Temporary Crown

10 | The burning corpse

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It was almost Dawn but Nesta had been thinking for a while now how to hide this corpse and the blood that had froze on the floor because of the temperature. She was worrying about Lucien and wanted to deal with the corpse immediately however, she still doesn’t know where to throw it.

Nesta went back and fort inside her room. She glanced over the fireplace from time to time as the fire burned too fiercely. She had a certain idea in her mind but she doubt that that would work. Would a corpse be burn and turned into ashes in just a couple of hours?

Nesta stumbled on her thoughts over and over again. Although she wanted to think of any alternative, she felt like this was the only way she had!

In the end she had no choice but to burn it. Nesta pursed her lips and begun to dragged the corpse where the fireplace were. the blood stained the floor. Nesta panicked even more. However, she prioritize burning the body first. She was breathing heavily. Her chest was going up and down for he was carrying a man. Still she did not complain and tossed the corpse inside. She almost fell fore her knees had gone weak but thank god, she perfectly balanced herself. She then throw the matchstick that was lit up with fire inside the fire place.

The fire gradually begun feasting it’s flesh.

Still that was not enough. Nesta hurriedly looked for wood and coal inside her room. Thankfully, she found it just beside the fireplace. She did not even hesitate to put all of it inside to let the fire burned even more.

Just as the fire flickered and the corpse started to burn and turned into ashes, Nesta often looked at the clock hoping that it would slow down. the whole room started to smell and smoke coming from the fireplace seeped through Nesta's room. Nesta started coughing.

Her anxiousness started to eat her and in the end, she paced back in front in front of the fire place hoping that the fire would be fierce enough to get her out of trouble.

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After being chased out by his father, Lucien had no choice but to return to his room with another different plan brewing in his mind. He ignored the servants who were looking at him with their confused gazes. His eyes were even enough to shut their questions and made them returned to their own respective rooms.

As the door closed and he was only left inside his room, he sat on the edge of his bed palms brushing his face as his mind drowned with his thoughts and different possibilities. He was thinking of going back to the academy after settling things down in the mansion but from the looks of it, it was impossible now. He wanted to delay his return further after he had known all of the things his father was hiding from him.

Besides the duchy, Lucien never really had a driving force to continue to desire something big. He always had a thought that even if he just continue his life, everything will fall in to place just like how everything was meant for him.

This wasn’t his first time encountering death for he had watched his mother passed in front of his eyes before but now, he was different from him. He doesn’t want to sit idly watching his father passed without doing anything.

He has to do some thing! He needed to know more!

Even though he was chased out without even the duke answering his question, Lucien most likely had already confirmed that what his sister, Nesta said was true.

No matter how much he denied it, his father duke Charles was dying. Even though he knew this fact, he still refused to believe it. He refused that the fate of his father would be dictated by some doctor he doesn't even know.

Lucien has always been persistent and his desperation right now was refusing to give up the life of his father. He knew that He wasn't a god who get to decide whether a person dies but he refused to be alone like that ever again.

Just as he was juggling his thoughts, he propped down on his bed looking at the ceiling. He glared at the beautiful decorations placed inside realizing that all of those were just useless decorations.

However as he stumbled on his thoughts over and over again, Right at the heals of that, he remembered his sister Nesta who had told him about his father. Right she was a variable that no one had ever considered. If his father had brought her inside the mansion with a specific plan he had thought, then he would have shared it with his sister.

Realizing this, hope started crawl inside of his again. Time ticked signifying that it was hours nearly dawn but he doesn’t care about that at all. Lucien stormed out of his room once again. The cold and eerie hallway greeted him but he brushed them all aside.

Moving through the stairs, he found his sisters room after looking. Without any thoughts, he knocked at the door with great force enough to stir awake whoever inside the room.

“Who is it!?” He heard his sister shouted inside. Lucien pursed his lips. He was stomping his foot on the floor signifying that he was losing his patience. He wanted to burst the door open. However, Lucien was a gentleman hence, he waited.

“Sister, it’s me! Open it up!”

“Wait- Uh-mm, wait brother! A minute just a minute please!” Hearing her respond, Lucien frowned even more. He tilted his head hearing some strange noise from outside. Lucien then deeply inhaled and tried to twist the door.

Miraculous, it was twisted and Lucien went inside only to smell like a liver was burning. He then saw his sister pacing in front of the fireplace covering her nose but she was still wearing her sleeping dress stained with blood.

Lucien gaped in disbelief. He cleared his throat with the intention of getting his sister’s attention.

“What in the heavens are you burning, sister!?” Lucien immediately rushed to where his sister was pacing. In that moment, he saw a big black cloak forming a human body was burning! He gasped once again horrified. He had never imagined seeing this scenario in his entire life! how could!?

“Uhm, A corpse?” Nesta replied trying to hard to hide her nervousness with her casual answer.

“A what!? what in the world sister?" Lucien thought that he might be hearing things. However, the silhouette on the fireplace had already told him the truth that there was really a corpse being burned inside the fireplace. "Why would you burn a corpse!” He accused. Even though he wanted to do something, the body was already burning.

Nesta looked offended. She scoffed trying hard to find reasons. “What?! It wasn’t me who send an assassin who was trying to threatened me! I told you I killed him and I can’t find any place to hide a corpse.”

Lucien grabbed a cloth to put over his nose. He scoffed looking at his crazy adopted sister. “Sister that doesn’t mean that you can just burn it like this! It smells so rotten I want to vomit!”

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