Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 9
The atmosphere at the Arcturus residence in the capital was bustling throughout the night. Preparations were underway for the soon-to-be bride of Duke Izar.
Izar, overseeing the arrangements with his aide, Charles Károli, sighed.
“Once one task is completed, a hundred more arise.”
“The preparations have been expedited. But think of it as a step closer to pardon…”
As Charles spoke, his eyes shone.
The capital had been shaken by increased monster attacks, but Izar’s leadership had successfully quelled them without casualties.
Izar, the comet.
This was a nickname spreading even in the capital, putting pressure on the imperial family to acknowledge him.
Izar, however, remained skeptical.
“Can we really trust the imperial family’s words…?”
“Don’t speak such disrespect against the crown. Or is Ducal Lady Atria not to your liking?”
“……”
“There’s no more suitable bride for you than her.”
Ducal Lady Atria was renowned not only for her lineage but also for her beauty, arguably the finest in the empire.
Standing beside Izar, they would indeed look like a perfectly matched couple.
But Izar appeared indifferent.
‘If it truly guarantees my family’s full pardon, I would consider it.’
Normally, someone of his status would have been betrothed in their mid-teens. However, Izar had always avoided marriage, despising the institution itself.
As they were about to leave the viewing gallery, the chief attendant hurriedly approached.
“Master, a visitor has arrived urgently. Shall I let her in?”
“Turn them away. Do they not know the time?”
“It’s a young lady…”
Izar frowned.
A noblewoman visiting at this hour was certainly odd.
“Which family does she belong to?”
“She refused to speak and only showed this.”
Izar examined the item handed over by the chief attendant with narrowed eyes.
It was a plain, broad ring with a small scorpion engraved on it.
Antares.
It was the emblem of the Antares family, a household to be tied to his own in holy matrimony.
But the chief attendant’s confusion suggested it wasn’t ‘Ducal Lady Atria’.
Who could it be?
“Let her in for now.”
But Izar himself couldn’t hide his surprise upon seeing the woman who entered the room.
When she removed the hood attached to her cloak, her face was recognizable from his estate.
“You’re…”
Charles asked Izar in a low voice.
“Do you know her, Master?”
“Isn’t she a shepherdess from the estate?”
“What?”
Charles looked puzzled, but Izar just frowned at the woman.
He remembered her because she always looked so different in appearance and expression.
But this strangeness was amplified by her attire.
She was clearly a commoner, yet the hooded cloak and dress she wore were too neat.
The dark colors didn’t stand out, but the craftsmanship and embroidery seemed fit for nobility.
“Thank you for welcoming me despite the inappropriate time, Your Grace.”
Her smooth greeting made it even more bizarre.
Was he dreaming something strange?
A corner of his mouth lifted in disbelief.
“What’s this? When did the shepherdess from my estate start living in the capital?”
“I’ve been in the capital for ten days now.”
“Then why did you leave the estate on your own?”
Izar’s expression turned fiercer.
He tried to be as merciful as possible to his estate residents, but leaving the estate warranted severe punishment.
The woman fiddled with her necklace and calmly replied.
“…I came here because of your marriage, Your Grace.”
“My marriage?”
“Yes. In your upcoming wedding, I am supposed to be your bride.”
“…What? That’s nonsense.”
“On that day, the bride will not be my younger sister, Atria.”
Not only Izar but also Charles and other servants were perplexed by this revelation.
Ducal Lady Atria had an ‘older sister’?
Nevertheless, the woman continued calmly.
“It may be hard to believe, but I was registered in the family registry of the Antares Duchy ten days ago—as the illegitimate daughter of Duke Antares.”
“What…”
“If you check the ring I brought, you’ll know, Your Grace.”
Izar’s jaw clenched with suppressed anger.
Her words were correct.
Rings of high noble families contain magic, making them impossible to be secretly stolen or forged by commoners.
After a few seconds of calculation, Izar spoke.
“…If your words are true, then the Emperor is planning to give me a half-hearted reward.”
“Yes.”
“Hah!”
A dry laugh escaped him in disbelief.
At the same time, resentment surged in him because of his mother, who had always been a burden, and towards the emperor who seemed to have harbored deep grudges against him.
And momentarily, he also felt a surge of irritation towards this unnervingly calm woman.
‘Hold back, just hold back.’
After all, she was a woman without any weapons, and her youthful face made him feel even worse if he spoke too harshly.
And he was curious.
“Why come all this way to so kindly inform me?”
“……”
“You’re about to rise from a shepherdess to a duchess, you should just be quietly taking bridal lessons.”
His words sharpened the atmosphere in the room.
How dare the lowliest girl from the estate become the master’s wife?
However, the woman blinked her green eyes and chose her words carefully.
And suddenly, Izar remembered why he found this woman so out of place.
Her eyes were the color of vibrant summer leaves, yet had an eerie depth, like an old woman on her deathbed…
“To know and suffer, or to suffer in ignorance. Which would disgust you less?”
He did not expect such bold words from her. It was almost laughable that she dared to use such a provoking word like ‘disgust’ in front of the Duke.
