A murmur spread through the crowd as Alex roared. They had already felt the tension spike when Lord Olario had made his entrance, and now Alex's reaction made it obvious that there was some serious matter between Alex and Lord Olario. Perhaps a feud, perhaps deep animosity, an old grudge.
It was a well known fact that they had once studied at Hogwarts in the same batch, albeit in different houses. But this reaction hinted at something far more serious.
But more than anything else, the guests were curious about the contents of the parchment Lord Olario had handed to Alex. What could possibly be written on it to make him so furious, so enraged? Everyone was curious and wanted to take and read the parchment on their own.
They sensed that it would not be long before the truth came out. Things were going to turn bad, worse and probably ugly.
When everyone expected Alex to lash out at Lord Olario again, he instead turned sharply and faced Raphel Sinistra.
"Lord Sinistra," Alex snapped, his voice dripping with anger. "What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to deliberately humiliate me? To mock me and my family? Are you underestimating my family?"
An expression of confusion appeared on Raphel Sinistra's face. What had he done?
"What are you saying?" he asked. "What is written in that parchment?"
"Alex?" Alan Timirus interjected, his eyebrow raised. "What happened?"
"Are you trying to say that you are not aware of this?" Alex sneered as he raised the parchment.
Raphel Sinistra shook his head. He was not aware. "No."
Without another word, Alex strode toward Raphel and thrust the parchment into his hands. As Raphel read through its contents, the color drained from his face. Anxiety and nervousness overtook his entire demeanor.
"This," Alex boomed, his voice reverberating across the lawn, "is a magical betrothal contract, a contract of marriage between Antonio Olario and Aurora Sinistra. The contract has been signed by Mr. Drafel Sinistra as Aurora's father."
"Mr. Sinistra," Alan's face contorted with fury as he spotted Drafel hidden among the crowd, "what is the meaning of this? Why would you do something like this? And if there was a magical contract involving your daughter, why were we not informed?"
Drafel, faced with an enraged Alan Timirus, turned embarrassed and awkward. He had practiced this scene many times in his mind, when everyone would question his decision, and had imagined that when the truth came out, he would stand bravely, fiercely, and courageously for his daughter. He would take a strong stance for his daughter. He would stand tall and courageous.
But now, with every eye focused on him, he felt his knees buckling. The pressure was unbearable. His blood was turning cold.
"This…" he tried to stammer an answer, but no words came out.
"Drafel!"
Raphel Sinistra's loud voice cut across the lawn as he marched toward his son. His face was a mask of pure fury, his hands clenched and trembling with rage. For a moment, it looked as if he would strike Drafel, but he stopped inches away barely holding himself. Despite them being almost the same height, Raphel loomed over his son.
"You," he roared. "How could you do this? Are you trying to destroy this family? Do you not have even an iota of care for me and the Sinistra family? Does this family not matter to you at all?"
"Father," Drafel said, gathering whatever courage he could. "I care about this family, but I also care about my own. My daughter. And I did what was right for her."
"How could I willingly push my daughter into a fire pit?" he questioned. Though hesitation and nervousness were visible in his eyes, Drafel did not back down from his father. There was no way he would back away at this crucial moment.
"Lord Sinistra," Alan's loud voice cut in, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "I am not one to meddle in another man's family affairs. But whatever you have done is a slap to the face of the Timirus family. A sharp humiliation."
"If there was such a betrothal," he boomed, "you should have informed us. This is not something we can take lightly."
"Father," Alex said, cutting off whatever Raphel was about to say. "How could they have informed us?"
"You did not read the contract," he continued coldly. "The date on which the contract was set is a week after my marriage with Aurora had already been finalized."
"This," he added with a sneer, "was all done so she could escape this marriage."
"Oh!" Alan remarked, his gaze moving to and fro between Raphel and Drafel.
He finally turned toward the stage and faced Antonio and Aurora standing behind him. There was calmness on Aurora's face, while Antonio wore a provocative and a confident smirk.
"And I wonder what role you played in this whole matter?" Alan questioned, taking a few steps toward the stage. "Lord Olario."
"Were you distracted, Lord Timirus?" Antonio chuckled. "Did you not just hear your son? I am the would-be groom."
Alan did not reply immediately. His eyes remained fixed on Antonio before his expression finally hardened. He turned toward Raphel.
"Lord Sinistra," he questioned, "were you not aware of this entire mess?"
Raphel shook his head. "No."
"Good," Alan said, then turned back toward Antonio, a smirk more provocative on his face. "Lord Sinistra, ask your son to tear this parchment and end this farce. Ask him to rescind the contract. We will proceed with the marriage as planned."
Raphel did not reply. He had no answer.
"Lord Timirus," Antonio interjected, "you did not hear your son properly. As he said, you did not read the contract."
"Please read the contract carefully," he continued. "This contract is a bit different. Lord Drafel has not only betrothed his daughter to me, but in the same contract he has also rescinded the power to withdraw or dismiss it. He now has no power to dismiss the contract."
"Now," Antonio said calmly, "there are only two people who can rescind this contract. Me and Aurora Sinistra."
Antonio had deliberately added this provision. He was not sure if Drafel would hold true to his words. Given his cowardice personality, it was possible that he might have succumbed under pressure.
"There is one another way, Olario," Alex said, his voice as cold as ice. "If you die, the contract will hold no magical value."
With this he whipped his wand and had it pointed it towards Antonio.
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