “Prince Evander’s wedding procession is ahead. By custom, we should yield to them.”
Viola let out a frustrated huff, but held her tongue. She seethed with indescribable frustration. ‘Why did those two wenches, Athena and Natasha, get to secure such splendid marriages? And all I got was the position of a secondary consort.’ But she remembered how her father told her to endure it. He said that with Pamela going on a monastic retreat, there was no way she would ever return to the city. ‘If I can just produce a male heir, then in time, the title of Fermin’s primary consort will surely be mine,’ Viola thought.
It wasn’t until Evander’s wedding procession had passed from view that their sedan finally continued on its way. Accompanying Viola was another secondary consort, Blanche. Determined to outrank Blanche, Viola impatiently urged, “Make them go faster! I must arrive before Blanche does.”
The wedding matron hesitated and said, “I’m afraid it’s against protocol, Lady Viola.” She thought, ‘Both secondary consorts are of equal standing. If she insists on rushing ahead, it might displease Prince Fermin. But Viola has always been spoiled. If we don’t do as she says, she is bound to make a scene.’ The wedding matron had no choice but to order the procession, “Speed up!” The procession sped up, and inside the sedan, Viola smirked triumphantly. ‘Just watch,’ she thought, ‘I’ll make Blanche look like a fool.’
Before long, the two sedans arrived at the gates of Fermin Manor, one right after the other. Fermin had already been waiting at the gate. When the two sedans appeared, a faint smile crossed his face. The secondary consorts didn’t need him to greet them personally. Matrons would help them out of the sedan, and he only needed to escort them into the residence.
As the two secondary consorts stepped out of their sedans, Viola’s lips curved into a sly smirk as she secretly scattered peas at Blanche’s feet. Unable to see the ground, Blanche’s ankle twisted and she stumbled forward uncontrollably. Fermin instinctively reached out, catching Blanche firmly in his arms.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Blanche cooed, her voice sweet and coquettish, laced with playful charm. She even dared to steal a couple of bold glances at Fermin. Her lively, spirited demeanor sent a delicious thrill through Fermin. In that moment, regret pricked at his heart. ‘If only I’d taken a secondary consort sooner. Maybe I’d already be holding my son by now.’
“Careful, baby,” Fermin said softly, gently steadying Blanche by the arm, a tender look on his face.
Viola’s face contorted with rage. She had intended for Blanche to take a humiliating tumble, but to her absolute fury, it only served as an unexpected assist, drawing Fermin’s attention to Blanche first. Viola was furious. ‘Fine, I’ll pretend to fall too!’ she thought, rolling her eyes before deliberately stumbling and faking a fall.
Fermin was captivated by Blanche at that moment, his mind racing with thoughts of what she might look like. By the time he snapped out of his reverie, Viola had already tumbled to the ground. The wedding matron, so terrified that she was almost out of her wits, scrambled to help Viola up. “Forgive me, Your Grace and Your Highness!” she pleaded desperately.
‘The secondary consort took a nasty fall before she even had formally entered my manor.’ Fermin’s expression darkened with fury. “What happened? How could she fall out of the blue?”
A bride stumbling on her wedding day was a seriously ill omen. Spotting the peas on the ground, the wedding matron cried out in alarm, “Your Highness, there are peas here from who knows where, and that’s what caused the secondary consort to fall!” “It must have been the servants‘ negligence. I implore you to punish them severely!” At a moment like this, deflecting the blame was crucial.
Fermin roared, “Were it not for my wedding day, you’d all be flogged! I’ll let it pass today, but tomorrow, every servant responsible for sweeping will receive twenty lashes.” The servants bowed deeply and repeated, “Thank you, Your Highness. We are grateful for your kindness.”
Fermin, his face still grim, led the two secondary consorts into the manor. He glanced at Viola and, seeing her quietly endure the fall without complaint, a pang of pity stirred within him. After the wedding ceremony, the attendants escorted the two secondary consorts into their respective chambers.
Viola was growing desperate. ‘No matter what, I have to have Prince Fermin spend the night with me tonight,’ she thought fiercely. But no one could ever predict where Fermin would choose to go. Viola asked the matron, “Did Prince Fermin say which consort’s chamber he’ll be staying in tonight?”
The maid shook her head deferentially, “Your Grace, as protocol dictates, to maintain impartiality, Prince Fermin will not stay in any of your rooms tonight.” In other words, Fermin would only decide which secondary consort to favor tomorrow night.
Viola clenched her fists and said to her maid, Brigitte, “Go tell His Highness that I’ve injured my knee and wish for him to come see me.” ‘Though this is a flimsy excuse,’ she thought, ‘I’ve only just arrived at the manor, and I can’t overstep my bounds. I mustn’t risk annoying Prince Fermin.'
“Got it,” Brigitte replied obediently before slipping out of the room. Blanche wasn’t idle either. Both consorts were fiercely vying for the privilege of the wedding night with Fermin. Though Blanche appeared inactive, she had people closely monitoring Viola’s every move. The moment she saw Brigitte emerge, she immediately dispatched someone to tail her.
By this time, most of the guests had already left, and the wedding party was drawing to a close. Brigitte made her way to the front courtyard and saw that Fermin was already heavily intoxicated. Her heart leapt with joy as she stepped forward and whispered, “Your Highness, Lady Viola has prepared a tonic for your headache. Would you care to take some to refresh yourself?”
Fermin’s mind was too muddled to think clearly. He nodded blankly, got to his feet, and staggered after Brigitte. However, just as Fermin was passing by Blanche’s courtyard, a matron stopped him. Beaming, she leaned in and whispered, “Your Highness, before Lady Blanche married you, she had her fortune told. She’ll conceive a son on her first try. Won’t you honor her chambers tonight?”
Fermin was nearly driven mad by his longing for a son. Hearing the matron’s words, he changed his mind on the spot. Turning to Brigitte, he said, “Tell Lady Viola not to wait. I’ll have her tonic another day. Tonight, I’ll be staying with Lady Blanche.” With that, he followed the matron into the courtyard.
Brigitte seethed, her eyes burning with impotent fury. But she didn’t dare intervene and could only watch helplessly as Fermin entered Blanche’s courtyard.
Chapter 402