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Originally Posted by Huh...?
Both in the LN and Manga, Raphtalia already knew that Rifana was dead, because she died in-front of her, and it was her death that in a way mentally broke Raphtalia (before Naofumi found her).
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I got the feeling that Rifana was dead when Raphtalia woke up that last morning in the cell. Raphtalia called Rifana's name, but there was no reaction or movement, but then the moment got interrupted by the guard calling for her.
The skeleton on the floor was likely due to one of the guards trying to drag her out when she didn't respond, realizing she was dead, and just leaving her there. It matches the fact that she still had the flag in her hand, plus the time needed for her body to mostly decay (since it's been a couple months since Naofumi purchased Raphtalia).
In any case, I suspect that Raphtalia kinda knew, but didn't really let herself know. She forgot how to smile as she was shipped out, even though she was smiling for Rifana the night before. There's a sort of unacknowledged trauma that must have occurred in that time period, and there's only one thing that could have done that. At the same time, she buried it deep in her subconscious, and only truly remembered it after seeing Rifana's body.
Overall, I think it was well done, and was clearly done to bring the feels at the moment that Raphtalia found Rifana's body, as everything came crashing down.
On the other hand, when I think through that moment, to after Naofumi purchased her, I wonder what it would have been like if she hadn't lost that "never stop smiling" mindset. If Naofumi had used those punishments on her, and she kept smiling through it, that would have been disturbing as hell.