114 THE FUNERAL (2)
"It's funny how people would react to this news and even spread malicious comments about you, sister," Alexander stated as they began to walk her back towards her room, away from the crowd's hateful gazes.
Oh right, they were looking at her as if she created such a mess. Some of them were glaring towards her while others gave her hateful eyes, talking behind their fans and her back.
She has received tons of hate yet she has not received any criticisms or reports about why the crowd is looking at her weirdly.
"What do you mean?" Felicia asked, looking at Alexander who had his gaze focused on what was in front of them rather than looking at her. She could identify that Alexander didn't want to disclose what he heard but she deserves to know anyway.
"They've been telling you that it's your fault and you're the one causing this trouble, the source of bad luck and curse. It gets out of hand but I controlled it already. It seems that someone has the intention to ruin you really bad. I'm guessing it's the common enemy." Alexander stated that made her frown.
What? Source of bad luck and curse? What curse is he talking about? It's making her feel curious but at the same time, she wanted to throw a goddamn table at the crowd's behaviour and beat them up.
It sounds so negative even though she did not understand some part of it. But if it comes from Helena herself then it's damn obvious that it's already ruining her image and her reputation once again.
"They're bringing up the past event and called it a curse. That you're the reason as to why the second Duchess has passed away because you sent her to the convent—"
"Excuse me?! How the hell did they come up with such an idea?! I wasn't even the one who decided that Tyren should stay at the Holy Church to repent for her sins! I didn't recommend it!" She exclaimed in frustration and disbelief.
What the hell? She did the right thing to protect herself yet she's being perceived as an ungrateful child who knows nothing about kindness and lets Tyren fool her and manipulate her.
She was the one who caused such troubles towards Felicia and yet she's getting the blame as to why the Duchess is dead?! How laughable that they think of her so lowly!
She hasn't even taken a proper revenge on that damn woman and she just died just like that? This is out of her hands!
"I understand you so I did everything and it might not be still under completion, but believe me, I had already done of the names and even our employees who spread such rumours and have her removed. Other than that, we received positive feedback so it's at least a win." Alexander responded as he then opened the door for Felicia to enter, before locking it all up to forbid anyone being nosey about them.
"I hate how these people are easy to manipulate using Helena's charm. It's unfair to have a buff like that." She mentioned as she sat on her bed, groaning in exasperation, malding over the rumours.
It's too much, too provocative and too much to handle. If she wasn't strong and was still weak like before, she would've cried over this simple yet very below-the-belt insult and run away.
But of course, she's not the same person she was before, completely more refined, knowledgeable and different from who she was before.
"Don't worry. They're not that threatening yet. Not unless they began to claim you're a with or so." Alexander laughed and soon fell into silence after being glared at by Felicia who wasn't happy at all with this happening.
"Anyway... It's still suspicious that Tyren has died
even though a month has passed ever since the Duke sent her away to recover and rethink her decisions. It's highly unlikely for her to commit suicide when she's about to come home." Felicia asked as she looked at Alexander who was caught by her sudden realization.
"So you too have noticed it. It's really suspicious. I've been thinking about it since the day it was being said. The Duchess is not that low for her to stoop below her level and make a cowardly move. Such a thing does not suit the Duchess." Even Alexander has agreed upon noticing it.
He was just shutting his mouth, thinking that it was nothing and he must have been the only one to have thought of it. Who knew that Felicia would even spot the difference with such cowardly actions?
"Plus... Isn't it weird that the Duke has not requested an autopsy? But maybe he's grieving and has already accepted the truth while being guilty. After all, he was the one who decided to throw her towards the convent." Felicia replied but it doesn't make any sense about it.
Gosh, why is she making a big deal out of this when her enemy has been removed without her interfering in Tyren's life? Yet still, it was not some kind of a victory for Felicia.
She's not the one who killed Tyren, so it does not count.
"Anyway... I had a dream that has been haunting me nonstop." Felicia confessed after remembering that vivid nightmare that she had foreseen in her dream.
She told Alexander, called Noctua and told them about everything that had happened in the dream, making their faces create various expressions, mostly negative ones.
Even she could feel the eerieness that Alexander had felt while Noctua remained silent, assessing the dream and trying to formulate why such a dream had occurred and it was too dark to even dream about.
"Any idea what's happening?" Felicia asked, meeting the silence after she had told them about what had happened in that dream. It still gives her the chills, a lot of times just by remembering it.
"I feel like... Something's up that I can't explain." Noctua responded as Alexander and Felicia were waiting for his judgment. He could give the answer but it was too hard to explain.
"Huh? Why?" Felicia asked. It was visible that Noctua was having a hard time trying to process the information about it.
"It's unusual for you to act like this," Alexander told Noctua who just sighed, shaking its small head as he too felt very unusual about himself. Not because of the eerieness but rather the inability to can't give an answer.
There was something blocking him from ever telling Felicia about the answer. He had already figured it out, but it was as if a mouthpiece was being given to him, putting him in a place where he could not respond to such claims.
"I can't..."
"What? Why?" Felicia asked, obviously disappointed that Noctua had no words about it. She was hoping he would be able to answer but no, he didn't want to.
"You have to find it on your own, Felicia. To know the truth and to look for it. I can't give it to you." He responded, disappearing into darkness while leaving Alexander and Felicia speechless.
That was unexpected.
—
The funeral lasted for a long week and today was the last day, the burial in which Tyren's body will finally reach eternal peace by the Goddess's side. But even Felicia doubts whether she'll ever get to be in the presence of the Goddess.
If she does, then that would mean that the Goddess has a loving heart and simply overlooks malicious intent from the past. That's quite ludicrous from a Goddess deemed to be fair and justice.
Helena who gained a lot more sympathy cried, didn't wish to leave the coffin or her mother while her knight just stood there, letting her bawl out all of her feelings while looking at her with such pity.
For her to lose her mother at such a young age is already very sad.
The atmosphere was melancholic and low. Everyone was questioning why the Duke wasn't acting like a saddened husband who just lost his second wife. In fact, he was just standing in front, behind Helena who was hugging the coffin and just stared at the two, cold and expressionless.
Even Felicia questioned why he was acting that way. It's very unrealistic of him to not shed a tear since it's the wife that he married ever since the death of the original Duchess, Moniqua.
Right now, he looks like this whole ordeal was just a play in which a marionette with no expression is being played. It was too strange that Felicia had begun to suspect that the Duke might be under some kind of a different spell.
The charm... It's not being applied to the Duke. The charm works whenever Helena is around the crowd or with a specific person. But the Duke has gone too far by seemingly abandoning them.
Even Helena.
Therefore... The spell in which the Duke is being under is different and she has to find out what the spell is all about that made the Duke into a mobilized robot. Sure he is an unusual character, but right now? He's built weirdly different from his usual self.
"Don't leave me, mommy! Don't leave me!" Helena screamed and was able to take away Felicia's attention towards what she was thinking about.
The coffin is slowly being buried down, while guests throw white roses on top of the coffin which was slowly being covered by soil, to finally bid their goodbye towards the deceased.
Everyone was present, except for the Empress who offered to shoulder some of the expenses, the Pope who just gave a flower, and Constantine who buried himself in paperwork just offered another batch of flowers for the ceremony.
The Knight was not keeping Helena in his arms, struggling as Helena was letting out a mouthful yet painful cry, still in a deep wounded state in her heart, crying over her mother's death.
Yet the three, Roelle, Alexander, and Felicia just stood as they watched how they lowered the coffin, in silence and just let the atmosphere clear its way rather than being fake.
