TPHRU 08

Chapter 08…

The Underworld Beckons.

“My brother, your face looks pale. Perhaps you should rest a little?”
It had been five years since Yvette married into the Dupras family, and two years since her son Maxim was born, when Bernard suddenly began to show visible signs of illness.

At eighteen, Bernard had trained every day without fail. Though slender, his body was well-built, and he had never suffered from any chronic illness. His sudden decline filled Felicia with unease.
“Yes… once I finish writing this letter, I’ll lie down for a bit.”
Bernard’s complexion, pale even on his best days, had turned ashen and bloodless. His aquamarine eyes—those same sea-like eyes he’d inherited from their father—had lost their light.
Even so, he smiled gently, bravely, as Felicia peered at him in worry.
(Mother’s face looked like this too… right before she died…)

Bernard had assisted their father for years, demonstrating talent and leadership early on as the heir to the marquisate.
Since their father was often away managing foreign affairs, Bernard skillfully ran the household together with the steward—a feat that earned him much praise.
He was favored by the king, seen as a man with a bright future. His refined, handsome features and platinum-blond hair, much like Felicia’s, made him sought after in society as well.
Gentle and kind, Bernard had always been by Felicia’s side, filling the void left by their mother’s death. On nights when she couldn’t sleep from grief, it was his comforting presence that had carried her through.

“The physician your mother-in-law called yesterday said it was fatigue,” Felicia said softly, “but I can’t believe that’s all it is. Please, let’s have another doctor look at you.”
Bernard’s condition looked far too grave to be mere exhaustion, and Felicia’s worry deepened.
“Felicia, you worry too much. I’ll be fine after a little rest.”
He smiled and stroked her head reassuringly, before turning back to his letter.
“This is a reply to the duke’s letter—I’d like to send it out soon. Father wrote that he won’t be home this month.”
“My brother…”
“It’s all right. Don’t worry.”

If only my healing power were a little stronger… please, let my wish reach him.
Felicia gently rubbed her brother’s back, praying from the depths of her heart.

But her prayer went unanswered. That very night, Bernard collapsed—and three days later, without ever waking again, he passed from this world.
The sudden decline. The unbearably early death.
The doctor who had first called it “fatigue” now listed the cause as “unknown.”

Having already lost her mother, Felicia now faced the death of her dearest brother—the one with whom she had shared that earlier grief. All she could do was blame herself.
(Because my meager magic couldn’t save him… My weakness keeps sending everyone I love across the river to the underworld…)
Lost in sorrow, her tears blurred like foam and dreams; she grew ever more fragile, as if she herself might soon follow them into the realm of the dead.

Her fiancé at the time, Alexis, also worried deeply for her. Despite his busy schedule, he came to the Dupras estate nearly every day.
To Alexis, Bernard—two years his junior—had been a childhood friend, a trusted companion, and the man who was to become his brother-in-law and loyal vassal. The news of Bernard’s death weighed heavily on him as well.
“Felicia, I’m here with you,” he said, trying to comfort her. Yet even he could not dispel the crushing sense of loss.

The sight of the two—beautiful and sorrowful, leaning upon one another in grief—was as heartbreaking as it was breathtaking, like a tragic painting come to life.