Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 61
Come to my room tonight
After returning to Arcturus, Freesia was busy planning for the future.
‘There’s a chance that Izar might stay by my side during the hunt.’
But what about the myriad of other variables?
Even if he’s by her side, what if someone else saves the Imperial Grandson?
Someone seated even closer to the Imperial Grandson’s position?
‘Then all my efforts would be in vain.’
So, she had to build a solid foundation from the very beginning.
“…Alright.”
Freesia smiled as she jotted down a name she had barely managed to recall.
It was the name of a renowned craftsman in the capital.
She handed a commission letter to Thea.
“Thea, you know the bracelet I told you to take out of my dowry? Exchange it for silver coins and send this commission to this person.”
“Yes, Madam!”
Thea had become markedly more respectful recently.
Both Freesia and Thea’s accommodations had been upgraded in no time, and so she no longer had to eat pig slop, all thanks to Freesia’s improved circumstances.
Having experienced this change in status, Thea became a bit more clingy and chatty with Freesia than before.
“But, Madam, why commission something from this person? He’s not even a jeweler.”
“It’s not jewelry I’m asking for. It’s… something for His Highness, the Imperial Grandson.”
Thea gasped.
“For His Highness? But why so soon?”
“We need to request it before heading to the capital so it’ll be ready in time.”
When Freesia was in her second year of marriage to her ‘husband’, the very craftsman she was commissioning had first introduced ‘reading glasses.’
Though far more rudimentary than later improvements, it was a revolutionary invention from the start.
‘Especially the clerics, who had to read a lot, were very fond of it.’
It made reading the tiniest of letters a breeze. And His Highness Riegel was known to be an avid reader.
After losing two grown sons, the Emperor detested the idea of the only remaining heir, the Imperial Grandson, participating in physical events.
As a result, contrary to the empire’s overall ethos, Riegel grew into a very gentle scholar. He was known to be seen more often in the royal library than at social events.
‘So, this will undoubtedly be useful for his reading, right?’
The craftsman claimed to have made ‘reading glasses’ even earlier but waited because he didn’t think they’d sell.
‘But since I’m commissioning the glasses, he’ll release them sooner.’
Thus, this would be the first of its kind gifted by a noble.
Then, His Highness would likely invite the Arcturus family to a position close to him during events, at least out of courtesy.
‘And after saving his life during the hunt…’
It would serve as insurance for Arcturus when he becomes the Emperor.
Freesia felt proud of her seemingly solid plan. However, as Thea was preparing the commission letter and the bracelet to be pawned, she hit a sore spot.
“But Madam, preparing something like this… Are you not going to tell His Grace the Duke?”
“Ah. Um.”
Freesia let out an embarrassed sound without realizing it. Since she used her own assets for the commission fee, she hadn’t thought it through.
But now that she did, she nearly made a significant oversight.
‘His Highness will tell Izar that he received a gift from the Duchess, right?’
Wouldn’t it be ridiculous if Izar had no idea what he was talking about?
And after telling her not to act like his wife, he might get really angry for overstepping the boundaries again.
‘…Better to be scolded sooner rather than later.’
Huu.
Freesia let out a resigned sigh and got up.
While she had a rationale prepared in her head for speaking with Izar, bracing her heart for the potential hurt was another story.
Thus, she hesitated until the last moment, glancing outside the window.
‘It’s getting a bit late.’
The sun was setting, and if things continued like this, Izar might leave his office for his bedroom.
‘Well, since I’ve decided.’
It was better to ask before she lost her nerve.
With that resolve, Freesia set out to find Izar, pushing through her hesitance before it could solidify.
* * *
Izar had come to acknowledge one human truth:
Failing to satisfy one’s need for sleep could thoroughly corrupt one’s insides.
“Haah…”
During the day, he managed to maintain a semblance of normalcy. Others hadn’t started giving him strange looks yet.
So, he plowed through the backlog of work, attended meetings with his vassals, and occasionally checked on the situation with any discovered monster nests.
‘Overworking might just wear me down to collapse.’
Yet, he still found himself waking up in the middle of the night, restless after gazing at the empty side of his bed.
