Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 263

At Nova’s sudden demand, Freesia’s eyelashes trembled.

“Something… that shows we’re close?”

“Yeah!”

“Hmm, how should I show that to you, Nova?”

“That…! Like in that picture!”

Nova shouted as she pointed to her favorite picture book.

While Freesia was asleep, Riegel had brought her picture books painted with powdered jewels for his niece.

Nova couldn’t read fully yet, so Mathilde read them aloud for her, but she remembered every detail and believed them to be absolute truths about the world.

She would sternly point out only the most colorful, beautiful scenes and explain them with authority.

“Mama, look at this… This is what it means to be close.”

It was a story about a princess who met her destined partner and lived happily ever after.

Nova poked the final page with her chubby finger.

“You have to hold hands like this, and stay side by side.”

“……”

Freesia’s lips twitched faintly at the ridiculousness of it.

Why did nobles, who all married for politics anyway, get so obsessed with romantic tales of love?

They were the very ones who had scorned and destroyed her love, driving her to the edge of suicide.

Freesia shut the book.

It was just a fleeting moment, but comparing her end to a picture book made her feel indescribably bitter.

“…Even if we don’t do this, Mama is close with Papa.”

“No, you’re not!”

Nova’s face twisted with resentment at her mother denying the picture book she so firmly believed in.

“If you don’t do it this way, you’re not close. Then he’s not Papa.”

“Nova…”

“Nova don’t care!”

Freesia was at a loss as her daughter pouted fiercely.

She sneaked a glance at Izar.

‘I thought just the three of us being in the same space would be enough to create a good memory for Nova…’

She hadn’t expected her young daughter to come forward with such specific demands.

And now, she felt ashamed for hesitating over something so simple that her daughter wanted.

‘It’s just holding hands… I do that even when being escorted.’

As Freesia looked at him in her dilemma, Izar didn’t hesitate. He approached her.

But instead of taking her hand, he suddenly swept her into his arms and sat down in a plush velvet chair.

“Izar, wait—”

Freesia stammered, intending to protest, but he shamelessly kept his eyes only on Nova.

“How about this?”

“Uhh.”

“This is close, right, Nova?”

“Hmm…”

Nova gave him a very suspicious look, but for now, she decided to go along with it—since her Mama wasn’t resisting.

“Okay…”

“Then what’s next?”

“Uuuh…!”

But she was caught off guard by the unexpected question.

She had pasted them together like in the picture, but now she was confused—what else were they supposed to do to prove they were ‘close’?

Still, unwilling to admit she didn’t know, Nova mumbled with pride.

“J-Just stay like that! Nova has to say it’s okay.”

“Got it.”

Izar had no reason to refuse.

In fact, it would be better if Nova stayed unsure for a long time.

Only Freesia squirmed uncomfortably in his arms.

“You can let go now. This is a bit much…”

“Nova’s still watching.”

“……”

Freesia glanced at her daughter awkwardly.

Just as Izar said, Nova was pretending to brush her doll’s hair, but her eyes—sharp as a midday cat’s—were watching them both from the side.

It was as if she were ready to shout ‘You’re not Nova’s Papa!’ the moment Freesia pulled away from Izar.

In the end, Freesia had no choice but to relax and let herself be held.

‘Will this really help make good memories for Nova?’

Setting that doubt aside, it felt so unsettling, like she’d swallowed a whole mouthful of feathers.

It was fortunate that Izar hadn’t gotten angry about the burning of the ducal estate, but all of a sudden, she remembered the last time they had shared a bed before their separation.

Freesia curled her shoulders and bit her lip.

‘What an indecent thought…’

But regardless of her feelings, her body only ever knew him.

Being close like this inevitably made her recall that warmth.

“Ah!”

Just then, Nova ran over.

She leaned back a little and looked up at Izar.

“He’s asleep.”

“…Huh?”

“He’s sleeping!”

Nova whispered, pointing with her finger.

And sure enough, Izar had let his head fall against Freesia’s shoulder.

She blinked in surprise at his collapsed posture.

“…He really is.”

She had thought he looked exhausted from the moment they met.

He had said he couldn’t rest until he personally checked every poorhouse, every place within reach where she might have been.

For a full three years.

‘Strange man…’

Though she scolded him harshly in her heart, Freesia slowly leaned her head against his shoulder too.

Was she glad to hear that he had suffered so much?

‘…Maybe a little?’

She had always been the one reading his mood during their three years of marriage.

Now that their positions were reversed in this life, it didn’t feel so bad.

‘It’s a bit ridiculous, really.’

If he was going to go this far, he shouldn’t have erased her in the first place.

Even if she was born illegitimate, even if he hadn’t liked her at first, he shouldn’t have done that.

If not for just that one thing, she would have tried desperately to survive by his side.

‘But how much more does Izar have to suffer for my heart to feel at ease?’

Freesia reached out and lightly brushed his cheek.

She had thought about this when leaving the ducal estate, too.

At the very least, the Izar in this life had tried to change.

And yet, she recalled the core reason why she still didn’t want him at her deathbed.

〈To be born to parents like us. Happiness would forever elude that child anyway.〉

Even if she put aside everything else, she could never forget that line.

But that had been spoken by the ‘husband’ of her past life.

The present Izar… had never said such things about Nova. On the contrary, Freesia could see he was prickly, longing to be loved by the child, and that pained her heart as well.