Chapter 2
2
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The Sachsen Count Family, representative of the new aristocratic powers, was originally a minor provincial noble family that had difficulty even gaining a foothold in the capital. If the previous Duke Taylor had still been alive and well, Jack Sachsen, no matter how much of a Viscount he was, wouldn't have even been worthy of Grace Taylor's conversation. However, with the backing of the current Her Majesty the Empress's family, the Sachsen Count Family had become so prosperous that it was said they could bring down even a flying bird.
Inside the best guest room of Taylor Duke's Castle, the maid Jessie lay prostrate on the floor, surrounded by broken bottles and glasses. Jack Sachsen squatted in front of Jessie, grinning.
"Come on, is it really that hard to just sit next to me?"
His pronunciation was slurred from the alcohol he had been drinking all day, and his squatting posture was unsteady.
The Count Family's servants, who had been attending to the Viscount, quietly slipped away, and the Taylor minor Duke, who had been drinking with him, was carried off to his bedroom, completely drunk. Duke and Duchess Taylor and Count and Countess Sachsen also deliberately avoided witnessing such a sight, as it would do no one any good. In the end, only the powerless maids and servants of the Taylor Duke Family were left.
An elderly servant knelt beside Jessie and pleaded.
"Young master, I'm sorry. Please, calm your anger..."
Before the servant could finish speaking, his cheek was slapped violently. But Jack Sachsen wasn't satisfied with just one blow, and he slapped the servant's cheek again before shouting.
"How dare a mere servant speak to me without permission?!!!"
"I'm sorry."
The servant quickly lowered his head. Nevertheless, the Viscount's anger didn't subside easily. Jack Sachsen took a slow breath and picked up a glass that was lying haphazardly on the table. Then, he tilted the glass over the servant's bowed head.
Golden liquor trickled down the back of the servant's head. At the humiliating sight, some clenched their fists tightly and glared, while others turned their heads, unable to bear to watch.
Jessie, who was lying prostrate, clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes flickered fiercely, and then she heard a mocking voice from above.
"You people are just like this glass. You just have to do what the master tells you. Don't you dare think or speak as you please."
Jack Sachsen roughly grabbed Jessie by the nape of her neck and yanked her up.
"Got it?"
It was then. Without warning, the tightly closed door burst open, and the Viscount, who had been dragging Jessie towards the sofa, stopped and looked up at the door. A woman in a light green dress was standing there.
Grace took a short breath and quickly scanned the room. At her appearance, the faces of the Taylor Duke Family's retainers brightened, only to darken again. The servant standing by the door glared at the maid who had brought Grace.
'How could you bring the Lady here to a place like this!'
Meanwhile, Grace glanced at the kneeling servant and Jessie before turning her gaze to Jack Sachsen.
"Viscount Sachsen."
At the low, yet dignified voice, Jack Sachsen felt as if the alcohol was instantly leaving his system.
His eyes, blurred with drunkenness, quickly scanned every corner of Grace's elegant face. Even in the midst of the hazy, dizzying world, he could tell that the woman who had suddenly appeared was a great beauty.
As if hypnotized, Jack Sachsen released Jessie's nape. The world was still swaying, but he stared intently at Grace's face.
Grace Taylor was a beauty of a different kind from the women of the capital, who had long, black hair cascading seductively and lips painted red. Her rare blonde hair was as luscious as if strands of pure gold had been drawn into thread, and her eyes, set in her white face, were a clear, light green.
"She's worth the money...?"
Jessie bit her lip until it bled at the first words the Viscount uttered upon seeing Grace, and the others also hardened their expressions. Only one person, Grace, remained calm.
"It's late. You should rest now."
Jack Sachsen grinned.
Even her voice was exactly to his liking. He had been secretly angry at the arrogant bride who hadn't even shown her face despite the fact that her future husband had arrived, but now, as if he had never felt that way, the Viscount smiled lecherously.
"If my future bride pours me a drink, I might be able to stop here."
"......"
Grace let out a short sigh and looked around again. After quickly scanning the assembled servants, she gave them a quiet order.
"Everyone, please step outside for a moment."
At her command, the Viscount's smile deepened, and the servants widened their eyes and shook their heads.
"Lady...!"
Jessie called out to Grace in a voice that was barely audible, but she didn't retract her order. She simply stared at the servants with her hands clasped neatly in front of her.
Jack Sachsen put his hands in his pockets and shouted at the hesitating servants.
"What are you all doing?! Didn't the Lady tell you to leave!"
In the end, the servants had no choice but to leave the room, feeling uneasy.
The moment they closed the door and left, Jack Sachsen approached Grace like a wolf trying to snatch its prey. Then, he gently twirled her hair with his fingers and whispered.
"Sometimes, the Taylors are worth the money."
In fact, Jack Sachsen didn't like this marriage. There wasn't a woman he couldn't have, being the nephew of Her Majesty the Empress. Moreover, wasn't Grace Taylor a woman who had been confined to her territory and had never appeared in the capital's social circles? He had assumed that she must be terribly ugly and unsophisticated.
Her luscious blonde hair was so dazzling that she didn't need any accessories, and her white face was as pure as a lily. With a satisfaction that shattered his long-held preferences in an instant, Jack Sachsen reached out to stroke Grace's hair.
He would have done so if he hadn't heard her calm voice.
"You're the one who's worth the money."
"......What?"
At first, he thought he had misheard. Jack Sachsen tilted his head and asked back in bewilderment, and Grace pulled her hair out of his grasp and took a step back. Her fluid movements were as perfect as if she had extracted only the essence of etiquette, and her expression was that of an elegant high noble lady.
At the discrepancy between her attitude and her words, Jack Sachsen momentarily thought he was hallucinating, but as if to mock him, Grace opened her mouth again and spoke to him.
"Still, you're supposed to be the Empress's nephew, so I wondered how much of a scoundrel you had to be for the Saxon Count Family to pay off all of Taylor's enormous debts without even receiving a dowry. But I guess it's understandable."
The Viscount's expression turned savage in an instant.
"Is this bitch crazy...?!"
As was typical of drunks, violence erupted without warning. Jack Sachsen reached out to grab Grace's hair roughly, but Grace was quicker to retreat.
While the Viscount, unable to overcome his drunkenness, stumbled and fell, she picked up the sturdiest and thickest of the many wine bottles rolling around on the table.
"Hey, seriously...!"
A shadow suddenly fell over Jack Sachsen's head as he spat out a curse.
"......?"
He narrowed his eyes and slowly raised his head. In that instant, a cold shiver ran down his spine.
"......What, what are you doing?"
With a large wine bottle held firmly in one hand, Grace Taylor stood tall and elegant, looking down at him.
"You don't mean to hit me with that, do you?!"
It was an absurd situation, but Jack Sachsen's eyes shook violently at her cold gaze, tightly closed lips, and the way she was holding the wine bottle as if she were about to swing it at any moment.
"You said you don't remember anything the day after you drink, anyway, right?"
"...No, no! I remember everything!"
What are you going to do!
The terrified Viscount shouted desperately, but Grace simply smiled. Then, she whispered to him in a gentle, elegant tone as he turned pale.
"If you scream, it's two hits."
The hand holding the wine bottle was raised high. Even that gesture seemed aristocratic, and she whispered quietly.
"Clench your teeth. Or you'll bite your tongue."
＊ ＊ ＊
Meanwhile, the servants, who were completely unaware of the situation inside the room, were wringing their hands in anxiety.
"How could you bring the Lady here!"
"But... there was no one else... sob..."
"She's going to marry that man tomorrow. What's going to happen to our Lady now?"
Someone's tearful voice shook the air in the dark hallway, and then, as if by a lie, the door opened. The gazes of those who had been pacing anxiously in the hallway turned to the door all at once.
Grace Taylor, who had come out of the door, smiled at the faces of the people, which were filled with worry.
"Lady!"
Grace carefully closed the door and said to the eldest servant. It was the same servant who had been slapped by Jack Sachsen.
"Viscount Sachsen has fallen asleep. Call the Count Family's servants to clean up."
"He fell asleep? Suddenly?"
"Yes. He suddenly collapsed and fell right asleep."
"...Excuse me? Ah, yes!"
The servant replied with a dazed expression.
As Grace calmly moved her feet, the servants stepped aside in unison, and Grace walked along the path they had made for her. The lamps hanging in the hallway flickered long.
A maid, who had been watching the departing Lady's straight back, finally couldn't hold back and opened her mouth.
"Lady!"
Grace turned around.
"...Are you alright?"
Many eyes were filled with concern for her.
From the day she lost her parents in an instant until now, the concern and worry in their eyes had protected and raised Grace. Even when John and Emma, who had taken over the Duke Family, treated her poorly, the servants always kept Grace's room warm, gently stroked the girl's back, and fed her soft food.
'Our Lady, say ah~!'
'Look at these flowers, Lady!'
Everyone in the Taylor Duchy was her parent, sibling, and family. If it hadn't been for them, Grace Taylor wouldn't be who she was today.
Grace smiled brightly in the darkness.
"I've always been grateful."
"...Lady..."
"Just wait a little longer."
Leaving behind those who only blinked their eyes, unable to understand the meaning of her calmly spoken words, Grace turned her body and took a step towards the endless, thick darkness.
Swallowing the unspoken words 'Until I return.'
