The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 413: A Discordant Exchange (II)

Chapter 413: A Discordant Exchange (II)

Eric swiftly rose to his feet as Emily rushed to her husband, who was lying on the ground. She hugged him tightly with tears streaming down her face and used her sleeve to wipe away the blood oozing from Noah’s busted lips and nose.

The second-in-command knight, too, bore the marks of the fight. He panted heavily, running the back of his hand across his nose and mouth to clear away the trickling crimson liquid.

"Are you out of your mind? Why are you fighting against your own comrades?" Anna reprimanded them with a firm voice.

A stunned silence filled the air momentarily.

"And you!" she turned to the knights standing by. "Why did you just let this happen?"

Garin, the third-in-command knight, stepped forward to explain.

"Sir Navin instructed us not to intervene, my lady."

Anna bit her lower lip. Fury rose within her, and her pale face slightly turned a shade of red. However, before she could continue her reprimand, Eric spoke up.

"You shouldn’t be here, my lady. Please return to your chamber," he said, then turned to Damon and Eli. "Escort the lady to her chamber now."

Brewing with anger, Anna shot back, "You don’t get to order me around, Sir Navin!"

Eric held his head high and replied, "My lady, I represent His Highness the Grand Duke and am responsible for your well-being. Given your condition, it’s best for you to go back."

"You may represent my husband, but his orders supersede yours! Have you forgotten the note he left?" she reminded him, instantly silencing the second-in-command knight.

Eric bowed his head slightly.

"Forgive me, my lady. I didn’t mean to overstep. However, for your health and safety, I advise you not to interfere. According to His Highness’s orders, the internal affairs of the duchy are under my jurisdiction, which gives me the right to reprimand Sir Brooks for breaking the code of conduct and disobeying orders!"

"Regardless, getting into a brawl isn’t how to resolve this! Have you ever seen His Highness act like you did when his subordinates went against the rules?" she countered.

Once again, her remarks left Eric and the others speechless.

Anna’s emerald eyes darted to Noah with frustration.

"I’ve heard about what happened between you and Emily, Sir Brooks. You are my first escort in Cassian, a knight I trusted with my life! How could you do this?"

Noah looked up with an earnest expression. Carefully, he stood up with Emily’s assistance.

"My lady, I know I’ve made mistakes, but I truly love Emily! All I want is to build a life with her. I have feelings, too! Don’t I deserve to be happy?" he implored.

"Happy? You call this happy?!" Eric scoffed sarcastically. "When you played around with those women who cleaned up your mess just to protect your dignity? Who arranged for their safe passage and care? Who worked tirelessly to ensure your actions didn’t tarnish the knighthood’s name? It was all me! I sacrificed my time and effort for you and the rest of us! And now you say you want to be happy? Have you considered how your actions have affected my life and the others?" His voice rose in anger as he recalled past grievances.

Noah pressed his lips together, remorse written all over his face.

"I admit, I was reckless and caused a lot of trouble. For that, I sincerely apologise. But I swear I’ve changed. Emily is everything to me, the one I want to protect with my life. Please, accept us!" he begged.

For the first time in the history of the knighthood, tears glistened in Noah’s eyes. He had always been hard-headed, displaying stubbornness and ego, never once shedding tears before his comrades. Even when he was flogged a hundred times for his crimes, not a single drop fell from his obsidian eyes. All that remained was his resilience.

Emily’s own tears flowed.

"Noah did nothing wrong this time! It’s all my fault! I urged him to take me away! If it will satisfy you, just punish me and spare him!" she pleaded.

"You’re acting like I’m giving you a hard time when all I want is to protect you, Miss Baker! Open your eyes! Don’t be fooled by his sweet words and romantic gestures!" Eric reprimanded her.

"That’s not true! Noah is sincere! We’re already married!" Emily exclaimed.

The second-in-command knight’s eyes widened in shock, along with the rest of the knights, except for Damon and Eli, who were already aware of the news from Meredith.

"What did you say?" Eric asked, surprised.

"We got married yesterday!" the young woman confirmed.

Eric turned to Noah with disbelief etched on his face. "Lies! I don’t believe you!"

Anryr, who had remained silent during the commotion, voiced out, "It’s true, Sir Navin. Sir Brooks gave me his marriage certificate upon arrival," he said, handing the document to Eric.

Roughly, the second-in-command knight snatched the envelope and pulled out its contents. Eric’s grey eyes rounded as he read the scribbled lines, noting the signature and seal of the registry office.

The other knights, eager not to miss the moment, gathered around him to peer at the certificate. Among them, Drystan looked particularly surprised.

"You got married at Oldmie? My hometown?" he asked Noah, eyes wide.

"Yes. It was the best place to avoid suspicion. I figured you’d be tracking me after noticing our disappearance, so I chose somewhere you wouldn’t think to look," Noah admitted.

Luke clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"Tsk... That’s just so sneaky!" he remarked.

Eric growled in annoyance. Seething contemptuously, he crumpled the certificate and tossed it to the floor.

"Don’t think I’ll believe you just because you registered your marriage! I will not approve this union!"

His declaration brought severe expressions among the crowd. With a saddened look, Noah picked up his ruined marriage certificate.

"Sir Navin! That’s too much! Sir Brooks’s actions may not align with the rules, but his effort to make the marriage official proves his sincerity!" Meredith countered.

"That’s right! Why would he return to this mansion if he were truly as bad as you claim? He knew what awaited him here, yet he came back. That shows he’s taking responsibility for his actions!" Sylvia added.

"Am I not worthy enough to punish him for breaking the rules? If you think you can do better, perhaps you should replace me and handle this matter yourself!"

Meredith and Sylvia fell silent. The playful Eric they knew had transformed into someone filled with rage. They realised they had disrespected the second-in-command knight by arguing with him in front of everyone.

"I’m sorry, Sir Navin, for crossing the line. Please forgive me," Meredith said, bowing her head.

"Me too," Sylvia added with remorse.

Anna, who had been watching solemnly, spoke up. "Sir Navin, with all due respect, we never looked down on you. I know you’re doing your best to set a good example for the knighthood. I can’t deny that Sir Brooks broke the rules. So how do you propose we resolve this matter now?"

Eric glanced at the couple sternly.

"I will whip him and put him in custody. As for the marriage... it must be annulled!"

Anryr gasped at the decision. At the same time, Noah felt his heart drop, while Emily, shocked, exclaimed, "No! You can’t do that to us! Our marriage is valid and... and... we’ve already consummated! If you don’t believe me, have me examined by the midwife!"

Eric fixed his intense gaze on Noah.

"How dare you touch someone under my protection, you scumb*g! You’ve gone to great lengths to mock everyone with your lies!" he shouted.

"I didn’t lie! My feelings for her are genuine! And it’s not against the law for a married couple to be intimate!" Noah retorted.

"I know what you’re up to. You’re just trying to cover yourself so you won’t get caught! Once you’re bored, you’ll discard her like you did to those other women! No one can bring you to justice because you’re using the marriage certificate as your shield! I swear, I’ll beat you until you’re limp for this!" Eric threatened.

"Enough fighting, both of you! Can’t you settle this in a civilised manner?" Anna shouted.

Eric turned to the princess with a stern expression.

"Is taking an innocent maiden to satisfy his lust considered civilised, my lady? I know you prefer him over the other knights and always take his side, but what he did is completely unacceptable! If I let this slide and don’t teach him a lesson today, I might as well resign from my position and leave the knighthood!"

His decisive words filled the atmosphere with tension. Anna, too, felt torn between the two knights as she cared deeply for both of them.

"Sir Navin! Please don’t say that!" Anryr pleaded. "You are His Highness’s right-hand man, respected by all of us. How can you even consider resigning?"

"What’s the point if my authority is ignored? You all think I’m being cruel and unjust, harbouring hatred for Sir Brooks when he clearly defied His Highness’s orders not to involve himself with women! Why do I seem like the villain here, as if I’m abusing my power?" Eric replied, evidently frustrated.

"That’s not true!" Damon exclaimed. "You haven’t done anything wrong, Sir Navin. You didn’t misuse your authority, even with your disagreement over Sir Brooks. He’s the one who has broken the code of conduct."

"We all agree with you, Sir Navin. Sir Brooks did violate the rules," Garin added. "However, the punishment you want to impose needs to be reconsidered. You can’t annul the marriage since it has been consummated."

"Then he should divorce her!" Eric insisted, determined to separate the couple. His declaration shocked everyone.

"Sir Brooks is indeed guilty. Lashing him for disobeying His Highness is reasonable as it is part of the rules, but ordering him to divorce his wife is way too far!" Alex protested. Being newlywed himself, he understood the pain such a separation would cause.

"Sir Jarr makes a valid point. You’re clouded by your past experiences with Sir Brooks. It wouldn’t be fair to force a divorce based on speculation," Luke added.

Eli, the youngest knight with no relationship experience, remained silent.

"He will leave her! You know him well enough by now!" Eric remained resolute.

"It’s ’what if he does,’ not ’he will.’ It hasn’t happened yet and might be a probability," Drystan countered.

"So, we should just sit back and watch?" Eric sneered.

The knights exchanged uneasy glances.

With tears in her eyes, Emily pleaded, "Please don’t force us to divorce, Sir Navin! What if... what if I got pregnant from our consummation? How could you have the heart to separate a father from his child?"

"How ridiculous! That’s not necessarily going to happen!" Eric shot back.

"She’s saying ’what if’, similar to your presumption that Sir Brooks will discard her, Sir Navin. How is her speculation any more absurd than yours?" Garin interjected. Giving a palm-out gesture, he continued. "I’m not taking sides here, but please be rational."

Eric was ready to rebuke when suddenly, a voice interrupted them.

"What is going on here?"