I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 311: The Perfect Gift

The gravel crunched beneath Annabelle’s feet like bones breaking under pressure.

S moved beside her so gracefully that you couldn’t even hear the gravel beneath his feet.

The guards had stopped their approach, uncertainty written across their faces. Their hands were close to their weapons, ready for anything.

One was young, maybe twenty, with the kind of fresh-faced eagerness that showed he hadn’t seen real violence yet.

The other was older, scarred, his eyes tracking S with the wariness of someone who recognized danger even when it wore a polite smile.

But it wasn’t the guards who mattered.

The manor’s main doors opened, and two figures emerged onto the entrance steps.

Joseph Meredith III moved with the careful dignity of someone who’d spent decades perfecting the art of looking important.

He was perhaps fifty, with dark hair going silver at the temples and a posture that came from a lifetime of people bowing when he entered rooms.

His clothes were expensive without being ostentatious—a deep burgundy coat over a cream shirt, every button placed with geometric precision.

Lady Josephine Meredith followed half a step behind, her hand resting lightly on her husband’s arm. She was beautiful in the way expensive things are beautiful.

Carefully maintained, strategically presented, designed to impress. Her dress was made of emerald silk, which probably cost more than most families earned in a year; her jewelry was subtle but unmistakably authentic.

Dark hair was piled high, revealing a neck that looked as if it had never known manual labor.

Their expressions carried polite curiosity mixed with confusion.

Joseph III’s eyes found the wooden chest, balanced casually on S’s shoulder, held with one hand as if it weighed no more than a loaf of bread. His brow furrowed slightly.

”Good afternoon,” Joseph III said, his voice carrying the practiced warmth of someone who’d spent years greeting people he didn’t particularly care about. ”I’m afraid we weren’t expecting visitors today. To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Annabelle stepped forward, her spine straight, her chin raised exactly as Octavia had taught her. She curtsied with the kind of perfect form that would make etiquette instructors weep with pride.

”Lord Meredith, Lady Meredith,” Annabelle said, her voice bright and clear as morning bells. ”Thank you for receiving us. I’m Annabelle Kaiser, and this...” she gestured to S with a flourish that suggested presenting royalty, ”...is S. He’s my brother Jack’s new companion and my guardian for the time being.”

Recognition flickered across both their faces at the Kaiser name. Joseph III’s posture straightened further, if that was possible. Lady Josephine’s hand tightened on her husband’s arm.

”Kaiser,” Joseph III repeated, his voice warming as he’d just remembered they were important. ”Of course. We’ve heard a great deal about your family. Your father’s reputation precedes him, and your brother...” he paused, searching for the right words, ”...has made quite an impression recently.”

”Jack does tend to make impressions,” Annabelle agreed cheerfully.

Lady Josephine stepped forward, her smile was soft and maternal, as practiced smiles often are. ”Annabelle, dear, what a lovely surprise. We had no idea you’d be visiting today. Our son, Joseph, has spoken of you quite fondly.”

Something flickered behind her eyes. Calculation disguised as warmth. ”He’s been quite taken with you, actually. Mentioned several times how much he enjoyed your company.”

Annabelle’s smile didn’t falter. ”Joseph was very... attentive.”

”He’s a good boy,” Lady Josephine continued, her tone carrying the weight of a mother praising her child to a potential match. ”Respectful. Well-educated. He’d make someone a fine husband someday.”

The words hung in the air like bait on a hook.

Joseph III cleared his throat. ”Though I must ask, young lady... does your family know you’re here? Surely you didn’t travel alone?”

”Oh no,” Annabelle said brightly. ”S has been with me the entire journey. Jack trusts him completely. He wouldn’t let me go anywhere without proper protection.”

S inclined his head slightly, his red eyes tracking both Merediths. His smile remained perfectly polite and pleasant, yet somehow deeply unsettling in ways neither Lord nor Lady Meredith could quite articulate.

”Our son was very interested in courting Annabelle,” Joseph III said, directing the statement at S like he was the chaperone who needed convincing. ”I hope House Kaiser has no objections to such... connections between our families.”

”Jack has many opinions about who courts his sister,” S replied, his voice carrying that deadpan quality that made it impossible to tell if he was being serious or making a joke. ”Some of them are quite... emphatic.”

Lady Josephine’s smile brightened. ”We’d be honored to host you properly. Please, come inside. We can arrange tea, discuss the possibilities of...”

”Actually,” Annabelle interrupted, her voice still sweet as honey, ”we can’t stay long. But Jack wanted me to deliver something personally. A gift, for being so gracious to House Kaiser.”

She gestured to the chest on S’s shoulder.

Joseph III’s eyes tracked to the wooden box, confusion deepening. ”A gift? That’s very kind, but entirely unnecessary. We’ve done nothing that warrants—”

S stepped forward. He lowered the chest from his shoulder, setting it on the gravel between them with a soft thud despite how heavy it was.

”Jack insisted,” Annabelle said, her smile widening. ”He was unequivocal about delivering this personally. He said it was important that your family understood his... gratitude.”

The word dripped with something that wasn’t quite gratitude, but both Merediths were too focused on the chest to notice.

S’s hands moved to the clasps, fingers working them open with the same precision he applied to peeling tangerines.

Click. Click.

The locks released with a sharp clicking sound.

”What kind of gift requires such a large—” Joseph III started.

S lifted the lid.

Then the world stopped.

Joseph IV’s head stared up at them from a bed of dark velvet, eyes wide and glassy, mouth frozen wide open in the last seconds of his life.

His skin had gone the color of spoiled milk, purple bruising spreading from where the neck ended in a clean cut.

Blood had soaked into the velvet, turning it from deep red to something closer to black.

The smell hit a moment later, sweet to S, but horrifying and repugnant to everyone else.

Lady Josephine’s scream tore through the air like fabric ripping.

Her hand flew to her mouth, but the sound kept coming, high-pitched and breaking, the kind of noise that came from somewhere deeper than the throat. Her legs buckled.

Joseph III caught her, his own face draining of color until he looked almost as pale as his son’s severed head.

”GUARDS!” Joseph III’s voice cracked, raw and desperate. ”GUARDS, NOW!”

Footsteps thundered. The two guards who’d been watching erupted into motion, weapons finally drawn.

More poured from the manor’s entrance, six, eight, ten of them, steel singing as swords cleared sheaths. They formed a semicircle around Annabelle and S, points aimed, faces hard with professional violence.

Annabelle clapped her hands together, bouncing slightly on her toes. ”Oh, this is exciting!”

S glanced down at her, his expression softening fractionally into something approaching genuine fondness. ”You’re doing wonderfully, little one. Perfect delivery. Your brother would be proud.”

”Really?” Annabelle beamed up at him. ”I was worried I wasn’t being polite enough.”

”Your politeness is impeccable,” S assured her. ”The juxtaposition between your manners and the contents of the box creates a delightful sense of cognitive dissonance. Truly masterful.”