On the other side, Leo had already reached the hall of the church and was standing with other nobles who were stunned to see his face.
Dressed in a tailored white suit, he was looking elegant and refined but the aloofness on his face that was part of him was not there anymore.
He was talking to everyone with a smile on his face and behaving patiently that flattered them.
"Young lord, I am surprised that you are having drinks with us!" marveled the count, as he felt his hands shaking a bit!
He had attended many events in the past but never got the chance to be accompanied by the hero of the empire!
Even if he lost his position as the heir of the duchy! He was known for his valor in the war and made a strong name in the empire.
"Yes, we all are honored that the young lord is having a glass of wine with us!" exclaimed the young son of baron who was looking at leo as if he was looking at god!
His eyes were filled with the glimmer of a fan.
"That is because I was single all this time and I have no reason to mingle.
But now that I am getting married, I should socialize so that we get invited to all the parties and my wife does not feel bored after being cooped up in the room for the whole day!" The men were all taken aback with the dotting reply.
The man was having a public display of affection that all suddenly felt full without eating anything. His face was filled with pride when he talked about Evangeline!
They have heard various cases when the women go and show off their husband and his position but it was the first time they have seen a man of such caliber trying to show off his wife who is also a mere commoner!
They shared glances with each other but did not say a word as they just nodded their heads hiding their gasps.
They were too embarrassed to ask another question in case they had to eat more dog food!
"My lord seems to be very fond of his future wife even though she is a commoner!" The words were more like sarcasm as the man sipped his wine but was scared out of his wits when Leo stared at him.
He looked like he would take out his sword and lunge at him at the very moment!
"You will know soon!" all of them were not expecting a calm answer so they all were stunned for a second and before the man could say anything else, they elbowed him and pushed back!
"My lord, the priest is calling you!" Leo nodded and excused himself from the guests who nodded and took a breath of relief when he left.
But instead of a hint of happiness, his eyes turned dim and blank as he walked towards the priest.
A tinge of disappointment could be seen in his dark eyes that were fixated on the path.
Duke William was already standing there and talking to the priest when Leo reached there. His whole face was beaming with joy!
No one had ever seen him this happy before! His laughter was the sensational topic in the whole church!
All the guests came and took their places as the bell stating the ceremony was going to start ringing!
William patted the shoulders of Leo as he stood behind him with a relieved smile on his face.
Finally the mistake that had happened a long ago would be corrected! She would be the part of the family legally and he would be able to call her his daughter pridefully!
They all waited for the bride to appear with patience but soon a frown formed on the face of everyone.
William turned to look at Eli who was confused too! She had already sent a maid to call both of them a long ago but no one returned!
"I shall go and see what is taking so much time!" She held her dress tightly in her hands as she walked out of the hall towards the room assigned to the bride but was surprised to see that the maid she had sent was just knocking the door!
"What happened! Why have you not called Evangeline yet?" the maid flinched at the cold voice and pointed at the door.
"My lady, the door is locked and no matter how many times we knock it. The lady is not opening the door!" her frown only got deeper when she heard so.
The maids were in a much lower position and could not even enter the room without permission, not to mention the locked door!
She moved forward and knocked as she yelled, "what are you doing inside! Evangeline and Evelyn! We are getting late! The ceremony had already started!"
She tapped her feet for a few seconds in annoyance but the door was still not opened! She was sure it had been a few minutes since the maids were waiting for them too!
"Did the lady have come out?" an ominous feeling started to fill her mind as she turned to the knights who were guarding the door all this time!
"Only young Miss, my lady! The bride was there the entire time!" The reply made her nothing but more nervous as her lips shut tightly! Taking a deep breath, she looked at the door that was locked from inside!
"Break the door now!" The knights were stunned with her sudden shout but nodded their heads and opened the door instantly after a few pushes!
Eli walked in and looked at the room that was looking exactly like she had left. There was no sign of fight or quarrel as everything was at its place perfectly undisturbed.
But the girl that should be waiting there patiently was not there anymore! She looked around frantically in the bath area and even behind the curtains but there was no way that a person could hide there not to forget the bride with heavy and fluffy gown!
Forgetting about the look on her face or the conditions of her dress, she ran back towards the hall as if demons were chasing her.
Many maids gasped as they bumped into her or few of them already ran towards the wall and gave her the way. But everyone was looking at her with shock and bafflement as they have never seen such a calm and cold girl run like that!
When the sound of the footsteps filled the room, everyone turned to look at the bride but were taken aback when they saw Eli running like crazy!
She could have hid the fact and made some excuses as the matter would be a big stain on the image of their duchy but she did not do so as it would waste time and if something serious had happened to Evan they would only waste time and give more time to the culprit!
Just as she reached into the center of the hall, without waiting or caring about anyone, she shouted,
"She is not there! Someone might have kidnapped her!"
[To further support me you can do it here: https://ko-fi.com/iamcreator01/ ]
You can join the discord server to chat and discuss with the author about the story and with other fans. Discord link: https://discord.gg/ZSdCFtFm ]
The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on fr(e)𝒆webnov(e)l.com