The Lady and the Stableman

The funeral of Nicholas Fortrion was scheduled to last a week, following the family’s customs.

There is an anecdote that the first Viscount Fortrion managed his estate well and helped the poor with the profits from his business, leading to a continuous stream of mourners at his post-funeral service.

Therefore, from that time onwards, the future Viscounts made sure to honor the spirit of hospitality by opening the manor to visitors for five days during the funeral, welcoming condolences from people of all social statuses.

However, opening the manor only further tarnished Nicholas Fortrion’s reputation.

『 You can tell how a person lived by attending their funeral.』

Those who spent time with him were either gamblers or drunks.

When Edith heard that one of the mourners was a pimp of whom the Viscount was a regular client, she was speechless with disgust.

Additionally, some unruly individuals were caught trying to steal the Viscount’s belongings that had been left in the chapel as part of the ritual, so his belongings were hastily moved to the room he used when he was alive.

『 They say leaving possessions with the body in the chapel is meant to cleanse any curses and allow the deceased to take them with them.』

It was clear that the Viscount would be penniless in hell because he had befriended those with bad habits.

Edith looked toward the altar of the chapel, which was covered entirely in black cloth.

There, the Viscount, dressed in burial garments, lay with both eyes firmly closed in a straight posture.

Thanks to the widely used funeral decay prevention spell across the empire, his body showed no signs of decay, making it seem like he could rise again at any moment.

After paying their respects to the deceased, people stepped back and whispered to each other.

“Did he really look for his fourth wife even just before his passing?”

“Did he know that his fourth wife was pregnant with the heir? Even though he’s the Viscount, he must have thought about how to continue the family line.”

“Anyway, the fact that the First Lady accepted her without objection was surely a divine sign.”

Edith wasn’t the only one listening to them.

Sophia, who personally greeted the mourners as the Viscountess, was very upset that public opinion placed more importance on Edith than on her.

She thought that if Edith made even a small mistake, she would not fail to point it out.

Edith sensed her discomfort and positioned herself outside the chapel, away from Sophia’s view.

“Joyful events and sad ones overlapping must be confusing for you, M’lady.”

Today was the last day of mourning.

Edith had to say the same words and offer her hand to many, many people. When they kissed the gloved back of her hand, she felt absolutely nothing.

She was thinking about slipping away to her room as soon as she could find an opportunity, using her pregnancy as an excuse.

“Greetings, Fourth Lady. My name is Benjamin from the Homan Clinic.”

“…!” 

Edith’s eyes, which had shown no emotion, suddenly lit up.

Since the manor was open to everyone, Benjamin had apparently revealed his identity instead of blending in with the merchants.

Edith had found attending her enemy’s funerals to be unbearably boring, to the point of death, so she was even more delighted to see him.

However, Benjamin, who received her affectionate gaze, seemed momentarily stunned.

“I’m sorry for the Viscount’s passing.”

He had clearly memorized some poetic and eloquent words of comfort to say to Edith, but nothing came to mind.

Wearing a black dress and covering her face with a long veil, Edith looked exactly like the goddess of death, caring for the souls of the deceased.

Benjamin felt greatly honored as he noticed her indifferent gaze sparkle upon seeing him. As he stumbled over his words, Edith, trying to suppress her laughter, tightened her lips and reached out her hand.

Benjamin pretended to hold her hand but discreetly handed her a note he had prepared in advance.

Then, he reverently pressed his lips to the back of her hand.

When he kissed her hand, something he had longed to do, he thought it would be okay if time suddenly stopped at that moment.

Just as he was thinking that, he felt a piercing gaze on his back.

『 Is it that stableman again? What’s his name, Walter or something…』

But Benjamin immediately realized that turning his gaze toward Walter would be a defeat.

It was because he could sense Edith’s gaze passing right by him and immediately focusing on the stableman.

What bothered Benjamin the most was that he seemed to know the reason why she had diverted her gaze.

Since it was the master’s funeral, it was customary for the servants to wear their best black attire.

As a result, Walter, dressed in black from head to toe, exuded the imposing presence of a giant black lion.

Being outdoors in black clothes during the day emphasized his strong shoulders, well-defined waist, and powerful lower body even more.

『 He’s definitely not an ordinary stableman.』

In his heart, Benjamin wished he could stay close to her out of pride, but he knew that doing so in a crowded place like this would arouse suspicion.

He left, hoping that Edith would quickly unfold the note in her hand. 

Edith stood there, unable to move, receiving greetings from the next mourner.

The people who showed courtesy to her in order to impress her received formal answers from Edith.

It was a situation that was not unusual, but Walter’s eyes gradually darkened as he looked at her.

While everyone was kissing Edith’s hand, the one who couldn’t do such a thing in public was himself, Walter, a servant.

Walter’s identity as a servant had always been vague, but now he detested the shackles the Viscount had placed on him.

Whenever the young male merchants even glanced at Edith’s face beyond the veil, it felt as if something inside him would snap.

When the mourners paused for a moment, Edith glanced at his frozen face and let go of her fan.

Tap—

“Excuse me, could you pick this up for me?”

Walter was displeased with his position, where he could only get close to Edith in public when ordered, but he did not mind her deliberately calling him out.

During the brief moment he handed over the fan, Walter looked at Edith, who was wearing a black veil as if trying to imprint her on his memory.

Who would have thought that this elegant woman had been brought here by Sophia for her scheme just a month ago?

Walter subtly hinted at something to her as she played the role of Lady Fortrion perfectly.

“I have prepared a love letter for you. Hans… he helped me out a bit.”

“Love letter…?”

“You’ll hear about it soon.”

A love letter?

Before Edith could ask any further, Walter walked away.

Edith found herself absentmindedly caressing the fan she now held in her hand, curious about what exactly he had prepared.

──────────✿◦•

The casket of the Viscount’s body and the burial were scheduled for that evening.

Behind Fortrion Manor, there was a cemetery where the ancestors were buried, and a large pit had already been dug to accommodate Nicholas Fortrion’s coffin.

“Then, let us pray.”

The bishop, who had come to officiate at the funeral, prayed to God in a calm voice.

The current emperor, Agnas XIV, was not devout at all, and as soon as he ascended the throne, he undermined the authority of the temple that had pressured him when he was the crown prince.

For the past twenty years, weekend worship at the temple had become a gathering solely for the most faithful, but people still sought God in moments of birth and death.

As the bishop blessed Nicholas, Edith had other thoughts.

『 The man next to Sophia is the lawyer responsible for drafting the Fortrion Family’s will, isn’t he?』

Now that the Viscount had officially passed away, it seemed like she needed to be cautious in securing the person who would write the will, as she had no idea how her own pregnancy scheme was progressing.

Edith was more curious about the meaning of Walter’s words than about Sophia’s intentions as she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.

『 He said I will hear a love letter soon.』

What he had said held significant meaning.

Even though she knew it didn’t mean he had written a love letter to her, somehow she felt hopeful for some reason.

『 What am I expecting? I…』

As the Viscount’s coffin descended into the dark pit, Edith imagined Walter holding a pen with his large hand and writing down the letters one by one.

It was hard to imagine him holding a pen. It was difficult to picture someone who seemed capable of cutting off someone’s head with a sword and had eyes that could devour another person at any moment.

『 Besides, he said that I’ll be able to ‘hear’ it.』

Throughout the funeral proceedings, Edith was curious about Walter’s intentions.

Meanwhile, Nicholas’ coffin reached the bottom of the pit.

Including the four Viscount’s wives and those who had a close relationship with the Viscount gathered in front of the pit, each holding a small basket. This was because it was an imperial tradition to beautifully decorate the deceased by scattering paper flower petals before covering the coffin with dirt.

The bishop took out the prepared paper and began to read the eulogy, and Edith, keeping an eye on the situation, scattered paper flower petals on the Viscount’s coffin.

Then suddenly, the bishop’s eulogy caught her attention.

“I have already held you in my heart. Lately, I’ve been thinking of spending more time with you…”

The bishop, realizing that this was not what he had prepared, hesitated as he continued his words.

“I apologize. It seems there’s a letter mixed in among the manuscripts.”

The bishop, flustered, pulled out a piece of paper with letters he had not written.

But the commotion didn’t end there.

“What is this?”

“It looks like a letter…”

The people who were scattering paper flowers discovered a letter lying beneath the baskets.

Edith also reached into her basket. Just like the others, her basket contained a letter.

『 Is this for me?』

Since there was nothing written on the outer envelope, Edith, like the others, tore open the letter to check its contents.

Then she couldn’t say a word.

╭══════

     Whitman.

I’m thinking about leaving Fortrion with you and living in a cozy manor. I won’t even be a Viscountess by then, right?

                                                                                                                                                                                           ══════╯

『 I won’t even be a Viscountess by then?』

Edith scanned the faces of the others who were holding baskets.

Each had a different letter, but they all seemed to contain similar love letters, judging by the puzzled expressions on people’s faces.

Among them, Isabelle had the most distorted expression. She burst into laughter when she read the love letter.

“Elope? What is this…?”

Isabelle, who was dumbfounded as to who on earth had written a love letter to Whitman, soon spotted Sophia looking pale.

❀.°• ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ •°.❀