READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 211
Chapter: 211
The new sun eventually rose, and a few days later, William quietly closed his eyes.
It was… well, an ending that was surprisingly uneventful.
On one hand, it felt like a relief that he just fell asleep with his eyes closed, but on the other hand, I felt odd not having a last conversation, or whatever.
“Rize, I think I can tighten the waist a bit more.”
“Understood.”
“Just adjust the hat to something suitable.”
“Yes.”
… After William’s death, the official funeral took place.
I wasn’t the one to go, but since Rosalyn was the stepmother, it turned out I had to step in.
Honestly, the funeral wasn’t going to be anything grand anyway.
We just rented a small cathedral, held a simple service, and cremated him— that was it.
It was probably going to last only about one to two hours at most, really nothing much.
“Hmm… Is it just my imagination, or does this funeral seem a bit too extravagant?”
I said this while looking in the mirror after getting ready.
I was dressed all in black, and while I didn’t wear any jewelry, it definitely felt somewhat fancy.
Maybe I should even wear a veil.
“… It might just be because Young Lady’s looks are so outstanding. The outfit itself is really no problem.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, I don’t think anyone will have anything to say regarding your attire.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
After all, the only people who would come would be those related to William’s business anyway.
Part of me still couldn’t believe that William had really died.
I never thought he’d go just as I turned 19.
Anyway, once all the preparations were finished, we took the carriage and headed straight for the cathedral.
Of course, it wasn’t just me in the carriage; Rosalyn and Rize were also there, but there wasn’t much conversation.
After all, it was about losing a close person, and even if William hadn’t been very devoted to the family, he was still our father.
In a quiet atmosphere, we made our way to the cathedral.
*
Inside the coffin lay William, coldly at rest.
Well, he still didn’t look particularly handsome.
I often thought about how I resembled my biological mother too much, to the point it was hard to see the similarities with him.
“Hmm.”
Although I was starting to forget about my biological mother.
It was just that.
“Are you the daughter of Baron Leonhardt?”
“Yes, I’m Camelia Leonhardt. Thank you for coming to my father’s funeral.”
“The Baron was quite a good business partner. He was really helpful.”
“Most of the people here probably feel the same.”
While conversing with many people at the cathedral, most of the discussions were rather similar.
There wasn’t a single person who wasn’t connected to business, no matter if they were an old man looking much older than William, a youth looking around my age, or a middle-aged man.
They were all people tied to William’s business.
I’d likely have to deal with these people in the business world from now on.
I had technically inherited the business from William, but there were actually some I met for the first time.
Well… as it was just a funeral, everyone shared a few appropriate conversations before they left.
“William really was an impressive person in terms of business.”
That thought crossed my mind.
He truly… was extraordinary in that respect, and I couldn’t help but think so.
Of course, that’s also why he died at a surprisingly young age.
After wrapping up the funeral neatly, I sat alone in front of the cathedral, lost in those thoughts.
Rosalyn, Rize, and the other family servants were still handling the final tasks inside the cathedral.
“I guess it’s kind of convenient to essentially be the head of the family now.”
Is this what power feels like?
I wasn’t quite sure.
Even though I hadn’t officially taken the position yet, it was a fact that I was now in charge.
William was dead, Rosalyn was the stepmother, and I was the end of the line.
The documents that had arrived from the central office and the fact that there was no formal succession ceremony meant that I was now the highest authority of the Leonhardt family.
“Hmm…”
Well, after the funeral, there were quite a few things I needed to take care of back at the mansion.
I had to sort out William’s old room, take a look at that safe I mentioned earlier… I was also considering redecorating.
“Camelia, we’re just about done with the arrangements.”
While I was resting outside the cathedral alone, Rosalyn came out.
It seemed the cleaning was truly finished inside, and only the final tasks were left.
“It ended much quicker than I thought. I imagined it would take a bit longer.”
“Probably because we brought a lot of servants from our household. They finished much faster. Now only the final task remains.”
“… Got it.”
With that answer, I stood up from my spot.
Now, only the final part of the funeral was left.
While I had left the other bothersome tasks to the servants, I was still his daughter, after all.
I had to take care of this myself.
*
After wrapping up the funeral, we all returned to the mansion.
Given that everyone had been through quite a tiring ordeal, I gave most of the servants a day or two off.
Of course, the servants who hadn’t attended the funeral just continued their regular work in the mansion.
“I just need to hold out for a few more weeks.”
In the meantime, I entered William’s room and thought about things.
I felt some regret.
It would have been nice if he could have at least seen me grow into adulthood.
Not that we had any emotional bonds, but still…
“Most of these things would be better off thrown away.”
After all, he was no longer here.
I planned to sort out most of the items in William’s room.
Honestly, it wouldn’t really matter if I used the room as a storage space.
“I suppose I should start with the safe.”
Since William was the last to talk to me properly about it, and to be honest, I had been curious about it for a while.
That was the first thing I decided to handle.
Since it was something I should probably see alone, unlike the other things.
“Hmm…”
I already knew where the safe was, and there was no issue in opening it either.
After all, it was stated that only someone from the Leonhardt family could open it.
“Oh….”
As if proving that to be true, the safe’s door opened immediately as I pulled it.
There were no complex locks to release; it just opened.
“How intriguing.”
Inside the safe were various documents, but most of them related to land ownership.
It seemed that aside from the current property where the mansion was and the villa in the central area, he owned even more land…
However, I was more drawn to other items inside the safe than those documents.
“It seems there were some shady dealings after all.”
William, having come from being an ordinary citizen to a Baron, had mostly done so through legitimate business practices.
But that didn’t mean that an ordinary citizen could just become a noble with a massive fortune.
I was aware of that, but I hadn’t really investigated or cared to dig into it.
But now, the contents of the safe…
“So that’s how it was possible.”
I was a bit surprised.
No, I was actually very surprised.
I hadn’t anticipated there to be such things inside.
[Baron Akereshi]
[Marquis Bunbag]
[Baron Dueseng]
[Count Rose]
[Marquis Sille]
Various documents of noble families.
These weren’t just information about noble families but documents related to their weaknesses or scandals.
“…Wow.”
Among them were some famous families, and even if not very famous, there were those who held power in the local areas.
And all the contents of the documents could be incredibly threatening towards these families.
“…And the black market.”
And at the very bottom of those documents was information about the black market, a place I had never been to.
A place that dealt with items not generally available.
From drugs and potions to magic scrolls and items that weren’t illegal but not commonly found.
It included information about its location and the identities that could be used there…
“More surprising than I anticipated.”
I never thought William would have prepared such things.
While the land was foreseeable, I never expected documents containing the weaknesses of other noble families or information relating to the black market.
I found myself laughing in disbelief in William’s room.
“Truly impressive in a new light.”
Indeed.
He bequeathed things I couldn’t help but acknowledge.
“The black market…”
While the information about the families was interesting, what caught my personal attention was this.
I had never encountered anything about the black market until now.
While I had thought about it once, I had intentionally avoided it while attending the Academy.
But now, with not much time left until my adulthood, and fully prepared to enter the black market…
“…Shall I take a visit?”
It was only natural to have such thoughts cross my mind.