Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 115
While they had provided an extravagant dowry for the bastard girl, it was first to avoid offending Izar, and second to ease their own guilty conscience.
However, they had deliberately excluded any land from the dowry.
‘I saved that for Atria’s marriage…’
A woman’s dowry is not something that the husband’s family can meddle with.
A woman might use it for her husband, but forcibly taking it is taboo.
So if they handed over Griffias now, it would entirely belong to the bastard.
The best land owned by the Antares family!
‘No… this isn’t right!’
Especially when he had also said they would cut off support for monster defenses!
Duke Antares stroked his mustache, trying to maintain his dignity.
“Lord Arcturus, that request is too excessive. Even if others thought it was a serious matter—”
“Come to think of it, Duke Antares, it’s strange. No matter how much of a bastard she is, you show an excessive lack of interest in your own daughter…”
Izar’s golden eyes gleamed like a predator’s, searching for prey.
“Freesia’s mother had already gone mad when she came to my duchy. Moreover, her tongue was already cut, making verbal communication difficult.”
“No, Lord Arcturus.”
“Could it be that you presented a random girl as your bastard daughter and deceived me…?”
Duke Antares’s face turned marble white.
‘This is a disaster.’
Even the Emperor, who wanted to humiliate Izar, didn’t want to hand him a girl whose lineage couldn’t be confirmed.
Nobles should at least marry other nobles. That was an obvious rule.
‘Even if he wanted to humiliate him, there had to be limits. If Izar Arcturus got too angry, he would retaliate within those limits!’
He had gone to great lengths to find and present a bastard, enduring the ridicule of other families, and how much favor had he gained from the Emperor for it!
‘But if the secret is exposed…!’
If it was revealed that his wife and daughter had tormented a girl who wasn’t even his own daughter, it would place him in a very difficult position.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the man before him went on a rampage and tried to cut off his head. In that case, even the Emperor would have no reason to protect him.
Duke Antares forced a smile despite his trembling lips.
“Haha, she does resemble her mother a lot, but of course, she is my daughter. Ha ha!”
“……”
“Surely, I wouldn’t be reluctant to give up land for my own daughter. Don’t worry.”
Seeing the Duke wave his hand, Izar only looked at him with cold eyes.
It was just a threat to see his reaction, but the Duke’s face had become very serious.
‘…So there’s a possibility she’s not his daughter.’
Even if she took after her mother, as her biological father, some resemblance should exist between Freesia and the Duke’s shiny blonde hair.
‘At first, I thought it was because she looked too worn out.’
But even after she became more refined, there wasn’t a single similar feature.
Not even a hint.
‘Come to think of it, there are many odd things…’
He had been suspicious when Freesia’s behavior was not as inexperienced as expected after becoming a duchess.
He had just gotten used to it and forgotten, but she was always somewhat different.
If Freesia was someone else’s daughter, and if that biological father was already dead…
“……”
Izar’s golden eyes darkened with greed.
A bastard is hard to hide if at least one parent is alive. It’s easier if both are confirmed dead.
‘For example, I could register Freesia under an appropriate vassal family.’
All he needed was proof that Freesia wasn’t the Duke’s daughter.
“Huu.”
His heart started to beat lightly.
Was this not the clue that could help him overcome his persistent aversion to the “bastard” label?
If he could just shed that stigma, he could keep Freesia by his side with a clear conscience.
He didn’t care if the family was inferior to Arcturus. As long as he could remove that damn stain from her.
Duke Antares, meanwhile, was constantly looking at him with an almost tearful expression.
But Izar firmly ignored him.
There were other things that tears could persuade.
* * *
In the end, Izar practically extorted the land title from Duke Antares.
He would need to continue receiving detailed information about Griffias, but the important thing was that he now had something to give to Freesia.
After calling Freesia to the study in the manor, he suddenly realized his crossed arms were rigidly tense.
Had he ever been this anxious in his life?
“Your Grace, you called for me?”
“Yes.”
He glanced at Freesia, who had finally appeared, and frowned.
She still looked noticeably ill.
And she no longer looked at him directly—her light green eyes remained dark and dull.
This made him even more anxious.
‘Those eyes.’
No matter what, he had to restore them.
Izar roughly thrust the scroll that was on the desk toward Freesia.
“Take this.”
“What is this…?”
“Read it yourself to find out.”
“……?”
Freesia blinked at the wax-sealed scroll suddenly thrust into her hands.
Seeing the Antares family crest embossed on it, she hesitated, but then she saw the content inside and felt dizzy.
‘Griffias Plains?’
Wasn’t that land part of the Antares estate? She had never been there, but she knew it was quite important land for the family.
‘Why is this suddenly in my hands?’
Given her diminishing lifespan, having tangible property would be nice… but something this substantial wasn’t necessary.
‘It would be more troublesome if I were suddenly ordered to manage it.’
The dowry she currently had was just the right size. It was easy to give away as bribes or quickly convert to silver coins.
She was puzzled as to how Izar had managed to take this from Antares and why he was giving it to her.
Izar, who had been watching her expression closely, quickly explained.
“This is compensation for what they did.”
“Oh.”
Freesia nodded at last.
Compensation for being treated like an animal was the Griffias Plains. She must be a much bigger livestock than she thought…
Didn’t they have the reasonable idea of just not committing such acts and not giving away plains in compensation?
Still, since it was given, she carefully rolled up the scroll again.
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
“…….”
Izar frowned slightly at Freesia’s polite but calm expression.
He didn’t expect her to be overly enthusiastic or delighted, as she was naturally a reserved woman.
But he thought she would at least be pleased to have taken such significant property from the Antares family.
In noble families, land is more important than jewels…
‘At the very least, she might feel some satisfaction at having something over them.’
…No, he had hoped she would at least look at him and show some sign of happiness.
He wanted to see that spark of life in her eyes, even if just for a moment.
The look in her eyes when she said she loved him.
