Chapter 4
Lea Hamilton’s funeral was scheduled to be held at the largest church in Rebon, the capital of the Lubeck Empire.
She arrived two hours before the service was set to begin.
It took some effort to send Pauline away at the church entrance. No one could be allowed to see her grief.
“Don’t tremble. Face the truth.”
Lea clasped her hands, covered in black lace gloves. How many people in the world had watched their own funeral?
A subtle trembling started at the tips of her feet and moved slowly through her body. It felt like the beginning of something terrible, a warning of the painful sight she was about to face.
“You have to be strong. You’re still alive.”
Lea repeated those words to herself over and over, like a quiet chant. When her heart finally steadied, she stepped into the church without hesitation.
It looked like any other grand chapel. A tall, solemn cross stood before her, and light streamed through stained-glass windows, casting vivid colors across the floor.
But to Lea, only one thing stood out. The coffin. Her own coffin.
She walked toward it without stopping. The moment had come. This was real.
“Oh God…”
Lea, who had always put her faith in reason and science, found herself calling out to heaven without thinking the moment she saw herself.
The coffin was filled with white lilies. Inside lay her body, the body of a young woman who had just turned twenty.
“How could this be so cruel?”
Though the body had been prepared carefully, the damage was severe. Her face was barely recognizable. It was too painful to look at. Lea couldn’t even bring herself to cry out loud. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I caused your death, Lea Hamilton.”
She had never imagined that loving one man would cost her everything.
“I promise I’ll make him pay for killing you… and for what he did to Father…”
Her throat tightened. She couldn’t finish the sentence. But there was no time to drown in sorrow. She didn’t even feel like she had the right.
“I’ll drag Allen McDowell right to the gates of hell. That’s as far as I’ll go.”
She had heard that people tremble in fear at the entrance of hell. She would make sure he suffered at that moment, trapped in misery, unable to live, unable to die, and unable to turn back.
“I’ll become Allen McDowell’s hell.”
Lea wiped her tears away. It was too early to cry. She had worked hard on her appearance today, and she couldn’t let it fall apart now.
“Once everything is over, I’ll follow after you. Goodbye, Lea Hamilton.”
She gave her past self a quiet, steady farewell.
Then she checked the coffin carefully. She needed to find the necklace her father had given her.
But it was gone.
“Why isn’t it here? Was it lost?”
Just then, an older priest entered the church. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be the bishop in charge of the funeral.
“Father, was there no keepsake found with the body?”
Lea asked him directly.
“Ah, the Duke of Courtois’s attendants likely collected any belongings when they recovered the body. They plan to return them to the family.”
“The Duke of Courtois?”
This was not what she had hoped to hear. Things had just become more complicated.
Time passed, and the funeral was about to begin. The musician had already arrived and was preparing the funeral hymn. But Lea remained the only mourner in the room.
“Are there still no guests?”
The bishop looked around and approached Lea. It was only natural to wonder why the hall was so empty.
“I’m enough.”
“Pardon?”
“Please begin the service.”
“But the seats are still…”
The bishop looked around once more but then gave a slight nod, sensing that no one else would come.
“Allen McDowell will come. I know he will.”
Lea folded her hands and began to pray.
She needed Allen to come. She was waiting for him.
The bishop began the service, praying sincerely for the soul of young Lea, who had left the world too soon.
As his prayer grew more emotional and reached its peak, Lea felt someone’s presence at the entrance, just as she had expected.
He had arrived.
“Lea!”
His voice was urgent, but his footsteps were calm.
The bishop stopped his prayer and turned to the door. Lea stayed in place, still praying.
She knew exactly who it was. There was no need to be shaken. She just had to remain calm.
“May I ask who you are?”
The bishop asked politely, though his voice held a hint of discomfort. A guest at a funeral was expected to sit quietly and show respect.
Lea adjusted her black veil and rose slowly to her feet, ready to face him.
Then she saw him.
A man with golden hair and handsome, refined features.
And a man soaked in sin. The one who had been her greatest mistake.
“Mr. Allen McDowell?”
“Yes. I’m Allen McDowell.”
“I am Grace Vizak.”
He must be calculating everything now.
Who is this woman?
Lea didn’t have a friend like her.
Lea could practically hear the gears turning in Allen’s head. He was a man who knew every detail of Lea’s life—what she liked and disliked, which jewelry and dresses she wore on specific days.
“And how did you know Lea? Were you… friends?”
“Friends? No.”
“Then may I ask who you are?”
“My family once had ties with the Hamilton Trading Company, long ago. I couldn’t ignore the news.”
“Ah, I see. Thank you for coming.”
At last, relief spread across Allen’s face.
Lea gave him a slight bow to offer her condolences.
As she stepped aside, Allen, unsteady on his feet, approached the coffin.
“Lea…”
He reached out and lifted the delicate cloth that covered the body.
His hands trembled, but his eyes were filled with the desire to confirm the truth. This was the last thing he needed to see before claiming ownership of the Hamilton legacy.
“How could this have happened…”
There she was, wearing a wedding dress. It was undeniably Lea Hamilton.
Allen dropped to his knees, pretending to be overwhelmed with sorrow, and began to cry.
“You should have listened to me. Why were you so reckless…”
The veins in his hand bulged as he gripped the side of the coffin.
He shook his shoulders, as if unable to endure the pain of his fiancée’s tragic end.
That was the moment Lea had been waiting for. She stepped forward and gently patted his shoulder, offering comfort.
“I’m not sure what words could possibly comfort you right now.”
She was honestly shocked at her own composure. She was comforting the man who had killed her, and yet her voice remained calm and graceful.
“You are Grace Vizak now.”
She repeated the words in her mind, trying not to slip.
Grace’s body was small and delicate, but undeniably beautiful. Golden hair, pale skin, and deep violet-blue eyes that shimmered like gemstones.
Even her breathing was soft, like a breeze.
She was breathtaking, even to another woman.
Allen slowly gathered himself and stood up, once again taking on the role of the grieving fiancé.
“Thank you for being here. For staying by my fiancée’s side on her final journey.”
“Please, there’s no need to thank me. I’m just truly saddened by the loss.”
“No, really. You’ve done what I could not. I searched desperately for Lea’s whereabouts, but in the end, I failed to prevent this tragedy.”
Allen began explaining to her what had happened back home, why Lea had fled, and how the Hamilton family had been struggling.
“I tried everything to convince her and her father, but they insisted that merchants must sell whatever brings in profit. They completely dismissed my concerns.”
“That’s terrible…”
Lea realized then just how little she had actually known about Allen.
“I thought I understood him, but I didn’t know a thing.”
“It went against everything I believe in, against my moral values, so I tried to stand firm. But I never thought she would abandon me like that and run away.”
Tears kept falling as he spoke.
Lea took a handkerchief from her small bag and offered it to him. Her fingers ached with the urge to wrap around his neck and squeeze, but she bit her lip and held back.
“Save your tears.”
Her voice cracked slightly despite her effort. It was hard to speak kindly to someone so full of lies.
“If it were me, I wouldn’t want the man I loved to mourn me forever. I’d want him to move on.”
“You’re right. Thank you for your kind words.”
“Miss Hamilton must have known how deeply you cared.”
“Still, I’ll probably regret forever that I didn’t try harder to stop her that day.”
Allen wiped his tears with the handkerchief she had given him and continued.
“Lea was incredibly stubborn. She never really listened to me.”
Lea looked at him with feigned sympathy, then slowly turned away.
But Allen reached out and gently stopped her with a soft tone.
“Miss Vizak, I’m sorry, but I’d like to ask about her final moments. Could you find some time to speak with me?”
“Excuse me?”
Just as Lea turned to respond, another man’s low voice echoed quietly through the chapel.
“Grace.”
Her eyes instinctively turned toward the voice, like a reflex.
A man in a black uniform was walking toward them.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and completely dressed in black. His presence filled the narrow aisle, and his expression was cold as ice, yet something about him burned like fire.
His black eyes pierced straight through people, commanding attention.
He radiated strength, far beyond anything Allen could match.
“Duke Courtois.”
Lea’s face lit up as she walked toward him. He naturally placed his arm around her shoulders.
“!”
She flinched at the unexpected gesture.
“What is he doing now? He never acts like this.”
“It seems Miss Hamilton’s fiancé has finally arrived.”
Lea tilted her head up slightly and whispered the words to him.
Allen looked at both of them and tried to understand what he was seeing.
He’s probably assuming we’re lovers.
“It’s a relief the bereaved has finally shown up. I was worried the body would be dumped in a public grave as an unidentified corpse.”
Terran’s words carried a quiet scolding directed at Allen for showing up so late.
“He grieved a lot,” Lea said softly.
“Then we’ve done everything we can, haven’t we, Grace?”
“Yes.”
Just then, Allen, who had been silently observing the situation, stepped closer to Lea.
“Miss Vizak, would you mind introducing the gentleman beside you? I’d like to thank him personally.”
“This is Duke Terran Courtois.”
“What…? Ah, the famous Duke Terran Courtois. I’m Allen McDowell. Thank you for arranging my fiancée’s funeral. I won’t forget your kindness.”
Allen looked more stunned to be meeting Terran in person than he was about his fiancée’s death.
Terran, however, glanced at him with little interest, then turned his gaze to his own fiancée.
“Let’s go.”
With one arm still resting over Grace’s shoulder, Terran turned to leave.
But Allen didn’t let them go so easily.
“Wait, just one more thing.”
He stepped forward, directing his question not at Terran, but at her.
“What would you like to know?”
“Did Lea leave behind anything? A personal item, like… a necklace, perhaps?”
“A necklace?”
“Ah, never mind. I’ll check for myself.”
Seeing Lea’s puzzled expression, Allen quickly moved aside to let them pass.
“Is it something important?”
Lea asked, curious to hear what Allen would say.
“It’s been passed down through the trading company for generations. I just wanted to keep that one thing safe.”
“Then it must carry part of the company’s history and secrets. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about it.”
Lea answered calmly, though her eyes drifted toward Terran. She already had a good idea of who had the necklace.
“I see…”
Lea gave Allen a polite smile, then turned away, quietly pushing down the fury building in her chest.
“Your fiancée will be laid to rest in the church cemetery here.”
“Duke Courtois, I can’t leave Lea’s body in a foreign land.”
“It’s probably better than letting it be discarded back in your homeland.”
Terran’s tone was calm but firm as he spoke to Allen.
“What do you mean by that?”
Allen’s eyes widened. It was as if Terran had read straight through him.
“You know exactly what I mean. I don’t need to explain it.”
“Still, I could request Galdensia to have the body returned.”
Before Terran could respond, Grace stepped in.
“Don’t you want the woman you loved to rest in peace?”
If Allen didn’t cause a fuss, at least Lea’s body would be left undisturbed.
Allen fell silent.
He had wanted to deal with the body personally in Galdensia to tie up loose ends. But now that he had confirmed her death, there was no need to push further.
“The dead don’t speak.”
At that moment, the somber sound of the funeral requiem echoed through the church.
Lea turned her eyes back to the coffin, then slowly looked toward Allen.
“This is your requiem, you bastard.”
