The Last Will of Count Lutgarth
The rain was falling in a steady, dismal drizzle on the day of the funeral.
It was a disaster; if water pooled in the grave they had dug beforehand, it would be a major problem. Theodore Lutgarth listened to the solemn prayers recited by the priest, pondering this, when he suddenly lifted his gaze.
Tiny whispers, floating like dust, had drifted through the air and brushed against his ears.
"I can't believe it. To think that woman would have the nerve to show her face at the funeral."
"If she had any consideration for Lord Theodore, she wouldn't dare."
"She is a stain on the Lutgarth family."
"She’s the foster daughter the late Count cherished so much he wouldn't even blink if she were put in his eyes. It’s only proper she attends."
"Proper? Considering the Countess died because of her and her mother, Lord Theodore would be justified in tearing her to pieces."
"The same goes for Lord Pavel. No matter how much he doted on that illegitimate child, he ended up estranged from his only heir forever. I wonder if his heart was truly at peace."
The criticism and mockery continued, but there was no way to discern the expression of Olivia Peril, who stood in a corner of the chapel with a composed posture, her face hidden behind a black veil.
She was likely grieving. Unlike him.
That was what Theodore thought. His father had loved Olivia, and Olivia had loved his father. The late Count was closer to being Olivia's father than his own.
"Perhaps she is even rejoicing."
And the mourners knew that fact as well.
"Hasn't it been a long time since Lord Theodore grew estranged from his father? He hasn't returned to his hometown once in nearly ten years. I heard they haven't even exchanged letters."
"He didn't even attend the deathbed, did he?"
"That’s too harsh to say. Lord Theodore must be the one most heartbroken that he arrived too late to witness the end."
"Poor Count!"
"Honestly, he brought it upon himself. He was so obsessed with his mistress and her illegitimate child that he drove his wife to her death. It’s only natural his son would hate him."
Those who spoke such things were mostly relatives or guests who had come from afar to pay their respects. The retainers who had served the Count closely for years wore uncomfortable expressions but could not bring themselves to say a word.
It was common knowledge in Lutgarth that Pavel, the late Count, had neglected his wife because he was infatuated with a woman named Peril. The Countess had discovered the existence of Peril and Olivia while pregnant with her second child; she had collapsed from the shock and suffered a miscarriage. Unfortunately, despite their marriage being purely political, she had loved Pavel.
And not long after, she died. Everyone whispered that the Count was as good as his wife's murderer.
Pavel had been a benevolent lord, but he lost his honor completely because of that incident.
The loss of honor led to tangible losses as well. The Knox family, the Countess's kin, and their relatives severed all cooperative ties with the Lutgarth house, and Pavel lost his standing at court. This even lowered the credit of the Lutgarth earldom itself.
The relatives had begged him to cast Peril out and apologize to the Knox family. However, while Pavel did apologize to the Knoxes, he neither cast Peril out nor remarried.
"Do you think the vows made to a lady are so easily broken? Lady Peril shall continue to receive my loyalty and protection."
Even when they urged him to at least remarry a woman from a good family, Pavel refused. Since it was clearly because of Peril, everyone mocked Pavel’s claim of "loyalty to a lady."
To begin with, it was unclear if Peril even held the status to be called a "lady." No one knew who her parents were or which family she came from. Her manners and education made her seem as though she had received aristocratic training, but a woman who was truly well-bred would never play the role of another man's mistress.
When Peril died, the blood relatives of Lutgarth were relieved. They thought that now, Pavel would come to his senses and remarry a noblewoman of true dignity and stature.
But Pavel never remarried, and after his only son Theodore left home, he lived relying solely on Olivia, Peril's daughter.
In the end, even a funeral that should have been pious was filled with gossip.
Theodore let those words wash over him.
What people said was both the truth and a lie. He had despised and hated his father, and even now, he didn't feel particularly sad.
But it was a bit different from what they thought. During his passionate youth, there were times he resented his father, but in his cooled heart, there was little room for negative emotions anymore. His father was merely an ordinary human being with a few major flaws and a few major virtues.
Whenever he thought that, Theodore realized that even hatred was just another expression of affection.
"Theo."
His maternal cousin, Andrei Knox, called him in a low voice. Theodore shook his head slightly to signal he was fine.
He had returned to fulfill his responsibilities as the eldest son of Lutgarth, and he would continue to do so. There was no reason for other emotions to interfere.
"May you light the path for the one who departs."
The priest's prayer ended. The organ began to play a funeral dirge.
Following the procedure, Theodore was the first to step forward and place flowers inside his father's coffin. Then, he stepped aside to watch the process of the others offering flowers and expressed his gratitude to the mourners.
The flower offering, starting with close relatives, continued in order of their closeness to the deceased. But until the mourners who had never even met the Count in person had finished their turn, Olivia simply stood quietly in a corner.
Only when no one was left did Theodore glance at her. He thought that perhaps she was too sad to even move.
"Shall we conclude now?"
The priest asked him in a low voice. Theodore did not nod, waiting for a moment.
Finally, Olivia moved. It was the very last turn.
Pavel Lutgarth in the coffin was already buried under all sorts of flowers. Olivia gently laid the white flower she was holding in a corner. As if it were a sin for her flower to be placed in Pavel's coffin.
Theodore watched her quietly. He still couldn't tell what her face looked like behind the veil, but judging by her calm movements, she didn't seem to be crying.
Signaling that it was time to finish, he nodded to the priest. When the priest signaled to close the coffin, two deacons carefully shut the lid.
Several people collapsed, unable to bear it any longer, and sobbed. Theodore glanced at Olivia again, but she remained standing with a rigid posture.
The priest began to walk ahead, ringing a bell. The coffin followed behind, trailed by the choir and a deacon carrying a censer.
Theodore's place was right behind the censer. His uncle, Dennis, followed him, supporting his sobbing aunt, Daria. Those who would follow to the graveyard formed a long procession in the order they had offered flowers.
Would Olivia follow at the very back this time? Or would she return home early to avoid people's gazes?
Theodore had a fleeting thought, but then he decided it didn't matter. Pavel would have made all the plans for her, so there was no need to worry.
About her future, or her grief.
***
It was that evening when the heirs of the Lutgarth earldom gathered in the study.
It was an unreasonable thing to do. Since the funeral had been held that day, it would have been appropriate to spend at least tonight immersed in mourning and begin discussions of the inheritance a few days later, or at the very least, tomorrow evening if it were urgent.
But the relatives of Lutgarth were not willing to wait.
"It has to be done anyway, so why drag it out?"
The voice of Pavel's younger brother, Dennis, muttering to rationalize his actions, echoed in the quiet study. He was burdened with debts he could never repay due to luxury and failed investments.
No one answered. Although the study was quiet, there was a strange, storm-before-the-calm restlessness. It was an atmosphere as if a great fight were about to break out at any moment.
'It’s not a strange thing, after all.'
The executor of the will, Marquis Asensio, narrowed his eyes and surveyed the room. Pavel's sins were deep.