Chapter 465: Tears of Joy

Third-person POV

Just as Electra called the nearest guards and instructed them to do something about Jella's body, and the horrified guards stared at the body of their former queen with pale faces and visible disbelief, the grey sky above them finally gave in to the rain it had been threatening for a while now.

Heavy rain suddenly started pouring from the sky without warning, the water falling aggressively against the palace grounds within seconds. The burnt body that still lay on the grass had not yet been carried away, so the rain immediately began to soak it, making the already horrifying sight look even worse than before. The burnt skin looked as though it were peeling further under the water, and the smell of ash, burnt flesh, and wet earth mixed together in a way that made the entire scene feel almost unreal.

Penelope took one look at the rain hitting the corpse and immediately gagged loudly. "Oh my God," she blurted out while covering her mouth. "I'm actually going to be sick."

Without wasting another second, she quickly rushed away from the rain toward the nearest covered area she could find, nearly slipping slightly against the wet stone path as she hurried under the shade. Electra watched her go before letting out a low chuckle, clearly entertained by how dramatic Penelope was being.

Compared to Penelope's horrified expression, Electra herself looked disturbingly calm despite the corpse laying only a few feet away from them.

"For someone who claims to have killed someone, you're acting like you've never seen a dead body before," Electra called out lazily while finally beginning to walk after Penelope through the rain.

Penelope turned toward her from under the shade with an offended look on her face. "A dead body and whatever that is are not the same thing," she complained loudly. "She looks disgusting now."

Electra smirked slightly as she stepped under the shade as well, rainwater dripping lightly from parts of her hair and clothes. "That tends to happen when someone burns to death."

Penelope grimaced immediately. "Can you not say it so casually?"

Electra only shrugged in response before leaning lightly against one of the pillars under the covered walkway. From where they stood, they could still see the guards gathered around Jella's body from a distance. The guards looked deeply unsettled, and honestly, neither Electra nor Penelope blamed them. After all, it was their former queen who was lying burnt beyond recognition in the palace gardens while rain poured heavily over what remained of her.

The two guards Electra had initially called stood awkwardly beside the body for a moment as though neither of them wanted to be the first to touch it. Eventually, one of them hurried away while the other remained standing there stiffly in the rain, clearly trying not to stare directly at the corpse for too long.

Penelope folded her arms tightly across her chest while watching from the shade. "They look traumatized," she muttered.

Electra glanced toward the guards briefly before responding carelessly, "They'll survive."

Penelope stared at her for a moment before shaking her head slightly under her breath. The rain continued pouring heavily around them, loud enough that for a few moments neither of them spoke. Water splashed against the palace grounds while distant thunder rumbled softly somewhere far away. Penelope honestly just wanted to leave already. Between the prison, the hunting game Electra had created, Jella trying to stab her neck with a rusty nail, and then the burning alive part, she felt mentally exhausted.

Finally, after several long minutes, the first two guards returned alongside two additional guards who carried a stretcher with them. All four men looked visibly uncomfortable as they approached Jella's body, and one of them even hesitated before bending down to lift what remained of her onto the stretcher.

Penelope immediately looked away again. "Can they hurry up?" she muttered uncomfortably.

Electra looked far less bothered. If anything, she seemed almost thoughtful now while quietly watching them carry Jella's body away through the rain.

Penelope suddenly raised her voice slightly. "Hey!"

One of the guards carrying the stretcher immediately looked toward her.

"Have someone prepare a car for us," Penelope instructed from the shade. "We're heading back to Elysium."

The guard quickly bowed his head respectfully despite the heavy rain. "Understood, My Lady."

After that, the guards continued on their way with Jella's body until eventually they disappeared from sight entirely beyond the palace gardens. The moment they were gone, silence settled briefly between Electra and Penelope again except for the sound of rain around them.

Penelope finally turned toward Electra fully. "Just so you know," she began carefully, "the way you killed Jella today is going to become public knowledge very soon."

Electra looked completely unconcerned.

Penelope continued anyway. "And your already nonexistent approval ratings are probably going to tank even more after this."

Electra let out a soft chuckle at that before tilting her head slightly. "I don't need people to like me," she responded calmly. "I just need them to fear me enough not to insult me to my face and call me an abomination."

Penelope sighed quietly. Honestly, the frightening part was that Electra truly meant it.

Electra crossed her arms loosely before continuing, "Besides, we already agreed that I'm going to choose a regent to oversee the throne for now. As long as my regent is someone the people can accept while I still hold authority behind the scenes, then nothing else really matters."

Penelope studied her expression quietly for a moment. Electra sounded confident while saying it, but Penelope could still tell there was a lot going on under the surface. Ever since King Vale's death and everything involving her birth mom, Electra had clearly changed even more emotionally, though she still tried pretending otherwise.

The rain continued falling heavily around them while cold wind drifted through the covered walkway. Penelope rubbed lightly at the spot on her neck where Jella had cut her earlier before letting out a small sigh.

After a few more minutes of silence, she finally spoke again. "How are you feeling?"

Electra glanced toward her briefly. "What kind of question is that?"

"A serious one," Penelope answered immediately. "And you better answer honestly."

Electra raised a brow slightly.

Penelope continued before Electra could avoid the question. "I'm asking because of earlier. The crying."

For a brief second, Electra's expression shifted slightly before returning to normal again. Then she chuckled softly. "If you're worried because of my tears earlier," she responded calmly, "then you have no reason to be."

Penelope narrowed her eyes slightly as though trying to figure out whether Electra was lying.

Electra leaned back more comfortably against the pillar before continuing, "I meant it when I said they were tears of joy."

Penelope looked unconvinced.

Electra sighed softly before speaking again. "I may not remember exactly how much Jella mistreated me, but my body remembers." Her voice remained calm, though there was still something darker beneath it. "Seeing her end today has brought me nothing except satisfaction."

Penelope stayed quiet while listening.

Electra looked out toward the rain for a moment before continuing more quietly, "So I'm fine. You can rest assured about that."

Penelope stared at her silently after that. She wanted to believe Electra completely, and part of her even did. Jella truly had been horrible, and maybe Electra really did feel relieved now that she was gone forever, but another part of Penelope still could not stop thinking about those tears rolling down Electra's face while she stared at Jella's corpse.

Electra herself might call them tears of joy, but Penelope was not entirely sure they were.