CH 27

The next day was the funeral day. The rain was pouring down and the air was cold.

Since morning, people have been busy preparing for the funeral of the Grand Duke.

The funeral was to be held in the church inside the mansion with the priest and guests.

I sat in a corner, wearing a black dress and veiled, watching the others.

Of course, I didn’t know any of the guests who must have been very high-ranking aristocrats.

When I heard the name, I couldn’t even guess who it was.

‘Living in a rural area, I didn’t even know who the only grand duke of this kingdom was.’

The only people I know are the Laurent family who had dinner with me yesterday, but none of them pretended to know me.

‘Except for Richard.’

When Richard saw me at the funeral mass, he asked, “You?” and made a scornful expression on his face.

The next question was, “Where the hell did that luxurious and elegant black dress come from?”

“This was given by Fabian.”

He looked around me all the time, asking about the dress.

He was looking for something.

The question about the dress was obviously an excuse.

I laughed and said, “Larissa did not come with me. She hasn’t recovered enough yet to get out of bed.”

“Geez, when did I ask that? I’m not interested in something like that.”

Richard answered with annoyance and went to the family seat far ahead.

‘You are not interested?’

I don’t even want to laugh.

Larissa already has a predestined husband. She didn’t have time to get entangled with other men before then.

‘And even worse if it’s a spoiled Richard.’

I shrugged and looked towards the family seat.

Fabian’s head protruded above the people standing around the family seat.

‘It’s easy to find him.’

He stood out for his looks and also for his height.

If you look closely, red eyes that you can’t find in other people are stuck in your mind.

‘He is a man who stands out in many ways.’

But even though he was such a prominent person, no one spoke to Fabian.

People were more interested in Dominic, not Fabian.

The mourners continued to offer their condolences to Dominic and Valerie, saying how heartbroken they were.

They talked to Heloise or even Richard, but not to Fabian.

‘It seems that the contents of the will have not yet spread outside.’

Fabian also doesn’t seem to care whether other people talk to him or not.

Instead, he stood, looking at the Grand Duke’s corpse in the coffin.

He had his back turned, so I couldn’t see his expression.

‘What are you thinking?’

Come to think of it, I don’t know much about Fabian.

So far, he’s only told me what I need to know about him, and he hasn’t talked much about anything else.

– How dare you to come to my grandfather’s funeral?

It’s a surprise.

Hearing someone’s sudden inner voice, I glanced around and saw that Heloise turned around and looked at me in the family seat.

When our eyes met, she smiled at me.

It was a perfect smile without a single spot. But the smile showed no sign of criticizing me.

– You even stare at Brother Fabian so intensely. Lowly thing.

‘Haha. I’ve never crossed the line. And your cousin proposed to me first.’

I thought so only inside and forced myself to raise the corners of my lips.

Heloise looked away and faced forward again.

I sighed and turned my gaze back to Fabian.

He had been standing alone in front of the coffin until a while ago, and suddenly was talking to someone.

He is a man with red hair stretching out in all directions, just like a lion’s mane.

The red-haired man who was talking to Fabian suddenly laughed out loud.

Then the other mourners in the church looked at him with cold eyes.

Laughing so loudly at a funeral.

The man shrugged and covered his mouth with one hand.

Fabian continued the conversation with a smiling face.

“You seem to be close friends.”

I thought my future husband was surrounded by enemies, but it wasn’t like that.

Seeing the two of them chatting without hesitation, I was a little curious about the red-haired man.

Seeing that he came to condolences today, he couldn’t have been a low-status aristocrat.

‘What kind of person are you?’

Maybe I’ll get a chance to talk to him later.

Then I might know more about Fabian.

After a while, a heavy bell rang and the mass began.

The mass lasted for about two hours in a solemn atmosphere, and at the end of the day, mourners went to the front of the pavilion one by one to say their final goodbyes to the deceased.

It’s my turn now.

When I said I wanted to attend the funeral, Fabian looked into my eyes for a moment without saying a word.

He answered only when his gaze was so long that it was starting to make me hard to breathe.

“Do as you please.”

He didn’t even ask why.

So I was able to arrange a seat for myself in a corner of the funeral home.

I slowly went to the front of the coffin and looked down at the deceased.

‘Hello, Grand Duke. I’m sorry, I took advantage of your will. But please be relieved that your real granddaughter-in-law is already in this mansion.’

The Grand Duke’s face, buried in fragrant flowers, looked like a different person from a few days ago.

I prayed for his repose and said in my heart, ‘I will take good care of both of them until Fabian gets married to my sister. Please rest in peace.’

The last order was relatives and family members. When the greeting was finished, the coffin lid was closed.

After that, we all ate together, and when the meal was over, everyone moved to the large parlor.

People smoked cigars or drank alcohol or tea according to their taste, and chatted.

As I drank my tea, I glanced towards Fabian.

He was still talking to the red-haired man from earlier.

Now that I have accomplished the purpose of attending the funeral, I don’t mind going back to my room.

‘Still, I want to say hello to that person.’

Because you’re the only person who talked with Fabian here.

‘Well…… I guess I’m in a situation where I have to go and talk to him first?’

I was a little perplexed and looked down at the teacup for nothing.

At the local prom in my village, the men came to me first and tried to talk to me.

Thanks to that, I was not used to the situation where I had to talk to someone first.

I took a sip of tea and looked carefully at the people around me.

In contrast to the prom where all you have to do is empty your head, drink, dance, and have fun, all kinds of voices came and went at the funeral.

‘Let’s just stay still.’

I think it would be better to be quiet now.

It’s annoying to move on to a serious story and start asking which family you’re from.

‘I’ll take a look and see if there’s an opportunity to talk, otherwise, I’ll just go back to my room.’

With that thought in mind, I fiddled with the teacup.

In the meantime, the inner voices continued to be heard.

My chest began to feel stuffy little by little.

I could see the balcony connected to the parlor just in time.

‘I can’t do this anymore. I’m going to get some fresh air.’

I put down my teacup and went out to the balcony.

Going out to the balcony didn’t mean I couldn’t hear other people’s inner voices, but at least the cold outside air touched my cheeks, so it was a little cooler.

I leaned against the balcony railing and watched the rain.

There was a huge garden under the balcony.

Unlike forests that were left to grow freely, trees that were planted separately by type and trimmed in shape showed off their understated beauty and looked more grandiose.

‘When the rain stops, I want to take Larissa out for a walk……’

As I took a deep breath, I heard the sound of the balcony glass door opening behind my back.

“You’ll get wet.”

It was a low-pitched voice that I was getting used to little by little.

When I turned around, Fabian was standing there.

Wearing a mourning coat, he was all black from his hair to his feet.

It was a cloudy day and it was raining, so his face was pale and bloodless, and only his eyes were shining red in the meantime.

‘He looks like a vampire.’

A monster that sucks blood by bewitching people with his deadly beauty.

When I had that thought, goosebumps ran down my spine.

“It’s okay. It’s not raining too much either. It can change your mood, too.”

“Is that so?”

Fabian walked over and leaned next to me.

He placed his hands on the railing, closed his eyes toward the garden, and took a deep breath.

“It’s not bad.”

A soft voice came out.

Indeed, it was Fabian who desperately needed a change of mood.

He took a deep breath and inhaled cold air.

After a while, he turned to me.

He looked tired but also looked drowsy.

“I left you alone. I’m sorry, but I will continue to do so today. If you are tired, you can go back to your room.”

I beg your pardon? Is that what you call an apology?

He said he was sorry, but he didn’t look sorry at all.

Well, it makes sense.

For now, I’m just a distant relative of his aide.

It’s strange that I attended the funeral, and if he introduces me to others, it will look more suspicious.

“I’m fine. Rather, did you get a call from Poe?”

I purposely used his pseudonym.

Fabian nodded and answered, “I got a telegram yesterday. It’s time to arrive soon.”

“I see. Well, I will just wait here. No, would you rather not have me here? When and how do you plan to make the announcement?”

He announced that he was married, and his wife was Marcia Blick, thus establishing herself as Grand Duchess. That’s the plan.

I wondered how he would reveal it to people.

‘I think it would be convenient and good in many ways to make an announcement right now when the mourners are here.’

“The announcement……”

Fabian, who was leaning against the railing and staring at me, was startled without continuing his words.

The gaze that was looking at me with languid eyes changed sharply in an instant and scattered into the air.

You look like you’re listening to something.

‘What?’

I didn’t hear anything.

It was the moment I thought his red eyes were shaking.

He suddenly jumped on me.