Deceived 25

Chapter 25

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“If you conceal such a risk and force this marriage through, I trust Lord Doman is well aware that disgrace will follow both families’ names.”

“…Conceal? Who says anything was concealed, and when?”

Isaac’s eyes took on a cruel glint as his mouth raised at one corner. Blair knew he was finally showing his true colors.

“Don’t you dare look at me like that, Miss Twyford. As if I were some wretched man suffering from syphilis or gonorrhea.”

Isaac Doman smirked. Then, leaning forward toward Blair, he met her gaze directly.

“Well? Wasn’t that quite villainous of me?”

Only when he recited the specific disease names did she finally feel certain. Blair bit her lower lip and glared at him with all her might.

"...So you admit to His Lordship's condition."

"I never admitted it. And even if I did, what would you do? Break off the engagement? With what power, my lady?"

Isaac’s brazen question, impossible to refute, pierced her heart like a dagger. Blair, speechless, clutched the hem of her skirt with fingertips turned deathly pale. Seeing her silently trembling lips, Isaac, intoxicated by his victory, asked again in a voice softened by triumph.

"In this day and age, many women are sold off as secondhand goods to musty old men. You should consider yourself incredibly fortunate to be paired with a man like me."

"You're more worn out than any of those old men."

"Ha! Look at that. Now I see you're just a woman with no manners at all."

Isaac shook his head and clicked his tongue.

"Since you've been so arrogant, I'll return the favor. Your father, the Count of Twyford. I heard he knew everything and still tried to send his daughter to me?"

What did this mean? Blair felt as if all the blood had drained from her body. Isaac didn't miss the moment she froze.

"Judging by your expression, you had no idea. Seems the truth you sought wasn't all that important after all."

Looking up at Isaac's smiling face made her head spin. The tremor in her fingertips wouldn't stop. She had been treated like a commodity in transactions all this time, but she had comforted herself, believing it was an inescapable fate born of being a woman from a noble house.

But this was an entirely different matter. Could a father in this world truly send his daughter to marry a man afflicted with a transmitted disease? Father... did he really intend to arrange a marriage with the Doman family even knowing the truth?

For financial gain?

"I wonder if the young lady's father is aware of that fatal flaw."

Looking back, hadn't Edmund Liberte said something similar? Could that man have known that far?

Isaac delivered the final blow to her pale face.

"So, Miss Twyford. You'd do well to quietly pray that I'm a decent man. That way, your dignity might be somewhat preserved when you're sold off to the Domans, wouldn't you say?"

Leaving behind a cruel insult, Isaac walked away without another word. Blair stood rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but watch him recede into the distance.

***

That night, the Twyford family townhouse was deathly quiet.

The Count of Twyford was absent again today, and all the resident servants were asleep. Even the lights illuminating the corridors had long since been extinguished. Only then did Blair, draping a robe over her nightdress, cautiously push open her bedroom door.

She simply couldn't sleep. Her turbulent emotions had subsided only to flare up again repeatedly, and her mind, filled with countless thoughts, spun round and round until it felt dizzy. In the end, Blair reached one conclusion.

She had to see for herself.

Her father and the Marquis of Doman had drawn up a contract regarding the marriage alliance between their families. When the Marquis and his wife visited here, Blair had clearly overheard them mention the northern trading port of Glasford, shares in the Hampton factory, and an advance payment of 100,000 flans.

Isaac's illness was a fatal disgrace and a disadvantageous flaw for the Domans. If everyone except Blair had been aware of this fact, it would have been explicitly stated in the contract. The Domans surely didn't want his defect to become a cause for future disputes.

Blair walked barefoot down the second-floor hallway and descended the stairs. The mansion lay in deep slumber, but she moved silently. Confirming the ground floor hall was empty, she headed straight for her father's study. Only after slowly closing the door did she take a deep breath. This was the space where the Count of Twyford conducted his business, a domain where Blair had never dared set foot.

Blair lit a single low candle and began pulling out the desk drawers one by one. She took out every file folder she could reach, flipping through them to see if she could find what she sought.

Then, her fingertips paused upon touching a thick envelope. Blair narrowed her eyes slightly.

"...Found it."

Marriage Agreement and Supplementary Clauses – Twyford, Doman

After reading the words on the envelope, she carefully opened it. She then pulled out a copy of the contract bearing the seals of the Twyford and Doman families.

Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it was squeezing her chest. With trembling hands, Blair began scanning the neat, printed text. Clause 1, Clause 2, Clause 3…. Her eyes skimmed over several clauses not vastly different from what she'd overheard outside the drawing room door, then suddenly froze.

Should the first child not be born within one year of the marriage date, Twyford shall be liable to pay Doman compensation of 100,000 flans.

Blair suppressed the urge to tear the paper to shreds.

Furthermore, should three heirs not be secured within five years, the same obligation shall apply.

This clause also matched Edmund's message exactly. The man had known. He knew the price this marriage demanded, the terms under which she was being sold. And moreover…

...Twyford acknowledged prior disclosure of certain medical conditions held by the groom's side and agreed that such matters shall not affect the validity of this agreement.

Blair squeezed her eyes shut then opened them again. Her hand clutching the revolting contract trembled violently. This was not ignorance or neglect, but betrayal by her blood. She hadn't exactly cherished her father either, but this crossed every line.

He hated her mother so much, who had abandoned the family, and tried to erase her very existence for bringing shame upon the house. And yet, what of her father himself? He was haggling over his own daughter for his own gain, then discarding her like a piece of merchandise.

That had been his purpose in bringing her to Borsa in the first place. To reap the greatest profit through the business of marriage. He had been consumed by the plan to sell off his daughter from the very beginning. Faced with her father's choice, blinded by greed, Blair felt betrayal surge through her veins like boiling blood.

"This house never protected me from the start."

Therefore, she would not live according to her father's will. The days marked by silence and obedience would no longer hold her back. Blair's heart froze cold as she made her resolute decision.

***

The next day, Blair was informed of an unexpected visitor. Having just finished breakfast and about to return to her bedroom, she turned to Mrs. Norris in disbelief.

"Who said they were visiting?"

"They said it was your fiancé, Miss. Lord Isaac Doman."

Could anyone be less welcome at this moment? Suppressing a surge of irritation, Blair bit her lower lip.

"Have him brought to the drawing room for now. My attire is unsuitable, so I shall change and then receive him..."

“Lady Twyford!”

It was then that Isaac entered the ground floor hall with his characteristic smug grin. He strode in with arms wide open, as if he owned the place.

“Well, this is quite a splendid house. The interior is nicely decorated too—I rather like it.”

“…Lord Doman, what brings you here without notice this morning?”

“Good morning, Lady Twyford.”

Isaac offered his hand, lightly ignoring Blair’s question. She couldn’t possibly be unaware of what that meant. Gritting her teeth, Blair slowly extended her hand, still bare without gloves. Isaac bent his upper body forward and pressed a damp kiss onto the back of her hand.

"I have an engagement to attend an auction. Upon reflection, appearing before the guests without my fiancée would be most unseemly. It's an event where my close acquaintances will gather. Didn't the Biso Club House give auction invitations to those who found the golden key?"

Blair buttoned the gown over her indoor dress, suppressing her surging emotions. She knew Isaac valued appearances, but it felt like there was something else behind this. Just as she was about to shake her head without much thought, she suddenly remembered that man.

...Ah, the golden key. Didn't Edmund find one that day too?

"To preempt any rumors of discord circulating, you must be my partner at the auction today."

Isaac glanced at the grandfather clock in the first-floor hallway to check the time, then flashed a sly smile.

"It begins in an hour. Hurry and change your dress, then come down. I'll wait here."

His tone brooked no refusal. Since revealing his true colors when they crossed paths at the Royal Library last time, Isaac seemed to have discarded even the last shred of manners he’d once worn, resolved to act even more arbitrarily. Blair swallowed her humiliation and defiance, staring at him for a moment.

If the scales, wavering uncertainly, had finally tipped completely after reviewing the contract last night, Isaac's rudeness was the final weight that sealed her resolve.

"Then, excuse me for a moment."

"Excellent."

Blair ascended the stairs with measured steps. Her composed demeanor belied the razor-sharp edge within.

The stage would soon shift. The play Isaac anticipated would never raise its curtain.