Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 75
After quelling the monster attack, Izar wiped the monster’s blood from his cheek and looked around.
They had captured all those who had attacked them abruptly. Those still breathing after being cut down by swords were being dragged away by the knights to be thrown into a huge bonfire.
Along with the pungent smell that stung the nose, he frowned at the ominous sign.
‘This is an anomaly.’
Monsters were being active in a season when people could travel safely.
The incident in Deneb could be passed off as ‘because it’s early summer.’
‘Once could be a coincidence, twice could be terribly unlucky coincidence.’
But the third time was inevitable.
Whether it was a natural problem or the wrath of the gods, it was frustrating not to know.
However, as a Duke, Izar had other things he needed to pay attention to first.
“Charles, how is the party? How many are injured?”
“Just some bruises on this side.”
“Then the sh…”
He was about to ask if the shepherdess was alright, but Izar quickly shut his mouth.
‘It’s fine to call her that in my head.’
But it was not appropriate to refer to them as ‘shepherdess’ in front of the knights and attendants watching.
Shepherdess, the Duchess, his wife.
Wife…
Floundering in awkward words, he finally brought out a word he thought he would never utter.
“…And Freesia?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m asking if Freesia is unharmed. She must have been well protected from the monsters, right?”
It was a name he saw in the marriage vows, but he never thought he would utter it out loud.
Words kept inside differ greatly when spoken out loud.
Even now, uttering ‘Freesia,’ a name no more significant than that of a mere flower, made Izar’s mouth unbearably ticklish.
As if that name were a real flower, taking root on his tongue and throat.
Charles raised his eyebrows briefly at Izar’s command but quickly relayed the situation he had received.
“The monsters did go towards where the Madam was, but—”
“What?”
“Do not worry, Sir Dike and Sir Mason have subdued them all!”
Charles added, but Izar was already heading towards where the back of the group would be.
He himself did not know what his facial expression was like. It was dark, so who would notice his expression anyway.
‘I thought we had captured all the monsters.’
There shouldn’t have been any accidents since she was well guarded. It was different from when he had left the shepherdess alone in the castle. Sir Dike is quite reliable.
Different from when he found her covered in blood from the brambles…
And when those gathered in a semicircle around the bonfire came into view, a sharp voice escaped him.
“Is everyone alright!”
At the Duke’s call, the knights stationed here quickly gathered.
He was listening to their reports, but Izar’s eyes unconsciously scanned the figures standing by the bonfire.
Fortunately, the shepherdess stood there intact. Not bloodied, wrapped in a shawl in a foolish manner.
At first, he was relieved at that sight… but Izar’s brow furrowed more and more.
‘What is that appearance?’
Dirty on the right cheek and the same side of the shirt, as if she had rolled and fallen somewhere.
Her posture, leaning on the maid who was always with her, was also very suspicious.
‘And… why is she the dirtiest?’
The Duchess, of all people, appeared worse than the other subordinates.
Angered by the sight, Izar suppressed his rising anger and strode toward the woman.
“…? Duke?”
She acted like a rabbit that had rolled down a muddy hill, which he did not like.
He also did not like her being surprised as he approached.
The scratches on her cheek and the dirty marks, enough to twist his guts in disgust, he did not like.
The woman herself, his feelings every time he saw this woman, and everything surrounding this woman. All of it.
“Sir Dike!”
At his sharp command, Dike kneeled on one knee.
He could not hide his dismay when he saw Freesia’s condition.
“What in the world happened here? You were supposed to be with her.”
“I apologize, my lord. I have no excuse.”
“Then you wouldn’t mind being punished according to military law.”
As Freesia watched the standoff between the two men with a bated breath, she blurted out impulsively.
“Duke!”
Sir Dike was a person essential for what was to come.
Moreover, in this life, he was one of the few who treated her kindly, out of sympathy.
“Please, do not punish Sir Dike. We were safe because of him.”
“…”
“And I ended up like this because I fell. That’s all there is to it.”
“Is that so?”
Before Freesia could agree, Izar let out a suppressed snicker.
What irritated him the most right now was probably this woman’s desperate voice. To think she would defend a man who failed to protect her in front of others like this.
And then, Izar roughly pulled the shawl wrapping her body.
“!”
“I didn’t know your feet had this kind of shape as well.”
There were clearly shoe prints on the shawl that had slipped down from the shepherdess. They were definitely larger than a typical woman’s foot, indicating it wasn’t her fault.
The dirt and grass stains were a clear testament to the desperation of someone trying to ‘step on her and run away’ at that moment.
And seeing those marks, a bitter heat surged in Izar’s mouth.
Why would the Marquis of Deneb willingly welcome Izar’s cooperation in exchange for using ‘the healing spring’?
The fear induced by the monsters was instinctual, and even knights in repeated training could wet themselves if they weren’t fully alert.
However, that fear should not have become an excuse to push down and run away from their lady, risking only their own survival.
Even if she was a bastard, as long as this woman was outwardly his wife, she must be treated as such.
