Knowing that Irene was staring at what was left of the Duke, Sir Gunnar pulled the apprentice to the side with a hand on her shoulder.
"We ought to let the mages do what they need to," he muttered. "If anything can be done, they can do it."
The mages surrounded the bed and obscured their view. Irene wasn’t sure she wanted to see any more than that anyway. The sight of the Duke was still ingrained in her mind. She thought she might see it for a long time.
There was such a difference between seeing the unknown victim of a monster rather than seeing the dead body of someone you were well-acquainted with.
It was also hard to accept how she didn’t know how he died but something didn’t seem right. The way the Duchess behaved was wrong. How the mages sensed something about coming into the room also didn’t allow Irene’s thoughts to settle.
Could the reason the man had been so sick be due to mana? The mysteries of the world seemed to have only just opened for her. There was so much left to learn.
After only a few minutes, Stanley pulled a blanket back over the Duke, and he turned to face the room.
The entire time he had been working, there was a grimace on his face. It seemed whatever was affecting the mages lay solely with the Duke because, when he was covered, they all seemed slightly more relaxed.
However, Stanley’s eyes drifted to the Duchess, and he lowered his eyebrows in contemplation.
"Unfortunately, there isn’t anything more I can do for His Grace," the mage admitted. "He is certainly dead. However, the reason why..." The mage scoffed and adjusted his robes. "I wouldn’t trust the mages giving you advice."
It was apparent he was speaking to the Duchess.
"How dare you!?" the Duchess screamed, but one of her maids squeezed her hand, and she placed her free hand over her mouth.
It was trembling, and her eyes were crazed as they stared at the mage who dared insult what she had supposedly been doing to save her husband from whatever ailed him in the first place. In her wide, dark eyes were unshed tears.
Irene wanted to believe the woman genuinely cared about the Duke, but their relationship was odd to her, although she had to remind herself she had never seen them together when the man was healthier. The way the woman always seemed to leave whenever the snow thawed didn’t feel right to her. It also drove her suspicions that the Duke seemed to get better whenever she was gone and worse when she was there. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel·fire·net
At least that’s what the Duchess communicated because she hid him away whenever she was around.
After being yelled at by the Duchess, the mages merely left the room. Stanley felt there wasn’t more to be said. He was also not going to have insults thrown at him by a woman who was obviously somewhat insane.
One might give her the benefit of the doubt considering she just lost her husband, but it wasn’t the first or last time she behaved in such a crazed way.
"Accusations being thrown at me," the Duchess muttered. "I will not stand for such disrespect."
Gunnar had been holding onto Irene’s shoulder, but she felt his grip tighten, and he quickly released the hold altogether. The knight then sighed.
"I will do as required for our commander’s passing," Gunnar announced to the Duchess, beyond caring what her response to him was. "I will be sending a letter to His Majesty and the Commander of the Knights of Hydrogia. I will also tell all of the Duke’s advisors, including Arthur."
"I will handle his funeral," the Duchess snapped. "No need to meddle in this."
"Let us go to his study and begin, Iro," Gunnar directed.
Since Gunnar had seen Irene’s penmanship before, she was the only apprentice he would trust to aid in his writing of these letters. At least the ones to her father and a few of the other advisors could certainly be written by her on his behalf, and most wouldn’t have an issue.
Irene dutifully followed her knight down the hallway and the winding stairs that went down the largest tower in the Duke’s castle.
They only made it halfway down the final stretch of stairs before they realized most everyone had gathered on the ground floor, waiting for further explanation rather than the utterings they had been hearing that day.
Based on the somber expression on Sir Gunnar’s face, many were struck in the worst way. They didn’t need him to explain further, but he managed to do so anyway.
"Our Commander is no longer with us," he explained. "Iro and I will be in the Duke’s study as we write letters to relevant parties who will need to know this information as we figure out how we will go forward. But fear not, we will go forward. There is no other option considering the safety of the duchy lies in our hands."
There was a murmur after the knight said his part. Everyone was taking the news differently.
Most knew that it was bound to happen. He had exceeded the general life expectancy, but the way he had once been mostly healthy, only to decline so rapidly, was what bothered them. There were mysteries out in the open that no one knew how to even begin to solve.
The knight and his apprentice continued on their path forward, moving between the people who filled the space.
The Duke was always kind to them and cared deeply about not only his knights but the staff who lived and worked in his tower. Any unrest was solely due to the Duchess.
When they were finally in the study, the heavy oak door was shut behind them, and Gunnar breathed out another sigh.
"We will look through all of his documents in hopes that there is some semblance of his will," Gunnar explained. "I refuse to believe that he left it all to his wife, who has never once shown interest in the politicking of Tenetium, much less that of wider Chemois. Her visits to the south aren’t to mingle with other nobles. The mysteries around that woman are too far and wide."