The Duchess and the Devil - Chapter 84.1

Second funeral for the same person. Perhaps due to the bizarre nature of the event, mourners could not shake off the strange and extremely somber atmosphere during the ceremony. The sky became clear, but there was still a chill in the air, as if winter had come.

Eventually, all eyes turned to Judith. It had rained heavily at the previous funeral. And the Duchess stood in exactly the same place as now. However, in worse conditions, her appearance was much better than today. Judith looked as if she was ready to fall at the slightest breath of wind. And this worried everyone present.

The knights approached the grave, preparing to bury the coffin. The soil they dug up the other day looked like it had been waiting for Derrick all along. Sir Horton met the Duchess’s gaze. It was a terrible day for her.

While waiting for permission, the knight looked straight at her. Unlike the previous days, now Judith could not take her eyes off the coffin, and her neck was stiff. Barely nodding, the Duchess now watched the coffin, which fell into the hole with a thud. With hope and a sinking heart, she looked at him, hoping that, like the last time, her husband would wake up.

Judith just wanted to know the demon was alive. The Duchess was sure that Derrick would give at least some sign. But the further the funeral progressed, the faster her hopes crumbled. The coffin, glistening in the sun, disappeared in the blink of an eye. A fact that Judith had ignored was now becoming reality.

God did not exist and no miracles happened. The demon is destroyed. Just like the moment Judith suddenly realized love, Derrick’s death came crashing down on her. My heart was pounding, but no one heard it. She would never see Derrick again. Her tear glands, which had been dry for weeks, seemed to burst. Tears flowed from my eyes.

The Duchess lowered her head, feeling a sharp pain in her stomach: as if a sharp needle was burning through her from the inside. Sitting down on the chair, Judith grabbed it with her hands. Everyone, seeing this, immediately rose from their seats.

– Duchess!

The Marquise, who had been watching her with alarm all this time, ran closer in surprise.

Immediately turning to the maid, the woman ordered her to run to the mansion to call a doctor.

– Are you okay? Does it hurt somewhere?

“Belly… Belly,” Judith trembled innocently.

It seemed like she was going to faint.

Judith felt pain: as if someone was sticking a long knife right into her stomach. The Duchess’s face became wet with sweat.

Without even suspecting she was pregnant, the Marquise whispered in surprise:

– Belly? Why belly…

The hem of the black dress was wet. Noticing this, the woman immediately touched him with her fingertips. It was a red and sticky liquid. Madame Dyer, only now realizing the situation, hardened her face. In a cold sweat, Judith still wrapped her arms around her stomach.

Having lost Derrick, Duchess could not give up this little life. But now Judith couldn’t think straight, because her whole head was filled with terrible impulses from unbearable pain.

“No, please,” she covered her lips in fear.

Judith’s spirit flared for the first time since Derrick’s death. And all this was the fear of miscarriage. A cry of despair escaped his lips.

The Marquise hastily raised her head. The maid and the doctor were running in the distance. But before they could reach the place, the Duchess’s body slipped from the chair and fell straight onto the Marquise. From time to time Judith screamed, feeling nothing but a clear and cruel anxiety in her heart. And tears flowed endlessly down my cheeks.

***

Spring and summer have passed. A cool breeze was now blowing across the Empire. The weather changed three times. And the landscape of the mansion in which the nobles stayed also changed its colors. Bees and butterflies smelled the sweet honey on the collected reddish petals.

There was laughter in the Bee Heron Writers’ Garden.