Chapter 32: Chapter 30: The Rosewood funerals

On the day of the funerals, white and grey clouds skidded over a blue sky. Winds made flags, banners, coats, and dresses flap and flutter, and made the summer day feel a little cooler.

The funerals were held in the Rosewood Cemetery in the morning, not far from the Rosewood summer manor.

Ren Xiyang was dressed in a new black long coat with the red Rosewood emblem, complete with white shirt, black waist coat, black trousers, and black boots. The air around him was unusually cool, a temperature he extended to Kel, Solicitor Carmine, and a few others standing near him.

Four coffins were carried by sombrely dressed servants into the Rosewood Cemetery where four grave sites were prepared: the late Earl Roland Rosewood, Lady Marie Rosewood nee Cordovan, and their two children Silas Rosewood and Alyssa Rosewood.

The Capital Investigators had finished examining the ashes of the bodies. They couldn’t separate the ashes and could only identify people by the items that had survived the flames—the precious jewellery belonging to the various Rosewoods. According to Ayden Rosewood’s recount, those ashes contained more than just the Rosewoods, as the assassins had piled a number of dead bodies into the flames.

In the end, Solicitor Carmine couldn’t have nothing inside those coffins. He decided to partition the mixed ashes into small urns placed inside each coffin, along with the personal jewellery of each deceased Rosewood.

Ren Xiyang stood near the closed coffins as a long line of people dressed in mourning black paid their respects. Count Aegean was among them—aside from being Prince Rian’s aide, he was also the lord of the Aegean fief. The Rosewood managers were also there.

Among the nobles who came were also their children. Ren Xiyang spotted the children who had been Alyssa’s and Silas’s friends. It reminded him that a nonzero number of people knew Alyssa and knew her personality. It was the correct choice not to pretend to be Alyssa.

The Cordovan family were among the first to pay their respects. Baron Cordovan and Lady Cordovan were accompanied by their three children.

“It was too unexpected, they all left too early,” Lady Cordovan said, her eyes drooping in sadness.

“We’re very sorry for your loss, your father was a powerful man,” Baron Cordovan said sombrely.

Ren Xiyang inclined his head slightly, his face not giving away that he knew they were the murderers. “Yes. I’m sorry for your loss, Baron Cordovan. Your sister, my mother, was a powerful mage.”

Baron Cordovan nodded stiffly.

After giving their condolences and paying their respects to the dead Rosewoods, the Cordovans remained near him, making a silent claim of their closeness to the Rosewood family. And in this way, the other nobles who came also had to speak to them after they paid their own condolences out of politeness.

The other nobles were curious about Ayden Rosewood. The name ‘Ayden Rosewood’ had spread through aristocratic society over the last few weeks. The nobles’ attendance had two-fold purpose: to mourn the passing of the four Rosewoods, and to take a closer look at Ayden Rosewood’s attitude. Unfortunately, even the ones that had arrived yesterday hadn’t been able to talk to him.

Waiting in line to pay their respects was literally the longest time they had spent in Ayden Rosewood’s ‘company’ so far. Beyond Ayden Rosewood’s small size, they soon noted that the new Earl even be considered a cute boy…if it weren’t for the cold expression. Many of them could sense the subtle dominating aura of magical power.

While they carefully chosen black summer-appropriate garments, it was still warm, and yet Earl Rosewood was standing there, buttoned up in black clothing, without a hint of overheating. As they approached Earl Rosewood and the coffins, there was a real chill in the air.

“Your father was a good friend of mine. We are deeply saddened by this loss. If you need any help, you can reach out to us,” a noble might say.

Nod, was the most common response they would receive.

The nobles found it was very difficult to get more than a few words out of Earl Rosewood, who answered most questions with single word answers or head movements. He also didn’t smile, yet not in the manner of sadness.

It seemed that the rumours that the new Earl Rosewood was very impolite were true.

After paying their respects, some nobles conversed briefly the Cordovans, before moving a suitable distance away as to not crowd around the coffins and talking amongst themselves.

This was perfectly fine with Ren Xiyang. The reality was that Ren Xiyang didn’t know any of these nobles and didn’t have anything to say to them and didn’t want to talk to any of them.

 

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Meanwhile, Rian had headed a little bit out of town. On schedule, the Imperial carriage came by. They stopped when they saw Rian’s group.

One of Rian’s personal Royal Guards opened the carriage door for him to climb in.

Inside, his mother, father, and younger brother were seated. They were all dressed in black, like him, a sharp contrast to their usual white clothing.

Rian took a seat next to his younger brother, placing his hands on his knees like a good boy.

“Good morning, Imperial Father. Good morning, Imperial Mother. Good morning, little brother.”

King Edric gave a nod of acknowledgement.

“Did you enjoy yourself out here?” Queen Mira asked with a hint of amusement.

“Yes, Imperial Mother, I’ve learnt a lot from Count Aegean and from the Capital Investigators and from Earl Rosewood,” Rian said seriously.

Queen Mira’s look turned pointed. “And you’re ready to return home after the funerals.”

“My servants have packed everything,” Rian answered.

His ten-year-old little brother, the second Prince Alexius Azure, squirmed in his seat.

“Dear, what you do want to say?” Queen Mira.

Alexius quickly straightened. “Imperial Mother, I wanted to ask big brother whether or not it’s true that Ayden Rosewood is shorter than me!”

Queen Mira’s lips twitched. “Is that so?”

Rian turned to his brother and smirked. “While Ayden Rosewood is indeed smaller than you, he could defeat you in a duel with his eyes closed.”

Alexius pouted. “Rian,” he protested, the unspoken words being, why are you so mean to me?

“It’s the truth,” Rian said, eyes curving. “He can stand his own against me. You can’t.”

Alexius’s pout deepened. “Fine then. You’ll be crown prince in the future and deal with him. Just remember to give me lots of money every day.”

The King and the Queen: “…”

Seeing this young, cute-again version of his little brother, Rian couldn’t help but reach out and pinch Alexius’s cheek. It was soft and a little pudgy, just as Rian had imagined. It also helped fill the little hole in his heart from his inability to pinch Ayden Rosewood’s cheeks.

“Owww!!”

Rian continued pinching. “As long as you let me pinch, I’ll give you more money, okay?”

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Alexius thought very seriously. “Fine, but only pinch me every second day then.”

“Done.” A man of his word, Rian pulled out three thick gold coins then and there.

“Thank you, Rian!”

The King and the Queen: “…” They glanced at each other, each of them silently accusing the other of having raised two children like this.

It didn’t take long for the carriage to reach the Rosewood cemetery. The carriage came to a stop, and the Royal Guards made their announcement.

“All stand and greet the Imperial Family!”

“All hail, His Majesty King Edric Azure!”

“All hail, Her Majesty Queen Mira Azure!”

“All hail, His Highness Prince Rian Azure!”

“All hail, His Highness Prince Alexius Azure!”

One by one, the members of the Imperial Family alighted from their carriage. They were met with a sea of bowed heads of nobles and servants greeting them.

“You may all raise your heads,” King Edric said.

The four members of the Imperial family were quickly flanked with two layers of Royal Guard knights and Royal Guard mages. The king and his two sons had distinctive white hair and icy blue eyes, while the queen had pale blond hair and cornflower blue eyes. The contrast of their light hair with black clothing was striking.

The nobles in line parted to make way for the Imperial family to approach the coffins and Ayden Rosewood.

For the first time, King Edric saw Ayden Rosewood in person. Indeed, the child was smaller than expected. Ayden Rosewood seemed more like the girl Alyssa Rosewood than the boy Silas Rosewood.

“Earl Roland Rosewood was an important member of the Imperial Council. His prowess has aided the kingdom countless times. His presence will be sorely missed,” King Edric said solemnly. His light blue eyes rested on Ayden Rosewood. “There is a heavy mantle for you to fill in the future, Earl Rosewood.”

“I will complete my duties well, Your Majesty,” Ayden Rosewood replied calmly.

“Good,” King Edric said lightly. He gave his condolences and paid his respects to the deceased Rosewoods. Then, Queen Mira and the two princes followed suit.

After that, the rest of the nobles came up.

One of those that followed up was Duke Schauss and his family: his wife, two older boys, and one youngest daughter.

Duke Schauss had a sombre expression when he met Ayden Rosewood. It was hard to believe that a child this small could be an elite mage.

“We were extremely saddened to hear the news. But your father would be comforted to see you successfully take up the mantle as the new Earl Rosewood,” Duke Schauss said carefully.

“Thank you,” Ren Xiyang said.

Duke Schauss had thought too much. Ren Xiyang didn’t care about his prepared petition to temporarily take over the Rosewood estate as regent Lord; importantly, in contrast to the Cordovans, Duke Schauss hadn’t been involved in the murders.

Ren Xiyang was more interested in the young girl with pink hair standing close to her mother.

Since that girl was the female lead of this novel, Lady Cassiopeia Schauss.

In the novel, a lot of the money that paid for her opulent lifestyle came from the Rosewood estate. It was not surprising that Alyssa Rosewood in the original novel was Not Happy when she later found out. Alyssa had then wrongly assumed that Duke Schauss had been involved in murdering her family, though she had been right in her conclusion that Baron Cordovan had played a role.

Since Ren Xiyang retained full control of the Rosewood fief, Cassiopeia Schauss’s life would be different. But she would still be filthy rich. Ren Xiyang didn’t need to spend energy worrying about her basic needs. However, it might be worth nudging her to develop her healing abilities at a faster rate once she was a little older.

Duke Schauss couldn’t read any particular expression on Ayden Rosewood. He nodded politely and moved to pay his respects to the four coffins. His family followed.

Ren Xiyang shifted his gaze to the next group of nobles. Perhaps he was too numb from the zombie apocalypse, but he wasn’t sorrowful. He wasn’t Alyssa Rosewood; he didn’t know her family. The sooner this entire affair passed, the better.

 

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Cassiopeia Schauss had smartly kept a serious expression, but when she saw ‘Ayden Rosewood’, she couldn’t help but frequently glance at him.

Who the heck was Ayden Rosewood? Where was Alyssa Rosewood?

Did someone mess with her favourite novel?!!!!

 

 

 

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Rian: Earl Rosewood is like my little brother. Both can be bribed with gold ^_^

Ren Xiyang: …

 

 

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I re-read a few of my earlier chapters….all the missed SPaG errors and clunky sentences…OTL

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