The Healer Of Light And The Prince Of Darkness

84. That Staggering Tragedy

The procession was to be held immediately after the mourning session was over.

But it had been five hours and it didn't seem to end soon.

When Leo had said that everything mattered – every damn second training was important for self-development and perfection – he had meant it in its full meaning. But when the whole squadron tipped out in the early morning and each and every knight declared their wish to have a private talk with the two deceased, Leo didn't mind much.

"W-We apologize for n-not training now, but..."

The captain granted him with such a glare the man felt his legs melting.

"Don't stutter, damn brat! You are a knight from the knights' unit! Have shitty self-esteem!"

"Y-YES!"

But except for that and his nodding meaning he had approved of the knights' requests, there was no sound or move coming from him.

Some said he had spent the night with her.

Rinea, his lovely niece.

And by his gloomy aura and glares he gave everyone who went to her coffin to see her face, people thought he wasn't even now ready to let her go.

They couldn't even know that he had asked for cremation. Jax's expression had twisted in some kind of badly hidden bewilderment and irritation when he had heard about that.

Cremation for what? Just for him to fulfill his stupid wish to gaze at her everyday like he had always done? He might love her, but that was too much.

Cremation also wasn't that common in Hares.

"You can't possibly think..."

"Why not?"

Leo had glared at him menacingly with all his might, his voice becoming harsher and harsher with every single word that left his mouth.

"Are you perhaps her shitty father? Or fosterer? No, damn you, you are not! I'm her fosterer and she's mine!"

Anyway, the idea was soon dropped at the king's suggestion. All present at the throne the day before had their mouths shut about what had occurred and the ruler had his own suggestion.

"Let them see her. Let them mourn her. Let them think they have lost their own child."

Leo was dead ready to refuse as he wasn't one to be persuaded by some shit pulled by the king. But the ruler's adamant eyes stopped him.

"She was a great loss to this kingdom. I was going to make her the Queen."

"What in the shitty hell..." Leo snarled.

"And since this can no longer happen, let her receive what she had to when she was still alive. She deserves this honor and you know that very well."

Receiving post-mortem medal of honor?

This was the most absurd event Grand Duke Callios had ever visited in his whole life. A funeral of two traitors which had just turned into one of some royalty? Moreover, one of them was receiving the legendary Medal of Honor, granted for very few occasions by no one but the king?

The duke's eyes crossed the mourning hall with what seemed indolent look as his eyes ran across his daughter, covered all from head to toes in black and hiding her face.

So, she had finally learned what it was to find something precious and lose it all of a sudden...

"DON'T YOU THINK WE HADN'T LOST HER TOO...?!"

Around twenty years ago she had yelled at him and had left. With his son wrapped around her finger.

Not that it mattered. They had never been good enough for him to even think of their succeeding the Callios dukedom.

But now the gloatingly rising feeling filled his mind and heart.

He sighed deeply, 'Now she knows...'

The big, noisy and obnoxious captain of the other squadron would never miss him going to see her face, but the duke knew that at least the two had never had a proper reason to go against each other in public.

So, that Hera wouldn't stop him.

An odd and somewhat, prying eyes appeared on his nonchalant face as he studied the deceased with utmost interest.

'How ordinary...'

And at the same time...

'What a girl...'

His eyes narrowed in deep vexation.

Purple or any other similar color was the color of the nobility. The nobility that had been standing high from the commoners' ground since the creation of this kingdom.

It was a crime, no, a felony, for a person with such hair color to even do as much as to breathe in this country where he was Callios.

And yet, there she was.

He had hardly focused on the meeting the king had suggested the day before, but then she had appeared. And even though he had known all this time there was some annoying bug minding his business secretly in the shadows all the while, he had failed to see the threat she had possessed against him.

Though, she probably was unaware of this. As Leo's postulant the duke seriously doubted she would do such a foolish act.

To color herself in the sacred purple, something possible only for the Callios!

But then again, wasn't she also the one who had nearly made the king lose control and use his abilities before everyone?

"She mustn't...!"

The king's abilities...

Even though he was only an adopted son of the precious king, he was still too dangerous to be taken lightly. The duke doubted that even a Master of Four Elements would be able to compete with him. It was quite the relief that man had turned out to be so reasonable and wise, otherwise this very kingdom would have gone to ruin.

His eyes returned to her, boring into her closed ones. Whoever she was, she was really something. There was no mistake, she was worth being here – in this mourning hall – and receiving the greatest honor known in Hares.

She had even broken through Arcana's non-magic spell that easily...

With that in mind, the duke could do nothing but wonder what would have awaited all of them if this girl was still alive. Would she have become the king's puppet? A spy, an assassin, or...

'...the next queen...'

Realization dawned on him like cold water being poured all over his body.

It made sense...it made absolute sense...

The rumors of her losing the royal family's trust.

The king having her yesterday.

Her sins.

Her abilities...

Even if she had indeed sinned, the duke was sure Rhys Kai de Akrara couldn't give less than a thinker's damn about it. He wanted to have her for the future of the kingdom he held so precious in his heart.

Unlike his Queen.

Or even his own feelings.

He had sought solution in bringing the child of the princess and Grand Duke Talis in Hares, adopting him, and had finally found the perfect partner for him...

...only to lose her just before he had driven her to the corner, leaving her with no other choice but to except his wishes.

Wishes that were the least selfish.

Wishes that were only made for the sake of Hares and the people living in this Magic kingdom.

Oh, what a staggering tragedy it was...