Chapter 10: 9

“Frankly speaking, I came out thinking that the person outside the office might be you. I’d like to express my gratitude to you.”

“…….”

“……Madam?”

“Ye- yes? Ah, yes…”

Grace, who was staring blankly at Arthur as if she were in a daze, was surprised when she met Arthur’s face calling her with a curious face. And at that moment Grace was even more frightened to realize that Arthur’s face was closer than she had expected.

‘When did the distance get so narrow? Did I get this close to him first?’

Grace stepped back, feeling her cheeks getting hotter. She flustered and said to him,

“Oh, no. Compared to Leon’s red diamond… a grain of rice is nothing.”

“The necklace my wife gave him will be just as precious to him as the red diamond.”

“Oh, haha. Is that so? I’m glad to hear that……. I’ll have to give him something better next year.”

“….Next year too?”

“Yes, next year. Ah, before that, when is the Duke’s birthday? Is your birthday winter like Prince Leon’s?”

Grace was strangely excited to see Arthur treating her with a less vigilant attitude today.

The conversation, which had been soft and long for the first time since she met him, suddenly broke off, with Arthur’s expression stiffened at some point.

Grace realized her mistake when she saw Arthur’s face which became dark without answering her question.

‘You idiot! Why did you mention next year?’

This woman in front of him, the woman who is associated with Arthur Felix, dies or goes crazy in less than a year. She knows the curse well, and she even wants to try to use it to run away. What she said earlier a moment ago was clearly a slip of the tongue.

Grace bit her lower lip in an instant of awkwardness and embarrassment. Then Arthur sighed briefly and said as if he were changing the subject.

“……You don’t have to worry about me. It’s not a special day to celebrate.”

“Why, what’s the matter?”

She didn’t mean to celebrate Arthur’s birthday a while ago, but she just said it out of the blue during the conversation.

But when Arthur refused flatly, Grace asked out of opposition. Arthur smiled briefly and said, looking at her with a deep, melancholy stare.

“Your kindness is like giving sea water to those dying of thirst.”

“……What? What do you mean……?”

Grace couldn’t quite understand Arthur’s inscrutable remark, so she asked again. Arthur replied calmly, staring at her with complex eyes.

“What do you think will happen if someone as beautiful as you does a little favor to someone who was always alienated and always longed for affection? Maybe they’ll try to get that favor again, stick to it, and then you’ll end up hanging on to a bigger favor.”

“…..So…. stop?”

“I’m afraid… that I’ll misunderstand your silly kindness and tilt my heart. Either way, you die, you go crazy, or you leave me because you don’t want to die and you don’t want to go crazy, you’re the one who’s going to break up with me anyway.”

“…..!”

“Young Leon, if you leave like that, you’ll grow up and forget about the wounds, but I’m different. I don’t want to be hurt anymore by wanting and expecting something God has not allowed me to do……I don’t want anyone to die or go crazy.”

Every single word of Arthur’s calmly spit out was embedded like cold thorns. Grace was speechless by the numerous wounds, loneliness, and his insights.

Then Arthur, who was looking indifferently at the scene, smiled bitterly. Then he unfastened the ornaments that were on his shoulders and took off his cape covering Grace’s shoulders.

“It’s very cold. Besides, it’s very late, so go back to your bedroom and get some sleep. I’ll be back in a little while.”

Then he spitted out his words quickly and walked away to the other side.

Holding his cape, which she had received before she could refuse, Grace stared blankly at the back of Arthur, who was quickly moving away.

As he said, it was cold and very late, and now she couldn’t take her eyes off him because there was no one to protect him from the beasts or predators.

Is it because she felt anxious knowing his true feelings, or because she felt sympathy from his situation?

Grace was confused by a complex mind that she couldn’t read herself.

***

The warm winter sun shone through the unshredded curtains. Grace, who stayed up all night with her open eyes, sighed and raised her body on the bed where the canopy was hanging.

‘I really couldn’t sleep a wink.’

The night before, after separating with Arthur in the garden, she came straight back to her bedroom and lay in bed, but she couldn’t sleep properly. It was because her mind was complicated by the mistake she made and the words Arthur left behind for hee.

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‘It was a mistake. Why did I mention next year?’

Grace tore her long hair with her hands and made a groan. She shouldn’t have said that. Because of that, she felt embarrassed to listen to Arthur’s true feelings.

‘……Maybe Duke Felix has already noticed my plan and said that as a warning.’

When she thought so, her mind became more complicated.

Come to think of it, it was possible enough. For generations, the royal family has often been associated with the Albertons, so it would be ridiculous to use their innate magical powers to see what’s going on inside of ordinary people.

If so, she’ll have to hurry up and prepare to go crazy before he interferes with her plan. At this rate, she might never be able to run away from this castle. When the thought reached her, Grace became nervous and bit her fingertips.

“Madam, are you up?”

At that time, Sally’s voice was heard outside the bedroom with a knock. Grace turned her head and answered Sally’s voice.

“Yes, I’m up, Sally. Please come in.”

Then the bedroom door opened and Sally entered, pushing a silver basin of wash water and a tray with a simple breakfast as usual.

Grace got out of bed, put a tray by her dressing table, and spoke to Sally, who was approaching her.

“Good morning, Sally.”

“Yes, good morning! Oh, it’s so cold today that my hands are freezing.”

“Is it that cold?”

“Ofcourse. Are you going for a walk again today? Then how about going out in the afternoon instead of in the morning this time? I’m worried that you might catch a cold because of the strong wind.”

“…That’s right, sure.”

“Now, sit here, please. I’ll help you with your grooming.”

Sally pulled out the chair in front of the dressing table with her frozen, red fingertips.

As Grace sat on it, Sally helped wash her face with warm steaming water and brushed her tangled hair. Sally’s hands, which skillfully untangled her slightly tangled hair a while ago, were soft.

Soon after, Grace called out to Sally, who combed her hair and arranged it with flower oil so that the tips of her hair would not be damaged.

“Sally is good at brushing.”

“Thank you for the compliment. Actually, I don’t know anything else, but I’m confident in brushing.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I was in charge of all the heads, Duke’s mother’s head, and Duke’s fiancé, Electra’s head. Phew, especially Electra, who was very sensitive to fashion, asked me to do a different hairstyle every day… so I got in trouble ”

“Did you?”

“…Oh, my God, I made another slip of the tongue! I’m sorry. Please forget what I just said!”

“It’s okay. It’s possible.”

Sally, who was appalled and apologized at the story of Arthur’s fiancée and former wife, had just casually spat out. Grace forgave Sally with a light smile, and a thought crossed her mind and asked her.

“Sally, can I ask you a question?”

“Yes? As many as you want.”

“So Sally has been in charge of the Duchess since Lady Electra?”

“…Oh, yeah. Right? There are many servants and maids in the Duke’s house, but there are only a few of them who have the right to serve the Duchess.”

“…..Then you know to some extent when and how the ladies went wrong? Don’t you?”

Grace talked cautiously, looking at Sally’s expression, and Sally, who had been puzzled all along, put down the brush she had been holding with a long sigh, said.

“Yes, I don’t know everything, but I can say I know it better than anyone in this mansion.”

“….Then, can you tell me about it?”

At Grace’s blunt question, Sally shut her mouth with an even more worried look.

She seemed to be worried about where to start and how to talk. Grace was eagerly waiting for Sally’s reply.

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Stay safe and healthy and have a good day!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Stay tuned for more.

~Dazzel.D~

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