Chapter 027
There were not many people at Evelyn’s funeral.
Most of her family was in the South. Sioden wrote them a letter to inform them of her passing, but he received nothing more than a formal response.
The vassals from the north attended, but even they had not come to honor Evelyn’s last moments. Through the many people who spoke to him, Sioden realized that they were more interested in the son conducting the funeral than in his mother’s service.
Lerox did not even show his face. Sioden trembled at his father’s cowardice. If only he could drag Lerox out and show him the inside of the coffin. He wanted to drag Lerox out and show him the coffin, to force him to witness the end of the woman he had killed, to make him feel at least some guilt and torment if he had any conscience.
He could have done that.
He could have climbed the cold stone steps of the castle, crossed the hallway leading to the lord’s chamber, and seized the nape of the man who had given him half of his bloodline.
He could show his father the last face of the deceased, and if the man still showed no remorse, he could have twisted his neck until he suffered.
Even though he was exhausted from tending to his mother, he was young and strong. If he used his physical advantages, he could have overpowered Lerox.
But Sioden did not do that.
‘Prove that my life was not in vain.’
Evelyn’s last words prevented him from killing his father.
Evelyn’s body was handled according to the northern funeral customs. The body would be buried and then cremated before a month had passed, with only the ashes being reburied.
Since the burial took place after the funeral, most of the mourners had already left by the time the first coffin was buried.
Only Sezna and Merwen, Evelyn’s handmaidens, remained by his side.
Rhys and Luke had said they would stay as well, but Sioden refused. Rhys’s father was one of Lerox’s close friends, and Luke’s status was not high enough to avoid Lerox’s scrutiny.
If they showed more than the usual respect at Evelyn’s funeral, they might attract Lerox’s attention.
On the day the coffin was buried, Merwen approached him just before the grave was covered, looking down into it one last time.
She cast her gaze upon the ivory coffin in the pit.
“How pitiful.”
Sioden agreed with her words, which were tinged with sorrow. In the society he belonged to, most who heard about Evelyn’s life would likely feel the same sentiment.
Thus, it was not strange for Merwen to say such a thing.
Merwen looked at his profile.
“You don’t have to hold back.”
Am I holding back? Sioden frowned.
He had endured a lot while caring for Evelyn when she was alive.
But Evelyn was dead now.
All that he was holding back were a few murderous impulses. If he didn’t hold back… Sioden briefly imagined fulfilling those impulses and quickly suppressed the thought. The temptation was strong enough that he felt he might actually act on it.
Merwen spoke again.
“When my mother passed away, I was truly sad.”
Through her words, Sioden was reminded that Merwen had also lost her mother.
Merwen was the sole heir of the Ethel family, one of the vassal families of Raslet, and she lost both her parents when she was young. She had then entered the castle under Lerox’s care and grew up with him.
She continued speaking.
“I was so horrifically sad that I thought it wouldn’t be strange if I just died like this, but in the end, I continued to live.”
Sioden felt there was something, in her opinion, that didn’t quite fit.
It was true that life doesn’t end easily.
But he had no reason to be sad. To mourn someone’s death, one must have built some bond with them in life. That was something Evelyn had never done with her son.
Nevertheless, Sioden could not deny the woman’s words.
Even if there was no reason to feel sadness, it was true that his feelings were terrible.
Merwen pronounced to him in silence.
“So you will be like that too.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Merwen’s words were not wrong.
Since Evelyn’s death, Sioden had continued to live.
In some ways, he was living quite “well.”
He no longer sneaked out of the castle at night, nor did he drink until he was drunk.
As he avoided socializing, it gradually became harder to meet someone’s gaze, but as long as he could suppress the nausea inside, it didn’t show.
He maintained an outwardly smooth relationship with Lerox.
There was no emotional exchange that would typically exist between a father and son, but such things were never necessary between them.
Lerox commanded, and he obeyed.
That was enough.
Time flowed continuously, and Sioden became an adult.
He did not escape at night as he had planned in his youthful days.
The rebelliousness that had once filled his childhood left no trace.
Except for one thing: the orphanage.
Lerox still disapproved of the orphanage, which was operated with the family’s finances, but Sioden did not close the facility.
The orphanage was the only trace of the time when he had not been buried under the family name.
He did not wish to return to that time, nor did he believe he could.
However, he needed something to prove that he had a human life as well.
That was all.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Any institution will encounter problems if it operates for a long time.
On the day Iella arrived at Raslet Castle, there was a trial to punish someone who had embezzled funds from the orphanage.
The embezzler was one of the retainers’ lackeys. The retainers of Raslet, who had been loyal to Lerox, often created such disturbances after he inherited the position. The object of their loyalty was Lerox, not him.
Sioden executed the criminal on the spot and issued an official document stating that in the event of a similar occurrence in the future, the criminal’s family would also be held accountable. The retainers of Raslet understood his words only when he took such action.
It was not the first time he had executed someone, but it did not feel good.
As he wiped the blood splattered on his face, Rhys approached him.
“The carriage from the Rowen family has arrived at the castle.”
It was earlier than expected. Sioden furrowed his brow even more than he already had.
Rhys handed him a letter sent from the castle.
“Lady Merwen says you should return quickly before you give a bad impression.”
The knight, who would grimace at the mention of the Rowen Lady, smiled slyly at the mention of Merwen’s name.
Sioden did not take the letter he was offered. Since Rhys had just told him the contents, there was no need to read it.
When Merwen saw him arrive at the castle, she said, “There’s a bloodstain left.”
She reached out her hand toward his chin. Sioden stepped back before her hand could touch him. Don’t touch me.
Merwen raised an eyebrow at him, who was now reluctant to make contact, unlike when they were children, but she did not attempt further. She tried to change the subject.
“You executed him on the spot, didn’t you?”
Without answering the woman’s words, Sioden asked, “Where is Lady Rowen?”
“In the upstairs reception room.”
The upstairs reception room is where guests are welcomed.
Confirming that the guest had been treated appropriately, Sioden chose some clothes to change into. Merwen chimed in from the side, “Not that one, but this one. You don’t suit warm colors.”
After changing clothes, he stepped out to find Merwen standing in the hallway, having briefly left the room.
After checking if his appearance was suitable, she said, “Good. We decided to call each other by our names.”
It was probably about Iella, but Sioden couldn’t respond. He still found her confusing.
Merwen encouraged him, “Why don’t you ask if you can call her by her name too? You’re going to be married soon, so it would be nice to get along.”
While there was nothing wrong with her words, he didn’t want such interference. Sioden did not reply to her.
As they parted in the hallway, Merwen said, “Since she hasn’t seen the whole castle yet, you should guide her around.”
Since she had only shown her the corridor with the portraits, the woman muttered, “I showed her the portrait of the former head of the family, and she said you resemble him.”
Sioden paused. Knowing which aspects made him sensitive, Merwen shrugged.
“She probably didn’t mean anything bad. Iella gets along well with her family.”
Merwen’s words were soon proven true.
‘Why are you getting married, Miss?’
Iella, sitting with her back to the door and unaware of his entrance, answered the question without hesitation.
‘Because it’s necessary for my father.’
It was a nonchalant response, as if asking something obvious.
Sioden approached the woman, who had her bright blonde hair elegantly styled and was wearing a warm-colored dress popular in the South.
When Iella turned around, sensing his presence, Sioden saw her round green eyes widen.
But that was all.
Iella didn’t even attempt to explain what she had just said.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Iella’s attitude remained the same afterward.
While preparations for the wedding were in full swing, Sioden once visited the woman who was organizing the ceremony, accompanied by his father’s advisor.
It wasn’t so much an intention to get close to her, but rather there were things he needed to know.
He knew nothing about how Iella had lived in the south.
Evelyn was also from the south, but there had been a significant time gap since she came to the north. Much must have changed.
In the study he had given to Iella, items for the ceremony were laid out.
After glancing around at them, Sioden asked the woman sitting on the sofa, “Did you use things like this in the South?”
The one who answered his question was not Iella.
“They used even better things.”
Sioden felt a surge of irritation at the pompous tone of Capren Rowen’s advisor.
Once the man fell silent, he belatedly remembered Iella’s presence.
He wondered if he had shown a side of himself that shouldn’t be revealed. Sioden glanced to the side.
However, Iella was already staring gloomily with her eyebrows furrowed.
His heart sank at the expression that resembled someone who had been sold.
Conversely, something rose up inside him.
He was not the one who commanded this marriage.
Yet Sioden could not shake the thought that he would appear to the other party like a villain.
He belatedly explained to someone who already had a poor impression of him.
“The north is not such a barren land. I can guarantee a standard of living comparable to what you enjoyed in the capital, so there’s no need for such a face.”
Iella looked up at him intently. Her pale green eyes appeared confused. Sioden understood why her gaze was wavering.
Iella was measuring him up.
Just as the vassals of Raslet had done until now.
Whenever faced with the scrutinizing eyes of others, resentment would naturally rise within him.
Ultimately, Sioden added one more remark.
“She’s a beloved daughter, so you should at least do that much for her.”
Even if there was some sincerity mixed in, it was ultimately a sarcastic comment, but he couldn’t hold back the impulse.
After closing the door and walking down the hallway, Sioden repeated to himself to calm down.
It was only natural that Iella did not take a liking to him.
Iella might have been willing to converse with him for a night, but she likely had no intention of marrying him.
Her apparent fondness for him was probably just a light remark that unexpectedly spread like wildfire among those around her.
Refusing a marriage decreed by royal command would strike a blow to Rowen, and if all went well, she might obtain Glasyr, which was Capren’s wish, hence her arrival in Raslet.
That day, Sioden concluded.
It’s foolish to expect anything from this marriage.
