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He tried not to stare at the Lady Nere, but it was hard not to pay extra attention to her reaction, since she was the one he was most concerned about.

And he could see her slowly gravitating toward the cabinet with that somber gaze of hers.

‘This is magnificently thoughtful of you, Lord Goffe,’ Sentsia was saying over his shoulder. ‘Words can hardly express how much this will mean to not just House Blackburn but to all of our kin. In fact, perhaps we should...’ She trailed off as she presumably began to notice Nere as well.

Along with everyone else.

The small crowd parted for her as she moved toward the Ismael statue, eventually reaching for it with both hands. She picked it up gingerly and brought it closer to her face.

The statue was about equal in size to her head, and the sharp suit that Ismael was dressed in had been replicated from a photo that Hector had been given. As far as he’d been able to tell, the features of the man’s face had been recreated fantastically well.

And perhaps the lady thought so, too, because she soon began to cry. And slump to the ground.

The Blackburns closed in around her again, putting hands on her shoulders or trying to help her back to her feet.

But then her crying turned to sobbing, and she was abruptly not so quiet any longer. The shrine started to fill with the choked sounds of strained voice and disjointed breathing.

Then she started moving again, trying to wriggle away from her family members, who were now attempting to help her a bit more forcefully onto her feet.

She shouted something incomprehensible and threw herself away from the others, all but collapsing at Hector’s feet.

He knelt down to help her up himself, but she pushed him back and scrambled away, still with the statue in her clutches.

Her cries were more like wails now as she fled the room and disappeared from sight.

Sentsia was the first to give chase, but the other Blackburns were not far behind, leaving Hector there flat on his ass, alone but for Garovel hovering next to him.

‘Well, that could’ve gone better,’ said the reaper.

‘Fuck,’ said Hector, picking himself up off the floor. ‘Now, I... I’m not even sure what I was expecting to happen.’

‘You were expecting she would be happy, I imagine, no? Or perhaps sad but in a still-mostly-happy sort of way, hmm?’

‘Yeah, but, I mean... ugh, I don’t know. I feel like an idiot.’