Histoires souveraines

In the waning light of an autumn evening, a solitary carriage stops before the imposing gates of an ancestral estate, its stone crest bearing the faded star of the ancient Athol lineage. Inside, the grieving count returns to the empty chambers where his beloved Véra lay, her final moments sealed in sumptuous silks, scented candles, and a half‑finished melody on an open piano. The rooms remain frozen in the intimacy of their last night together—perfumed fans, a jeweled necklace, and a crimson‑stained handkerchief all bearing silent testimony to a love abruptly extinguished.

Haunted by the lingering scent of roses and the echo of a broken clock, the count wanders the mansion, clutching a silver key he has discarded into Véra’s tomb. He contemplates the strange weight of memory, the fragile line between devotion and despair, and the unsettling feeling that something beyond the ordinary may have claimed his wife. The story lingers at this poignant crossroads, inviting listeners to share in his quiet, unsettling search for meaning amid loss.