Chapter 213: Chapter: 213 Cancel this marriage at once or die!

Marinate’s eyes widened in shock. She could clearly feel that familiar yet somehow distant feeling again. It made her heart beat faster.

“This…?” she murmured softly, staring hard at the big door.

Everyone in the hall had stopped moving. A heavy killing intent filled the whole place, like a dark cloud pressing down on them.

“What… is this…?” some nobles next to Marinate whispered. Cold sweat ran down their backs. They looked pale and scared.

Even the strong warriors felt it was too much. Their hands shook a little as they gripped their swords.

Count Harencross kept staring at the door. He tried hard to find out who was doing this.

He was a late-stage swordmaster, one of the strongest here, but even he felt like something was squeezing his chest.

It was hard to breathe.

’Which old monster is this?’ he thought.

This kind of killing intent could only come from someone at grandmaster level or higher.

But as far as he knew, all the grandmasters were busy somewhere else.

’So who could it be?’

He frowned and looked around the hall. Nothing. No one stood out.

Finally, he spoke. His voice was loud and proud, even though he felt a little unsure inside.

“Who dares to release such killing intent here?” he asked.

All the nobles turned their eyes from the door to him.

“Reveal yourself at once!” he demanded again.

No answer came. Only silence.

“Who is this person?”

“Someone really dared to do this here?”

“It must be someone very strong…” people started whispering all around the hall. The nobles looked angry and upset.

Count Harencross started to lose patience. His face turned red.

“You dare to act so arrogant in front of the queen?” he said.

He quickly glanced at his sister, the queen, who stood there with a confused frown on her face.

“Do you dare to show yourself?” he shouted again in a very proud and loud voice.

He felt brave because so many powerful nobles and even the queen were in the room. He thought no one would dare attack here.

A cold voice suddenly answered from nowhere.

“Why wouldn’t I dare?”

The voice was calm, sharp, and full of arrogence. It echoed through the whole hall like ice.

Following the cold voice, slow and steady footsteps began to echo through the hall.

Step… step… step…

The footsteps were calm and sure, not rushed at all.

When the large door finally opened with a low creak, the sharp killing intent suddenly grew much stronger. It pressed down like a heavy weight.

Some nobles who were not warriors or mages turned pale right away. Their faces lost all color.

They quickly took a few steps back, almost stumbling. A few even grabbed the arms of people next to them to stay steady.

Count Harencross swallowed hard. His throat felt dry. He stared at the open door without blinking.

This person is not normal… he thought. Worry showed clearly on his face. Still, he told himself he was safe.

No one would dare act wild here with the queen present. He glanced quickly at his sister, the queen.

Seeing her stand there calmly made him feel a little better. He turned his eyes back to the door and waited.

Everyone waited in silence.

Step… step… step…

The footsteps grew louder. Closer.

Then a man walked through the doorway.

He wore a plain black shirt and black pants. His short black hair was neat, and his sharp blue eyes looked cold and clear.

In his right hand he held a long black sword.

The dark killing intent seemed to pour out from that sword itself, filling every corner of the hall.

It was Vivian.

As he stepped inside, only three people recognized him right away.

The queen’s eyes widened for a moment.

Earlier, when the voice first spoke, she had felt something familiar but wasn’t sure.

Now, seeing his face, her eyes lit up. A small, warm smile appeared on her lips.

’He has returned…’

Next to her, Selena Harencross stared in surprise.

She had never met him before, but his face looked so much like Edward’s, same sharp jaw, same eyes. She knew instantly who he was.

“Sir Vivian…” she whispered softly.

And the last one, the one who had known even before he appeared, was Marinate.

She stared at him without moving. Her heart started beating very fast and loud in her chest.

A strange mix of nervousness and an old, warm feeling she had not felt in years rushed through her.

Her fingers tightened on the edge of her dress.

“He has changed…” she murmured under her breath.

Vivian stopped just inside the doorway. His blue eyes slowly moved across the hall.

He looked at no one for long, until his gaze finally landed on the queen, then on Marinate.

Vivian stared at Marinate for a few long seconds. Then, a warm, gentle smile appeared on his face.

When Marinate saw that smile, she froze on the spot.

Her cheeks turned bright red right away. Her heart started beating so fast she could hear it in her ears.

It had been four whole years since she last saw him. She tried to stay calm, but she couldn’t control it.

The redness spread from her face to her neck. She quickly looked down, trying to hide her expression.

Vivian gave her a small nod, soft and kind, before he turned his eyes to the queen.

The queen smiled back at him warmly. She had been very worried about him all this time.

Charlotte had told her he was safe, but as a mother, she still felt scared.

She knew if anything bad happened to Vivian, her daughter would either follow him or live the rest of her life alone, like a widow.

Seeing him here, alive and strong, made her feel so relieved. Her eyes became a little wet, but she kept smiling.

Vivian returned a short nod to his mother-in-law.

Then he turned his head toward the girl standing next to Count Harencross.

The girl looked a lot like the count, same eyes, same nose, but her face was pale.

She looked worried and kept trying to avoid looking at him. Her hands were tight at her sides.

“Hmm?” Vivian made a small sound as he studied her.

’So this is Selena,’ he thought. He had never met her before, but he knew her from the letters Edward had sent him.

She stood there timidly, staring at the floor, not daring to lift her eyes.

Vivian then moved his gaze to the count. The moment their eyes met, Vivian’s warm look disappeared.

His blue eyes turned cold and sharp, like ice.

“Count Zalan Harencross,” he said in a low, clear voice. “Do you know why I’m here?”

The count looked confused. He stared hard at Vivian.

The man in front of him felt familiar, but also strange, like someone he should know but couldn’t place.

The proud tone from earlier was gone now.

The count took a small breath and spoke softly, without any of his old arrogance.

“Who are you, sir?” he asked carefully.

The hall became very quiet. Everyone waited for the answer.

Vivian did not smile. He simply looked at the count for a moment longer.

“I am Vivian D. Zenithara,” he said slowly. “Son of Vined D. Zenithara.”

A few gasps came from the nobles around them.

The count’s eyes widened. His mouth opened a little, but no words came out at first.

Vivian took one step closer. The black sword in his hand stayed still, but the air around him felt heavy again.

“And I came here,” Vivian continued, his voice calm but hard, “because of what you did to my brother.”

The moment those words left Vivian’s mouth, shock spread across every noble’s face.

They started whispering to each other in low voices.

“Isn’t his brother’s name Edward D. Zenithara?”

“Yes, I heard he’s very talented and strong.”

“But what did the count do to him?”

“No idea… but people said the eldest son of Duke Zenithara just vanished one day. And now he shows up out of nowhere?”

“Yeah, he was the youngest swordmaster when he disappeared. Now he feels like a grandmaster…”

The murmurs grew louder.

Everyone could clearly feel the powerful aura coming from Vivian. It was the heavy, sharp pressure only a grandmaster could give off.

Count Harencross swallowed hard. His face looked sick.

’This is bad,’ he thought. He quickly turned to Selena and gave her a fierce glare, but it only lasted a second before he looked away.

Vivian spoke again, his voice calm and flat, like he was just stating simple facts.

“You dared to divide my family? And you even tried to marry your daughter to someone else, even though my brother liked her?”

He looked straight at the pale count.

“You said you would let your daughter marry my brother… if he took the throne?”

The hall went quiet for a moment. Many nobles now looked confused.

Some who knew the Zenithara family well started to look anxious and uncomfortable.

Even the queen, Count Harencross’s own step-sister, slowly turned her head toward her brother. Her warm eyes turned cold in an instant.

He was her brother, yes. But so what? Charlotte was her daughter.

The man standing there was her son-in-law.

If the count had tried to scheme against Vivian, that meant he had schemed against Charlotte’s happiness. Against her family.

The count felt all those cold stares on him. His face turned even whiter. Sweat started to drip down his forehead.

Vivian kept talking in the same cold, steady voice.

“If you had come to me and asked nicely, I would have given anything for my brother’s happiness. But you tried to use your daughter like a tool. You tried to create fights between us brothers.”

He paused for a second.

“Who do you think you are?”

Vivian’s finger lightly clicked the scabbard of his black sword.

The moment he did that, the killing intent changed. It no longer spread everywhere like before.

The heavy pressure on the whole hall suddenly disappeared. No one else felt it anymore.

All of that dark, sharp killing intent gathered only on the count, like an invisible blade pressed right against his throat.

The count’s face became deathly pale. A thin line of blood trickled out from the corner of his mouth.

His knees started to shake. He looked like he might fall any second.

Vivian’s eyes stayed locked on him.

“You are nothing but a dirty old pig,” he said slowly. “What is your worth compared to my brother’s happiness?”

He took one small step forward.

“Cancel this marriage at once,” Vivian said, his voice hard and final.

“Or die.”

___________

A/N: You might have noticed a dip in the quality of the last few Chapters, and I sincerely apologize for that. Unfortunately, the original drafts were lost and there were no backups available.

I had to rewrite them in a short time, and despite my best efforts, some things had to be compromised.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep