The One Who Disappeared

he One Who Disappeared

More than half a year had passed since the funeral of the head of the Marquis of Gutierrez. The occasional mass that took place in the lands of Zaragoza mentioned with great sorrow the departure of that man who had earned the respect and affection of the citizens. While some were talking about the passing of the man known as José Marcelo Lizárraga de Gutiérrez, there was a young woman who was expressionless as she left the place.

That young woman with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes went with two male bodyguards and two maids to a car large enough to hold more than six people.

The whole group got into the car and immediately drove off leaving the church grounds.

- Miss, on the subject of the inheritance, there have been no problems in accepting you as the successor on behalf of the king as the only descendant; however, reviewing the clauses left by the previous head, you must have reached the age of majority, and possess the studies, knowledge and practices corresponding to the position. - explained one of the bodyguards who looked a little older.

- I understand, but I don't see what the problem is... don't I already meet the requirements? - replied the woman who was wearing dark clothes as if in mourning.

- Yes, what I wanted to mention next was about the clause of your marriage ... in order for you to inherit both the title and the total fortune of the marquisate, you must at least be engaged. - added the guardian.

- ... Explain to me all that is mentioned in that point. - ordered the woman.

- The requirements of your future partner are threefold: first, he must be a male of a similar age to you, it can vary at most from three to four years, no more. Second, he must have adequate and relevant knowledge to be your support in the government of the marquisate. Third, he must not present vices, nor customs that pervert the marital union, nor jeopardize the optimal government of the citizens.

- I understand ... Who will approve that this is fulfilled?

- It is mentioned that the couple will be presented before the royal family and this will make the decision, but, in case they do not have the opportunity, it will be necessary to present two fundamental witnesses, one being the current Duke of Zaragoza and the other the Count of Barrantes, brother of his late father. Both will judge and approve the union before the council.

The young orphan remained for some time thinking about those clauses for the inheritance left by her father.

- Are there any exceptions if someone suitable could not be found? - asked the woman somewhat interested.

The bodyguard, who appeared to be a butler, began to review the document in his hands until he found something.

- W-Well ... in section 5 clause "b", it mentions that, if no ideal candidate is found for the position, the title of marquise may be granted temporarily, but she will not have access to 70% of the fortune left behind.

This worried the young woman greatly.

- S-However, in the event that a man is presented who may have fulfilled two of the three requirements above, and having been approved by at least one of the two witnesses, the heiress may have access to up to 60% of the inheritance left. It is worth mentioning that the male must receive the title of sworn brother of the Gutierrez house and be trained as soon as possible until he reaches the appropriate standards, after which the marriage will take place.

- I see. - replied with indifference that young woman who appeared to be a little over 20 years old.

- T-The last thing written was the following: with all this, the decision to marry or not will depend solely on my daughter, no one will be able to force her to marry without her consent.

A slight smile came to the young woman's face.

- Well, let's leave this topic for tomorrow; I would like to relax for the rest of the day, besides I am waiting to see how the rest of them are doing. By the way, how are Marcelo's studies going? - asked the young woman who was stretching delicately inside the car.

- He is doing quite well... I would say...

The two maids began to converse with the young woman during the rest of the trip until they arrived at a large mansion.

 The next day, being in a large room of that mansion, the woman who was sitting on an elegant sofa was reading printed documents even though she had a Tablet and her cell phone at her side; those documents were reports of candidates, men from different families of high political and economic status, among others who were presenting themselves with the objective of being the future head of the marquisate.

The number of pages was not insignificant, even the young lady was stunned by the amount of records she had to read.

- Lady Emily, I bring you some tea and some snacks to give you energy for your work. - commented one of the maids who had traveled in the car with her yesterday, entering the room.

- Oh, thank you... leave it on the table, please.

- ... Are those the ones who have presented themselves as candidates?

- Yes ... and there are a lot of them; I haven't even sent the official announcement, but it seems that this news flies pretty fast. - commented the young woman a little tired.

- And what do you think, is there anyone you are interested in? - asked the young maid a little excited.

- If you only knew, Rita ... on investigating more about them, I only find judicial, political and violent antecedents. Nothing that is not known ... this is quite discouraging ...

- Well, apparently, people of high status tend to be more overbearing, don't they? - another maid who had entered the room was heard to say.

- Certainly, Noria ... I don't know if I'll find someone suitable among these, but, without the fortune left by my father, I won't be able to continue maintaining the family business ... So I must find someone soon.

- Miss, remember that the main thing is your happiness; all of us want you to marry someone you love. Even Duchess Sophia will support you in every way she can if you really want to marry.

The saddened look on the young woman's face suggested that the two maidservants speak no more, and so they both took their leave, leaving Emily alone in the parlor.

Late in the afternoon, the young woman took a break from her work, while looking through the screens she could see the arrival of a car that had entered the mansion.

Emily's stressed look was a little content, as she seemed to be somewhat happy about whoever was coming in that vehicle.

A few minutes passed and, suddenly, a boy of about 10 years of age appeared in the living room and greeted and hugged the young woman.

The boy's appearance seemed quite clean, although his clothes were somewhat disheveled.

- How are you, Miss Emily? - the boy greeted.

- Come on, I told you not to call me that...just call me Emily.

The child looked a little embarrassed, but soon changed it to a smile.

- So, how was school? - asked the young woman as if she were an older sister or a mother.

- ... Well ... I was able to learn a lot ...

- I see ... were you able to make some friends?

The boy was silent for a while as if trying not to answer.

- What's the matter, don't you get along with your classmates?

The boy still didn't want to answer, but, seeing the young girl's face showing some concern, he spoke.

- Yes ... but I think ... maybe I'm not good at making friends. - the boy answered somewhat sadly.

- ... Why do you say that?

- Well ... I think it's because I'm a bastard beggar and a freeloader. - replied the boy ignorant of that meaning with a forced smile.

Emily was stunned by that answer and was indignant to have heard that.

- Who told you that?! Was it the teachers or perhaps the children?!

- No... it was...

The saddened boy ran out of that place.

- Marcelo, wait! - exclaimed Emily in sorrow.

After the boy ran out of the room, one of the butlers came in immediately, he seemed to have been listening to everything from the beginning.

- Did you hear what he said?

- Yes, my lady.

- By tomorrow I don't want this problem to happen anymore, understand?

- Clearly. - answered the butler who left her presence.

The day passed and the young lady did not wait; in the morning the young heiress said goodbye to her two maids who had obtained scholarships to study in Germany; together with the support of her mistress, both said goodbye at the airport.

It being close to noon, the young woman prepared for her appointments with the only two candidates she had carefully selected the night before.

Emily was certainly not enthusiastic about the idea, but she could not waste any time. So around one o'clock in the afternoon the first candidate showed up for lunch.

That man was equally blond, but of an overbearing and somewhat narcissistic character; probably, although his studies and academic level had fed his ego, in the work field he had no experience whatsoever. Along with him came two bodyguards and a maid who wore somewhat suggestive clothes.

- A-a pleasure to meet you, young Vistold. Surely there is no need for me to introduce myself, is there.

- Of course not; like not hearing from you. On the other hand, the Vistold family thanks you for accepting our proposal. Now I would like to know when you plan to perform the ceremony. - the man commented somewhat haughtily as they ate lunch.

- I beg your pardon? Before we talk about that, I would like to know a little more about you.

Unfortunately, that suggestion gave the man free reign to go on and on about his supposed exploits and accomplishments, making him tiring to listen to.

After about an hour had passed, the young woman interrupted.

- I-I see that you have been very successful in your life ... but I would like to know, how could you employ your skills in marquisate matters? - this question was certainly a filter.

- As I told him ...

Seeming not to have understood the trick question that meant to know if that man knew the situation of the government of the Marquisate Gutierrez, he failed the interview and went back to talking about his life.

In the end, the young woman said goodbye to the guest somewhat annoyed and, seeing the faces of the men who came with him, she also realized that they thought the same as she did.

- Is she serious? First, he shows up all cool, bringing with him this woman dressed as if she were a prostitute, then he goes ahead to agree on a date for the wedding without knowing us beforehand, and finally he keeps talking about his life... didn't his parents teach him the basics?

In the afternoon, that woman was waiting for her second visitor; this time it was a young man younger than her who came with his bodyguards, but with a certain unexpected guest.

Next to that boy was his mother.

"This ... does not bode well for me." thought Emily as she conversed with that pair.

Actually, the conversation was between the young girl and the mother.

- I see, it's good to see that the Bartholomew household has a rather competent son. 

- Of course, as I was saying, my son can be of service to your house in everything you need, we have all his academic certificates and the certificates of the competitions he has won. I hope you can have a good impression of him ... so leaving that aside, could you tell me how the situation with EmiRos SAC is going ... from what I have heard it has been losing market this last couple of month.

- Oh, don't worry about that, we have already talked to the board of directors and the marketing department to launch our next product. We are confident that sales will increase by 35% for the next quarter.

- Oh, I see, is that so? - commented the older woman with a feigned smile as did Emily.

Evening came and the guests having retired, the young woman fell into bed in her room exhausted.

- What's the matter with that woman, can't she hide her interest and ambition? All the time she was talking about how good her son was and then she wanted to interfere in private matters... What an annoying woman! 

- Come on lady, don't say that. Besides, didn't you think young Gian Pier looked good?

- Yes, but what does it matter, if at that age he is accompanied by his mother ... in the whole meeting he said nothing but a greeting and a farewell. Does his mother does not think that I will not realize that by marrying her son she will have the whole marquisate with his companies in the palm of her hand?

- Well, she has her goals in marrying her young son; but, that aside, we have received about forty more applications from potential candidates. I'll drop them off at her office tomorrow for her to review.

The young woman on hearing that became more exhausted making it clear that her day was over.

- Ah, right, before I go to sleep I would like to know if you have settled the matter of Marcelo's school.

- Yes, my lady, it has been settled.

- Well, that's all then. Until tomorrow, have a good rest.

The butler said goodbye and left with the other maid who had come with him.

- Tomorrow ... will be another day full of work ...

This was the last thing Emily said before she fell asleep.

The next morning was not long in coming, the young woman awoke early and having eaten breakfast, retired to her garden for a walk before beginning her labors.

Suddenly, the sound of her phone began to ring.

- Hello, Sofia, how are you feeling? - greeted Emily as she answered the call.

- Well, I thought I'd come to visit you, but I'm currently swamped with work. - A young woman's voice was heard on the other end of the call.

- Don't worry, I'm the same way. On the other hand, how are things going with the Duchy of Híjar?

- Well, I will soon be engaged to his eldest son, Ian.

- Really? Isn't he younger than you?

- Yes, but that doesn't matter nowadays; besides, his family was one of those who helped me the most when my parents passed away.

- Yes, I understand. I think we're in the same situation now.

- Speaking of which, I heard that you are looking for a husband, is that true?

- Yes, rumors are flying, I just made this matter public today.

- Well, you should keep in mind to find a man who respects you; that's the main thing ... on the other hand ... ... ... or it seems that someone has come ... excuse me, but I'll have to leave you here.

- Oh, that's all right; don't worry, I'll talk to you later.

The call ended.

The morning breeze made Emily's hair stand up in the winds and, although for a moment, the young woman felt like just an ordinary girl, her rest was disturbed.

Out of nowhere, Emily felt her body unresponsive and she collapsed on the gras. Chills began to run through her body and she felt as if she was going to faint.

Her consciousness became more and more blurred.

It was at that moment that she could hear a familiar voice speaking contemptuously over her.

 - Hurry! ... Tell them she's ready; yes, she ate it all without realizing it, the stupid fool. Hurry! The bodyguards will appear at any moment. - It was a childish voice speaking.

Emily, trying to raise her eyes, was stunned, trying not to believe her eyes.

The figure of a child whom she cared for as if he were her own little brother was the one she saw betraying her without knowing the reason.

She could not scream, she only murmured a few things to the collapsed woman.

- W-Why are you doing... this... Marcelo? 

- Huh? Are you an idiot, for money of course ... I'm tired of this farce of being a good boy ... come on, don't look at me like that, you know well that's the way the world works ... goodbye, I hope I never see you again. - spoke the boy who showed a totally different personality from what he was before.

Emily closed her eyes.

After a few minutes, none of her servants and guardians could find her.