Awakening Love Reborn to Be His Duchess (Elowen Hale) novel Chapter 686

Chapter 686 Uneasy Signs

#fruached

At this point, she still could not tell whether the person behind everything had been targeting her or

Cassian.

But either way, she knew perfectly well this could not possibly end with Caius merely suffering a fever for one night.

At the same time, outside Silverloom Exchange, the atmosphere could not have been more different.

Today marked the grand opening of the new establishment, and banners hung above the entrance while the gilded sign bearing the name Silverloom Exchange gleamed brightly beneath the afternoon sun.

Finn looked especially cheerful today. He had even put on the finest coat he owned for the occasion. After pacing near the entrance for a while, he finally leaned toward Scarlet with visible curiosity.

“Scarlet, where’s Her Grace?” he asked quietly. “Shouldn’t she have arrived by now?”

Scarlet had dressed carefully as well. Her lavender gown was newly tailored, and her hair had been pinned neatly into place.

*

At the question, she smiled softly.

“Anson came earlier with a message,” she explained. “Something urgent came up at Duskmoor Manor, so Her Grace won’t be able to make it today. She said we should handle the opening ourselves.”

Finn immediately rubbed his hands together nervously.

“Well… now I’m starting to feel nervous too.”

After glancing around again, he lowered his voice.

“Actually, Commander Hall isn’t here either.”

Since the bookshop was being moved into Silverloom Exchange as well, Finn had been coming here frequently these past few days.

And almost every evening without fail, once Scarlet finished working, a carriage would already be waiting outside for her.

Finn was naturally friendly, and Draven had never once bothered hiding the fact that he wanted to marry Scarlet, so after enough encounters, Finn had more or less pieced together the situation between them.

That was exactly why Draven’s absence today felt unusual.

Scarlet remained calm.

“Today’s the day Avenlor formally signs the peace accord with Nordia,” she said. “Commander Hall oversees the King’s Guard, so naturally he has duties at court. Compared to matters like that, the opening of Silverloom Exchange isn’t important. Whether he comes or not doesn’t really matter.

Finn nodded immediately.

“Yeah. I guess that makes sense

Chapter 695 Uneasy Signs

Flashed

Scarlet smiled faintly.

“Alright, the timing should be right now. Go light the celebration charges. We should at least make the opening feel lively.”

Finn answered happily before hurrying outside.

Moments later, sharp crackling bursts echoed through the street.

Scarlet looked toward the entrance and saw scarlet paper fragments scattering across the cobblestones while nearby townsfolk covered their ears and laughing children darted excitedly through the crowd.

Looking at the bustling scene, Scarlet found herself thinking that Elowen probably would have smiled if she had seen it herself.

Then suddenly, a scream ripped through the crowd.

“My eye! Gods, my eye!”

The surrounding people immediately turned toward the noise.

Scarlet’s expression shifted at once.

Something was wrong.

Frowning slightly, she strode toward the commotion and quickly spotted a man in rough gray work clothes rolling across the street while clutching his face dramatically.

“My eye’s been ruined!” he howled. “Silverloom Exchange nearly blinded me! Is nobody going to do anything about this?!”

Finn stared at him in disbelief.

“You can’t be serious,” he shot back immediately. “I warned everyone before lighting them. I told people to stay back, and you were the one who kept moving closer. If anyone got hit, whose fault is that supposed to be?”

The man ignored him completely and continued writhing across the ground while clutching one eye tightly.

Blood appeared to seep faintly between his fingers.

More and more people began gathering around them.

“What happened? Did the celebration charges hit his eye?”

“Silverloom Exchange only just opened and already someone’s injured? That’s terrible luck.

Awakening Love: Reborn to Be His Duchess

Chapter 686 Scarlet

“Exactly,” someone else muttered from the crowd. “Grand opening day and already there’s bloodshed. That’s a bad luck if I’ve ever seen one.”

Among the growing crowd stood a middle-aged couple quietly observing everything.

The man was tall and broad-shouldered. Though age had touched his hair, his posture remained straight and imposing, with the stern expression of someone long accustomed to command.

Beside him stood a woman dressed in a dark blue gown with her hair pinned flawlessly into place.

Both wore deep frowns as their eyes moved between the injured man on the ground and Scarlet herself.

They were Draven’s parents.

For more than twenty years, their infuriating son had refused every marriage arrangement placed before him. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, he had become utterly obsessed with a former entertainer and nearly turned the household upside down over her.

2

Someone had informed them that Silverloom Exchange would open today and that the woman who had apparently stolen their son’s heart would be here.

So they had come to see for themselves exactly what

Scarlet, meanwhile, remained completely man causing trouble.

Finn tried pulling the man’s har

continuing to howl.

of woman she was.

aware of their presence. All her attention stayed fixed on the

from his face, but the man clutched at it stubbornly while

“Don’t touch me! It hurts! Silverloom Exchange injured me, so you’d better give me an explanation!”

Scarlet studied him carefully.

There was blood on his face, trailing down from near the corner of his eye, and at first glance it looked alarming.

But Scarlet had seen real firework injuries before.

Back when she worked at Stargazer Pavilion, one frightened girl had once tried running through a crowded Midwinter celebration after fireworks were lit too close to the street. The explosion had torn open her hand so badly the flesh was nearly unrecognizable.

That kind of wound looked nothing like this.

The cut on this man’s face was thin and shallow, more like something made by a sharp cilge their n explosive burst. There wasn’t nearly enough blood either.

And if a firework had truly struck someone’s ey

the damage

uld never look this momen

Scarlet immediately understood what was happening.

Chapter 686 Searlet

But outwardly, she remained perfectly calm

She turned toward the surrounding crowd and raised her voice clearly

“Please don’t panic. This gentleman is injured, and someone has already gone to fetch a physician. Once the physician arrives, he’ll examine the wound properly. If Silverloom Exchange is truly responsible, we won’t avoid accountability.”

The man instantly cried even louder after hearing that.

“A physician? By the time a physician gets here, I’ll already be blind!” he shouted dramatically. “Silverloom Exchange thinks it can bully ordinary people just because it’s backed by Duskmoor Manor! I’m telling you right now, if I don’t get an explanation today, I’m not leaving!”

As he spoke, he started rolling around across the ground again as though fully determined to cause a

scene.

Several voices within the crowd immediately joined in.

上

“He’s right. If someone’s eye was injured, there should at least be compensation.”

“So what if Silverloom Exchange belongs to Duskmoor Manor? Does that mean they can bully people openly now?”

Right at that moment, another rough male voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.

“Hold on… doesn’t this woman look familiar?” the man said loudly. “Wasn’t she working at Stargazer Pavilion before? One of those entertainers who drank with guests and played music all night? Scarlet. wasn’t it? Yeah, that was definitely her.”

The voice was not especially loud, but everyone nearby heard it clearly.

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