Olivia couldn’t understand why there was no one in the hallway on the second floor. At the same time, Seta turned into a human and followed her in the dark night.
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“What are you doing standing there blankly, human?”
“No one is here.”
“Things like that happen, too.”
Olivia muttered to herself.
“It’s not a matter of…”
Nobles had many employees.
The number of employees was also a facade of the nobles, as the monthly remuneration paid to the employees was not high. However, with Duke Reinhard’s residence, a large number of maids were needed.
The gold frame of the enormous landscape painting had to be brushed off all the time to keep dust from settling down. In addition, marble sculptures decorated throughout the mansion were moped with dry rags several times a week.
Although it was the end of the day, there was no doubt that a couple of maids had to rush through the hallways at this time…
It was definitely strange.
Then, Seta asked, looking through the window on the second floor, looking at the plain outside.
“Ah, everyone is over there. Do these people in the house have a strange ritual at this late hour? Or, are all humans like that?”
Hearing those words, Olivia stuck to the window. There was a swaying fire, pinned to the flat, expansive ground beneath the mansion. Meanwhile, maids and knights carried flower baskets and white ornaments along the path made by the torch.
Among them was a priest.
Olivia almost lost her mind when she saw the identity of the flowers they were carrying. Even in the darkness of the night, each petal was vivid…
It was the chrysanthemum used for funerals.
It was then that Olivia’s frantic eyes saw the black clothes worn by the people. She muttered unknowingly.
“They’re getting ready for a funeral.”
Seta was startled, too, and stuck to the window.
“What…! Is that human woman dead? I’m telling you, it’s no use changing the flow of magic when that human dies! Death is the complete and absolute end!”
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Olivia thought.
…Whose funeral were they having? Perhaps, the knight who made a significant contribution to the Duchy returned to the land. Otherwise, there would be no way, so many maids were preparing for a funeral while crying.
Olivia looked as if something important had disappeared.
As she went down the stairs to the spacious hall on the first floor, although the chandelier was brightly lit, the atmosphere was strangely damp and dark.
‘I don’t think Laritte is dead, but… would she be somewhere in that crowd? I have to run down there to see…’
She caught the maid passing by the hall just in time. It was a young maid in the annex who had married a knight.
“Where is Laritte? I mean, the Duchess.”
The maid already looked haggard because her eyes were red and swollen.
“Madam…?”
Her voice trembled as she uttered that, as tears welled up again in her big eyes. The maid tried to hold back her crying.
Ah, you’re being ridiculous.
The maid remembered not long ago when Laritte and Ian left for the villa with a few employees. Everyone left in the mansion, including her, wished Laritte good health again. Obviously, she was thin, but the maid believed Laritte would be fine after she was treated at the villa…
“Madam is… In the arms of God…”
Yesterday, Madam died and returned to the mansion in a breathless form.
Laritte, in Ian’s arms, looked as if she was sleeping deeply… She didn’t open her eyes.
When the maid saw Olivia, who looked so much like Laritte, the dam of sorrow that she had barely blocked, burst. She didn’t know what Olivia, who had suddenly disappeared, had returned to get, although she couldn’t afford to be angry at her.
Watching her maid flounder in sorrow, Olivia faced a reality she had struggled to avoid.
“Where is the Duke?”
“Madam, Madam…”
“Stop crying!”
After a few more questions, Olivia got the information that Ian would be in the darkest and tallest northern room of the mansion.
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“Because there is Madam and Madam’s coffin… The Master has been spending all day there since yesterday…”
Olivia’s footsteps immediately moved towards the location. At first, her slow pace gradually increased. The hardwood floors sped up to the point it was creaking at her every step.
…This must be a bad joke.
Everyone must have been upset that she left without a word. She believed that they were all playing a prank. Still, she made an effort, too! To save her daughter, do they know how many people she bowed to and begged?
Look at what she brought after rubbing her hands that they burn!
It was fine if she could show the magic to Laritte and get kicked out, so she hoped she would show Laritte with her eyes open.
When Olivia entered the north hallway.
Ian was coming out of a white room with the door closed.
“….”
“….”
Ian and Olivia’s eyes met in the air.
The north hallway was strangely cold. Although it may be due to the location, it was also because only the minimum number of lights was turned on. It was because there was no change in Laritte’s body in the coffin.
It was quiet.
Ian had sunken.
The golden eyes beneath the scattered hair were brimming with weary emotions. Despite that, there was no sign of tears. It was because he had promised Laritte that he would always accept this moment.
He uttered to Olivia in a dry voice as if he was giving an everyday greeting.
“…I haven’t seen you in quite some time. Did the gatekeepers let you in safely?”
Olivia realized that Laritte was in the room where Ian came out. In the dark hallway with only the dim light, he shrugged his shoulders.
“I have no intention of blaming you for not being there at her last moment. Maybe…”
Seta walked behind Olivia.
Ian’s eyes immediately lit up. Seeing that she was with the dragon, she must have thought of a way to save Laritte.
“…Maybe, you probably tried something on your own terms.”
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“Laritte…?”
Olivia’s voice trembled slightly.
Ian forced a smile and crossed his arms. Then, a very faint light from the wall shone on him from behind.
“She went comfortably… She died happily in her favorite villa. Laritte is in the room over there, so take a look at her face and say your last goodbye.”
Only then did Olivia realize the reality, and as she stumbled, she leaned against the wall in the hallway. Paradoxically, a vase full of vibrant flowers reached her elbow.
“You can also stand to the left of the funeral procession if you wish.”
When the knights lift the coffin, the person most closely related to the dead walks from the left and leads the procession. Originally, it was the role that Ian was supposed to take. However, he thought Olivia would like Laritte on the left.
Seta walked past Olivia and stepped out in front of Ian.
“…Dead?”
Ian nodded his head, thinking Seta didn’t understand the metaphor. He tried to pretend he was okay, but to say ‘dead’ himself, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to hide his inside that had turned into rags.
Seta asked again, scratching his red hair.
His face was full of doubts.
“Really dead…?”
Ian’s smile disappeared.
He clenched his teeth and tried to control his emotions.
“…Yes.”
Seta had a reason for asking this question.
Since dragons were created from magic, they were no different from magic. So, he knew how to read the flow of magic through the air with great sensitivity. Seta could see the magical energy still moving aggressively around Ian’s room.
It meant Laritte was alive.
“The human woman is not dead yet.”
Finally, Ian screamed and grabbed Seta by the neck.
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“She’s dead!”
The blazing eyes stared at Seta in the cold hallway as if to kill him.
“You think it was easy for me to accept that Laritte was dead?!”
He had to feel Laritte’s life as he held her in his arms, slowly disappearing. It was a time of regret and lamentation, wondering if the results would have been different if he had done better.
“I heard Laritte’s breathing get smaller. I felt her pulse as I placed my arms around Laritte’s head. Dragon, you don’t even know where it is!”
“No, that’s…”
“It’s a pulse that goes down the chin and to the left of the center of the neck. It gradually slowed down and then completely lost its sign. Her heart, which had been beating a little, stopped completely. I felt it!”
Seta was as big as Ian, but he was grabbed by Ian’s forearm and moved back and forth.
“So, I’m telling you…”
“You can’t even imagine what I was feeling. With that kind of expression and voice, you’re arguing if my wife is dead!”
Seta was blocked by Ian, unable to speak and field with anger inside.
It was when Ian picked up his rough, exhaling breaths that Seta finally got the timing and shoved Ian away.
“That’s why humans are so lowly!”
He then glanced around.
Olivia also wept as she listened to Ian, imagining Laritte’s last moments.
“She’s not dead. Anyway, you guys think your knowledge is an eternal theorem. When someone dies, it doesn’t mean when their heart stops!”
Seta tapped his own forehead right in the middle and continued.
“When the soul leaves the body.”
The soul does not leave the body until the body has been damaged to some extent. Since Laritte’s soul was in her body, her magic must still be in an unstable flow. Seta then gestured to Olivia. She had to hand over the magic that she had brought to Laritte.
“What are you doing? There is still time.”
Now, it was a battle of every minute and every second.
Olivia couldn’t understand why there was no one in the hallway on the second floor. At the same time, Seta turned into a human and followed her in the dark night.
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“What are you doing standing there blankly, human?”
“No one is here.”
“Things like that happen, too.”
Olivia muttered to herself.
“It’s not a matter of…”
Nobles had many employees.
The number of employees was also a facade of the nobles, as the monthly remuneration paid to the employees was not high. However, with Duke Reinhard’s residence, a large number of maids were needed.
The gold frame of the enormous landscape painting had to be brushed off all the time to keep dust from settling down. In addition, marble sculptures decorated throughout the mansion were moped with dry rags several times a week.
Although it was the end of the day, there was no doubt that a couple of maids had to rush through the hallways at this time…
It was definitely strange.
Then, Seta asked, looking through the window on the second floor, looking at the plain outside.
“Ah, everyone is over there. Do these people in the house have a strange ritual at this late hour? Or, are all humans like that?”
Hearing those words, Olivia stuck to the window. There was a swaying fire, pinned to the flat, expansive ground beneath the mansion. Meanwhile, maids and knights carried flower baskets and white ornaments along the path made by the torch.
Among them was a priest.
Olivia almost lost her mind when she saw the identity of the flowers they were carrying. Even in the darkness of the night, each petal was vivid…
It was the chrysanthemum used for funerals.
It was then that Olivia’s frantic eyes saw the black clothes worn by the people. She muttered unknowingly.
“They’re getting ready for a funeral.”
Seta was startled, too, and stuck to the window.
“What…! Is that human woman dead? I’m telling you, it’s no use changing the flow of magic when that human dies! Death is the complete and absolute end!”
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Olivia thought.
…Whose funeral were they having? Perhaps, the knight who made a significant contribution to the Duchy returned to the land. Otherwise, there would be no way, so many maids were preparing for a funeral while crying.
Olivia looked as if something important had disappeared.
As she went down the stairs to the spacious hall on the first floor, although the chandelier was brightly lit, the atmosphere was strangely damp and dark.
‘I don’t think Laritte is dead, but… would she be somewhere in that crowd? I have to run down there to see…’
She caught the maid passing by the hall just in time. It was a young maid in the annex who had married a knight.
“Where is Laritte? I mean, the Duchess.”
The maid already looked haggard because her eyes were red and swollen.
“Madam…?”
Her voice trembled as she uttered that, as tears welled up again in her big eyes. The maid tried to hold back her crying.
Ah, you’re being ridiculous.
The maid remembered not long ago when Laritte and Ian left for the villa with a few employees. Everyone left in the mansion, including her, wished Laritte good health again. Obviously, she was thin, but the maid believed Laritte would be fine after she was treated at the villa…
“Madam is… In the arms of God…”
Yesterday, Madam died and returned to the mansion in a breathless form.
Laritte, in Ian’s arms, looked as if she was sleeping deeply… She didn’t open her eyes.
When the maid saw Olivia, who looked so much like Laritte, the dam of sorrow that she had barely blocked, burst. She didn’t know what Olivia, who had suddenly disappeared, had returned to get, although she couldn’t afford to be angry at her.
Watching her maid flounder in sorrow, Olivia faced a reality she had struggled to avoid.
“Where is the Duke?”
“Madam, Madam…”
“Stop crying!”
After a few more questions, Olivia got the information that Ian would be in the darkest and tallest northern room of the mansion.
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“Because there is Madam and Madam’s coffin… The Master has been spending all day there since yesterday…”
Olivia’s footsteps immediately moved towards the location. At first, her slow pace gradually increased. The hardwood floors sped up to the point it was creaking at her every step.
…This must be a bad joke.
Everyone must have been upset that she left without a word. She believed that they were all playing a prank. Still, she made an effort, too! To save her daughter, do they know how many people she bowed to and begged?
Look at what she brought after rubbing her hands that they burn!
It was fine if she could show the magic to Laritte and get kicked out, so she hoped she would show Laritte with her eyes open.
When Olivia entered the north hallway.
Ian was coming out of a white room with the door closed.
“….”
“….”
Ian and Olivia’s eyes met in the air.
The north hallway was strangely cold. Although it may be due to the location, it was also because only the minimum number of lights was turned on. It was because there was no change in Laritte’s body in the coffin.
It was quiet.
Ian had sunken.
The golden eyes beneath the scattered hair were brimming with weary emotions. Despite that, there was no sign of tears. It was because he had promised Laritte that he would always accept this moment.
He uttered to Olivia in a dry voice as if he was giving an everyday greeting.
“…I haven’t seen you in quite some time. Did the gatekeepers let you in safely?”
Olivia realized that Laritte was in the room where Ian came out. In the dark hallway with only the dim light, he shrugged his shoulders.
“I have no intention of blaming you for not being there at her last moment. Maybe…”
Seta walked behind Olivia.
Ian’s eyes immediately lit up. Seeing that she was with the dragon, she must have thought of a way to save Laritte.
“…Maybe, you probably tried something on your own terms.”
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“Laritte…?”
Olivia’s voice trembled slightly.
Ian forced a smile and crossed his arms. Then, a very faint light from the wall shone on him from behind.
“She went comfortably… She died happily in her favorite villa. Laritte is in the room over there, so take a look at her face and say your last goodbye.”
Only then did Olivia realize the reality, and as she stumbled, she leaned against the wall in the hallway. Paradoxically, a vase full of vibrant flowers reached her elbow.
“You can also stand to the left of the funeral procession if you wish.”
When the knights lift the coffin, the person most closely related to the dead walks from the left and leads the procession. Originally, it was the role that Ian was supposed to take. However, he thought Olivia would like Laritte on the left.
Seta walked past Olivia and stepped out in front of Ian.
“…Dead?”
Ian nodded his head, thinking Seta didn’t understand the metaphor. He tried to pretend he was okay, but to say ‘dead’ himself, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to hide his inside that had turned into rags.
Seta asked again, scratching his red hair.
His face was full of doubts.
“Really dead…?”
Ian’s smile disappeared.
He clenched his teeth and tried to control his emotions.
“…Yes.”
Seta had a reason for asking this question.
Since dragons were created from magic, they were no different from magic. So, he knew how to read the flow of magic through the air with great sensitivity. Seta could see the magical energy still moving aggressively around Ian’s room.
It meant Laritte was alive.
“The human woman is not dead yet.”
Finally, Ian screamed and grabbed Seta by the neck.
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“She’s dead!”
The blazing eyes stared at Seta in the cold hallway as if to kill him.
“You think it was easy for me to accept that Laritte was dead?!”
He had to feel Laritte’s life as he held her in his arms, slowly disappearing. It was a time of regret and lamentation, wondering if the results would have been different if he had done better.
“I heard Laritte’s breathing get smaller. I felt her pulse as I placed my arms around Laritte’s head. Dragon, you don’t even know where it is!”
“No, that’s…”
“It’s a pulse that goes down the chin and to the left of the center of the neck. It gradually slowed down and then completely lost its sign. Her heart, which had been beating a little, stopped completely. I felt it!”
Seta was as big as Ian, but he was grabbed by Ian’s forearm and moved back and forth.
“So, I’m telling you…”
“You can’t even imagine what I was feeling. With that kind of expression and voice, you’re arguing if my wife is dead!”
Seta was blocked by Ian, unable to speak and field with anger inside.
It was when Ian picked up his rough, exhaling breaths that Seta finally got the timing and shoved Ian away.
“That’s why humans are so lowly!”
He then glanced around.
Olivia also wept as she listened to Ian, imagining Laritte’s last moments.
“She’s not dead. Anyway, you guys think your knowledge is an eternal theorem. When someone dies, it doesn’t mean when their heart stops!”
Seta tapped his own forehead right in the middle and continued.
“When the soul leaves the body.”
The soul does not leave the body until the body has been damaged to some extent. Since Laritte’s soul was in her body, her magic must still be in an unstable flow. Seta then gestured to Olivia. She had to hand over the magic that she had brought to Laritte.
“What are you doing? There is still time.”
Now, it was a battle of every minute and every second.
