Chapter 3

"W-What did you just say, Hope? What do you mean your family's money and valuables have been given away?" Aunt Olivia demanded. She dropped her caring act and glared at me viciously.

I shook my head desperately as tears streamed down my face. "I have no idea. I don't know anything at all, Aunt Olivia."

Upon seeing me shaking with fear, Lucy stepped in and placed herself between us. "Why are you taking this out on a child? Your brother, his wife, and their child are all dead. Rather than trying to lay them to rest in peace, you're actually bullying their sole remaining daughter."

Having said that, Lucy fiercely spat a mouthful of saliva directly into Aunt Olivia's face.

Aunt Olivia's arrogance instantly vanished at the sight of the impeccably dressed woman—someone who clearly wasn't to be trifled with.

After all, she was merely a woman from the countryside with no experience of the world.

She still stubbornly pushed forward a sheet of paper, telling me to put it in writing that they would take care of me from now on and inherit all of my family's wealth despite all of that.

Upon seeing that Aunt Olivia wouldn't back down until she got what she wanted, I endured the injustice just so my parents could have a peaceful burial.

I took the pen and paper with a trembling hand and drew up a property transfer agreement, stating that everything owned by the Lancaster family was to be turned over to them.

Under everyone's sympathetic gazes, the matter was finally settled.

It was then that a sharp slap rang out across the room.

"You foolish woman! Get out of here this instant! I'm never going to let you off if you mess up my brother and his family's funeral!" Uncle Shawn rushed up and slapped Aunt Olivia hard across the face, now that everything was signed and sealed.

He then turned to me with a sycophantic smile and said, "I've already dealt with your Aunt Olivia, Hope. You see, we shouldn't waste our breath on a shortsighted woman like her, as what matters right now is laying your father, mother, and brother to rest."

If I hadn't been reborn, I really would have trusted Uncle Shawn, who stood before me looking so down-to-earth with his wrinkled face. In truth, the grand design to seize the assets of the Lancaster family belonged solely to him; Aunt Olivia had merely been put forward to play the villain.

I had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment, so with that thought, I nodded with an expression of forced submission. "Alright, Uncle Shawn."

"Let's close the coffins and proceed with laying your parents and brother to rest."

If they were buried now, it would be a total luxury for them; after all, they had already made arrangements for people to exhume them the moment the funeral ended. I was going to see to it that they were burned to ashes and utterly destroyed in this life.

I cast a sidelong glance at the cleric conducting his ceremony in the courtyard with that in mind. He had shown up on our doorstep, volunteering to hold these rites the moment Mom, Dad, and Draco passed away, before the neighbors even knew about it.

In this day and age, nobody dared to involve themselves in heretical practices like this. I wasn't so foolish as to fail to understand what was going on at this moment.

It was just that the cleric produced a letter written in Mom and Dad's own handwriting, where their final wishes clearly stated that this cleric had to send them off after their death.

Thus, I risked the chance of being arrested and publicly denounced just to keep the cleric around.

"I think there's something suspicious about how Dad and the others died, Uncle Shawn. I mean, think about it—Dad was young and healthy, not to mention Mom and Draco. Is it possible that there was some foul presence at work, or perhaps a contagious plague?

"I think we should forgo a traditional burial. I heard people from the big cities say that if it's a disease, burning the bodies cleanses everything," I said as I looked innocently toward Uncle Shawn, making sure my voice rang out across the entire funeral hall.

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately backed away, shoving and jostling each other as they packed into the courtyard with terror written all over their faces. They were absolutely terrified, as a contagious disease was no laughing matter in those days.

Thus, without a moment's hesitation, Uncle Shawn nodded frantically. "Go cremate them at once! Get them out of here and burn them all right away!"

He covered his nose and mouth as he spoke, as if the air itself were tainted with something filthy.

Just then, the cleric jumped up and spoke with a pious look on his face, saying, "You absolutely can't do this, as our ancestors always believed that the dead must be laid to rest in the ground; otherwise, the lingering malice will be so profound that I'm afraid even I won't be able to keep it down."

"I am my parents' daughter, so I am willing to take responsibility for the karmic consequences. If their burial brings harm to the people of this town, then my family would be the ultimate sinners. I believe my parents wouldn't want that to happen, so let me be the one to take the sin upon myself."

I covered my face and lowered my head as I said so. My shoulders were trembling.

In the meantime, my display of righteous selflessness moved everyone present. Several well-meaning onlookers stepped forward and said, "Your courtyard is large enough, so let's just cremate them here, Hope. There's barely any wind right now, so the ashes won't blow away."

I looked up at the good-natured man before me as I suppressed my laughter with effort and nodded solemnly. "I'll go get the fire ready then. I'd really appreciate it if you guys could help carry my family out into the courtyard."

It wasn't long before all preparations were complete. I looked toward the three people in the coffins as I held up a torch that blazed with a roaring fire. My face was masked with deep grief. "I've failed you for making you suffer like this, but don't worry. I'll gather all of your ashes without leaving anything behind."

Those roaring flames made the air feel suffocating.

I watched a hint of reluctance cross the cleric's face through the shifting light of the flames. The three of them—their faces already completely disfigured—looked twisted as the jumping firelight cast shadows over them.

I finally lifted the torch in my hand and walked toward them.