Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 147
Eternal resentment
At night, she was in his arms, and during the day, she was busy preparing for their visit to the imperial palace. The days, as if enchanted by a rainbow, passed, and finally, the day Freesia had been aiming for arrived.
‘Betelgeuse Palace… it’s been a long time.’
The place was so majestic that it made her instinctively bow her head, but Freesia had always been reluctant to visit the palace. The overwhelming majesty of the palace and the gaze of its inhabitants constantly reminded her of her inadequacy.
However, this time, something was different. A young woman of her age voluntarily came to her side.
As soon as she saw Freesia, Viela Alpheratz eagerly approached her, and before the formal banquet began, they enjoyed a walk together in the palace garden.
Thanks to this, the nightmare of the Antares mansion lingered only as a faint shadow in the back of her mind.
But Viela, observing Freesia closely, asked,
“Madam, isn’t it alright for you not to go and see your husband? I heard the Duke is in the palace.”
“He said the discussions with His Majesty and His Highness would take a long time, so I should wait comfortably.”
“Aha!”
Freesia also had no desire to fret over the whims of the old man, so she gladly accepted Izar’s suggestion to stay with Viela.
‘I don’t want to face the Antares family just yet.’
She wanted to get back at them, but losing her composure in anger would only ruin things. And she had more to discuss with Viela.
“You said you could better understand your abilities through my blood.”
“Yes! Should we do it now? We can quickly get a glass vial for the blood.”
“But you said we need to go to the academy to confirm it properly, didn’t you?”
“The equipment is at the academy, but if we collect the blood now and send it, we can save time. It takes longer than expected…!”
Freesia nodded and asked seriously,
“Then do we need a dagger?”
“Oh, no! Just a needle to get about five drops of blood… or maybe ten drops? No, twenty?”
“…”
“Sorry. I tend to make mistakes.”
In the end, Freesia squeezed out as much blood as possible from both of her thumbs.
* * *
Izar’s arrival at the imperial palace was not just for show.
‘The unresolved matter that has plagued us all the way to the capital.’
He had to discuss the strange phenomenon of monsters with the emperor. Though neither of them liked each other, the emperor knew he couldn’t avoid the topic.
“Oh, Duke Arcturus… you’ve worked hard.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“With the increased appearance of monsters recently, your family’s debt is growing. That’s why I’ve summoned the High Priest as well.”
Izar glanced indifferently at the High Priest standing to the side.
With his white hair and beard, he appeared dignified, but in truth, this old man was no different from the head of a loan shark company.
“So, does the temple have an answer?”
Despite being in the capital, Izar and his knights had been tirelessly dealing with the monsters. The Arcturus family had kept the temple informed of the situation, so it was time for them to provide an interpretation.
The High Priest’s eyes flashed, and his lips stiffened.
‘This young man… his gaze is as fierce as a monster’s.’
But he hid his unease well and responded with dignified authority.
“God’s punishment will no longer be limited to those who plunder in winter. Everyone must constantly repent and reflect on their sins.”
In other words, they had no idea.
Izar glanced at Riegel, who nodded with a gentle expression. According to their prior discussion, it was Izar’s turn to make a proposal.
“Your Majesty, traditionally, the Arcturus family participates in the hunting festival. However, this time, may I request that some of us, including myself, join the imperial knights?”
“What…?”
Before the emperor could respond, the prince nodded favorably at Izar’s suggestion.
“Thank you for your offer, Duke. What do you think, grandfather?”
“Hmm. Are you implying that monsters will appear right in the middle of the palace?”
“This year, we can’t be certain. The Arcturus knights are the most reliable should anything unexpected occur.”
“Tsk.”
Though dissatisfied, the emperor couldn’t openly criticize his grandson, the future emperor, in front of others. Instead, he turned his ire towards a more convenient target.
“By the way, Duke Arcturus, are you on good terms with your wife?”
“…”
Damn old man.
A faint wrinkle appeared on Izar’s brow. He clearly wanted to evoke the humiliation of being saddled with a ‘bastard bride’ on his wedding night.
‘The emperor wants to see me seethe with barely contained anger.’
If he showed any signs of that, the emperor would use it as an excuse to pressure him in unexpected ways.
But the truth was… he no longer had any anger to suppress.
He thought of Freesia, who was probably with the lady from the Alpheratz family.
His wife. It title that made him wince somewhat, but it didn’t feel bad.
Izar smiled as calmly as possible and replied.
“We still have much to learn about each other, but I am grateful for Your Majesty’s thoughtful arrangement.”
“…”
The emperor’s mouth, hidden behind his white mustache, twitched.
‘That arrogant brat…’
He had hoped to see him squirm in shame. His unruffled calm was infuriating. He hadn’t seen that girl up close since the wedding and had no desire to, but it was obvious she must have bewitched him.
Unable to stand the pointless hostility, Riegel finally intervened.
“Let’s go down now, grandfather. And you too, Duke.”
“…Go on ahead, Prince.”
“Grandfather.”
“This old man will rest for a while, so you go and take care of what you need to.”
After the emperor left, clearly displeased, Riegel rubbed his eyebrows. His grandfather always got irritable when he sided with someone he disliked.
