The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 426: Garin’s Lost Love

Chapter 426: Garin’s Lost Love

The Knights of Gerhard stood as the Duke of Sanad, the Marquess of Roland, and the sons of the Marquess of Sylvere passed by their table, paying their respects. In return, the lords nodded, acknowledging them before moving on to their destination.

The knights resumed their seats to enjoy their drinks. Among them, Garin hesitated before sitting down. His brown eyes scanned the banquet floor as if searching for someone.

A hint of disappointment crossed his face when he realised the person he had in mind was nowhere to be seen- She didn’t come to Alex and Meredith’s wedding, and she wasn’t here this time either. It was as if she had distanced herself from society and avoided being seen.

"Are you expecting someone, Sir Skyler?" asked Alex.

"No. No one," Garin replied as he sat down and grabbed his drink.

"If you’re looking for her, you’d better forget it," Eric, who was sitting behind Garin, leaned in to whisper. "She won’t attend any event, let alone a wedding ceremony, even if invited."

Garin turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, Sir Navin? I already said I wasn’t expecting anyone," he replied sternly.

Eric just chuckled.

"Yeah, right! Like I don’t know what’s on your mind. Come on! We’ve known each other for years. I can tell right away that you’re looking for her. You had the same look at Sir Jarr’s wedding, too."

"Who are you referring to, Sir Navin?" Alex interjected, overhearing them with interest. "A woman who won’t attend any wedding ceremony? Does she have a grudge or something?"

Garin’s face contorted at the statement. His eyes fell to his drink, avoiding eye contact with the others in silence.

"Any woman would be excited about a wedding celebration. There’s no way they would turn down such invitations. It’s the event where they can flaunt themselves, putting on their best makeup and beautiful dresses. Even if there were a woman like that, it would be rare," Luke remarked.

"Sir Skyler wouldn’t be interested in such women. Why would he be looking for any of..." Damon suddenly paused as a realisation struck him. "Hold on... could it be..."

The knights turned their eyes to Garin, their suspicion confirmed when the third-in-command knight snapped, "Cut it out! You’re all making nonsensical comments. I wasn’t looking for any women, as Sir Navin insinuated, nor for anyone else!"

"All right! Calm down! We won’t push further on it. Let’s forget about it and have more drinks to enjoy ourselves, shall we?" Eric said, brushing aside Garin’s sudden anger.

Noah stole glances at the burly third-in-command knight, wondering what was bothering him. Most of the time, Garin appeared calm and composed, a thoughtful person who spoke his mind only when necessary.

But tonight, he seemed different. He noticed right away that Garin, unknown to the others, was discreetly watching Rachel, Eric’s wife.

Rachel had been absent during Alex and Meredith’s wedding because Evan, their baby, was suffering from a slight fever. Currently on duty, Eric could only drop by his sister-in-law’s home to check on the little one briefly before heading back to the mansion. Thankfully, the illness was quickly resolved with remedies from Rafe.

Putting two and two together, Noah realised who the ’person’ they were talking about was, even though her name hadn’t been mentioned.

It went back a few years, before Eric’s wedding, when Noah was still the second-in-command knight. He had heard brief mentions of the knight’s relationship with a woman but hadn’t paid much attention to it. As far as he knew, it hadn’t lasted long and ended poorly.

Just then, Drystan rushed to their table as if fleeing from someone. He sat down in an empty chair and grabbed a glass.

"Give me something to drink, please!" he urged.

Eli, sitting next to him, poured the red liquid from a bottle. The groom downed his glass in mere seconds, wiped his lips, and then grumbled, "God, I never thought a wedding would be this hard! Why does Sylvie’s family keep bombarding me with questions about babies? It’s not like it’s going to happen overnight!"

Hearing this, the knights smirked. Luke seized the chance to tease him.

"Correction. It does start with a night. To be specific, this night onwards. Since they’re already anticipating it, you need to work hard to make it happen."

The initial grin turned into laughter, and the knight added, "You can learn a tip or two from those who are already married here. I know for sure someone who is very diligent about it."

This time, his eyes darted to Noah.

"What are you blabbering about, Sir Parker?" Knowing the remark was directed at him, the knight responded.

"Don’t ’what’ me, Sir Brooks. I can hear you very well from my place since it’s closest to yours. You hardly leave your wife alone at night," he teased. "I won’t be surprised if she gets pregnant very soon."

Noah’s ears quickly turned red. He cleared his throat and replied, "There’s nothing wrong with it. Besides, Emily and I have always dreamed of having a large family."

"I never said it was wrong. It’s good to see that you have a strong bond with your wife," Luke smirked.

Turning to Alex, Noah asked carefully to affirm since the knight lived next door to him, "Were we... that loud?"

Alex looked back at him, hesitating. "Oh... that... ermmm..."

The knight struggled to find the right words. Anyone passing by Noah and Emily’s residence at night could hardly miss the coquettish sounds and moans emanating from within.

"I’m sorry if I was disturbing anyone. I’ll keep it down," Noah responded, looking down in embarrassment as he understood the reaction.

"Don’t be! We’re all adults here, and it’s perfectly fine for newlyweds to be excited about intimacy. You have a wife who loves you for who you truly are, and that’s admirable. Don’t hold back your desire out of consideration for me. You went to great lengths to be with her, so enjoy your moments together," said Alex.

"Ah, look at that! How thoughtful is our comrade here! Honestly, I don’t mind either. It’s fascinating to see how marriage has changed their lives. Sir Jarr has become more considerate compared to the stoic person he was before, and Sir Brooks... well, what can I say? He’s a much better person than anyone could expect... loving, caring, and loyal," praised Luke.

"So if you can see how marriage can be great and change people for the better, why don’t you find a good woman and settle down for good, too?" Eric asked the knight.

"Nah! No one in Cassian has enticed me so far," Luke replied.

"You make it sound like there are no captivating beauties in our kingdom," Eric said. "Were you perhaps expecting a princess from a faraway land to appear and make you fall for her suddenly?" the second-in-command knight teased again.

Luke just laughed.

"Like that’s going to happen! That’s just a dream. A single-life suits me just fine. I can do whatever I want without being restrained. So, I’m all good here."

"I don’t think it’s just a dream. Doesn’t that sound like the case of our Mr. Amares? To be exact, it was Mrs. Amares who fell head over heels for him," Damon interjected.

"Rafael is a d*mn lucky man to have such an outstanding beauty fall for him. If it were me, I wouldn’t waste a moment to be with a wife like that." Eric sighed and then continued, "But our healer is still taking his sweet time getting together with her."

"Don’t be mad at him. He’s making progress, albeit slowly. They’re in the midst of courting and will soon move in together," Damon explained.

"Finally! When did you hear this?" Eric asked.

"A few days ago. I just happened to cross by them, sitting lovey-dovey in the garden. I never knew Mr. Amares could be so mushy over his wife. They were already kissing and hugging like this!" Damon said, embracing himself, his hands sliding over his shoulders, and his lips puckered to demonstrate what he had seen the couple do.

Most of the knights laughed, but Eli, whose cheeks had turned bright red, quickly said, "Eeww... stop it, all of you! Can we not talk about a man and woman’s affair? I know this is a wedding ceremony, but please! Such a topic doesn’t suit everyone, you know!"

"Someone seems to be pissed off. Is it because you don’t have any woman of interest?" Luke teased the young knight.

"Sir Parker, I am nineteen years old, and there’s still a long way to go before I think about women," Eli replied.

"Nineteen isn’t that young. Back in my village, before the plague struck us, many of my neighbours were already married by seventeen. By your age, they had become fathers of one or two children," Damon said.

"A father at my age? You’ve got to be kidding me! I’m too young to have a child! Sir Skyler would make a better father figure than me. At his age, he could have a grown-up son or daughter!" exclaimed Eli.

Garin’s face contorted severely at the remark. The crowd fell silent for a moment; personal matters concerning the third-in-command knight were rarely discussed, and Eli, being the youngest, didn’t know much about it.

Sitting beside Eli, Damon pinched him discreetly and whispered, "You better not bring that up about Sir Skyler, Sir Henderson!"

Eli turned to him, glaring, but when he saw the knight’s severe expression and the shake of his head, he realised he should stop immediately.

"Now, now! Could you all focus on helping me instead of talking about others?" Drystan called for attention. "I really need help here."

"What help do you need?" asked Eric.

"As you know, I didn’t decide to get married in a day. Sylvie and I finally agreed to it after spending a long time together and feeling that we were compatible. Now, today is our first day of marriage, and her side of the family is already pushing for children. Once or twice mentioning is fine, but when all of them keep saying the same thing, it’s making me fed up! You should’ve seen her face. She almost cried, and there was nothing I could do about it!" Drystan said, frustrated.

"Where is your bride? Why did you leave her alone?" Alex asked.

"She went to the guest chamber to be with Lady Raychard. She said she felt suffocated and couldn’t stand it, so she needed some time for herself. I guess being with our lady would console her a bit," Drystan explained.

"Hmm... this is a matter of your married life. No one should force you to have children now. It’s a decision to be made with your life partner. Although having another woman to console her is good, I believe she needs your support more than anything else. After all, she is your wife," Eric said.

"Sir Navin is right. When it comes to children, women often feel stressed, especially those who haven’t conceived years after marriage. For nobles, bearing an heir for the family is considered the most important duty of a wife," Alex agreed.

"Yes, that’s one thing. On the other hand, your wife is the only granddaughter of the Marquess of Sylvere, and they don’t have many females in their direct bloodline. They’re hoping that through this marriage, you’ll bring more female heirs to balance their family," Eric added.

"I understand that. But wouldn’t it be too much to bring up this topic on my first day of marriage?" Drystan replied. "It’s not that I’m complaining, but please, give me a breather. The wedding itself is a huge event in my life!" he said, annoyed.

"As much as you feel pressured about it, Lady Mills will feel it even more," Damon interjected.

"Lady, who?" Drystan raised an eyebrow, unfamiliar with the name ’Lady Mills.’

"Lady Mills! Your wife, of course! Have you forgotten that she should be bearing your surname by now?" Luke reminded.

Drystan slapped his forehead. How could he be so forgetful?

"Now, you better get up, go to your wife, and take her to retreat in your chamber. You mentioned she was affected by those people’s talks about children. So, talk to her, but don’t force her to open up if she doesn’t want to. Women can be like that. Sometimes, they choose to remain silent and swallow their hardships alone. But the moment you coax her, give her a shoulder to cry on and hug her, she’ll break into tears and reveal her heart," Eric advised.

"I don’t know how to do that. Sylvie and I are still new in this relationship," Drystan hesitated.

"Oh, you’ll know how to do that. Every good husband will, and I trust you on this. Go on and get your bride." Eric smiled.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Drystan stood up. He wasn’t sure what to do next, but the second-in-command knight’s trust in him boosted his confidence.

The groom then left the group to find his wife.