Her Graceful War Song



On the evening of the twenty-sixth, Rebecca indeed began to hallucinate. Strangely enough, her condition seemed to improve.

She could even sit up as she pointed at the air and shouted, "Get out! Go away! You're all useless, nothing but worthless trash! Amelia, how dare you touch me? You're so disrespectful...

Rebecca clutched her own throat as if struggling to breathe, her face turning a deep shade of purple.

Since the physician had warned them about her condition, no one thought she was actually seeing ghosts. Barrett rushed to pry her hands away and shouted, "Mom, there's no one here! Amelia isn't here!"ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

"She's come to take revenge! She hates me!" Rebecca grabbed Barrett's sleeve, her fierce expression shifting to one of terror. "Tell her I didn't want her dead! I just wanted to enforce some rules! I needed to teach her a lesson! Ah... Stay away, Amelia! How dare you!"

Rebecca swung her arms wildly, slapping Barrett across the face again and again. He stood still, letting her strike him.

It took an hour before she finally quieted down.

Her breaths were shallow, with more air escaping her than entering. Sometimes, Rebecca seemed aware. She opened her eyes to look at the people gathered around her. Yet each time, she didn't see Benjamin or her grandchildren.

She moved her lips, whispering, "Benjamin....

Barrett was sitting by her bedside. "Mom, would you like some water?"

"Benjamin..."

Where was her eldest son? Where was he?

"He stepped out for a moment. He'll be back soon," Barrett reassured.

Bryan stood nearby, wiping his tears away, his voice filled with anger as he spoke, "Benjamin is heartless. Mom has been so good to him, and he can't even come to see her off at the end."

Rebecca's eyes widened in shock. See her off? Was she really dying?

She was dying.

Her eldest son was absent, and her daughter hadn't even taken a moment to check on her. Not a single person from the second branch of the family had visited.

Was she truly so hated?

Rebecca refused to accept it-she simply couldn't. All her hard work had been for the family. She had hoped to restore them to their former glory. Didn't she do it all for them?

She felt as though something was choking her throat, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. She was so cold; she couldn't stop shivering.

This wasn't how it was meant to be. She should have had the best physicians and taken the most expensive medicine. Though her husband hadn't achieved much, he listened to her. And her daughters-in-law... No, they had all left, every last one of them.

"I regret it..."

Thick tears streamed from the corners of her eyes, but she couldn't voice any other words.

What she regretted, no one knew.

At 10:45 that night, Rebecca drew her last breath. Her eyes remained open.

Barrett cried for a long time before he began to arrange her funeral.

With only a few days left until the New Year, the funeral preparations were rushed. They set up a table for a day to allow visitors to pay their respects.

With the court on break and the Supreme Court closed for the holiday, Carissa could take a break. However, for the Capital Guard, the Garrison Unit, the Royal Guard, and the Crown Guard, the New Year was usually their busiest time. There could be no slackening in their duties.

Carissa would occasionally return to check in, but she didn't remain at the Capital Guard headquarters or the Central Command Office all the time.

The following day, news of Rebecca's death reached Hell Monarch Estate.

No one said much about it. After all, news that she was nearing her end had long since spread.

Jacob did remark, "Well, with this, Barrett will have to enter his mourning period. Is the Crown Guard about to lose its commander?"

Salvador had already intended to separate the Crown Guard from the Mystic Army, which meant having a commander was essential. Previously, whether there was a commander or not didn't matter as much. Now, it was crucial.

However, with Rebecca's death at this time, it was the son's duty to mourn, and such mourning meant Barrett would be sidelined. At the moment, there was no sign that Salvador would reinstate him.

To put it plainly, the Crown Guard didn't necessarily have to have Barrett as its commander.