TRAPPED BY THE SECOND MALE LEAD
CHAPTRE 15

Veronica wiggled her wine glass, enjoying the drama that would soon ruin the course of this great feast.

Veronica whispered while putting on an expression that lived "He said that the Marquess would not admit her second child because she had loved only one child from the beginning".

As the rumors spread, Marigold went around the room looking for Arden. He had not had time to talk to her because he was busy welcoming guests who also wanted to congratulate him.

The intensity of his smile increased when his observant eyes managed to catch the figure he was looking for from earlier was chatting fun with his old friend on the sofa corner of the hall room.

"Arden!" marigold shouted while waving to get attention.

Everyone who passed by him would immediately focus on finding interactions between the two lovebirds that are still often discussed by the general public.

Arden let out a long sigh before finally standing up to welcome Marigold "Hi, Marigold. Are you done with your business?"

Victor is not stupid to read a situation, he decided to mix in the crowd and give the two time to greet each other considering they do not live in the same city which means they rarely get to meet.

"Arden looked a little depressed, " Victor thought as he read Arden's face. The ebony-spirited young man understood how Arden was burdened with all the gossip about his relationship. Arden must have felt awkward when dealing with marigolds.

Arden's nerves and facial muscles have been trained not to respond so clearly to the feelings that are reflected in him that he can continue to smile and look calm in all situations.

"I'm glad you could be here tonight. I'm looking forward to our meeting again."

No, it's not really. Arden came just to meet with Meridia. That'sthat's all. He wouldn't be standing here if Meridia wasn't at home with Marigold.

"Um, yeah, me too."

Dozens of pairs of eyes highlighted how the two interacted. Not all were busy with their romance, some who looked at it were only curious after the sound of unpleasant rumors about his twin sister.

Marigold occasionally glanced in the other direction while smiling in embarrassment, a red tinge appearing on both cheeks of his roar "Arden, how do I look?" his great-grandson.

Arden's eyes blinked rapidly for a moment "Yes?" understanding the situation, the handsome young man only nodded at a glance "Very suitable for you."

Does that count as a compliment? I don't know, Arden was uncomfortable in the public spotlight while he was with Marigold. It further misled their minds.

"Thank you, Arden."

They both— more precisely Marigold who invites Arden to sit back and discuss many things with him. Marigold even pretended to care about the problem the Goldenleaf city was facing in order to get Arden's attention. "Is the strange case of death unfinished as well?"

"Not yet, but at least the number of victims has been decreasing lately." Arden remembered his last investigation. Arden began to speculate that it was not a disease but rather someone who had no idea what the purpose was. He only needed to investigate the magicians to be sure.

"Can I help you? The temple gave me a break for an entire week so I could go to Goldenleaf to help out a little." The offer is not too bad but Arden already do not like their closeness that is always a fruit of the lips feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, Marigold could not detect what the cause was because he only had purification.

"If it is, I think it is better that you speak directly to His Majesty King Gilbert. You can ask his permission because this case is also handled directly by the palace." said Arden as it is.

Marigold gasped "If the court is also taking care of this matter, why not also find an answer?" Arden also did not understand why Gilbert had so casually responded to the matter.

"Awhile more. I think I'll find the answer."

Arden got up from the sofa and asked the owner of the house about the break room for him. Arden wants to cool his mind and look for Meridia to give him a bracelet.

If Marigold kept clinging to her, it was impossible for Arden to be able to speak to Meridia in one eye.

Before leaving for Norfolk, Arden bought her a sweet blue diamond bracelet. He had also wanted to buy one for marigolds but where the story would lead him was already guessed. Better to avoid, right?

Marigold guides Arden to a rest area that is deliberately provided to the public and can be used by anyone to rest for a few minutes.

On the way, Marigold realized the other gazes the guests threw at him were somewhat different than usual. Not to mention his ears heard some unpleasant remarks about his family.

Arden stopped "What's wrong?"

Marigold smiled and went to four women his age who were gathering while looking at him "What are you talking about? you seem very curious about something." Marigold kept trying to be friendly.

"Lady, is it true that you have a sibling who was never shown to anyone?"

Marigold's heart stopped pumping oxygen for a moment. His breathing choked, he did not understand how suddenly the news came to the surface "No. Where did you hear from? I think the gossip is a bit exaggerated." The perfect girl tried to stay calm.

"I heard that the Marquess Emerald has always been favoritism and prefers you to be considered as her only daughter. Did your Dad really do it? Isn't that cruel?"

Arden is not deaf. He could hear everything clearly and somehow his brain was directly connected to Meridia. Seen to the naked eye, Meridia still looks similar to Marigold, just as initially thought during the night of Zoya's birthday party.

Marigold tidied up all the news about the Emerald family quickly so that everything was back under control. Just right there. The rest have been consumed with the sedition of Veronica, the mysterious woman who is not known what her purpose is.

In all corners of the room began to spread rumors about the existence of Meridia as the twin sister Marigold Emerald who had been deliberately hidden by her own family. Not only did it affect Ziel and Zoya, but Marigold's good name was also tarnished.

"How can a Saintess be so evil to her own sister?"

"Didn't he try to defend his sister?"

They no longer gossip because their voices are so clear. Ziel and Zoya could do nothing but shut up.

While Meridia who stood in the balcony began to be curious about the many boisterous sounds of people talking near the balcony door "What is it?" mumbling wonder.

As she entered, Meridia immediately found out what was happening as she was busy calming down. From where she stood, Meridia could see Ziel and Zoya. The leader of the Emerald family seemed to clench tightly, his jaw hardened, his eyes peeling into the crowd "He was looking for me" Meridia said.

Ziel sighed violently and clapped for attention from the audience. He cleared up all those misunderstandings to correct Emerald's name. Nor did Ziel ask who ignited the fire, he calmly explained it as best he could to cover up the truth.

However, not everyone fully believes Ziel's explanation after hearing Veronica's reasonable speech. They secretly remain suspicious of Emerald's secret about their second daughter not being shown to the public.

It was a pity that the incident led Ziel to think that Meridia did not keep a secret and careless to the extent that everyone was suspicious of the resemblance of her face to Marigold.

The atmosphere at the party became even more awkward than expected. There is no joy in the party. Forced Marigold to expend greater energy to purify one hall to cool everyone's mood.

Arden was intending to go around when he saw a waiter delivering a few glasses of drink using a trolley to the hall again. However, Marigold held him back and asked for company to calm down.

"You need not think about it. This kind of controversy will not be far from the lives of the nobles," Arden tried to entertain even though he did not know it was useful or not because it seemed very anxious Marigold.

"I'm fine, Arden. You don't have to worry. I'm sure my family can deal with it." Marigold put on the best smile he had in order to convince the handsome young blonde.

To be honest Arden also felt the resemblance of Meridia and Marigold was not a coincidence. Although not identical twins, but their faces are very similar in one look. The difference is only the impression they highlight. Marigold was very friendly and cheerful while Meridia looked indifferent and did not say much.

"I'm going to go to the toilet for a second. You rest here."

Arden begins his search outside the hall. His heart thumped wanting to immediately see the dark blue girl's flat face again. I don't know why Arden was happy to be around him. This time, as a sign of friendship, Arden was eager to hand over the bracelet he bought to Meridia.

Coinciding with Arden down the hallway after hallway, Meridia just came out of the hall to go to sleep because her body was unable to move any longer. His head was dizzy to see so many humans and his ears were tired of hearing so many people gossiping about second daughter Ziel.

"I can't believe the Marquess actually did such a bad act.I guess behind her calm face was also a good temper, apparently not."

"Yes, I'm honestly disappointed in my own judgment."

"Even if he had answered directly to this rumor, I still couldn't believe it."

Meridia chose not to care about the news of a 'sister Marigold' who had been hidden and went inside. "I have to sleep for at least ten minutes to restore my energy"

Meridia widened in shock when someone suddenly pulled her wrist from behind and directly slapped her left cheek very hard as soon as Meridia looked. The poor girl had to fall to the floor due to a strong slap thrown by Ziel.

Meridia's eye mask slipped off her face, revealing Meridia's entire face. The palm imprint was imprinted perfectly on his white cheeks. Without needing an explanation, Meridia knew Ziel would do it.

"It wasn't my fault." Meridia got up and looked at her father boldly "You're going to accuse me of all the gossip that's spread, aren't you?"

Ziel combed his hair and massaged the base of his nose "You don't know it's lucky. I've treated you well but you're still making new trouble for me. You still aren't satisfied?!"

"I didn't even say anything."

"I don't understand what exactly your goal is, why should you be born in the middle of my family?!" snapped Ziel in the deserted passageway of the human.

Should I be hurt again when I hear these kinds of words?

Meridia smiled faintly "I also never asked to be born as your son. If you're so distracted, why don't you let me out of this house even though I've offered myself more than a hundred times?"

"You!" Ziel raised his hand again preparing to slap for the second time.

A footstep echoed down the hallway and from his voice Ziel could judge that it was the sound of men's shoes. The man roughly pulled Meridia into the room and locked her inside there "I'll take care of you later!" threaten her before locking the door from the outside.

"Your Majesty Arden?" Ziel was surprised to find out who the owner of the footsteps was.

As with Arden, he did not expect to meet with the owner of the event there. Then Arden reasoned to look for the toilet while being suspicious of the room that Ziel had just closed the door.

"Let me deliver."

"No need to bother, Marquess. I'll find a waiter to show you the way."

Again his attempt to find Meridia was hindered. Arden could not freely walk here and there when there were many servants pacing their respective work. If he continued to roam there it would only provoke suspicion. As a result, after going to the toilet, Arden returned to where Marigold was.

Meridia cut her dress to the knee and left the rest of her cloth on the floor. The lucky beautiful girl used the used cloth to wipe away all the powder and lipstick from her natural beautiful face.

"I don't need all this goodness. After all, everything is just fabrication."

Meridia left the mansion even though she had yet to fully sense what a party was. Meridia was only in the hall for about an hour and the night was still long, the party would last until midnight. After the spread of gossip that began to shake the reputation of the Emerald family, Ziel will shorten the time. Punishing Meridia was already his priority right now.

Thanks to Ziel's orders, the entire servant was still being nice to him. Meridia managed to get out of the mansion with the help of one of the servants who opened the door lock.

Without illumination, Meridia brought herself deep into the forest where she often went during the day. His troubled heart took over his mind so that it penetrated the forest that only bathed in moonlight he dared.

His eyes responded well to what his heart was now feeling. Drop by drop decomposed, free-falling through eye bags and then wetting his cheeks that still left putty.

"I feel guilty for Meridia for hating her too much. It's too painful."

Meridia chuckled while hitting her own head "Stupid. I've made it this far but I'm leaving all my stuff behind."

The pale-skinned beautiful girl had just gained consciousness when she felt her two legs start to feel stiff and achy. He raised his vigilance fearing in case of being attacked by a savage beast "Where have I arrived?"

Strange indeed. From earlier the forest he passed seemed quiet and calm like an uninhabited dead forest. Regardless, Meridia was grateful that she remained safe even without any protection.

Meridia could already see a lake that looked like a black canvas decorated with moon paintings on it. However, something unusual began to feel around the lake "There is something here," he murmured as he moved forward in slow steps.

His thin hands were fumbling the air in front like a blind who was missing a tool. After three steps can touch something invisible in front of him, the surface of the object feels smooth like glass.

"What the hell is this?"

With her snickering Meridia tried to pierce through that invisible thing. Meridia was shocked and amazed when she saw her hands limited to the elbow was not visible to the naked eye. "Easy to break, what is this barrier?"

His surprise didn't just get there. Meridia entered the barrier and a magnificent building stood on the edge of the lake firmly.

"Who lives in a place like this?"