Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 189
Unwelcome news
News of the imperial family finding a legitimate heir for the first time in two decades spread through the capital like wildfire.
What shocked everyone even more was the announcement that the ‘illegitimate Duchess’ was the child of the late Second Prince, who had been killed by rebels. Many found it hard to believe.
“The Second Prince had a lover that he was so deeply involved with? Can you even believe that now?”
“What could the Emperor and the Crown Prince possibly have believed to come to such a conclusion?”
“They say the Alpheratz family developed a new magical technique. It’s supposed to be that accurate…”
The debauched Second Prince had been exceptionally discreet about his lover’s identity, nearly creating an obstacle to the revelation.
But with the development of a new magic that could accurately determine familial bonds, nobles with skeletons in their closets were forced into silence.
‘Especially after what happened to the Antares family…’
The once-proud family, which had boasted its influence in the capital, had fallen precipitously.
The Duke, after enduring unspeakable torture, was executed in the most gruesome manner. A swift beheading with an executioner’s axe would have been merciful by comparison.
Instead, his death—being torn limb from limb—was so horrifying that even those who treated executions as public entertainment were shaken.
As for the Duchess of Antares, her fate was no better.
Her skin blackened, and her mouth crusted with dried blood as her body was carted out of the palace. Though she was still alive when removed, she died shortly afterward, leaving people to speculate about what poison she had consumed.
The most chilling end, however, was that of their daughter, Atria.
No one knew what had become of her after her sudden disappearance. It was this uncertainty that made her fate the most haunting of all.
Yet these grim tales were soon overshadowed by the celebratory atmosphere surrounding the imperial descendant’s formal investiture.
After all, there was no point in sympathizing with a family that had deceived the Emperor by passing off the imperial descendant as their illegitimate child.
Moreover, the miraculous heir turned out to be a highly gifted individual—a rarity in the imperial family.
Her ability to transform monsters into white flower petals and save people had captured the public’s imagination.
When news of this ability spread, people marveled at how perfectly it complemented the hero of the hunting festival.
‘Truly a match ordained by Adamant!’
‘A pair brought together to save the Empire!’
Seeing the luminous heir, glowing like a white moon, holding hands with the Duke clad in black formalwear during the investiture, everyone shared the same thought.
The whispers that the Duke’s marriage had been a poor match disappeared, replaced by praise for the Emperor’s keen foresight in uniting the two.
Of course, the atmosphere at the first family dinner with the imperial family and the Duke was anything but celebratory—it was as tense as a battlefield.
The Emperor glared at Izar, his new grandson-in-law, as though trying to kill him with his gaze. Meanwhile, Izar sat stoically, his eyes fixed on Riegel across the table.
Though such a meeting was inevitable, the Prince—who had arranged it—could barely suppress his irritation.
The Prince sipped his drink indifferently while Freesia, seated beside Izar, seemed detached from everything.
She didn’t engage with anyone, nor did she touch her food. Plate after plate was replaced, yet she barely took a bite.
What’s wrong?
Izar’s brow furrowed as he glanced at her indifferent profile.
Since the Emperor had forcibly taken her to the palace, Izar hadn’t had a proper opportunity to see how she was doing.
Though he assumed she was being well cared for in the palace, her lack of appetite struck him as strange.
Is something wrong?
But his thoughts were interrupted by the Emperor’s sharp, disdainful remark.
“So, Duke, you plan to take her back to the Duchy as soon as the investiture is over?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I can’t understand why you’re so eager to leave with winter at our doorstep.”
“I decided it’s inappropriate to leave the estate unattended for too long.”
“Seeing how you’re dragging the granddaughter I finally found after twenty years back to your estate, I can only assume you’ll treat her with exceptional care.”
“……”
Izar closed his eyes briefly, suppressing his frustration.
Traditionally, lords would return to their estates after the hunting festival and remain there until the following summer.
The ground would freeze soon, so the journey needed to happen before then. Yet the Emperor, with no regard for such matters, was being willfully petty.
“Grandfather, that’s enough,” Freesia sighed, her tone light but firm.
The Emperor’s piercing glare softened immediately.
Watching this, Izar felt the urge to scoff.
I knew it.
The Emperor was desperate to dote on his granddaughter in his own way.
Not only had he reopened the ‘Hall of Pearls’, but he was also planning to build her a new palace and showered her daily with jewels and dresses.
It was as though he believed these acts could erase his sins.
Clasping Freesia’s hand, the Emperor coaxed her like a doting grandfather.
“My dear, why don’t you stay here until the New Year? There’s so much to enjoy in the palace—why would you go to that harsh land now?”
“Even if it’s harsh, as the lady of the estate, I should spend winter there. If I’m gone for too long, people will gossip, Grandfather.”
“Gossip? Who dares?!”
The Emperor’s face flushed with anger at the thought.
The guilt from his past wrongs made him hypersensitive to the idea of anyone speaking ill of his granddaughter.
