Waking up in the early morning, Rutus turned to his side, out of habit, but instead of seeing Ellie’s face, he saw her pale and lifeless form. He called out her name in a hoarse voice, but the tightly closed eyes remained shut.
Leaping out of bed, he brought his trembling hands to Ellie’s nose, but…
“……”
Not even a hint of a breath could be detected, leaving Rutus frozen and unable to take any action. It meant that even the thought of shaking her body or placing his ear against her heart didn’t cross his mind at that moment.
Such was the suddenness and gravity of the tragedy that it was enough to turn even a seasoned knight, who had spent half his life wielding a sword, into a numb fool.
In truth, it was because he couldn’t accept the fact that the pale face of the dead he had seen countless times bore an uncanny resemblance to Ellie.
“Wah, waaaah!”
While he stood frozen, unable to bring himself to touch Ellie’s body.
The child who had been sleeping soundly, cradled in Ellie’s arms, burst into tears.
He had no memory of how much time had passed, but it was probably because he didn’t like the feeling of the warmth fading from her body or because he was hungry.
Even considering that, it was a surprising thing to happen, given that he was a child who never woke up crying and instead would wait blankly until someone came, with his big, round eyes.
Perhaps he instinctively sensed that something was wrong with his mother.
At the sound of his crying, Rutus finally grabbed the child who was still in Ellie’s arms and cried out,
“Call the physician! Call the physician!”
Rutus later recalled that the sound of his own voice shouting those words sounded like a tearing scream.
* * *
“It… it seems it’s already too late to do anything. Judging by the rigor mortis, it’s been at least two hours since her heart stopped—”
“Then why! She was fine just yesterday. There’s no reason for her to suddenly stop breathing!”
“Her condition had no specific cause or symptoms other than a general decline in vitality, and there is no definitive treatment reported in the academic world either.”
“That’s what you should have been looking for! Isn’t it your job to find that out!”
“…I apologize. Recently, she has been looking particularly exhausted, and we were doing our best, but…”
“You dare call that an excuse now…!”
In such cases, predicting when and how her condition might deteriorate to the point of death is nearly impossible. When interpreted, the explanations of the sweating physician amounted to excuses.
Use this medication at such times. Use that treatment at other times. They followed all these guidelines to restore Ellie’s health.
Yet, Ellie had stopped breathing, and they couldn’t clearly explain why. The belated explanations filled with hypotheticals only infuriated Rutus, causing veins to bulge in his neck.
However, no amount of anger could change the situation.
Rutus turned and shouted to the aide waiting outside the room. Her left eye was bloodshot, as if her capillaries had burst.
“Diego!”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Contact the Magic Tower immediately!”
“…Understood.”
If the cause couldn’t be found medically, they needed to explore other methods.
Since Ellie’s health began deteriorating, Rutus had tirelessly sought a cure from all quarters but found none.
‘Since this happened so suddenly, the possibility of a curse or spell can’t be ruled out.’
But unlike the earlier efforts solely to find a treatment, now the priority was uncovering the unnatural cause of her death.
…There was a faint hope that if it truly was a curse or spell, a way to revive her might be found.
From that moment on, Rutus did not rest for a single moment.
He postponed his work schedule and did not permit himself even a brief respite, including meals and sleep.
He brought in the attending physician and the mage to examine Ellie’s condition. He couldn’t let go of even the slightest possibility that there might be something they had overlooked.
So they exchanged opinions several times, but…
“……”
The response was always the same: unknown cause.
Even after summoning several high-ranking mages to verify, the answer remained unchanged. There was no trace of any curse or spell on Ellie.
“Your Grace. It’s already been a whole day.”
After the mages left the mansion, Rutus, who had been locked up in his office looking through the family’s secret documents, turned his head at the sound of the voice.
Just like him, the aide had not slept at all, but unlike Rutus, a Swordmaster, he had not trained in any martial arts, and his fatigue was clearly visible.
With dark circles under his eyes, the aide continued to speak in a subdued voice.
“Although we’re using cold magic to prevent decomposition… if we delay any longer, the body might not remain intact for the funeral.”
You need to make a decision now. At the aide’s softly spoken words, Rutus opened his mouth.
“…If we call a mage to cast preservation spell,”
“Isn’t it illegal to cast a preservation spell on a person? Regardless of status, if discovered, everyone involved, including the instigators and their families, would be executed, even if they are high nobility.”
“……”
“The lady would not want that either.”
The aide was not wrong. Rutus knew this very well.
“……”
I see.
Rutus closed the book in his hand and bowed his head deeply. Closing his eyes tightly, he spoke.
“Send the death notices to The Masons and the noble families residing in the capital.”
“……”
“…Prepare for the funeral.”
In the end, I couldn’t find a way to save you.
Even now, he wanted to tear apart the mouth uttering these words.
* * *
Morning had dawned.
In the early morning, while busy delivering the death notices, the thick mist and chilly air had suggested rain.
But contrary to these expectations, as the nobles who received the notices began arriving, the sky greeted them with clear, cloudless weather.
With the sunlight so bright, Ellie, lying in her coffin, appeared to be merely in a deep, peaceful sleep.
‘It just looks like she’s taking a nap…’
But she was dead.
It was hard to comprehend. It reminded Rutus of the times he stayed at the Mason estate, where he would sit under the old tree reading, with her resting her head on his lap. Her face now looked no different from those times.
The white burial dress, adorned with lace and jewels to suit her taste for the extravagant, resembled the wedding dress she wore just two years ago.
The murmuring.
“……”
Rutus observed the solemn yet slightly bustling scene fitting for a funeral.
His dry eyes roamed before fixing on the scene ahead.
Everyone, dressed in elegant black fabrics, was presenting white flowers to his wife.
Upon closer inspection, he noted that despite their solemn expressions, none of them appeared genuinely sorrowful.
Was this why it felt like watching a well-rehearsed play?
“……”
Strangely, no tears came.
He had heard that someone in history lost his lover and cried day and night for three days, making a river out of his tears.
Another person gave up eating and drinking and eventually died, and another person took his own life to follow his lover into death.
But Rutus’s eyes remained dry.
“Your Grace.”
…Was it that I did not love you as much as I thought?
Feeling unbearably disgusted with himself, Rutus covered his mouth with one hand. The murmuring grew louder.
It was then, as Rutus tried to calm his roiling stomach, that he heard his name called.
“Your Grace!”
At the sound of someone calling him, Rutus only then, a beat late, moved his gaze to the side to find the source of the sound.
“Your Grace. It’s time to close the coffin.”
“……”
“…Please present your flower to the Duchess.”
The knight commander, also dressed in black, spoke respectfully.
Slowly lowering her hand that had barely been covering her mouth, Rutus nodded sluggishly.
“…Ah, yes.”
…That’s right. Rutus, who had replied softly, took a step forward without blinking once.
Standing in front of Ellie’s coffin where he had finally arrived.
“……”
Rutus carefully took the red corsage hanging from his chest and gently attached it to Ellie’s left chest.
Since no one else would hand flowers to Ellie after this, it was time for him to step back.
Then,
“…Your Grace?”
“……”
Then she would be buried forever. She would become a face he would never see again.
The knight commander asked Rutis with a puzzled look, standing as if rooted to the spot. Somehow, Rutis couldn’t step back.
So he just blankly looked at Ellie, who was buried among the white flowers, with the red flower he had given her pinned to her chest.
The fact that all of this had happened in just a day or so.
I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t feel real, so I just, what should I say?
I thought I might open my eyes and wake up and laugh that it was a joke.
“Did the Duke not hear what he just said?”
“He’s probably not in the right state to listen.”
“Even so, with so many eyes watching…”
“Judging by that look, I wonder how Ratcliffe will roll for a while.”
“With so many businesses to handle, do you think he can manage properly like that?”
“Well, they’ll figure it out on their own, won’t they? If they can’t manage their businesses properly, it’s our gain.”
I guess that after today, not only the capital but the entire empire will be talking about your death for a while.
These people, who are busy whispering as they watch me like this, will also scream that the Duke is out of his mind. No matter what the truth is, it won’t matter much to them.
Actually, it wouldn’t be too far off the mark, so it was all out of Rutus’s interest.
Therefore, Rutus just opened his mouth with a faint smile. His stomach was churning like mad, but he had to endure it.
It’s a feeling I’ll have to get used to in the future.
“…Sleep well, Ellie.”
It was a farewell that he struggled to deliver, convinced it was inadequate. However, whatever words I said, there seemed to be no meaningful change in this feeling.
Rutus, who finally reached out and stroked Ellie’s cheek, took a heavy step back.
“It’s not a big deal that his wife went first… The Duke is still young, so he might take a new wife.”
It was then that he heard something that he shouldn’t have heard, scratching his ears.
* * * *
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