Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 202
The information she provided to gain Canopus’s trust came from fragmented memories of things she had heard about the future.
‘Places where large-scale uprisings occurred, perhaps.’
Originally, these were incidents that happened after the death of the imperial crown prince. The fact that an uprising occurred at all meant that seeds of discontent had already been sown long before.
‘If the sparks were ignited a little earlier…’
But then, the sound of something rattling behind her interrupted her thoughts. It was as if someone who had been eavesdropping was hurriedly trying to leave.
“Hmm.”
Freesia faintly lifted the corners of her lips.
Someone must have overheard her talking to Canopus…
***
While Freesia was busy hosting the tea party, an imperial messenger arrived at Izar’s location.
Unfortunately, the messenger was left to face the full brunt of the Duke’s displeasure, his face growing increasingly ashen with each passing moment.
Izar read the letter and muttered a curse under his breath.
“Damn it…”
The sender was the imperial prince.
Although they had been in regular contact, there had been no meaningful progress regarding Freesia’s lifespan. The only significant outcome was the hypothesis they had discussed previously, which still seemed to hold some merit.
If one were to list the ‘tools’ granted to Izar and the duke’s household for fulfilling the divine mandate.
‘It would be the power to destroy monsters. Could this be exchanged for something else?’
For example, Freesia’s lifespan.
But this was purely speculative, and even if true, the adamant that could exchange her fate for that power had yet to appear.
‘Freesia’s remaining lifespan now… perhaps three months and a little more.’
Before leaving the capital, Izar had tried to steel himself, thinking, ‘There’s still time.’ But the treacherous heart of a man changes quickly.
Every passing moment felt unbearably precious, as if time itself were golden flecks washing away in a stream. It drove him mad.
He barely slept, just as he had barely slept when he had searched for Freesia in the past, simply watching her as she lay sleeping.
And now, the thought of not even being able to see her sleeping face a few months from now…
His nerves were stretched so thin they felt as fragile and translucent as silk.
Izar glared at the messenger and scolded him.
“And now, you’re telling me there are agitators in the provinces?”
“Yes, Duke Arcturus.”
“How absurd.”
Aside from the issue of Freesia’s lifespan, the letter also detailed escalating conflicts.
Normally, nearby estates would have been more than capable of suppressing such incidents. However, the successive and sporadic nature of the disturbances suggested that a large-scale crackdown might become necessary.
‘It seems the Emperor still retains a shred of conscience.’
Given that his pregnant granddaughter was involved, he had refrained from ordering his grandson-in-law to handle the suppression directly…
But such consideration would not last long for practical reasons.
‘If it’s confirmed that Canopus is involved…’
The search teams in the south had ultimately failed to find any trace of Izar’s half-brother. However, he was certain the man was alive somewhere and would reappear with the monsters in tow.
In such a case, Izar would have no choice but to leave everything behind and lead the charge himself to defend his family’s honor.
However, with the tea party now concluded, there was another matter Izar needed to address first.
Freesia had previously mentioned that she intended to be lenient in punishing Electra. Izar wasn’t entirely sure of her reasoning, but he had no intention of letting Electra off the hook.
‘It’s time to end this.’
Freesia would likely be satisfied after venting her frustrations on Electra and Merope, the head maid. Now, it was time for Izar to personally confront Electra in her quarters and settle things once and for all.
“It’s been a while.”
“Izar!”
Electra shot up from her seat, her eyes wide with panic.
“Izar, I have been gravely humiliated! Your wife released a vile criminal from the prison and—!”
“And now I know that the one who instigated those vile deeds was you.”
With that, Izar pulled out a letter bearing Electra’s handwriting.
〈In any case, there’s no solid evidence, just Lord Károli’s word, right?〉
Just as Freesia had predicted, there was no evidence left in Arcturus Castle. However, over at Antares Manor, there were still letters that had not been destroyed.
For example, letters from Electra complaining, [Did you truly intend to educate this wench?] Or in her final correspondence with Lady Antares, where she had written, [Thank you for that medicine, which allowed me to erase that filthy blemish.]
Faced with undeniable evidence of her crimes, Electra’s breathing grew ragged.
“Hah… Hah…”
That insufferable woman from Antares. She didn’t even bother burning these…
‘It’s over.’
Publicly humiliated among the noblewomen and now about to be executed by her stepson—this was her end.
But she wasn’t about to go down quietly.
“Izar. This time, just once, believe what I have to say.”
Even if it was a fleeting opportunity, she had to try to shake Izar’s trust.
“That wench is definitely colluding with someone else!”
