Chapter 62 - 21. Dignified (1)

It was a week later, at the funeral, when it was raining. As the damp rain poured down, puddles formed on the dry ground.

“…will be blessed, return to the arms of the Great Mother Goddess and wash away all sins…”

In front of the tombstone in the distance, the priest was muttering the last words of respect for the deceased. His family surrounded the coffin that hadn’t yet been buried.

“…may Rose Jalier rest in peace.”

When the funeral service was over, the people gathered at the funeral came close to the tombstone one by one and prayed over the image of the dead being buried. Children, an old nanny, and the young black-haired man all bowed their heads.

“…”

But at that moment, among them, there was a person who didn’t pray.

“This concludes all funeral procedures.”

Fanora Celsius. She lifted her dry face as she listened to their murmur.

“Huhu, Rose, How can you… die in such a vain way…”

“He was a good friend. We even promised to meet at the party next time…!”

“A heart attack at such a young age. Mother Goddess is really cruel.”

However, as the people around her were crying and making loud noises, she eventually said a few words that she didn’t mean it. “It’s heartbreaking.”

“…”

“Duke must be sadder than anyone else in here.”

Rumble. At the same time, when there was a faint thunder in the distance, Aloken, whose face was wet from the rain, also raised his head late and said, “Yes. I lost my one and only brother.”

Then, the faces of the two met, and they were silent. Neither of them cried for the dead. But luck was on their side because it was raining.

Even though it’s the death of the Duke’s family, many of his relatives have come. Fanora, who was in the pouring rain without wearing an umbrella, looked around. When the funeral was over, they approached the duke one by one and offered words of consolation. Still, among them, there were those whose eyes were unusual. How many people in this place truly mourn the death of Rose?

Perhaps the Jalier family’s relatives might have used this opportunity to dig into the duke. However, Fanora thought the duke’s position wouldn’t be shaken even after such an accident.

“…”

Aloken Jalier. Because that man was holding on to that position.

In a little while, as the funeral process was over, the two moved to the Jaliery Duchy.

“I didn’t expect you to follow me.”

“I’m your fiancée, so if I go back right away in this situation, they would call me a heartless woman.”

“They’re not wrong.”

They were all wet from the sudden rain, so they took a bath first. Afterward, they met again in the study, wearing fresh new clothes.

“…”

Creek, thud. Fanora, who entered the study where Aloken was said to be, looked around. He stood in front of the bookshelf with a pensive expression that wasn’t much different from when he was at the funeral.

“…Aloken.”

After confirming that no other servants were around, she immediately opened her mouth.

“I heard that your brother suddenly died of a heart attack.”

“Yes.”

From Fanora’s POV, it was quite a different cause of death. In the past she remembered, Aloken’s brother died in a carriage accident. So, could the reason for his death change due to human intervention? After struggling alone, she continued.

“He didn’t have anything like that.”

However, the answer to the words she brought out after careful consideration was unexpected.

“What are you talking about?”

“…I-I’m talking about Rose.”

“You talk as if I killed my brother. That can’t be true.” Aloken pretended to be innocent.

Fanora opened her eyes wide for a moment because she didn’t expect his answer. But her bewilderment didn’t last long.

Who do you think is stupid? She had seen Rose was healthy when he came to threaten her. It was hard to believe that a healthy young man had died suddenly from a heart attack.

“He died unfortunately at the will of God.”

Nevertheless, Aloken again denied that he had intervened. Then he put the book he was holding on the bookshelf and walked in front of Fanora. As the tall man got closer, Fanora’s eyes naturally captured him.

“I didn’t kill Rose. Because there is no evidence that I killed him.”

“…!”

“So… If you understand, it’s better to stop questioning meaningless things.”

I knew it. Fanora was convinced when she saw him showing no emotion at the death of his brother. Rose didn’t die from a heart attack. It’s ridiculous. How can he have dealt with his own brother so easily? This crazy…

If the devil appeared in a human form, they would look like him. Aloken’s attractive appearance and cruel personality were just like the devil.

“…I will stay until today and return to the capital tomorrow.” She needed to keep her distance from this guy.

It was only then that Aloken’s expression changed as he flinched back. He had a puzzled face.

“That’s strange. I thought you’d be happy to know that Rose is dead.”

“How could I be happy? A person died…”

At that moment, the words Fanora had seen before flashed through her mind. Why is this conversation so familiar…? She thought there was probably a similar conversation among the scenes from the novel that appeared at midnight.

When she was lost in thought, Aloken took another step forward.

“Fanora.”

The black-haired woman reflexively met his gaze as he called her name. But then, Aloken did something unexpected.

“I lost my whole family in this accident. There is no one left by my side, and I will often be lonely from now on.”

“…Do you even know the feeling of loneliness?”

Aloken reached his hand out and carefully grasped part of his fiancée’s hair. He seemed to be curious about her black hair, which was the same as his but also had a different shade. Aloken ran his fingers through her hair for a while.

Unlike herself, who was born unsightly, the shape of his fingers stretched out straight and strong. Fanora glanced down at it and remained silent for a moment.

“If I answer that I know the feeling of loneliness.”

“…”

“Then how are you going to act?”

Those foxy eyes. Feeling offended by the eyes looking down at her, Fanora tried to shake his hand and escape from him.

“Fanora. I need a new family.”

However, Aloken didn’t let Fanora turn around. When his hand was shaken off, he immediately grabbed her hand.

“So I would be very grateful if you would be my wife.”

Wife. At his words, Fanora tried to refuse coldly as usual. However, Aloken continued first.

“Until now, I was going to take a lady from a useful family as my wife, but I’ve changed my mind. Why should I marry someone else when there is a woman who is both useful and interesting?”

“…!”

In response, Fanora opened her mouth. At the same time, it was a bonus that she freed her hand from his grip and freed herself from his grasp. “If you keep coming out like this, I will force myself to act incompetently in the future.”

Fanora had a lot to do. Therefore, she couldn’t waste her time getting entangled in marriage.

“It hurts more that you dare refuse the duchess’s position.”

“Huh!”

Fanora gasped in disbelief, but Aloken’s hard face added weight to his remarks.

“In fact, it wasn’t once or twice that Rose took away something I held dear.”

“…”

“But I wasn’t angry all the time. I was just a little annoyed. It wasn’t because I hated him that I pushed him into the lake when we were young.”

“T-Then, how could you do that?”

“Because it was reasonable in the accident at the time,” said Aloken.

Aloken had never felt real anger in his life. He learned the idea of getting angry beyond irritation because he went through education as he got older. However, he said something like this. “But when I found out that Rose sent assassins to you… I was angry. For the first time in my life.”

“…”

“If this is not love, what is this? Are you going to say that I’m influenced by you?”

Aloken strode toward Fanora, who was about to leave the room. Fanora stopped her action and hardened. Thanks to this, she was stuck between the door and Aloken, unable to move.

“If I knew this would happen, I would have said, ‘I will marry you unconditionally’ when the contract is over.”

“…Aloken.”

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of forcibly taking you if you don’t like it.”

But what’s wrong with his sentence? Considering his power and personality, it seemed that he would easily commit such evil deeds, but Aloken made that kind of remark. Of course, it wasn’t pure kindness.

“The contract engagement period still has quite a long time…”

“…?!”

“This is enough,” Aloken smiled bigger than ever.

What is enough? He didn’t say anything about what he was going to do, which made it even more frightening.

“What nonsense!”

In the end, Fanora had no choice but to push her fiancé away and exit the study as if half-running away. As she ran down the hall, Aloken chased her swaying black hair and shook his head, thinking that her appearance was funny.

He’s crazy.

Click, clack. As Fanora ran on the soft carpet, she slowed down only when she was far enough from his study. From her point of view, Aloken’s interest was rather a hindrance. Besides… That man won’t even know what kind of person he’s pursuing.

How was Fanora in this life? She wished someone had offered something like this in her past life, but it was already too late. She had already killed someone and would continue to kill her targets in the future.

He’s saying that because he doesn’t know who I am. Besides, Fanora had been courted passionately once. However, there was no need to repeat how it ended with her first fiancé. This, this must be just a fleeting interest, just like Naverius.

Clak. Fanora stopped in a place. That’s right. If I think about it rationally, all the circumstances said it’s not the time to meddle with him. However,

“…”

Actually, she already knew it herself. Those things went very wrong. This is insane…

What came to her mind with the suspicion that he might have killed his brother was none other than s surprise, ‘is he angry because of me?’. Ripples began to ripple through her mind.

* * *

<#3. Back alley (night)

Encountering mysterious assassins, Vasago took out a sword and revealed her honed skills. However, due to the high number of assassins, Vasago began to be pushed back physically and eventually fell, wounded, leaving only about two enemies.

Vasago; (Damn it!)

At that time, Aloken appeared from another passage of the alley and cut down the assassin who was threatening Vasago. The people who had been fighting in the alley looked at Aloken all at once.

Assassin: Aloken?! Why is he here?!

Aloken stabbed the assassin in the neck before the assassin could bring out the next word.

Vasago: You…

Aloken: What crime have you committed to welcome so many assassins as guests?

Vasago: Thanks to you, I’m alive. Thank you.

Aloken: You are welcome.>

It was a few days later. Kasius’s social season wasn’t over yet. Fanora returned to the capital immediately after the funeral, and what awaited her was the famous event in the kingdom.

It’s summer now. Seeing that this invitation came. Opening the seal on the letter in her hand, Fanora could see behind the luxurious textured paper a golden dragon pattern, the symbol of the royal family. The content of the invitation was simple.

[We would like to start this year’s jousting tournament to pray for the kingdom’s well-being, so please attend and shine.]

A huge social event was held every year at the end of the spring and the beginning of the summer. The Kasius Jousting Tournament was right around the corner.