Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 37
She hadn’t even properly demonstrated her worth yet.
Why then, did he want to see her?
Unlike Thea, who was thrilled thinking this was evidence of favor towards her, Freesia only felt cold sweat as she prepared.
‘Because I caused trouble… because I stood up to the Elder Madam?’
Her heart pounded with fear all the way to Izar’s office, a place she had hardly been to more than a handful of times in three years.
Inside, Izar was dressed quite casually. The slightly open shirt revealed the distinct line of muscles from his deep collarbone down.
“You’re finally awake.”
Before she could even blush at his appearance, the chill in his voice froze Freesia’s muscles.
She feared her voice would tremble as she spoke from her stiffened throat.
“…Thank you for checking in on me, Your Grace. I apologize for the trouble I’ve caused.”
“No need for formalities.”
Izar dismissed her with a bored flick of his hand, his expression clearly uninterested, causing her heart to sink even further.
“I thought you were smart when you snuck out of Antares. What prompted such an utterly foolish act?”
“……”
“Unless you have a peculiar hobby of being beaten.”
Freesia couldn’t offer any rebuttal, merely letting her head hang low, resonating with his chastisement.
Yet, the following words forced her to lift her head in surprise.
“Get ready to leave once you’re well enough.”
“Get ready… to leave?”
The fear made her heart race. Izar’s words seemed to imply, ‘Pack your bags and leave this house at once.’
Struggling for breath under the shock, she thought how different this was from her previous life, where she lasted three years; now, she was being expelled in less than a month.
She had decided to keep her head high and preserve her pride only once in this life, yet it came back like this.
If she had known this would happen, she might have preferred being beaten after having pleaded with the Elder Madam to guide her through the tea party.
‘What should I do?’
Despite her efforts to remain calm, panic made it hard to breathe, especially after realizing her lifespan had dropped to the 200s, the fear from that revelation suffocating her once again.
However, Izar then casually continued.
“Just pack enough for about a fortnight.”
“…Pardon?”
“There’s no need to pack as if you’re attending a gala, so there’s no reason for such shock.”
“Oh… Yes.”
Izar’s explanation, though blunt, gradually brought relief. It was clear she wasn’t being expelled to Antares.
‘Are we heading to the capital? But it’s not the season for that, is it?’
Freesia gathered her courage to ask quietly.
“Then, where is the destination for those two weeks?”
“To the Deneb domain.”
“……?”
Izar’s answers, though helpful, only added to Freesia’s confusion.
‘Deneb lies across a mountain, in a neighboring domain.’
Specifically, it was the land of the Deneb Marquisate, an ally to the Arcturus Dukedom. Despite their proximity, the two lands had distinctly different cultures and seldom interacted.
‘I’ve heard magic runs in the family.’
The second son, especially. He’s renowned for his deep sense of magic.
She only heard that he primarily resided at the imperial court, so he was practically a stranger to Freesia.
‘Wasn’t he also rumored to be handsome and quite popular among women?’
Yet, the reason for going to that domain couldn’t possibly just be to see him.
But why then were they going to the neighboring domain?
Izar, however, dismissed her without addressing the most crucial question.
“Then, you’re dismissed.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Fearing that asking more would sour the mood, Freesia, despite being full of questions, eventually withdrew.
‘But still… something has definitely changed.’
The man who was supposed to return much later was now here in the castle, and her quarters had been changed to the one that she was only supposed to be given after a year’s time.
Furthermore, even though she had woken up, the Elder Madam hadn’t come to see her.
She must use this momentum to prepare for what’s ahead.
‘During this summer’s hunting festival, the Imperial Prince Riegel will die from a monster’s bite.’
Monsters, unlike ordinary beasts, do not easily die even if struck in the head or heart.
Such monsters could only be attacked with weapons blessed by a priest, and even if one possesses such a weapon, the likelihood of a human dying from a bite would nonetheless be higher.
However, House Arcturus had been granted the ability to kill monsters without such weapons.
Not only the person himself but also the knights led by him share this blessing. This was also why, despite the disgrace of being involved with the rebels, House Arcturus continued to be revered as a noble house.
‘But at that time, because Izar happened to enter the hunting forest…’
By the time he noticed the anomaly and hurried back to where the imperial family was, it was already too late.
“So, if Izar saves the Imperial Grandson this time…”
Perhaps she could be praised as a useful wife. Of course, to achieve that, she must build trust in the future.
With Sir Van Dike, whom she had previously chosen, and also with Izar.
‘Let’s get a grip.’
To build trust, absolutely a lot of time was needed.
So, she wouldn’t make such foolish mistakes again just to protect her pride for once.
‘Get a grip.’
Only 299 days of her life remained.
There were about 100 days left until the summer hunting festival.
