NOVEL NEXT 58. Graveyard
"What should I do, grandmother?"
Loriam asked with tears in her eyes. Kneeling in front of a tombstone, at which freshly picked flowers were placed. As could be expected, Loriam paid a visit to her grandmother’s grave.
"She is gone again, and it’s my fault."
She sobbed in front of the grave. Just like she did any time she had troubles. She firmly believed that her grandmother would be able to help her with any troubles she had, and of course, she could have done the same with her mother, but the only reason she ever visited her mother’s grave was to show her newly born Julia, as well as yearly grave visits.
Loriam wiped her tears and got up, she had to go back to her duties. Besides, she had already spent a lot of time here.
She sighed as she thought of the whispers of the servants behind her. Ever since she encountered that strange maid three days ago, everyone has been whispering about her drinking problem. Loriam knew she had a big problem in the past, but she was innocent this time around. And yet no one believed her.
Loriam shook her head. She had no time to be worried about the rumors, instead, she should be worried about her daughter’s whereabouts.
"I wonder what you would have done in my place…"
Loriam glanced at her mother’s grave resentfully as she said that. Then she shook her head again. You would have just had a new daughter. Loriam clenched her fists as she answered herself.
Loriam slowly stood up from the ground. She is better than this excuse for a mother in front of her ever was. Just by worrying about her daughter, she has already surpassed her.
As she turned around to leave, she noticed that the path deeper into the cemetery had been made in the grass. The reason she thought it strange was because that part of the cemetery was the burial place of the queens who had lived over a millennium ago. So, there was no reason for anyone to visit it.
Curious, she sneaks deeper into the cemetery. She passes by the graves of her aunts and great-grandparents until she reaches the barely kept part. The names on the graves were barely readable as the merciless passage of time showed on them.
One of the graves caught her attention. Unlike the others, this one was more decorated and had multiple charms intended for the protection of the souls of the dead. But what caught her attention were the withering flowers placed at this grave.
"What are these? Arsiens?"
Loriam squatted down and carefully observed the flowers, confirming that they were indeed Arsien flowers. The white and gold petals of the flower were still easy to recognize despite how much of a sorry state they were in.
The question is, Who put them here? Loriam looked around; none of the other graves had anything that resembled flowers. What was so special about this one?
Loriam’s fingers ran across the gravestone as she did her best to read the inscription.
"Mia Leranpe, Anema 3 – Anema 26. Hm? Where is the patronymic?"
Loriam looked at the unfamiliar name carefully, the absence of the patronymic was more than strange considering that the girl appeared to be part of the royal family.
By the custom of the Losemia Duchy, all children had their mother’s maiden surname as a middle name. In the case of the nobles, it helped with keeping track of the kids born into the harem. But since Leranpe is solely a matriarchal family, the names got switched.
It didn’t make much sense for the patronymic to be omitted here. Unless the mother of this kid was a slut and extremely honest about it, There wasn’t really any other reason besides not knowing the father and not wanting to lie.
"Died so young, poor child. But what era is that?"
Loriam brushed her finger tips across the engraved letters, making sure she was reading them correctly.
"Is it the lost era?"
Loriam thought. No matter how hard she tried, she still read "Anema" on the gravestone. The world was unfamiliar to her just like the person’s name on the grave.
She tried to recall all the eras of the past, but she could only recall five, and none of them even remotely sounded like Anema. So, it could only be the so-called lost era or one of them.
In the past, three thousand years ago, the blood clan as well as other races worshiped the dragons. In those times, it was customary to give a specific name to the queen’s rule in the dragon language.
But after a millennium and a half of this tradition, as well as a well-documented history, there has been a period of eight centuries of uncertain facts and myths. One of which mentions the heroic queen who subjugated the dragons.
As many as six different queens are believed to have ruled during this period, a way too quick succession rate for the standards of the blood clan. Everything got back in normal once the 13th queen took power, at this point, the era naming had already been forgotten.
In any case, this grave should therefore be almost two millennia old, Why would anyone in the current era be putting flowers there?
"Your majesty?"
"Liora. You scared me."
Loriam felt relieved when she saw her childhood friend standing behind her. Liora stood on the footpath in the grass, looking worried at Loriam.
"Why are you here? I was getting worried that something happened to you."
Loriam smiled slightly at her friend’s worry. At least there was still someone she could trust, someone who would support her.
"Liora, did you ever hear about the Anema era before?"
Loriam asked Liora; it wasn’t like Liora could know anyway. But Loriam just wanted to essentially confirm that she wasn’t just forgetting. Liora looked uncomfortable for a bit.
"…No."
"I figured someone put flowers at this grave, so I was curious. Let’s go back; I still have a daughter to save and a war to win."
Loriam chuckled. She felt stupid. Of course, she wouldn’t know.
Loriam stood up and walked past Liora towards the cemetery gate. Liora looked at the grave briefly and then turned around, following behind Loriam.
"Careless."
Liora mumbled, leaving the cemetery behind her friend. As they went, Liora frowned at a maid that had passed by. The maid looked apologetic and lightly bowed to Liora.