Chapter 193 - Devil In Disguise

Chapter 193 - Devil In Disguise
IVAN
The courtyard was so silent, it seemed even the night itself had paused to listen. Torches flickered against the marble pillars, shadows dancing across the stunned faces of the nobles who dared not breathe. The priest faltered, clutching his scrolls, looking between Eloise and me as though begging for direction.
“What is the meaning of this, Ivan?” Eloise’s voice cracked like a whip, sharp enough to cut the air. She stepped forward, her gown rustling like a storm.
But I ignored her. My boots struck the stone path with purpose as I advanced toward the altar, fury burning in my eyes. “My sister,” I declared, my voice loud enough to echo against the courtyard walls, “will not marry this monster.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Caelum’s smile faltered but only for a breath. He tilted his head, feigning calm, and spread his hands with practiced grace. “Monster? Surely you are mistaking me with someone else. I am nothing more than a man who wishes to care for your sister, to honor her as my bride.” His voice dripped with honey, his expression almost wounded, as though my words had truly injured him.
The crowd murmured, some nodding, some whispering doubt.
Eloise swept forward in a flurry, grasping my arm with an iron grip, her voice sharpened with desperate authority. “Forgive him, my lord,” she said to Caelum, bowing her head low. “He knows not what he says. My son has clearly been drinking, please do not mind his words.”
But I tore my arm from her grasp, shaking her off with the strength of conviction. My voice thundered, filled with rage and certainty. “I am not drunk, Mother. I know exactly what I saw.”
The courtyard erupted in whispers again. Adeline’s heart pounded as she looked from her brother to her groom, trapped in the tide of voices.
My finger shot forward like a blade, pointing at Caelum. My voice rose, trembling with both fury and horror. “This man is no savior. He is a beast. A monster. He already has a wife… a woman I saw with my own eyes today. And do you know what he did?” My voice cracked as my fist clenched at my side. “He beat her. Beat her until she drew her last breath. And when she was dead, he laughed like it meant nothing, to kill someone.”
The courtyard froze.
For the first time, Caelum’s mask flickered, his lips twitched, the faintest sneer threatening to curl, but then, smoothly, he composed himself. His voice came out low, controlled, almost mournful. “What a grotesque lie.” He spread his arms, showing his empty hands, his spotless cloak. “If I had done such a thing, would I stand here so unscathed, among so many witnesses? Would I not be exposed at once?”
The nobles muttered amongst themselves, some shaking their heads, some darting their eyes at Eloise, waiting to see how she would answer.
“Ivan!” Eloise hissed, her voice a furious whisper meant to silence me, though everyone could hear. “Enough of this madness! Do you wish to shame our family before all of Auradell? Do you wish to ruin your sister’s future?”
But I ignored her. I turned, eyes desperate and pleading, to Adeline. “You have to believe me, Addy. You know I would never lie to you. You know what I say is true.”
Adeline’s throat tightened. She had always trusted Ivan, he always told the truth, but the weight of the moment pressed against her. Could Caelum, so innocent, composed and smiling, truly be the monster her brother described? Her hands trembled as she clutched her skirts, her heart torn between reason and instinct.
Caelum’s eyes flicked to her, his lips curving faintly, his voice laced with careful pity. “Lady Adeline, I understand your brother’s protectiveness. Perhaps he imagines shadows where none exist. But surely you can see I stand here, unbound, unbloodied. If I had slain a wife, as he claims, then where is she? Where is the proof?”
And then his gaze cut back to me, sharper now, his voice tightening with challenge. “Since you accuse me of murder, of killing a woman.. my wife, no less, do you have a shred of proof to show for it? A body? A witness? Anything at all?”
The courtyard fell into stillness once more.
Every noble leaned forward in their seats. This was getting interesting for them. The priest swallowed nervously. Eloise’s eyes burned into me, silently begging me to stop before all was lost.
And Adeline stood there, trapped in the center, her breath caught in her chest, her heart whispering for her to trust me, even as the weight of proof pressed against them both.

The mistake I made was allowing Caelum beat her to death and not following them to the place where they buried her body. That was the only proof. 
My words falter. “I–I don’t have the proof with me,” I stammered, my eyes darting toward my mother and the nobles who stared in disbelief. I clenched my jaw, my voice rising with raw conviction. “But he buried it. He buried the proof himself!”
A low, cruel chuckle escaped Caelum’s throat. He tilted his head, as though mocking the accusation. “How convenient,” he said softly, his tone dripping with feigned sympathy. “You speak of proof, yet you have none. You speak of burying, yet can show no grave. Such imagination, Lord Ivan.”
The nobles began murmuring again, their whispers cutting sharper than blades. “Could it be jealousy?” someone whispered. “Perhaps he’s drunk…” another muttered.
Eloise’s face flushed red with humiliation. She stepped closer to her son, her words barely above a whisper but laced with warning. “Enough of this, Ivan,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “Apologize. Now.”
I turned to her, my eyes filled with disbelief and pain. “Apologize?” I echoed, my voice trembling. “To the man who killed an innocent woman? To the monster you’re marrying my sister to?” My tone broke with anger. “Mother, for once in your life believe me!”
Eloise’s jaw tightened, her hand trembling slightly as she hid it in her gown. She couldn’t look at me.
Caelum sighed lightly, as though tired of the drama. “We are wasting precious time,” he said, turning to the priest with a polite smile. “Before the spirit beasts roam, perhaps we should proceed with the ceremony. I wouldn’t want any harm to come to my bride.”
Adeline’s heart lurched. My bride. The word made her chest tighten.
But I snapped. My hand shot to the hilt of my sword, and in one swift motion, I unsheathed it, the steel catching the light of the torches. The sound silenced every whisper in the courtyard.
“You will not marry my sister! Even if it cost my life” I shouted, pointing the blade straight at Caelum’s chest.