The atmosphere suddenly got so serious that even Carmen held her tongue while she was sitting in Anna’s lap. She observed her surroundings wide-eyed, knowing that she wasn’t allowed to interject when the grown-ups were talking about important stuff. On the other hand, Anne didn’t care about that, for she still reached out to hold Anna’s arm while calling out to the latter. “Aunt Anna—”
However, Anna shot her a penetrating glance that was devoid of all her earlier gentleness. Now, the look in her eyes was one of frostiness, and she made it clear to Anne to keep silent while she said in a hushed voice, “Shut up and hear what Mr. Fletcher has to say.” However, her sternness melted away into tenderness as soon as she turned back to Carmen. Still holding onto Carmen, she allowed Carmen to lean into her embrace, whereas Carmen sat there in silent compliance while observing her surroundings.
Although Anne said nothing, she was in fact feeling aggrieved. She bit on her lip, her eyes reddening as stole glances at Carmen, who had taken Anna’s bracelet. It was handed over to Sophia, who put it into her bag after wrapping it using her handkerchief.
The situation left Anne feeling resentful. She didn’t understand why Anna would give the bracelet to that child, nor did she understand why Carmen seemed to be liked by everyone, so much so that both Louis and Anna would present her with such expensive gifts. However, she dared not vocalize any of her intense hatred. Indeed, she could throw a hissy fit in front of Louis, but she feared Anna. She didn’t have the courage to stand up against Anna, nor did she dare throw a tantrum while in Anna’s presence.
Nodding his head, Louis heaved a sigh while glancing between Michael and Anna before revealing the secret that the Osbornes had kept hidden for decades. “The truth is, I used to be a Yard, but my family took on the surname of Osborne starting from my father’s generation.”
So the rumors are true… The crowd seemed to be anticipating that, as none of them looked too astonished. After all, Xena and Anna’s identical appearance was indicative enough of their identity as twins, whereas it was widely known that the Osbornes used to be vassals to the Yards.
Meanwhile, Louis began telling them the stories of the past. “The whole story is in fact about the consequences of my ancestors’ actions. My grandfather disobeyed the rules that his ancestors set down by colluding with foreigners in his attempt to restore the past glory of the Yards. However, he wound up leading the enemies into Cethos, which the Yards paid for dearly. My grandfather was the head of the clan who made that decision back then. He paid the ultimate price for it, as he was killed on the cruise.”
The Fletchers knew what happened later on. While Louis’ grandfather brought with him the enemies of Cethos in an attempt to return to Lombardi River to revive the Yard Dynasty, they made their way into the country on a cruise. However, Mark’s father caught wind of their return beforehand, so he led the Fletchers in an assault to take over the cruise, killing Louis’ grandfather and countless of his fellow kin in the process. Only children and womenfolk survived the massacre that happened on the open sea.
Before he was even born, Louis’ father lost his own father and all of his uncles, so he would be considered as the last remaining heir of the Yard Family when he was born. The situation meant that he would be threatened by the branch family that had been plotting to overthrow them all the while. Therefore, the Osbornes took him away. They changed his surname in order to protect him, but it also meant that the Yards lost their sole legitimate heir, which left the family in the branch family’s control for decades.
Neither Louis nor his father were twins, so the Yards didn’t perceive them as threats, even forgetting them eventually. However, Louis himself had twin daughters, which quickly painted a target on their backs. It resulted in the Yards sending hitmen after his twin daughters, forcing Louis to flee the country to find refuge all over the world.
The Yards were so powerful back then that no place was safe from them except for Cethos. They couldn’t do anything while in Cethos, as the country itself was intolerant of their presence.
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