Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 195
Saint-like duchess
The matter of Charles’s punishment had, in fact, already been decided before Freesia and Izar even departed for the duchy.
“You’re saying you want to pardon the man who tried to kill you?”
“Yes, that’s correct. He’ll make a fine bodyguard.”
Charles had been punished for putting a miscarriage-inducing poison in Freesia’s drink. As one of Izar’s long-time retainers, he had already endured the humiliation of losing one of his hands.
He was also set to be executed publicly in the duchy, before everyone’s eyes.
Yet Freesia, in an unexpected move, requested mercy for the man. Even for Izar, who had resolved to grant her every wish, it was a baffling request.
“Isn’t it enough that I didn’t petition the Emperor to spare him? Being executed in the duchy is far more honorable than being torn apart in the capital.”
Even so, those who issued the orders to Charles were to be dealt with as soon as they arrived in the duchy. Charles had already confessed who had commanded him.
Freesia smiled, dropping her formal tone.
“I appreciate that you respected my request and didn’t inform my grandfather, Izar.”
Though her manner of speaking had become more relaxed over time, she occasionally reverted to the formal, imperious tone she used when invoking the emperor’s authority.
“But for now, let’s just do as I wish. Leave Elder Madam Electra alone as well. There’s no concrete evidence anyway, only Charles’s word.”
“I don’t understand why Your Highness values life so little,” Izar retorted, matching her formal tone.
He wanted to make her happy, but she seemed intent on making it unreasonably difficult.
“Even if you ask for it, those deserving punishment will receive it.”
“Then, Izar, do you want me to return to the duchy only to become a wife who brings bloodshed to her husband’s household as soon as she arrives?”
“Do you still think there are people bold enough to insult you openly?”
Izar’s tone was laced with sarcasm, and though his expression seemed tinged with bitterness, Freesia merely rubbed her abdomen, hidden beneath her shawl, and smiled.
“Think of our child, Izar.”
Though her stomach wasn’t yet visibly round, the simple motion was enough to crack his composed expression, which made her chuckle.
“The physician warned us it’s still a fragile period, didn’t he? What if the shock of an execution affects me unnecessarily?”
“……”
“So, I want peace for a while. Please, grant me this request.”
Izar wasn’t the only one dissatisfied with Freesia’s decision.
Thea looked at her with a face that seemed to say, “What if something terrible happens?” Meanwhile, even Van, typically straightforward, hesitated before pleading with her.
“Your merciful decision is admirable, Madam, but having the knight who tried to harm you by your side is far too dangerous. Please reconsider, as the Duke suggested.”
“Is that so?”
Freesia merely smiled, disregarding the loyal knight’s advice.
‘Because it can’t be helped.’
When working toward a larger plan, it was sometimes necessary to push forward, even in the face of disapproval from those close to her.
But the person most shocked by the situation was none other than Charles himself.
As he knelt before Freesia on one knee, head bowed, she simply smiled at him.
Where had the man gone who once scoffed at her, telling her to ‘become a wife who supports Izar’?
“Thank you… Truly, thank you for your mercy, Your Highness.”
“Think nothing of it. Consider it an opportunity to redeem yourself, Sir Charles.”
To the still-doubtful traitor, she added a sweet assurance.
“…I intend to give a second chance to the one who stood behind you as well, so don’t worry about what’s to come.”
At last, the suspicion and fear in Charles’s eyes began to fade. Knowing his patroness, Electra, wouldn’t be executed because of him lightened his heart.
Little did he know that Freesia could see right through him, and her hatred for the duchy only grew stronger.
‘How did Atria find her way into my chambers that night, right before my death?’
At the time, Izar had been absent, but it was obvious how Atria had gained entry.
‘Someone in the castle must have allowed her free access.’
In this life and her previous one, everyone in the duchy’s castle deserved punishment. This time, however, she planned to be more meticulous than she had been with Duchess Antares and Atria.
The revenge she had dealt to them had felt incomplete in hindsight.
‘I was blinded by the thought of my briar baby.’
Now that all variables had been considered, she would proceed with much greater precision.
‘First, I need to lull everyone into a false sense of security.’
She needed to play the part of a benevolent and compliant shepherdess, just as she had once been.
Thanks to her leniency toward Charles, those who had feared a large-scale purge were surprised and relieved.
On top of that, the goods sent from the imperial family were extravagantly luxurious, putting even the Antares family’s dowry to shame. The emperor’s devotion to his long-lost granddaughter was evident to all.
Even noble households with young daughters rejoiced at the fact that Freesia had brought only a modest retinue of imperial attendants.
‘This is the perfect chance.’
‘She’s pregnant, so we can secure goodwill for the baby as well.’
‘The child will inherit the duchy’s abilities and the powers of an imperial descendant!’
Thus, Freesia’s reputation shifted overnight—from ‘the duchy’s disgraceful duchess’ to ‘the bride sent by the divine.’
