Chapter 48
“Venner. How are the other friends doing?”
Roil lifted his head from the documents he had been buried in and called out to Venner.
“It seems the Spirit Master is helping your friends.”
Venner answered just as he quietly closed the study door and entered.
“That’s a relief. I was worried because, like us, they’re probably still too young to have real combat experience.”
Ellen, sitting across from Roil, rubbed her eyes with her fingertips and spoke.
“Right? Earlier, when Venner offered help and we refused, I thought, ‘What nerve!’”
“Same here. He probably realized his mistake a little too late.”
Ellen smiled faintly.
“I’m really glad you guys came. Thinking about doing everything by myself gives me chills.”
“Right? But don’t you have any relatives who can help with the work?”
“My uncle is at the southern border. But he’s also a border lord, so he can’t come—or only briefly. My father is an only child.”
“And the attendants?”
“These are the documents the attendants submitted…”
“…Ah, right. Attendants just bring you work. You’ll have to handle it all yourself.”
“Yes.”
Realizing anew that no one else could help, the two of them exchanged a glance and then buried their noses back in the papers.
✿ ✿ ✿
Many people attended the Karzelga funeral. Not only did numerous nobles from the Empire gather inside the hall, but many villagers outside also mourned Diana’s death.
As nobles entered the funeral hall inside, Roil was preparing to enter from the neighboring building.
“Your aunt was well-loved by the villagers,” Serel said, brushing Roil’s shoulder lightly.
“Yes. She always tried to be generous to the villagers.”
“That’s right. I remember her saying before, ‘If you eat alone, you’ll burst. You must share everything with the villagers.’”
Serel pinched Santuke’s side and whispered.
“Watch your words!”
“I’m just repeating what she said! I found it memorable!”
Though whispered, the conversation between Serel and Santuke reached all their other friends. Erika shook her head in exasperation.
Adrian adjusted Roil’s stray hair and pinned a white rose to his ceremonial outfit.
“All set.”
“Thank you.”
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Ellen answered on his behalf.
The person entering was Lady Leti. She wore a white robe and a tall white hat, unlike her usual attire. A silver band encircled the hat’s forehead, and in its center, overlapping circles of green, blue, yellow, and red formed a diamond shape.
Above her, water and wind spirits danced playfully.
“Roilette, are you ready? It’s time to begin the funeral service.”
The funeral was solemn but lavish. Spirits were used to scatter light beautifully to give the deceased a dignified farewell.
Lady Leti’s undines sprayed tiny droplets across the hall, reflecting the light like prisms. Her sylphs used the wind to form white rose petals out of sparkling dust above Diana’s casket. Erika, watching, summoned her own sylph to sprinkle glittering dust throughout the hall.
The shards of light from the undines’ droplets refracted and shifted in color under the influence of the sylphs’ sparkling dust, making the entire hall feel like a glass artwork made by a dwarf artisan.
One noblewoman unconsciously reached out toward the light fragments, wishing to hold the brilliant shards in her hand.
The funeral hall was so beautiful it almost felt sorrowful.
After Lady Leti’s spirit-like eulogy, Roil read Lett’s letter aloud.
When the messenger conveyed Diana’s death to Lett, he sent five letters using five carrier birds—identical in content—to prevent interception by enemies.
Lett’s letter began, “Diana, the greatest gift of my life,” expressing shock, despair, anger, sorrow, and affection over the sudden loss of his wife.
“…I cannot let you go, yet I must send you away, lest my presence become a burden that prevents your peace. When your weary soul rests, remember our time together. If it brings even a single smile, that will be enough.”
Roil took a deep breath and continued.
“…I am sorry I could not walk the path of becoming a friend to the spirits with you. I cannot decorate my final words to you with apologies alone, so I repeat what I have said countless times: I love you with all my heart, Diana.”
When he finished reading, white rose petals made of sparkling dust settled upon Diana’s chest.
Roil slowly approached the casket, placing the white rose pinned to his own clothes beside her. Unconsciously, he knelt before her, cupping her cold cheek with trembling hands. Tears fell freely from his eyes.
“Mother… Mother…”
From his barely opened lips came a trembling voice:
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry it’s me here beside you… Please forgive me…”
His voice was so soft no one could hear it, yet Ellen felt she could understand his words.
Ellen unconsciously searched for Gloria with her eyes. Seeing her in the front row, constantly dabbing her tears with a soaked handkerchief, she felt the same heartbreak as Roil. It was as if someone was clutching their chest with trembling hands.
Adrian and Santuke carefully helped Roil to his feet as he kneeled before the casket, endlessly repeating apologies. It was now the turn of the mourners to bid Diana a final farewell.
Roil’s uncle, Count Stung, could not attend, so Countess Stung came instead. She wore a large black hat with feathers, a flowing black dress adorned with countless small sapphires, and lace that hung down. Though the color was somber, the adornments indicated she had not forsaken style.
She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, but it seemed more for show than genuine grief.
The first mourner, the countess, lightly placed a white rose in Diana’s casket and stepped back. Serel briefly frowned at her display.
Next was Gloria. Carefully placing a white rose beside Diana, she collapsed beside the casket in tears. Her prolonged mourning delayed the ceremony somewhat.
No one could pull Gloria away, crying even more bitterly than her son, Roil. People stood awkwardly, waiting their turn. Ellen approached and helped Gloria stand, after which the line of mourners holding white roses continued.
✿ ✿ ✿
All carriages in Karzelga and nearby, including Quinter’s, were mobilized to transport mourners to the Teleportation Magic Circle Office.
Gloria went to see off the guests on behalf of the Karzelga family. The Stung Countess, closest legally to Karzelga, stayed at the mansion to observe the next day’s cremation, but retired to her assigned room, claiming exhaustion.
After all the guests departed, only Diana’s casket, the children, and Lady Leti remained in the hall. It felt unreal that the wide space had just been filled with people.
The ornate atmosphere returned to calm, with only the white walls and their reliefs providing a sense of solace. The children and Lady Leti, who had been too preoccupied to notice, now looked at the walls depicting the Spirit Kings.
“Thank you, Lady Leti. Thank you, everyone,” Roil said, straightening up while holding the casket. All eyes turned toward him.
“You’re welcome. I will assist with the cremation tomorrow as well.”
“Thank you.”
As Roil expressed his gratitude again, the hall doors burst open. Kazu entered.
Kazu walked in hurriedly, paused slightly, then returned to the door. He placed the sword at his waist onto a small table by the door.
Approaching the children cautiously yet quickly, Kazu picked a white rose and placed it before the casket. Diana was already buried under the roses left by the guests. Kazu bowed silently.
“What happened?”
Roil asked, waiting for Kazu’s final farewell to Diana.
“We captured him and locked him in the underground prison.”
“Good.”
Kazu nodded and left the funeral hall.
“What?”
“The culprit?”
“Has it been identified?”
Serel, Adrian, and Santuke each asked in turn. Ellen, Roil, and Erika suddenly realized they hadn’t yet explained the truth of the incident to their friends.
I really have been all over the place.
“Ah, I have something to tell you all. And I also have a request for Lady Leti.”
Lady Leti, picking up her ceremonial hat, turned to Roil.
“Is there something else I can help you with besides the cremation?”
“Yes. Lady Leti, please hear my story first. I will explain the request afterward.”
Roil gestured to the chairs where the guests had been seated. Everyone took their seats.
✿ ✿ ✿
“Are you telling me to go interrogate and torture that woman with you?”
Countess Stung’s scream echoed outside the door.
“N-no, I mean…”
She shouted instinctively, then added in a guilty expression.
“I’m from the Stung family, after all. This is Karzelga’s household matter, and could expose Karzelga’s secrets. An assassination attempt in a noble border lord family… it shows lax security. An outsider getting involved is not proper.”
“…”
“And I… have never liked interrogating or torturing anyone. You should handle this. If it’s too much alone… then perhaps ask Countess Quinter for help. She has a close relationship with Karzelga.”
Nonsense. A minor couldn’t handle this alone, so even a collateral relative had to help.
If there were other family to ask or if I were an adult, I wouldn’t be asking you. Some people think interrogating and torturing is a hobby and daily life? And Countess Quinter isn’t an outsider?
Exhausted, Roil was slightly angered by Countess Stung’s nonsense.
