Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 11
Atria’s hand wasn’t particularly strong.
How significant could the strength be from a hand that had never lifted anything heavy in its life?
Rather, it was the ensuing verbal abuse that stung more.
“You filthy thing. How dare you look me in the eye and talk back?”
“…….”
“Wake up, ‘Sister’. You’re in that position all because of me!”
Atria jabbed Freesia’s collarbone area sharply with her finger.
But at that moment, a second uninvited guest arrived in this small room.
“Atria. What’s this commotion?”
“Ah, Mother!”
Atria hastily stepped back from Freesia. A noblewoman with neatly tied-up black hair and a seductive smile approached.
Madam Antares gently scolded Atria while inspecting her hand.
“Oh my, Atria. What is this?”
She only glanced at Freesia’s swelling cheek. She sighed affectionately at her own daughter.
“You should be kind to your older sister. She’s about to be married off so soon.”
“But Mother! Haah…”
Atria momentarily flared up then shook her head.
“Mother, you are always too soft, that’s the problem.”
Freesia listened to their conversation with a dry expression.
‘Soft, who?’
The woman who laughed while threatening me after murdering my mother?
But suppressing her disgust, she bowed respectfully.
“Madam. I apologize for causing concern at this late hour. It was all due to my rudeness towards the Young Lady.”
“Oh my, Freesia.”
Madam Antares’s black eyes glinted.
“We are family now. Don’t be so formal.”
“But such rudeness is inexcusable.”
Freesia responded calmly, like a servant.
Having fallen for it once, she knew what kind of trap this was.
When Freesia had once cautiously called the duchess ‘Mother’ in front of others, the duchess in turn, with a smile, dragged her into a storeroom.
Freesia had already been long accustomed to her birth mother’s slaps, yet that day, her vision spun relentlessly.
Even just the memory made her break out in cold sweat.
Looking down at Freesia’s excessively polite demeanor, the madam smiled subtly.
“Hmm…”
Madam Antares was constantly revising her opinion of Freesia.
‘Smarter than I thought?’
Her appearance was satisfactory, as no matter how much she was groomed, she could never outshine her own daughter. But her unvulgar attitude was displeasing.
She was not good enough to be called a noblewoman, but too sophisticated to be just a lady.
‘Would have been perfect if she were more naive. Or behaved like a lowly servant.’
Because that’s what the Emperor wanted.
The aged Emperor never forgave the rebels who killed the Imperial Crown Prince and the Second Imperial Prince.
And even less so the former Duchess Arcturus who informed the rebels about the imperial family’s favorite villa.
Now the young imperial grandson was grown, but the Emperor still harbored resentment.
‘His Majesty must want to shame the Duke more.’
However, the Betelgeuse Imperial Family couldn’t completely annihilate Arcturus. Some old noble families, including the imperial family, had special abilities.
Among them, the God, Adamant, had granted Arcturus the power to subdue demonic monsters for generations, and so it was a lineage too valuable for the Emperor to lose.
‘But this family…’
Among the noble families, only Antares had currently lost the lineage of their ability. So, they had to work even harder to please the Emperor.
The madam smiled slyly.
“Anyway, take good care of your face as you are a new bride, Freesia.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“Let’s go, Atria.”
But after leaving for the corridor, Atria teared up looking at her mother.
“Mother, is it really okay to go on like this? How can Father…”
“Hush, Atria.”
“Hicc, to leave Mother behind and… How could he do such a thing!”
Madam Antares silently patted her daughter.
She had known about such an existence from the start, as had her husband.
The couple had long known that a woman of fallen nobility, whom the husband had met in his youth, had borne a child and was living in the Arcturus domain.
‘I left that woman alone because she went mad when her tongue was cut off, but.’
It was to her advantage, as her husband was always trying to please her.
But isn’t the current situation similar? Her husband would never give any support to that illegitimate child.
However, her daughter began to cry bitterly.
“There, there, Atria. Don’t cry.”
“But Mother, you know how I yearn for the Duke!”
“I know. But do you really want to marry into that family in the state that it’s in right now?”
“…….”
Atria bit her lip at the reality they both knew. What good was being praised as a hero now?
As long as the household was out of favor with the Emperor, the members of that family would continue to suffer.
It wasn’t just about subduing monsters.
It was obvious House Arcturus would also be dragged into eliminating the remnants of the rebels.
Madam Antares smiled and soothed her daughter.
“Don’t worry so much, Atria.”
“Mother…”
“I’ll take responsibility and find you a suitable match.”
“…….”
“But if the situation of Arcturus ever improves enough to welcome you…”
Atria’s head perked up, looking a bit gloomy. It was the tone her mother used when secretly giving her treats.
Sure enough, the lady was smiling very kindly.
“I’ll get rid of that girl and make sure the position of the Duchess becomes yours.”
