Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 164
The truth of her final, bitter thoughts as she cursed him in the last moments of her life pierced her to the bone.
“Ah…”
How could she have forgotten? The days she had tried to end her life because facing her ‘husband’ was unbearably painful.
The realization that, from the very beginning, she had never truly been his wife, that being in his arms held no meaning, and that she had nearly condemned her child to the same fate had he survived infancy.
She had deliberately buried those horrible emotions, clinging only to memories of love, hoping to die with her heart full of them.
Perhaps her yearning had been so intense that she was reborn, with no memory of her hatred…
It felt like her throat was clogged with a sticky mire, making it hard to breathe. Then, as a significant realization flashed through her mind, her shoulders shuddered.
‘My lifespan…!’
While they’d replaced her clothes and jewelry, they’d left this simple button necklace intact.
However, when Freesia frantically flipped it over, she quickly covered her mouth with one hand to stifle her scream.
180.
It had nearly been three weeks since the last memory of it being 199.
“H-How could this…?”
“Oh…! Master instructed us to leave that on you! He thought it seemed important for some reason.”
Beside Freesia, Kara looked at her with wide, curious eyes and a cheerful smile, unaffected by Freesia’s shock. Then, as if it were a small matter, Kara pulled out a small enamel box from beside her.
“But I kept these beautiful earrings safe for you too. Look!”
“Earrings…”
The peridot earrings gleamed without a single scratch.
It had been a gift from Izar after their wedding night.
Back then, she had been so happy she’d cried, but now they felt more like the payment a man gives to a concubine, and the sight of them made her feel dizzy.
How had he seen her back then?
Meanwhile, Kara was bustling around, fetching a washbasin and clothes.
“Now that you’re awake, you’ll need to greet Master! Let me help you wash, Miss.”
“Master…? Cough, who… exactly…?”
“Oh my, you say you don’t know even though he carried you here!”
Kara laughed with innocent cheerfulness as she helped the weakened Freesia up effortlessly.
“Of course, it’s Master Canopus!”
“…The priest.”
Freesia muttered the last words quietly, but Kara didn’t seem to hear her. Not that Freesia had expected a response.
〈Even the dragon fears you and won’t descend. Truly remarkable.〉
The man had spoken as if he’d known monsters would appear. And he’d mentioned a dragon, which hadn’t appeared in her past life.
Did that mean he, a mere human, had somehow been involved in the appearance of those monsters?
‘But isn’t he a priest, someone meant to save people?’
A person like him had created a massacre, leaving bodies and blood scattered everywhere.
‘He could even be the one who killed the Imperial Grandson in my previous life.’
That incident had marked the decline of the imperial family and led the Emperor to apply even more pressure on her ‘husband’ and the Arcturus family.
Remembering the horrifically brutal way the Emperor’s grandson had died sent a chill down her spine.
‘…I need to assess the situation.’
Even if she panicked now, her weakened body was incapable of doing anything. She needed to stay sharp and cautious toward the person who had rendered her unconscious in the end.
Half carried by Kara, Freesia walked unsteadily, but to her relief, her legs had a bit more strength than she’d expected.
Though it felt like she was taking wobbly, toddler-like steps.
Kara, noticing her uneasy gaze, added shyly,
“Having trouble walking, aren’t you? I used to help with your strolls sometimes, but I guess it wasn’t enough.”
“Cough, strolls…? But why don’t I… remember…?”
“Oh, sorry about that! Master said you shouldn’t regain consciousness, so… we used herbs to keep you under.”
If she had a bit more strength, she might have let out a disbelieving laugh. They’d kept her in a stupor, only to return her consciousness now.
Even if she’d been stronger, it would have been hard to laugh with the stern gazes of the men around her.
‘Mercenaries, likely. Judging by the way they held themselves, they don’t seem like knights serving a lord.’
Where was this place, and what did they want with her?
Until she understood the situation even slightly, she would set aside her overwhelming despair.
‘It’s not urgent right now….’
Finally, as Kara led her to the end of a hallway and knocked cheerfully on a metal door, Freesia’s heart began to race.
“Master! Miss has woken up!”
– Bring her in.
“Yes!”
She’d hoped for a moment that it might be someone else, but the voice was unmistakable.
…Gasp.
When the door opened, Freesia’s breath got caught in her throat as she saw the man slowly turn toward her, betrayal momentarily forgotten.
Gone was the elegant aura that once radiated like incense. His right eye bore a long scar, viciously slashed, as if it had been carved into his face.
Even though he covered it with a black eyepatch, the scar extended down to his jaw and couldn’t be concealed. With the right side of his face completely hidden, any warmth he once exuded had vanished like smoke.
What remained was a man suppressing a violent nature with a twisted smile.
Canopus looked at her, his face brightening with a gentle smile as he addressed her pale expression.
“You’re awake, sister-in-law? I finally get to greet you properly now that I’ve brought you to a safe place.”
“…W-Why? Why did you…?”
“Because I’m the half-brother your husband wanted to keep hidden… of course.”
Canopus raised his left hand as he stepped toward her. Though his right hand had been ruined by his wretched brother, the thrill of this moment made him forget the pain he’d suffered back then.
He had waited for this moment.
The moment when, with the sacred oath in his left hand, Izar’s woman would come to despise him as if she wanted him dead.
