CG Chapter 54: Death by a Broken Heart
Amidst the chaos of Flameheart, it was decided that the funeral would be held after one week. This would provide enough time for the allies of Flameheart, who wanted to come and pay their respects.
These allies didn't care for Violet. However, they needed to keep up the facade for the sake of their own benefits.
They also needed to wait for the Marshal family, who were out for blood. Once they heard of Violet's death, they spent a large amount of their resources to hire knights to scout the whereabouts of the bandits.
They wanted to set an example of the bandits to warn off anyone who might think of crossing paths with them again; they wanted to let the world know that anyone messing with the Marshal family would be burned at the stakes.
However, the challenge remained: How would they find people who had never existed? They were simply chasing a fairytale woven by the hands of a man who sought to swallow everything to grow stronger.
The Marshal family and the Flameheart family were but the wood that would make Tom grow.
The eyes of a demon hiding in the shadows waiting for his next victim glowed.
"A son dying from heart grief from the death of his mother would be a fitting ending for Timothy," thought Tom as he smiled, preparing the underground morgue for the next scene in his plan.
If he played his cards right, he would have Flameheart in his hands.
As long as he didn't make it obvious, even if Folek knew that Tom was the reason behind their deaths, he would have no choice but to support him.
He would become the last heir, the rightful heir.
Men with morals and with something to protect other than themselves were the easiest to manipulate.
Tom would receive Folek's full support since he wanted his bloodline to be kept alive.
This was unless Folek decided to have another child, which was unlikely due to the fact that, despite his age, he wasn't sure if he could stay alive until his next son reached the level of a knight.
…
"I am going to go alone; I need to..." Timothy turned his head toward Ambrose; his eyes were lifeless; he felt as if he was a walking corpse.
Ambrose, seeing Timothy's resolve, decided to give him the moment of solace he deserved. A chance to say goodbye.
Timothy's footsteps were unstable. The grief made him lose control over his body. This was going to be the last time he met his mother.
As he entered the room, his eyes fell on Violet's lifeless body lying on top of a stone, alone in this cold room.
At that moment, Timothy truly realized that he had lost his home; his feeling of denial began to fade.
He was overwhelmed by an intense longing; all he wanted at that moment was to hold her for one last time.
He couldn't help but cry. The burning within his chest and the intense feeling of iron filling his throat made him fall to the ground while holding her hands.
"You promised you would come back; you promised that you would stand by my side as I become the baron of Flameheart."
"You're a liar, liar, liar!" Timothy slammed his hand on the ground while wailing.
People don't realize the value of the things they have until they lose it. And Timothy understood that he was all alone; all he had left by his side was Ambrose.
A large cold castle, and the only warmth he had left was the one that came off his butler.
His brother hated him due to the fight for the title and the countless abuse.
His father only focused on growing the family, not showing any love to them.
And his sister looked at him like an idiot who had no value engrossed in her books.
Timothy's breaths grew heavy; he didn't know at that moment that the more he breathed, the more his death neared.
Death of heart grief happens after extreme shock; people label such deaths as death due to a broken heart.
Timothy inhaled the cyanide that Tom placed in the morgue, causing his eyes to gradually become blurry.
He coughed, trying to expel the thing that stopped his breath; he tried to fill his lungs with air, but that only led him to sense that his eyes had become heavier.
Discomfort filled his body as he breathed his last breath while holding Violet's hand.
…
On the other side, Tom calmly counted the minutes; seeing no movement from inside the morgue, he knew that his plan had succeeded.
'Ambrose might also die by a broken heart. However, it doesn't matter since he no longer has any ground to stand on.' He thought as he looked at the morgue door.
*Knock-Knock*
Ambrose knocked on the door, but the person behind the door wasn't there anymore.
After waiting for a while with no reply, fear crept down Ambrose's spine, and he decided to enter the morgue.
*Ahhh*
Hearing the screams inside confirmed Tom's thoughts as he walked away, unnoticed by the maids.
'I gave you the chance to get buried with her.'
Tom walked to the library, and the nobles who intended to come had already arrived. He decided to use the brief moment to grow his knowledge bank. However, as he reached the library's door, he suddenly heard a woman shouting in his direction.
"How have you been, Edward? I heard from Elizabeth that the voyage was hard." The azure-haired woman, adorned with various types of seashells, smiled and waved as she came close.
"I didn't realize that you came, lady Selina; you look as beautiful as ever. How was your journey this time?" Tom replied with a gentle smile.
Looking at him, people wouldn't have the slightest idea that he had just killed his own brother, leaving Ambrose to deal with the cleanup; on second thought, he thought that Ambrose might become a suspect.
Selina had the opposite personality to Violet.
While Violet was stuck in the castle playing Lady of the House, Selina stayed out most of the time. She enjoyed exploring the world and adventuring.
A big part of Elizabeth's personality was influenced by her, but while she liked to see the world with her own eyes, Elizabeth enjoyed looking at the world through the eyes of various explorers.