Never Die Villain

"What is this place...?"

Ekaterina slowed to a stop, her eyes wandering across the landscape before them.

They had already walked well beyond the main palace grounds, leaving behind the halls where the Winter Assembly was being held for a more discreet corner of the estate that few guests ever had reason to visit.

Hidden beyond the grove was a small burial ground.

Unlike the grand mausoleums reserved for generations of Grand Dukes and their immediate families, this place was small, with rows of simple stone markers. Few people ever came here, and fewer still had reason to.

Ilya continued walking without answering.

Only after stopping before a lone gravestone near the edge of the burial ground did he finally speak.

"...This is my mother’s resting place."

Ekaterina’s eyes widened.

"...Lady Diane?"

Ilya nodded.

There was no grand monument, no family mausoleum, and nothing that reflected the life Diane had once lived. Only a lone gravestone remained, standing alone under the snow as though time itself had forgotten her.

Considering Diane’s place within House Belozersky, perhaps no one found that unusual.

But Ilya did.

Even now, he couldn’t look at her grave without feeling that she deserved far better than this.

To him, it was a humiliation that had never failed to anger him.

"...I’m happy you even remembered her name," he said with a faint smile as he crouched before the gravestone.

Reaching out, he brushed away the layer of snow that had gathered across its surface, revealing the engraved letters.

"My mother left this world far too early."

Judging by how thick the snow had accumulated, it had been quite some time since anyone had visited.

"O-Of course I remember her," Ekaterina replied, sounding surprised that he would even ask. "Lady Diane may not have been respected within House Belozersky, but outside the family... everyone knew her name..."

Ilya let out a laugh.

"...And yet everyone forgot her just as quickly."

The Black Rose Madonna, Diane Laurence Messerschmidt.

There had once been a time when her music reached every corner of the continent. Concert halls filled to overflowing whenever she performed, nobles competed for invitations to her recitals, and even commoners who had never once seen her face could recognize her melodies after hearing only a few notes.

Before she ever became Lady Belozerskaya, Diane had been hailed as the greatest musician of her generation.

"I wish I’d had more time with her," Ilya murmured. "Even now, I still find myself trying to recreate the melodies she used to play. No matter how many times I try..."

A faint, self-deprecating smile appeared on his face.

"...I can never quite reach her."

Whenever the weight on his shoulders became too much to bear, this was where Ilya always found himself.

He had come here more times than he could count, sitting before the gravestone without saying a word until the turmoil in his heart gradually eased. Since leaving for the academy, however, he had never once found the opportunity to return, and before he realized it, nearly half a year had already slipped by.

He lowered himself onto the snow without the slightest concern for the immaculate clothes Mariya had so carefully helped him put on only a short while earlier.

"...Mother," he said. "A lot has happened since I last came."

Ekaterina remained where she was, giving Ilya the space he needed. Looking at the gravestone before him, she found herself remembering the things her father had often said whenever House Belozersky was brought up.

Just because the Grand Duke stood above the rest of Severye did not mean he was always right.

That had always been the way of House Vysota.

It was that very disagreement which had kept them away from the Winter Assembly for years, and although they had finally chosen to return this time, standing here now only reminded Ekaterina that some grievances never truly disappeared.

She looked back at the gravestone.

Lady Diane had once been known throughout the continent. Yet after marrying into House Belozersky, this was all that remained.

It wasn’t difficult to understand why.

House Belozersky had never been a family that rewarded kindness, nor was it one that dwelled on the dead for very long.

Strength was remembered, and weakness was discarded. Those who could no longer contribute to the family were left behind, because in Severye, the wolves had survived for centuries by devouring everything that failed to keep pace with them.

Even wolves devoured their own.

Perhaps that was why the Vysota Household had always kept its distance from the Grand Ducal House. They respected House Belozersky as the rulers of the north, but respect did not mean agreement, and there were times when even the oldest branch houses believed the wolves had gone too far.

"I’ll be back, Mother."

After saying everything he had come to say, Ilya placed a hand against the cold gravestone one last time before rising to his feet.

He brushed the snow from his gloves, his eyes fixed upon the name engraved into the stone before finally turning away.

"...Cousin Ilya."

He looked toward Ekaterina.

"Shall we go, Cousin Ekaterina?" A faint, apologetic smile appeared on his face. "I’m sorry for bringing you all the way out here. I only thought... if there was anyone in this family who would understand why I still come here, it would be someone from House Vysota. Your family always admired my mother’s music..."

Ekaterina immediately shook her head.

"Please don’t apologize." She looked back at the gravestone. "I’m grateful you brought me here. Father always spoke very highly of Lady Diane. He used to say there would never be another musician like her, and every time a traveling orchestra stopped by Vysota, he would ask if they knew any of her compositions."

A small smile appeared on her lips.

"When I was little, I thought he was exaggerating." She let out a soft laugh before looking back at Ilya. "But after hearing one of her recordings for the first time... I finally understood what he meant..."

She lowered her head toward the gravestone in respect.

"...It’s just a shame."

"Yes... it is."

No matter how many years had passed, Ilya could never understand it.

If Valentin had truly intended to leave Diane to bear everything alone, then why had he brought her into House Belozersky in the first place?

If he had no intention of protecting her from the hostility of the family, then why had he reached out his hand to her at all?

Perhaps those questions were why he could never bring himself to meet Valentin’s eyes.

"...."

Because every time he looked at the man, all he could think about was the woman who should have been standing here instead.

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