Chapter 44: The Funeral

The Valentina mansion, usually so warm and welcoming, had been draped entirely in black. Long banners hung from every window, and the once cheerful gardens now sat blanketed beneath a fresh layer of undisturbed snow, quiet and still, as though even nature itself understood the weight of the day.

Nobles from across the empire had gathered inside the grand hall, dressed in dark, somber colors, their hushed voices carrying softly beneath the high ceilings. Liam had been well respected among the merchant houses, and Elara’s warmth had earned her genuine affection from nearly everyone who’d ever met her. The turnout reflected that, filling the hall almost to capacity.

Two portraits stood at the front of the room, framed in polished silver, resting above a long table lined with white lilies. Liam’s easy, confident smile stared back from one frame, while Elara’s gentle, warm eyes looked out from the other, both captured in happier, brighter days.

Neo stood quietly near the back of the hall beside his parents, dressed in formal black, watching as noble after noble stepped forward to pay their respects, offering murmured condolences before drifting back into the crowd.

He caught fragments of conversation here and there, voices lowered just enough to seem discreet, though not nearly discreet enough to escape his notice entirely.

"Such a tragedy, Though I heard the entire Valentina fortune passes directly to the daughter now. All the land, the businesses, everything." one noblewoman whispered to her companion, fanning herself lightly despite the winter chill.

"And she’s betrothed to the Draven heir, isn’t she? That means the Draven family effectively controls it all now, doesn’t it? Quite the fortunate turn of events for them, if you think about it." another voice murmured back

"Fortunate is one way to put it, The Dravens already hold one of the strongest military forces in the empire. Add the Valentina fortune to that, and their influence practically doubles overnight." the first voice replied dryly.

Neo’s jaw tightened slightly, his hands curling into fists at his sides. He wanted to march straight over and tell them exactly how disgusting it was to whisper about inheritance and political gain at a funeral, but he forced himself to stay still, his gaze flickering briefly toward his parents.

Cassian’s expression remained carefully neutral, though Neo caught the faint tension in his jaw, the same quiet awareness Neo himself felt boiling beneath the surface. Sylvia, meanwhile, looked genuinely wounded, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she stared toward the two portraits at the front of the hall.

’They lost their best friends, And all anyone else can think about is how much richer we’re about to become.’ Neo thought bitterly, glancing back toward the whispering nobles.

He knew, deep down, that his family would inevitably gain from this. It was simply how the world worked, especially among nobility. But that didn’t make the whispered calculations feel any less hollow standing here, surrounded by grief that was supposed to be genuine.

Beside him, Nora stood perfectly still.

She wore a simple black dress, her violet hair pulled back neatly, her expression exactly as unreadable as it always was. She hadn’t spoken a single word since Sylvia had handed her that letter three days ago. She simply existed quietly through each hour, eating only when reminded, sleeping only when guided gently to bed, moving through the motions of each day like a small, hollow shell of herself.

Neo stayed close beside her the entire time, saying nothing, offering nothing except his quiet presence, the same way he had the night the news first arrived.

When the ceremony finally began, and the priest’s solemn words echoed softly through the grand hall, Nora’s gaze remained fixed entirely on the two portraits resting above the white lilies. Her lavender eyes stared at her parents’ faces with a distant, hollow expression, as though she were looking at strangers rather than the two people who had raised her.

Neo glanced sideways at her more than once throughout the ceremony, searching for any small crack in her composure, any tiny flicker of the grief he knew had to be buried somewhere beneath that still, blank surface. But there was nothing. No tears. No trembling. Just quiet, distant stillness.

’She’s not okay, She’s just gotten so good at hiding it that even now, she doesn’t know how to let it out.’

’Why did she have to suffer like this? First, she lost her parents, and now she can’t even express the grief she feels for them... What did she ever do to deserve this? She hasn’t even become the villainess yet... Or was this fate already waiting for her?’

’I don’t know if her parents died in the anime too. They were never mentioned, so I can’t even remember anything about them. Or... did this happen because the world was trying to push her further down the Path of the Villainess?’

The thought made something cold settle deep in his stomach.

As the ceremony drew to a close, the crowd slowly began filing out, murmuring their final condolences before drifting back toward their carriages, already whispering amongst themselves about matters far removed from grief.

Neo remained seated beside Nora long after most of the hall had emptied, the quiet murmur of departing nobles fading into the distance. Sylvia and Cassian lingered nearby as well, quietly speaking with the estate’s remaining staff about arrangements for the days ahead, though their eyes kept drifting worriedly back toward Nora’s still, silent figure.

Finally, once the hall had grown mostly empty, Neo reached over and gently took hold of Nora’s hand.

She didn’t pull away, though she didn’t react either, her gaze still locked distantly on the portraits above the lilies.

"You don’t have to say anything, I’m not going anywhere... Everything will going to be alright..." Neo said quietly, though he knew she couldn’t hear him. He simply held her hand a little tighter, hoping the gesture alone might carry whatever comfort his words couldn’t.

For a long moment, nothing changed. Nora remained perfectly still, her expression as blank as ever, staring at the two portraits as though searching for something within them that simply refused to be found.

Then, so faintly that Neo almost missed it entirely, her fingers curled slightly around his own.