Chapter 8
It was as if lightning had struck Sebastian where he stood. He went rigid, unable to move.
Declared dead?
He grabbed his friend by the arm. “You must be mistaken! What do you mean, declared dead?!”
His friend blinked in surprise. “There’s no mistake. Look, here’s the obituary.”
“Your Grace, the Duchess was officially declared deceased three days ago at Vermilion Ridge. Because she wasn’t a native
of the area, the paperwork had to go through extra steps.”
“The person who handled the declaration was none other than Her Highness, Princess Emily, the Empress’s adopted
daughter. Her word is not to be questioned.”
“But what surprises me is-why didn’t you know about this?”
Dead…
Sebastian’s legs buckled, and he sank to the ground.
It took a long moment for Eleonora’s father to come to his senses.
So all this time-when they couldn’t find her-it was because she had already…
Was she murdered?
Mother lunged forward and grabbed Sebastian’s friend. “Sir! Was my daughter murdered? Have they caught the killer?”
The officer shook his head. “They say she was gravely ill. When the princess found her, she was already at death’s door.
She only mentioned that someone would come inform the family in a few days. And now, here you are.”
Gravely ill?
A thunderclap echoed through Mother’s mind.
I…
Suddenly, she remembered-on the day Eleonora left, she had smiled faintly and asked: “If I died from illness, would any of
you miss me?”
Ah…
So she had already known she was dying…
But why hadn’t she seen it?
What had she said back then?
“With your complexion looking so healthy, how could you be sick? Don’t say such ominous things!”
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Mother collapsed to the floor, a wave of despair washing over her.
But no tears came.
She just sat there, vacant and hollow-eyed.
After a while, she stood and looked calmly at the officer. “Sir, how can I meet the princess? I’d like to see her.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know. But the princess mentioned she would be in touch within three days.”
Mother stood in a daze. Father wasn’t doing much better.
Sebastian composed himself just enough to escort his in-laws home.
Then he returned alone to the main hall of his own house, sitting stiffly, staring at a teacup on the table.
His hands were still trembling.
He couldn’t accept it.
How could someone as strong and good as Eleonora have died of illness?
Illness always had symptoms-but Eleonora hadn’t shown any…
Wait.
He suddenly remembered the nosebleeds… the fainting…
He had thought she was faking it. A ploy. A trick to keep him from caring for Ophelia.
But now he knew… she had truly been dying.
Sebastian smashed the porcelain cup in front of him.
In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to end his own life.
Why?
Why had he only realized something was wrong now?
Gravely ill…
For someone to die so quickly, she must’ve been suffering for a long time.
So why hadn’t he noticed?
He clutched his face, memories flashing before his eyes.
He remembered-half a month ago, Eleonora had asked for comfrey to treat her illness.
But he and her parents had thought she was faking it.
They had paid a high price to give the comfrey to Ophelia instead…
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Which meant Eleonora’s countdown had already begun back then.
Sebastian’s teeth chattered uncontrollably.
No wonder…
No wonder she gave everything to Ophelia.
She hadn’t done it out of generosity-
She had known she was dying.
She didn’t need those things anymore….
“Ahhh!” Sebastian let out a roar, his face soaked in tears.
