Chapter 510: Lady Noir
…Hollow Shade… Villa District…
Loh rode up to the gates of the Noir Manor atop Maximus’ back. Despite the heavy rains and darkness, the guards immediately recognized her and the centaur.
“Open the gates!” shouted one guard. “Welcome back! Young mistress…?” his voice trailed off as he noticed Elzri’s body curled in her arms. The guard paled and his sword fell from his grip. After a stunned moment, he quickly removed his helmet and bowed, as did the other guards, save one who ran off to alert the seneschal.
Maximus trotted around the mansion and headed to the back. The flowers in the gardens were in full bloom. He picked up a few as he walked through the gardens. Beyond the well-cared bushes and trees, at the very end, lay a small plot of grass. It was carefully trimmed and unblemished, save for a few polished stone slabs. Maximus stopped a few paces from the family graveyard and knelt.
Loh slid down off his saddle and her injured knee buckled under her weight. She stumbled forward and pulled her grandfather’s body close in a panic, but Maximus caught her by the shoulders. He lifted her up and made sure she could walk before letting go. She nodded gratefully, then limped onto the wet grass and made her way to her grandmother’s gravestone.
Loh took a deep breath and slowly knelt down. She tried her best to hold her weight with her uninjured leg, but her knee still buckled. This time she was ready and she fell on her knees with a painful thud. Baring the pain in a silent grimace, she gently placed Elzri’s body next to his late wife’s grave.
Tears flowed down Loh’s cheeks. Her insides twisted in a painful burning knot. Her chest felt hollow, save for a throbbing pain. “I’m sorry, Grandfather…” her voice cracked. “I… I wasn’t strong enough… I thought— I thought you didn’t care… about me,” she mumbled. “All you cared about was ‘House Noir.’ You cared more about the honor and prestige of the damn Noir name than you did about any Noir… I hated you for that. You didn’t care about my happiness, you didn’t care what happened to me so long as I lived up to your legacy. So why…? Why did you have to die?”
“Why did you sacrifice yourself for us!?” she screamed and broke down in tears. “...Why did you have to leave me behind?”
Loh buried her face in his chest and gripped his tunic. “You were the only one who cared; even with all my fuckups, you were always there. You were the only real family I had… And now you’re gone. But I’m not like you. I can’t just bear the pain and move on. I can’t carry the weight of the Noir legacy alone. I can’t lead House Noir.”