Chapter 99: Marry her to Nicole.

The face was burned past all recognition; there was no way of recognizing any facial features at that point.

Felix stooped down low, paying no attention to the guards yelling at his back.

Muscles were visible where the flesh was burned off and peeled back, clothes were burned in tatters even though they looked like very expensive clothes before they were burned. There was an empty scabbard on his waist, while the sword itself had disappeared completely. The man’s hands were covered with purple bruises, with the veins clearly visible under his skin. That was the clear sign of poisoning.

"Back off! Everybody back off!" The guards continued pushing hard as a wagon came into view on their right side.

Felix slowly straightened, looking grim, watching as they took the body and laid it in the wagon bed, draping a sheet over the damaged face.

Things are getting out of control. I need to find this Marin if she is even in Filippo at all, or anyone who...

"It’s the young fellow."

Felix was interrupted by the tap on his shoulder. Looking around quickly, he spotted Rodrick, the vendor he had met the previous day.

"Yes. Is there something I can help you with?"

"No, no." Rodrick’s demeanor remained friendly. "I just saw an old acquaintance, that’s all. With all this talk going on about the corpse being someone who has been impersonating Hakimi, makes me wonder whether all this time those scumbags giving me such a bad deal with my hides have been nothing but con men all along."

"Yeah. Looks that way." Felix began to walk away and Rodrick followed. "Have you seen any of the others around?"

"No." Rodrick shook his head, but spoke softly. "Did you do it?"

"What? No. I have just arrived here." Felix answered hastily.

"You aren’t really under any accusation. No offense. You do not look like the type of person to be involved in that sort of business, that’s all. I just saw you asking around about them yesterday, so..."

"That’s... reasonable of you to assume, I guess."

Osbel Duke leaned back in his chair, resting both elbows firmly on its armrests with fingers pressing deep into his temples. Mirabelle was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace with her hands folded crosswise on her chest.

"Osbel, somebody does this intentionally. Do you see it now?"

"Yes, I see it." Osbel’s voice sounded emotionless and tired.

"That guy who was caught near the western gate impersonating Hakimi, and now dead with slit throat. This rumor did not grow just by itself, someone controls it. And whoever this person is, he’s already got half of what he wants. Our daughter cannot leave these walls without her name being dirtied with scandals which she had nothing to do with."

"I know about it."

"Do you?" she asked coldly. "As I see from here, all you ever do is to ask Hakimi to calm down and wait until it blows over. But it does not blow over, it only gets worse every week, and our daughter pays for it."

Osbel let out a breath of air through his nose. "And what would you have me do? Parading him throughout streets to announce his innocence to each and every loose-tongued merchant? It will get us nothing except providing the rumor more chance to spread."

"I want you to protect her. It’s what every father should do."

He said nothing to this, jaw clenched tightly.

"Marry her to Nicole."

Osbel’s head snapped up in shock. "Are you saying you want to marry our daughter to your own nephew?"

"There’s no shame in that; lots of families do that sort of thing to keep their bloodlines close and their loyalties tight."

"But Diana isn’t even sixteen yet."

"She will be, before long. And it doesn’t need to happen right away, only be made the decision." Mirabelle moved to sit opposite him, lowering her tone so that it turned almost into a plea. "Think about it practically. Nicole makes a good match. She’s kind and patient and she’s known us longer than any outsider ever could have. They’re compatible, Osbel, you’ve seen for yourself. This isn’t some outsider I’m trying to force onto you, it’s blood you can trust."

"You’re saying we should marry our daughter to your sister’s son because of rumor and gossip."

"No, I’m telling you to give her something concrete so that everything else around her isn’t just rumor and gossip. An engagement changes the entire discussion. No one talks about scandal anymore, they talk about a wedding. You’re protecting her name, and in doing so, you’re protecting Hakimi’s standing as well, whether you think he deserves it or not. And who else would you trust with her but blood?"

"What if she refuses?"

"She’s sixteen, Osbel. How many sixteen-year-olds know what they want from the rest of their lives?" Mirabelle shook her head. "I didn’t, at that age. You didn’t either, if you’re being honest."

"That doesn’t mean anything at all."

"It means exactly the same thing," she replied, leaning toward him and laying a gentle hand upon his arm. "I’m not asking you to make her marry someone she’ll hate and be miserable with for her whole life, Osbel. Nicole wouldn’t do that; there’s no doubt in my mind that he’d treat her badly—he’s our family, Osbel. But what if we wait and wait and hope it just goes away on its own, and it doesn’t? What if this is the path she’s going to have to walk through her entire life, whoever she ends up marrying?"

Osbel was silent for some moments, gazing into the empty fireplace. "I need some time to think it over properly."

"There’s no infinite amount of time to spend sitting around thinking, Osbel. The more time this goes on and on—"

"I said I needed time." Osbel’s voice was sharp. "I’m not saying no. All I’m saying is that I need some time to decide such an important thing."

Mirabelle looked at him for a moment, before nodding, slowly, and some of the strain drained from her posture. "All right. Take your time to think it over, but don’t take so long that the decision is made for us."

He didn’t answer that, only pressed his hands to his temples.